"Yes, di." Sonal nodded.
Kajal went back to the kitchen and Sonal thought about her words. What did she mean by "available"? Sonal was really interested in Vikas and wanted to join his company so she could be available to him, but surely Kajal didn't mean the same thing? Had Kajal guessed that Sonal had the hots for Vikas? Oh god, had she guessed that Sonal was asking her how to seduce her husband? No, no, obviously she had not, otherwise she would have not responded so cooperatively. She had disguised her intentions well by asking about internship when the fact was she would do any job to be close to Vikas.
Sonal had only met Vikas a couple of times through Rhea, but she really liked him. She had noticed that she felt a bit jealous when Rhea talked about Vikas and herself hanging out. But she knew that tonight was about Rhea's project and she will have to wait for her turn.
Chapter 3 -- Shweta's Past
Shweta Tiwari liked leaving the office late because she loved her work but also because she liked avoiding the rush hour that way. This evening, it was even later than she usually left the office and she easily found a seat on the train. As soon as she sat down, she started looking out the window and her daydream started again. She had already spent more than an hour in the office in this before leaving, but her mind went back to the same thoughts immediately once she was relaxed.
Her thoughts were centred around her boss -- Vikas Malhotra. What a good looking, powerful, charismatic man. A smile came to her lips as soon as his image formed in her mind. She closed her eyes and wallowed in the pleasant thoughts about him. Her mind went back to her first meeting with him and she let out a small chuckle.
At that time, Shweta's life was going through a bad phase. Her husband Abhimnayu had been laid off at work, she had a young daughter and Shweta herself was not working. To make matters worse, her husband had not told her this for three months. In that time, he had provided for the family using the severance package that the company had given him. During that period he had gone out every day pretending to go to the office but actually went searching for a job. By the time he had told her, things had gotten worse. They were living on rent, and they could not meet the next month's rent. Shweta had had to sell the meagre jewellery she had to meet the rent and family expenses for two months while he continued to search for a job. But the market was very bad and nobody was hiring public relations officers. It was one of the roles that companies thought was not important in that economy.
Then he had started his own business with an ex-colleague who had also been made redundant at the same time. But if there was less scope for PR officers in the market there was no scope for new, small scale PR firms. He had spent more money into setting up that business and their bank balance had gone very high but with a negative sign in front of it. When things got to the point that they could not pay rent for two months running, they had had to move to a smaller house. Their teenage daughter could not have the space she needed in a one-bedroom flat but Shweta had assured her that it was temporary.
Right from the moment he told her he had been laid off, Shweta had suggested that she could go and find a job to help the family. Abhi had rejected the idea outright. His male ego did not allow him to let his wife work and support the family. He was the man of the house and he must fulfil his role. This had only compounded the problem until they were completely cornered. After they moved into the smaller flat, a day came when they didn't have the money to pay their daughter's school fees. Shweta had put her foot down. Abhi had to agree. There was no place to go. Not only were they not able to meet the family expenses, his office expenses were sinking them deeper into a hole.
Once he agreed, Shweta sat down to think. What could she do? She had given it a lot of thought even during those times when Abhi had been against the idea. She knew she didn't have any secretary skills. Could she become a model? She was extremely good looking but she was on the wrong side of thirty and the mother of a teenage daughter. Building a career as a model at any age takes the kind of commitment and life choices that Shweta was not free to make right now. She would have to sleep around a lot. She wasn't a prude, and would not mind sleeping with a man to further her career but she would be competing with younger girls who would be even more willing than her and probably better at it. Shweta's sexual experience was limited to a few boyfriends in college and then with her husband.
And that she knew was very meagre. Her husband was neither big in his pants nor very skilled. Shweta had succumbed to her parents' pressure and married a guy they selected. She had met him before marriage, but they were simple meetings, most times with some family member around and they had not even kissed before marriage. In the early years of marriage, Shweta had cried a lot when she found that her husband was not only not able to satisfy her, he had no clue about sex. It did not even occur to him that she also had needs which he should be fulfilling. Sex with him was boring and dull. Shweta had even thought about asking for a divorce but she knew that her conservative Hindu family would never let her go through with it. She had finally accepted it as her fate. A few years later, she become pregnant and then she had suppressed her sex drive by focusing her life around her daughter. Or tried to.
No, modelling was not a good option. Even if she could somehow do it, it would take a long time to get any money in. Shweta knew that because she had worked with models and talked to them at length. In college, she was in the photography club and was very good with a camera. She had won several competitions. She had been in great demand by her classmates to take pictures of them and their girlfriends and boyfriends. She had managed to make a good amount of money with that kind of hobby work.
After college, she had worked as an assistant for a local photographer and learnt even more. She had become popular with clients because she was attractive, sociable and equally good with people and cameras. She had begun to make a name for herself in the local community when suddenly she had had to drop it all because her parents wanted her to get married. She had got married and moved to Bombay with her husband. After that the only time she picked up the camera was to take photos of her daughter with her phone camera. Even her smartphone pictures were appreciated a lot by her friends in her Whatsapp and Facebook groups.
But there was no doubt in Shweta's mind that given a chance she could be a photographer, good enough to earn a living for herself and her family. Since her need for cash was immediate, she didn't think about setting up a business, she thought about getting a job. She knew it would not be easy as she did not have a degree or any qualifications for photography. Her graduation had been in business and that would be no good to her here. But she was sure that she could find a job by using her charm.
Without being too narcissistic, Shweta knew that she was hot. Her face was almost a perfect oval with a nice jawline that would remind you of the heart you see on greeting cards. Her eyes were big and beautiful, just the shape an artist draws when he's drawing a beautiful woman. Her mouth was small and sensuous without being too small. It fit perfectly under her perfectly sloped nose. But her lips were the sexiest part of her. She had often noticed people staring at her lips.
Even while she was married, she had not let her figure go. She worked out regularly even when they didn't have money to go to the gym. She had lost her pregnancy weight within three months with careful workout and diet. As soon as her daughter grew up enough to understand language, she had started her on a workout regime that suited her. The result was that Shweta in her mid-30's was a stunning, svelte beauty. She kept her hair just long enough that it would reach the middle of her back and often wore it loose.
In the good old days when they had had money enough to have house parties or go out to other people's parties, Shweta had noticed that her husband's friends always noticed her and stared at her when they didn't know she was looking. If she wanted to have an affair, she could have bedded any of her husband's friends. There had been many offers, some covert, some quite bold. She had been tempted a couple of times given that her own sex life was so frustrating, but she had decided that it was not worth it. She had a home, a family, a daughter to care for and it was not worth to risk it all just to satisfy her constantly hungry pussy. She had never strayed.
Later she had regretted it when she found that her home and security was just an illusion. She had her family, but it was as much of a liability as an asset. It didn't make her change her mind about fucking her husband's friends, but she did start to have second thoughts about always being too faithful and a good wife.
However, when she typed up her résumé, she could see that it was too light on the qualifications and experience side. Still, she put in everything that she could think of and decided that she would have to make up the balance with her looks and charm. She had no doubt that she would have to use her looks as a bargaining chip to get a job and she had no qualms about it. She wondered if she would be expected to sleep with the boss in order to get a job without any experience. Well, she might, if the boss were handsome, she thought. Then she decided to leave it until she came to that bridge.
The reality turned out to be very anti-climactic. Not only did she not get a job, none of the bosses tried to sleep with her either. For three weeks she wandered the business areas of Bombay going farther and farther as her search didn't yield any results. In the third week she went as far as Lower Parel which was almost 2 hours away from her place. The results were not much different. She walked around the area for hours every day with her résumé file but didn't get any job offers. Most employers didn't like her lack of experience, very few considered her college experience as real photography. She found that her looks could get her in everywhere to talk to the bosses, but nobody was willing to take a risky business decision just because she was a nice piece of ass.
In all her walking about, she had passed this big sign many times. "VisCom -- Visual Communications". The glass doors were unlocked, she had seen many people walk in and out, but the marble lobby was as scary to Shweta as an alligator-infested lake. She looked at the building like a hungry man looks at food he can't afford. She knew it was way out of her league. She had been trying her luck and getting rejected at local photographers and small ad agencies. She had even tried at the malls with the photographers who take baby pictures, but with no luck. They just didn't have that big a business to afford an assistant.
Then on Friday of that third week, Shweta hit rock bottom. Three weeks is a big part of the monthly rent cycle and that morning she had received a notice from the landlord. They had missed paying the last month's rent and the notice told her in clear words that if the next First hit without a cheque being deposited with the landlord, on the Second of the month, she and her family will need to find another accommodation.
Her response to that was to put on her red chiffon saree and the skimpiest blouse she had. It was a tight fitting blouse with two noodle straps and no back. She tied the saree low on her hips, baring her navel through the see-through fabric. The sexy backless blouse combined with the transparent saree was a dynamite look which she had only worn in parties so far, each time with great success. Now, she needed this outfit to work its magic for her again. She regretted wearing that saree before the day was over.
On her third pass, in front of the VisCom building, she peered through the glass walls into the black marble lobby again. "What can they do to me?" She thought. She already didn't have a job, she didn't have a husband who could feed her and her daughter, she was almost homeless and she didn't have money for lunch today. The worst they can do to me is say no, then I would be no better off than now, but I have "no" now without trying, then I would have at least tried.
