Her Mr. Right

The Metro Ride 🚇

Next station is Kashmiri Gate Metro Station. Please mind the gap. The doors will open on the left.

Neha had a hopeful glint in her eyes as she huffed and bit her lower lip while her pitch black eyes decided to search for an empty seat. The crowded metro train of Delhi was supposed to get a bit vacant at the coming station and if she were lucky, she could get a seat.

It was nine in the morning and Neha was going to the Federal Bank of India, the place which had added joy to her life. Neha Gupta, a twenty-nine year old young lady who worked in the Forex Department of the leading public bank of the country was a perfect epitome of modern, independent woman who had strived hard to reach at the position of an Assistant Manager fighting with all the odds of her life.

The shrill pitch of announcement had brought hope for her but much to her horror, not many passengers de-boarded the train instead, another lot of passengers rushed in. As the crowd rushed inside while the metro stopped at Platform Number three, Neha huffed in irritation but she was elated to see an old lady getting up from one seat at the other corner. Neha’s feet picked up speed as she rushed towards the empty seat but before she could grab it, a prim and proper gentleman jumped out of nowhere and sat there. Neha glared at him in annoyance as she hugged her laptop backpack and leant on steel grey pillar for support.

“Stupid! Why did he had to sit here?”, she wondered as her brain mentally hurled all the curses to the prim and proper gentleman right now.

She pouted towards the prim and proper gentleman and pleaded with her eyes to give her the seat because her self-respect did not allow her to ask him to leave his seat for her like the other women but much to her annoyance, the gentleman decided to play ignorant. Only she knew how much she wished for the well-dressed man to act like a chivalrous gentleman.

On usual days, Neha had not been bothered of getting a seat during the peak hours. She was used to traveling in the metro while standing beside a pillar or at times, getting crushed between the tired human bodies who stunk of sweat in the evenings but today, it was different. She just had five stations to go but her legs were giving up and her back was stiff while a sharp pain that was shooting in her abdomen. It was one of those days of month when she was a leaky mess with heavy flows, terrible cramps and what not.

Only she knew, how much she craved to sit right now but her place was grabbed by an idiot who was smiling at her. That idiot man smiled victoriously after grabbing a seat but his smile dropped when he realized that a tired woman standing before him was glaring at him because he had not left the seat. In normal circumstances, he would have stood up out of chivalry and let the woman sit but today, it was anything but normal.

He took a minute to notice her. Clad in a pink cotton saree, she was dressed in Indian formals. Her hair were tied up in a tight bun and some rogue strands were embellishing her broad forehead. He was impressed with her tall height of about five feet and seven inches without heals because he had not met many tall girls in thirty-seven years of his life.

“Why is she tired?”, his heart asked him while his brain mocked, “Get up if you are so concerned, idiot".

It was then he realized he was tired and he leant his head backwards. He was coming straight from Mumbai and he was supposed to report at work. He had traveled the whole night from Mumbai to Delhi and he was ready for work early in the morning. He had not slept a wink last night but he was fine with joining the Delhi branch today because he was taught, ‘duty comes first'. He closed his eyes but told himself, “Don’t sleep, man!”.

Neha pressed her abdomen as sweat beads formed on her forehead despite being in an air-conditioned ambience when someone pushed her in the crowd. She would have given the teenager a piece of mind who pushed her when metro stopped at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station but she gripped the pillar and balanced herself while the crowd rushed in and out.

She was waiting for the metro to stop at Patel Chowk, so she could move out and grab a bench to sit before heading towards the office. She was supposed to have a busy day at work because the old manager, Mr. V.K Sinha was retiring today and new manager was coming over. “I wish I had two more years of experience, I would have been promoted as a Manager", she mumbled to herself as she heard the announcement in shrill pitch, “Patel Chowk Metro Station”.

Her pitch black orbs shone with glee as she rushed out and grabbed the nearest bench. Keeping her laptop backpack in her lap, she bent her head down putting pressure on her already paining abdomen. In normal days, she would have gulped a pill because her cramps were unbearable but today, she had got up late and was not able to have her breakfast because she had to dress herself in formals. Only she knew how much she despised wearing a sari that too, during her periods.

Unknown to her, along with the crowd came out the same prim and proper man who had snatched her seat. While walking out, his eyes got stuck at her braced self and he felt guilty. He wanted to ask her, “Are you okay?”, but on the second thought, he realized that his concerns could be misunderstood and she could label him as a pervert or stalker, maybe.

Keeping aside his thoughts, he moved towards the elevator which was crowded with humans. He had no time to wait. He took the stairs and got down quickly. Swiping the metro card he had bought in the morning, he walked out of the station. Waiting for the auto rickshaw outside the metro station, he missed his car. However, good thing was that a team of movers and packers were bringing his car along with his household necessities by tomorrow.

Within five minutes of boarding the auto rickshaw, he was standing in front of the vibrant premises of the main branch of Federal Bank of India. The beautiful campus was sprawling in vast area with immense greenery. The security personnel frisked him while he walked inside the huge iron gates of his workplace. On both of his sides were potted plants with colourful flowers. He saw an empty stone bench and his thoughts got drifted to the tired girl from the metro.

“Why was she so tired early in the morning?” The question loomed in his head once again and remembering her sitting in the braced position at the metro station, he realized she was perhaps not well. Guilt began creeping in as he realized he should have got up.

“She just looked like a model with a slim figure and tall height", he thought and a small smile played on his lips as he walked past the bench. He saw a shining statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the vibrant lawns of the premises while he walked inside the humongous, air-conditioned building. The security personnel who was escorting him introduced him to a old sixty-two year old manager Mr. V.K Sinha who welcomed him with a broad smile.

On the other hand, Neha entered her workplace and she was refreshed to see the large logo of Federal Bank of India. She was the part of this organization since last eight years but she basked in success each day whenever she walked with her head held high and the staff greeted her. She had worked in Mumbai branch and Chennai branch of Federal Bank of India but the premises of Delhi branch were her favorite.

Her cramps were bearable while she rushed inside her cabin giving a curt nod to the Junior Managers and Clerical Staff who greeted her. The Senior Manager, Mr. V.K Sinha was going to be relieved from the services today and being an Assistant Manager, she had the responsibility to organize the farewell for Mr. V.K Sinha who was an amazing asset to the organization. Apart from this, she was also supposed give the detailed report of the tasks in hand to the new manager.

Instructing one of the junior managers, Prateek to go and check on the itineraries of the retirement function, she rushed into her cabin and gobbled a sandwich she had packed for herself. She gulped down the painkiller when the peon informed her, “Madam, Sinha sir is calling you. The new manager has arrived.”

She nodded and rushed to the Manager’s office and her eyes got glued at the prim and proper gentleman who was talking with Mr. Sinha. It did not take her a minute to realize that the well-dressed man who was anything but a gentleman, was also the new manager.

As if her thoughts needed validation, Mr. Sinha made the introductions. “Ms. Neha, meet the new manager, Mr. Arjun Verma and Mr. Verma, meet one of the most diligent employees of this branch, our Assistant Manager, Ms. Neha Gupta”.

She nodded and greeted the new manager, the prim and proper gentleman dressed in a crisp white shirt and black formal pants along with a brownish-black tie. Her heart swelled with pride when her senior colleague praised her. He was impressed as Mr. Sinha praised the stunning woman standing before him but her gloomy face did not sit well with him.

“Ms. Neha, please brief your new manager about the annual reports and quarterly reports while I spend my last day here in the campus", instructed Mr. Sinha as he moved out. For a person who had given forty years of his life to the organization, Federal Bank of India was just like a second home. Parting with his home was indeed, painful for Mr. Sinha.

“Sure, sir”, Neha answered as she walked over the shelf and took the black files that had the audit reports when Arjun finally mustered courage and asked, “Are you fine, miss?”

“Yes, sir", she mumbled as she remembered cursing him for snatching her seat in the metro ride. Ofcourse, she could not tell him that she was having a painful cramp but a small smile played on her lips as she realized he was observant and empathetic atleast to his colleagues.

He wanted to ask her if everything was actually fine, but he realized it was not his place to question her on the first day of his work. He did not want her to grow uncomfortable around him considering him a pervert so he returned the small smile and murmured, “Don’t brief me about the reports. I will prefer studying them myself and in case of any discrepancies, I will call you”.

She nodded and gave the files while she walked out. She had to check on the preparation for the function and also get back to prepare the report about the yearly forex trends which were supposed to be discussed at the ministerial level meeting in the coming week.

•••••••••••••••♥️•••••••••••••••

Hi everyone

So, this is the first chapter of this book.💫

I am really anxious at this start so please share your views.🙏🏻

Well, we can conclude two things,
1. This is not usually office romance. It has two mature individuals with an age gap of eight years.☺
2. I need to tell you more about Neha 😜

P.S I would like to thank one of my friends, SandhyaKeluskar for the beautiful character aesthetics, she prepared for Neha and Arjun along with Bruno.

I am in love with Bruno the most 😍

We shall meet Bruno in 3rd chapter.

Take care 💛

With immense love, I sign off only to be back soon💜