“Doing it in my way”
Eleanor marched into her office, which
resembled more looked like a constrained space. Her wall was dotted with a
canvas painting of a young lady. It was a modern painting that incorporated
paint smudging technique to portray different textures. The purple wings
emerged from the shoulder blades of the lady on the painting. Eleanor was so
obsessed with the painting that, every day, when she walks into her office, she
tries to gaze at it. Looking for the nuances in the painting, as if digesting
every single bit of it. The knock on her door startled her. It was Ruth, her
fellow colleague who was in her late forties. She was one of the admin staff
who floated around different casual jobs in the university.
“Hello sweetie!” Ruth pecked Eleanor,
leaving a slight trail of the dark pink lipstick.
“Hey love! How have you been?” smiled
Eleanor.
“I’m good dear. You look pretty today”.
Eleanor dismissed her comment, but Ruth
was one of the few persons she always confided in. More like a sister with
occasional tantrums and a shoulder to cry upon.
“Ruth, you know me better, don’t you?”
“Yes, I suppose so. What’s bothering you,
sweetie?”
Eleanor went back towards the painting,
trying to admire the work. But her mind was occupied in something else. She
smiled to say, “Nothing Ruth. It’s just the Monday blue”.
Sensing Eleanor’s turmoil like a mother,
she embraced her. Eleanor was safely tugged in Ruth’s arms, feeling the warmth.
“It’s high time that you need to start thinking about a family and maybe...”
“Ruth! Don’t talk like one of my
lover-boys. Relationships and marriage aren’t my thing” said Eleanor and freed
herself from the embrace.
“But, something important is missing in
your life. I’m no expert at this relationship thing, but I know one thing for
sure. When I go home, I have a wonderful husband to pamper and hear my silly
chat”.
“Relationships doesn’t bring happiness in
one’s life. I don’t want to be in this so called relationship package. Right
now, I’m independent. The sense of freedom to try new adventures. With wings,
just like the girl on the painting” Eleanor lifted her arms in trying to
impersonate the painting.
Ruth smiled sarcastically, “This isn’t
fantasy, my kid”
“Maybe you are right, I’m just another
independent woman, who is trying to push her luck”
“You are a stubborn bitch” smirked Ruth.
“Yeah! A bitch who likes to do things in
her own way”
“Never go unnoticed”
Ryan couldn’t feel his legs. They were
numb. He didn’t move an inch from his chair. Edwin’s office reception looked
eloquent with all the modern furniture. The company logo was printed on the
wall. The grey letters in plastic reflected richness. A smart looking woman at
front desk smiled occasionally at Ryan. He rubbed his arms anxiously, thinking
about Edwin’s decision. Two days back, he rang Edwin to give his consent for
modelling. On the other end, Edwin looked pleased on his decision. ‘Wonderful
mate! I need to get my superior’s approval on this. Come to my office tomorrow,
we can finalize things’
He had been sitting there for a good
thirty minutes, except for the numerous glances from people walking across the
reception. The tense situation made his tummy feel funny. He wanted to use the
restroom, but he feared he might lose the appointment. He rose from the chair
and stretched his legs. A warm up would be better, but certainly not in this
outfit. The crisp white shirt and blue trousers made him look like a model.
Edwin walked into the reception in his thousand-dollar
suite. His expensive perfume filled the room.
“Welcome Ryan! How’s day been?”
“Pretty good. How about you?” asked Ryan.
“Not bad. A few meeting with our clients. I’ve
some good news for you, my boss is happy with your photos. Looks like you are
in, mate” smiled Edwin revealing his perfect white teeth.
Ryan wanted to jump in joy. He was all
smiles and wanted to hug Edwin for making this happen. “Thanks Edwin. I’m so
grateful to you. This means a lot to me”
Edwin waved his hand, “You deserved it.
Before that, my boss needs to have few words with you. You can even sign the
contract forms today. How does that sound?”
“Not a problem. When shall I meet?”
“I’ll check that for you now” Edwin walked
to the receptionist and made a call.
Ryan couldn’t believe that finally
something wonderful is about to be staged in his life. A profession like
modelling would be a dream for most people. With so many potential aspirants
towards this career, he was randomly chosen. He thought, maybe, it was an act
of the God, to reward for all his good deeds. As Susan always says, ‘Sweetie,
all your hard work will never go unnoticed’. He smiled in happiness and his
phone vibrated to give him an email alert.
The sight of the email subject sent a
shudder of fear in him. It read ‘Assessment outcome’. Having subscribed to the
assessment results, deadly things got delivered without any delays. His fingers
clicked the open tab to reveal a surprise blow.
He wasn’t sure, if he was reading it right
and had to double check the email. For a moment, he felt like shouting in joy.
Indeed, he jumped to yell out,
“Hooray! I passed my assessment” Ryan was
dancing in the corridor, while the receptionist laughed at his funny gestures.
“Like an empress”
Miracles do occur and for the first time,
they were orchestrated in Ryan’s life. With such a poor performance in the
assessment, he believed that something out of ordinary should have happened.
Perhaps, they call this as the purple patch of his life.
Edwin gave him a puzzled look, “No time
for celebration young man. You need to meet our boss before the paperwork”. He
pointed a door at the end of the corridor.
Ryan pushed the door open, to reveal a
tidy room that barely looked like an office. An expensive canvas portrait of an
Indian welcomed him. The lines on his face looked so surreal. A part of him
wanted to feel the texture of the feathers in the portrait. His fingers slowly
caressed the golden shades,
“Go easy on them. They cost a fortune”
said a feminine voice. A voice he has known for a while. Eleanor stood behind
him, watching him like an empress. With her hands folded back, she led him
forward. Ryan sat on the chair, while Eleanor leaned against her long table.
“Surprised Ryan?”
“Looks like I can’t take any more
surprises for the day. Hope I don’t have a heart attack. Don’t tell me you own
this place?”
“Of course, I own this place, Ryan. By the
way, congratulations on your result. You must be more than happy, don’t you?”
Eleanor made a smile that planted numerous deceptions in him. She pushed
forward the documents towards him.
“Yeah. With the modelling contract and the
results, I just can’t express my happiness. Thanks Eleanor”.
Eleanor moved closer to him, “I appreciate
your honesty, but you must understand the fact that I had to go, out my way to
get you through the assignment. Trust me Ryan, your assessment was nowhere near
to a pass. So, its time for you to return the favour”.
Her words pushed him in to a realm of perplexity.
“Favour from me! Are you kidding, I’m a struggling uni student” Ryan smiled
nervously.
“I know about that. That’s the reason, you
were offered this modelling contract. To keep you away from your financial
crisis. Meanwhile, you need to do something for me” Eleanor came close to him,
with her lips were brushing his cheek.
Ryan had his eyes wide-opened, when he
realised what she was up to. Like a magician revealing the final part of the
act, he realised her prowess in deceiving him into this trap. The initial part
of luring him into a modelling career in a company, totally owned by her. Edwin
was just a pawn in this process and he had nothing to do with letter E. It was
Eleanor Everett, the two E’s of the company. Finally, a pass in the assessment
was the carrot she made to dangle in front of him. Felt like swearing on top of
his voice, damn.
“This isn’t fair. You are trying to
exploit and take advantage of me. That’s bigotry” Ryan’s words began to rumble
with nerves catching him.
Eleanor laughed and walked around the
table, “Bigotry! Let’s not make it dramatic and personal. I appreciate that you
have a girlfriend and you love her. All, I want you to do is be my escort, who
can meet my desires. I’m sure you don’t have much choices left, Ryan”
“Are you threatening me? I can’t succumb
to your filthy ideas. No one can stop me from walking out of this office” even
though Ryan felt weak, he tried to
gather his courage and raised from the chair.
With no sign of capriciousness, Eleanor
moved behind him to grip his shoulders, “Don’t be an idiot. If you walk out
now, you are literally throwing away a modelling career, in terms of modelling
and your degree. Now, that sounds like a threatening. Not many get the role of
being a private escort. If you can satisfy my needs, I can refer you to my
close circle of friends. Of course, you get paid for every hour. Roughly, $200
per hour. Just think about the money, you are going to make in this”
Each word of her was poised slowly with
utmost accuracy to pierce in to his brain. There was hard knot in his throat
that kept shifting its position up and down. He wiped the single drop of sweat
that broke from his forehead. Eleanor lifted his chin,
“You are stressing too much, dear. There’s
no place for morale values at the moment. Do you remember the last lecture
about cicadas, insects and natural selection? They plan their uprising based on
prime numbers. If you are to survive in this world, you need to think and act
smart”.
Like an ostrich, he wanted to push himself
away from Eleanor. Away from the long list of problems. Away from university
degree. Away from this world. For one last time in the day, his phone came
alive with a message from Susan.
“Every
saint has a past”
A week later, Ryan was lying in the bed
with Susan on top of him. She was trying to draw an imaginary figure on his
chest. She was a fountain of beauty with perfect breasts and an olive skin
tone. His fingers caressed her body, running through the curves. She giggled,
feeling his familiar touch of warmth and fondness.
“You are so cute, my honey bear” She bent
down to whisper in his lips.
“Don’t distract me, I was admiring your
tits”
“You cheeky bastard!” Susan kissed hard on
his mouth. Her fingers brushed his curls that always covered his forehead. She
was looking at his face, like a happy child.
“What’s up, dear?”
“Promise me something, Ryan”
He pushed the tongue against his cheek and
eyed her carefully, “Tonight, you can stay on top, I promise you that position”
“Stop that! This is something else”
He slid his fingers behind her back. Susan’s
head rested on his chest, trying to hear his heartbeat,
“You are a wonderful person, but often you
consider yourself low. I want you to get rid of those thoughts. Not, everyone
can care a girl like you do. The way you are holding me now on your chest, just
like my dad. My dad’s loss left a void in me, sucking away all my emotions. For
the first time, I’m feeling that someone is here to fill the void. Promise me
that you would stay with me forever”
Her words brought him a sharp pain of
guilt that ran deep into every corner of his body. A part of his body wanted to
move away from her, while the other felt sorry for her. His last meeting with
Eleanor flashed across his mind like a lightning. Her sinister offer and how he
had to kept it away from Susan, fearing that he might lose Susan. ‘there’s no place for morale values in this
world’
He felt like his brain and mind were
competing in a marathon that had no finish line. The race looked ugly and dark.
‘survive in this world… think and act
smart’
Susan gave him a vehement shake to bring
back him from his hallucinations, “You, alright? What’s wrong with you? Of late
you are lost in your thoughts, honey”.
“Nothing dear. I totally forgot about the
shift today, looks like Robert can’t make it to the shift. I promised him that
I would cover his back. I’m already late, damn!” He quickly rose from his bed
and began to dress.
“What time will you be back?” asked Susan
and slipped under the sheets.
“When you wake up tomorrow, I would be
beside you wishing good morning. Sleep tight dear”
Susan smiled and blew him a kiss. He
jumped in his trousers, grabbing his keys and walked out of the room. The night
turned out be even colder than what he had expected. It was going to be long
night, with the heavy wind that was blowing across the narrow streets.
He lifted the collar of his jacket to keep
himself warm. He made rapid strides to turn down down the alley. The narrow
passage was decorated with spray paintings on its sides. With a stinking garbage
bin that was half open, a homeless guy was next to it, sleeping like a foetus.
The wind was getting stronger with the growing noise in the alley, like a
ghost. Someone was flashing the headlights of a car down the alley. He approached
closer to the car, it a SUV, BMW X7.
Edwin sat behind the steer wheel like a chauffer. Ryan got inside the
car to meet Eleanor in her cream top and a black skirt.
“All good?” asked Eleanor
“Yep” Ryan smiled nervously.
“Beautiful. Let’s get this rolling. Here
are the contract papers, have a read through and sign it”
He glanced the papers, merely skimmed
through. Too many clauses and statements, which really didn’t make much sense
to him. He briefly looked at both of them and began to sign the papers. He
never realised that this was his defining moment; the moment that is going to
make a deep impact in his life.
Eleanor looked at the papers triumphantly,
“Welcome to the world of modelling and escort business”
Somewhere deep within himself, his
altar-ego smiled, wondering how people lied and betrayed to earn materialistic
things. ‘Every saint has a past’
-Balaji
Narayanaswamy
2nd
October, 2015
