Author's note:
All the characters engaging in sexual activities are eighteen years or older. References to any artistic works in this submission are made as a tribute to the original works without intending to infringe the owner's copyright. Any other resemblance, which this work of fiction bears to any person/place/event, is purely serendipitous.
This is a slow-burn romance which takes its own sweet time to cook and accordingly is fairly long. However, I fervently hope that you enjoy the duration and the languid pace of this journey, and the journey itself, even though you might know the imminent destination all along.
Ted, here, is a very simple person at heart; so much so that it makes him beautifully complex. I don't think you'll hate him for being like that, but whether or not you like him: I leave that to you. However, I do sincerely hope that you like him and his tale.
Please do let me know your thoughts on this -- really happy to hear from you.
-Ash
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INVISIBLE STRING
[All along there was some invisible string tying you to me.]
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PART ONE
New companies were being pitched. Old ones were further penetrated. Kick-off meetings were relentlessly going on. Risk assessments were being carried out. Internal controls over financial reporting were being perved at. Vouching and verifications of accounts and balances were being offloaded to the new joiners. Analytical procedures were undertaken. Complex spreadsheets were being conceived. Misstatements continued to be traced (and not be traced). Management and the employees of the clients continued to be pestered. Working papers were prepared overnight. Partners in the firm ruthlessly continued to sodomize the audit teams. In audit committee meetings, those charged with governance of the clients continued teaching us new definitions of materiality. Key/Critical audit matters were finalized. Audit reports were being prepared and signed off at impressive speeds. Audit documentation was being completed. Quality reviews and peer reviews were not exactly the proverbial orgies. New companies were being pitched. Old ones were further penetrated. Kick-off meetings were relentlessly going on....
Wait... audit documentation... it can be a pain in the ass. But anal sex is pain in the ass as well, right? Like, literally a pain in the ass. However, it is known to give pleasurable orgasms. If done right, audit documentation, can give intensely pleasurable life-threatening orgasms. And if not done right, can't speak of pleasurable or orgasms, but it can sure be intensely life-threatening.
What the hell am I blathering, right? Sometimes even I don't know -- but in this case, I guess I have a faint idea....
For starters, my incessant blabbers pertain to my profession which is or at least substantially is auditing.
Now what is auditing? Well different technical definitions -- which are beautiful in their own right -- have been given by International Federation of Accountants, other similar bodies and various scholars on the subject. You'll love looking it up online!
But at its very core, the purpose of an audit is to enhance the degree of confidence of intended users in the financial statements. This is achieved by the expression of an opinion by the auditor on those financial statements. That opinion is on whether the financial statements are presented fairly, in all material respects, or give a true and fair view in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.
Still jargon jibber-jabber? Then let's just say audit is something which is mandated by the Law!
But to me, audit is simple because of its complex elements and it is complex because of its simple elements. Its simplicity lies in its complexity and its complexity lies in its simplicity. What do think about what I just said -- Gibberish? Bunkum? Crapola? Synonyms of those words? Well even I'm thinking the same! But as much as I try to ridicule myself for the way I think, I can't deny my bizarre fetish for oxymorons and paradoxes. And those two coupled with my profession give my brain intellectual orgasms....
To continue my initial blabbers: I was working from home, from my firm's office and also from the offices of our clients. The same food was being prepared and eaten. The same set of movies were being repeatedly watched. Erotica and porn were prodigiously consumed given the amount of time earmarked for their consumption. My cock was asking me my hand -- probably a little more than normal. As regards the hungry mind, it was being fed those oxymorons, paradoxes and all kinds of theoretical and practical knowledge pertaining to my profession. The feeling of me getting overwhelmed, underwhelmed and sometimes just the correct amount of whelmed, was nicely and evenly spread out....
Life continues and it did for me as well. At work and at home. Just the regular stuff -- which in my case very well means eccentric stuff. Now, though eccentricity brings solitude and drives away companionship, I was living a nice rhythm; a nice routine....
But....
When routine bites hard and ambitions are low
And resentment rides high, but emotions won't grow
And we're changing our ways, taking different roads
Then love, love will tear us apart again
Love, love will tear us apart again
Mystifying? Let me start from the top.
One of the companies of the top five listed companies in my country had an opening for a statutory auditor. This company was colloquially referred as Z. The incumbent auditors still held office, but the word on the street was that a formal resignation would be tendered very shortly.
To strategize our future course of action, Jake Porter, National Audit Head of my firm had written to the headquarters -- headquarters of my firm is situated on a different continent altogether and was fourteen hours away from my city by air -- addressing our Global Audit Head and looping in our Global CEO, about this opportunity at Z. After a flurry of mails, both to-and-fro, it was finally decided that William Logan, Senior Partner and Danielle Compton, Senior Manager would fly to our city from the headquarters and we'd schedule an initial meeting with Z.
Before that meeting, we had an internal brainstorming session. Bill (William asked us to call him Bill and not Sir), Danielle, Jake, Andrew Cook (My reporting partner and also one of the most prolific auditors I've ever seen) were to drive this session which would have Directors from my office, Senior Managers, Managers and certain Senior Associates as the audience -- with all of us being assembled in a training room. I was one of the senior associates.
After pleasantries being exchanged, Bill formally started the discussions. "One of our competitors who has Z on a tax retainer has already approached Z directly and the others are lining up fast."
Danielle continued, "We have the strongest of credentials. We know where to strike. Post our meeting with Z here, the Global CEO and Global Audit Head will fly down and together with the Practice Leaders from your country, will lead the final pitch. If we succeed in our pitch, we'll have Z on board as our audit client -- Globally. And you all know how prestigious that'll be."
For the next two hours we discussed the talking points -- ideated and strategized our approach. Danielle lead and drove the entire discussion, with minimal inputs from the stalwarts like Bill, Jake and Andrew.
I saw Danielle for the first time that day. But I'd already heard about her. Word on the floor was that she's one of the most technically sound auditors with an unparalled knowledge -- both theoretical and practical -- in accounting, auditing and the related industry issues. In addition to that, she was also behind some of the biggest wins at the headquarters.
