"I need to put a down payment on a vehicle sir, but am short on funds," Bina said matter of factly to her boss, "the bank will finance the rest of the purchase, and I will be in your debt if you could loan me one hundred thousand rupees for a little while."
"That is quite a bit of money, you only make about twenty thousand each month, and with your expenses at home, I doubt if you could ever pay it off," her boss, Mr. Agha responded.
"Well, I am spending nearly 7,500 each month on transportation, and if that is saved, I can return at least 5,000 every month to you," she was insistent.
"That means you will pay me back in nearly two years, young lady. That is a very long time, are you sure you can afford the vehicle?" Mr. Agha argued.
"But Sir, my sister is also spending on coming to work and she will be adding to the pot. Also, my promotion is due next month, which will increase my salary by more than 10%," Bina was just not letting the matter drop.
"Okay, I tell you what," Mr. Agha said, worn down by her persistence, "I will loan you the one hundred thousand rupees now, and you will pay me back 8,500 monthly till you are finished in one year."
"Sir, you are great," Bina exclaimed.
"Just a minute miss, there is the matter of interest on the principal to be paid," Mr. Agha added.
"Interest, what interest," she stammered, wondering if the deal was headed into an uncharted direction.
"There is no interest if you pay me back within 12 months," he smiled.
Mr. Agha pulled out his check book, wrote down an amount of rupees 102,000, and handed it over to her. She was puzzled by the figure, when he said, "I am a straight forward person and rupees 8,500 each month for 12 months is rupees 102,000. I am not going to charge you if I am saying I will not."
"However, we will be writing out a contract, that binds you to pay back the amount within the year, or we may be talking about penalty interest on the deal, is that okay with you?" he added.
"Of course, it will be paid back, and before the year is over," she confidently replied, gleefully signing a piece of paper outlining the terms without giving it much of a glance, putting the check into her hand bag and running off to the bank to cash it.
Mr. Agha smiled, he had never seen Bina so happy since she had joined some six months back. He hoped she would be financially astute and handle her debts in time.
Bina had arrived one evening along with a friend, one of Mr. Agha's subordinates, looking for a job. She was in her early twenties, was working on her degree, came from a lower middle class family with cash flow problems, and was cute as a button. Where many in the office viewed Bina as a potential catch, Mr. Agha appeared to see a needy person whose life he could make a positive change in. Though she was a tad short on some of the requirements, he nevertheless hired her, took her under his wing, gave her the best orientation to work, and encouraged her to continue her studies. Within no time she really began to show her potential work wise, socially and yes, in the good looks department. By the time she came by and asked Mr. Agha for the loan, most of the guys in the office had a serious hard on for her. Mr. Agha, on the other hand, still continued to treat her as the baby on the team. However, to say he had not noted the positive change in Bina would be wrong, rather he was keen to hone this even more. He enjoyed having her at his side at events and at the occasional lunch or dinner. However, the relationship was purely platonic as far as could be ascertained.
The car was delivered, a blue sub-compact Suzuki Mehran, and Bina was in seventh heaven. No longer was she dependent on taxis or shared mini-buses to get her to work and back. More importantly, while still the junior most staffer on the team she had succeeded in acquiring both mobility and credibility. Hardly a day went by without her zipping all over Islamabad in her new toy. To her sister and family, the vehicle was a god send as they no longer worried about the safety and reliability of her temporary transportation. To her co-workers it was a sign of her determination and single-mindedness towards getting ahead in life.
But not everything was turning out as planned or intended.
At the end of the first month, she approached Mr. Agha, complaining that the fuel expenses had taken their toll and so, would he please let her pay more the next month. He agreed, but warned her to be careful.
The same transpired a month later, because she had unexpected maintenance costs.
By the third month, she was already down rupees 15,000 against her dues.
By the sixth month, she was over 35,000 in the hole, barely reducing the amount by 15,000 rupees.
She was not too concerned, however, as she was free and happy. The new lifestyle had encouraged her to spend on better clothing, designer shoes and beauty parlour treatments. While she was never an ugly duckling, one year into her job she had transformed herself into a veritable runway model. Mr. Agha never bothered her about the funds, casually deferring the dues every time she asked, and did not appear to notice her much. Yet he did take account of her change, with much of the same appreciation as the rest of the males in the office.
Nine months on, she had paid only rupees 25,000.
The year rolled by and on the due date Bina found her account behind by a whopping 68,000 rupees, fully two-thirds short of the amount owed.
Mr. Agha called her into the office later that day. She was dressed to kill and by now being used to flaunting her obvious charms to get things done, figured the talk would be about extending the loan.
"So Bina, I imagine you have the remaining money for me today," Mr. Agha asked.
"Are you joking sir," Bina said, "I owe nearly 70,000, and really do not have that sort of money around."
"Well, young lady, if you remember, I had said you would be unable to pay on time," he continued.
"Yes, but I did not expect the additional expenses," she retorted, still thinking a game of sorts was on.
"Well, in that case, I have to enforce the terms of our contract," he said, "your vehicle now belongs to me, so do let me have the keys please."
Bina was stunned. She did not recall any such terms and blurted out, "what?"
Mr. Agha handed her the contract, indicating the passage that the car would be turned over if the debt was not paid on time. Her signature was there right below this text.
Bina went pasty white, but Mr. Agha was now potentially in possession of her most prized asset, and in a most legal manner.
Tears welled up in her eyes, her breathing became laborious, and her colour went to a healthy red as the enormity of the situation grabbed her.
For the first time since she had joined, Mr. Agha saw in front of him, not a little schoolgirl, but a real flesh and blood woman, with luscious breasts, a body to die for, a model's face, and all the heat of youth meshed with the confusion of inexperience. While he had enjoyed her physical and emotional growth, his had not been a sexual sort of realization, till this point.
"Stop crying this minute," he ordered and she assented immediately. Now only an odd sniffle escaped her mouth and the tears remained in the eyes rather than descending down her face.
"I cannot let you have the vehicle sir, I have invested a lot in it with payments to the bank, and I could never go back to relying on taxis and buses, please give me some more time," she pleaded.
"Go home right now, take the car," he said. "Tomorrow is Saturday, meet me for lunch at the Marriott and we will decide what to do. Make sure you are there or I will come by and take the vehicle on Sunday."
Mr. Agha was sitting in the steakhouse when Bina arrived at the Marriott. She was dressed as nice as ever, but the load of the debt was clearly weighing her down. It had certainly been a rough night trying to ascertain her options.
"The steak is lovely here, I am sure you will like it," he said offering her the menu.
"Thank you, but I am keen to discuss the car," she replied.
"All in good time, my dear, enjoy the meal and we will certainly consider options as we eat," he responded.
Orders were placed and small talk continued till the food arrived.
As they ate, Mr. Agha said, "did you give any thought to how to repay me for the loan?"
"Agha Sahib, I need my vehicle very badly, and am not sure what I can do to repay you, I am unable to get the funds today," she confessed.
"Finish up and I will tell you about a pay it off program that I have come up with," he replied.