The Perfect Office Affair... How I got away with it!!!

On a weekday it was a famous cozy Peshawari restaurant in the heart of a famous food market in the poshest area of the metro city, the ambience was of a local dhaba of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The lightening was just perfect with a desi lanterns hung on the wall glowing romantically. She took her lighter out and lit the candle on the old teak wood table. We were sitting in a corner and on the floor we were the only couple. We had finished our dinner and were drinking the local kahwa and all of a sudden the lights went off. All the waiters rushed to get the generator started and while they were on it, I felt her soft touch on my hand. The air conditioners went off and I could smell her fragrance which she just refreshed after coming from the comfort room. We could see each other through the moon light shimmering through the windows and as we got closer we kissed each other for the first time. We were scared and nervous as the light could come back anytime however the temptation was too good to let go. Suddenly the power came back and we looked at each other while blushing, deep inside we both wanted it again and luck couldn’t favor us more. While the generator was on, the power came back, during switch out we again got a little intimate moment and this is how our first date ended.

Yes this was my affair, and it will remain a secret forever. I call it the Perfect Office Affair which went on for a year, till date no one ever had any suspicion about it nor did we discuss it with anyone. To let you know about myself, I was working for an FMCG at an executive position, life was good, everything was in place, I was enjoying the glamor of my job. My team knew their Manager was very strict when it comes to office discipline. Nature of my job required every team member to be as charismatic showing they are the face of the company. I received a new assignment which was one of its kind and had to hire a female specifically for it. Since this was one of its kind there were not many options to hire from, I got the finalist candidate interviewed by my Head and she was onboard.

She was different, well I don’t know how I could be more specific but…, she was a princess landed straight from the Disney World. Her eyes were as pretty as Elsa (from movie Frozen), Skin as fair as Snow White (from movie Snow White) hairs as soft as Princess Jasmine (from Alladin) nose as beautiful as Princess Rapunzal (from Rapunzal). Wait before you call me a pervert who fantasizes Disney princesses, in my defence, didn’t you all believe they were the prettiest ones.

Hmmm… moving on, she had just joined, though I kept a very professional environment, every time my eyes met her, I would somehow stop for a moment. She would give a presentation and we both had a smirk for each other as it was just happening. I noticed that we laughed at the same things and she noticed my dressing and complimented often, I loved how she used to make an effort to get ready every morning and dress elegantly like she owned a castle, we were just colleagues… until we weren’t. My office was right in end of the floor and when she would leave she would come and meet me at the day end.

Alright I am not telling you about the affair, the subject under discussion is how we kept it a secret. I have a complete journal in my head of my times with her, but never put anything in writing, no love literatures. We used to text each other project matters and were kept strictly up to it. You would be asking how did you plan things, well they were mostly spontaneous, our favorite restaurant was in interior Lahore where actually she took me for the first time. The roof top over looked Badhsahi Mosque and the ambience was great. Whatever happened their stays there…. Bummer, sorry I am not discussing the specifics. This is not a chapter of lust stories. We never discussed any rendezvous ever again, we both had our lines clear, NO STRINGS ATTACHED, NO PROMISES, DO NOT THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE. Perhaps this was the first discussion we had together and we both exactly knew what we are getting into with each other. Lines drawn… We knew we cannot be seen in local city so we planned a trip to another metro city, well it was her treat for me for a major hiccup in my life I was going through (Yes I was very lucky). She and her friend took me out to another city in beautiful resort and there she had planned a get together for me, it was a long night of music, dance and drinks, I still remember middle of the night tired from all the dance I was, resting on the terrace enjoying the beautiful starry view of the sky when she came and sat on my lap and we wanted the night to just stop there. Ahem ahem… Back to how to get away part, the rules of the trip were simple, no one would know where we are, who we are with, no texts, no pictures and where we are going, no one should know that we are together plain and simple. Though sometimes we had slipped into the romantic gazes and few acquaintances asked, “Are you two together?” and we would completely negate the existence of feelings for each other and soon as we got a chance we were rumpy pumpy.

We would meet once every fortnight, which probably does keep the magic and anticipation going. Our dates were usually in deserted restaurant and we could gossip for hours, but we were endlessly careful. She used to drive herself so we never had to leave office together. We managed to resist the temptation to tell others by talking to each other instead. There were no romantic letters, emails or texts or late night long phone calls because we knew the status of our relationship we did not have the terrible panic lovers seem to have about when the next encounter will be. Every bill was paid by cash so we knew we could just walk away incase anything happens.

We both loved each other to moon and back and we were not harming each other and had no intention of doing so. I was enjoying the most romantic secret relationship of my life and was the most tidy of all. Perhaps for us it was an escape from the real world around us as it was just us two when we were together. However all good things have to come to an end. One day she had told me that she sacrificed me as her dearest thing to get something really important. I never thought of it as a breakup and I think neither did she, we never met after that however I know the spark is still there. We continued working in the same company for 6 more months and I received a new opportunity for which I had to leave and till date it’s a complete hush.

With this, I do not promote office affairs and I strictly am against them, however as my CEO used to say do not harm any relationship at work as it could be one of the future Mr & Mrs, however it only happens when both are emotionally mature to handle the situation. Affair starts in many ways and for various reasons, always look for the slightest hint of temptation as Nancy Anderson said, hints turn into flirtations, and flirtations turn into attractions, attractions turn into affairs and affairs turn into disasters.

It takes a brave person to give an honest response, but before you start judging me, make sure you ask yourself a question, “Wouldn’t you have done it, if you were in my place?”