The Window

35 Days Before...

Manik Malhotra. That's his name. The new owner of the flat right in front of mine. It was also the name that I'd just typed into the search bar of my Facebook profile.

It turned out that there were a number of guys with the same name as him, but he didn't seem to have an account.

Strange...

Well, ever since he had moved in five days ago, he was all the bored housewives of the rich businessmen in the locality ever talked about.

I remembered going for an early morning walk two days ago, only to come across a trio of middle-aged women gossiping about him.

"Oh my God! Have you heard? The Fultons have finally sold their flat! " One of them remarked excitedly.

"Of course, Cynthia! I'm not daft! I'm just a floor above that apartment, you know!" The second one with wrinkly skin said.

"I came across the new owner in the elevator, when I was just going to visit the pharmacy around the corner. Gemma, Isn't he just delicious?!" The one whom I now knew to be named Cynthia exclaimed.

"Of course! He came over to my apartment, you know, when Dave was at work. Well, it was only because he was having some trouble with his dishwasher. His brief visit was definitely the highlight of my dull morning! I kept him in the house for as long as I could under the guise of showing him all the controls of the dishwasher, but he left within minutes. I swear, Cynthia...I had such sinful thoughts when he came over...but I got nothing out of him except his name." The one who I'd inferred to be Gemma, said in a disappointed voice.

"Really? His name! Do tell!" The third woman, joined in.

"Relax, Lucy! He's not your Tinder match! His name is Manik Mal-hotra! Oh gosh, it's impossible to pronounce!" Gemma said in the typical New York drawl.

My suspicions were confirmed then...he was an Indian! However, his name seemed unusual...

I took a mental note of his name, and persevered to walk at a snail's pace so that I could continue to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Ooh! That sounds exotic!" Cynthia said, excitedly.

"What do you think he does? I mean, he'd have to be loaded in order to buy the Fulton residence!" Lucy chipped in.

I cocked my ears in order to listen to the answer to this question. I'd been wondering exactly the same thing since he'd moved in...I'd seen him come back late at night, in the last few days, but it didn't seem like he had a corporate job. Who'd wear ripped jeans to an office, anyway?

"Um...I don't know...at first, I thought he was a hedge fund guy from Wall Street, you know...that seemed like the only possible profession that could earn a bachelor enough to buy a home here...but I doubt it. He just doesn't give off that vibe!" Gemma answered in a sketchy manner.

"You know what I think? I think that he's probably one of those high profile gigolos! I mean-have you looked at him? I'd totally ride that boy like a horse!" Cynthia squealed, excitedly.

I rolled my eyes at her statement, and continued to plod along the cobbled street. Typical bored housewife fantasies...

"Well, darling, I hope he is! I'm in desperate need of a good fuck! Dave finishes so early in bed, that half the time I'm not even sure if he actually penetrated me at all!" Gemma said, laughing.

And that was when I decided it was time for me to pick up the pace and leave them to gossip about how their husbands would never satisfy them sexually...

And today...well, I was on a ten minute coffee break, so I thought-why not try to find him on social media? Maybe, that would end the mystery about his job?