Chapter 6

When I headed into the office the next day, Rashid was nowhere to be seen. Everyone was busy with their respective work on hand. Barkar appeared shortly after 10 a.m. to restock the pantry with a specific brand of coffee that Rashid liked and also to place a box of dates into the fridge. Dates were the only snacks that Rashid ate. After that, Barkar disappeared. Sometimes I wondered what other duties he had aside from doing trivial stuff like this. Approaching lunch time, there was still no sign of Rashid. Shouldn’t he be around when he was the one who wanted me to do stupid stuff? Then again, for someone as successful and rich as Rashid, I was probably just a toy that he played around with, hardly being worth his time to be monitored unless he was free.

Lydia: Okay, I’m done. Ready to go? I’ll go change first. James: Okay, I’ll go change too. We meet at the gym?

My wife and I went to get changed. With Rashid missing, I started to toy with the idea that I might be able to give the whole fiasco a miss. Maybe he would forget about it. Maybe he had something more important to do. Maybe he found something else to keep himself entertained instead of watching me play with my wife’s worn gym clothes. My wishful thoughts were shattered by a message coming in on my phone, a message from Rashid.

Rashid (message): James, I’m out of town today. Is it happening today? The clock is ticking.

I replied to my boss that it was.

Rashid (message): Tell me the details. I want to know.

I reluctantly updated him that I would be heading to the gym with Lydia over lunch. I would make sure she worked out and sweated in her gym wear. From there, her gym wear would go into her clothing bag which she usually kept under her desk. Come end of the day, I would find an excuse for her to leave work before me. And when the office was empty, I would do it.

Rashid (message): Sounds good. I’ll give you a hand. I will assign Lydia something in the afternoon. I am looking forward to your performance.

When I stepped into the lift, I bumped into Maiko, one of our colleagues. Maiko was from Japan and she was one of the youngest employees in the company. At 25, she was just a bundle of high octane energy.

Maiko: James San! Going to gym? I seldom see you exercise.

She spoke while she did a cute gesture with her arms like all cute Japanese girls would do while speaking.

James: Hi Maiko, yeah, trying to lose some weight.

Maiko giggled, adding that there was no need for me to lose any. We made some small talk in the lift as it descended to the gym level and I observed Maiko’s body through the reflection in the lift panels, trying not to appear too obvious that I was ogling her. Maiko was petite and at only 1.55 metres tall, her ‘C’ cup boobs seemed a bit excessive. At times, depending on her clothing, I worried about her keeping her balance. In that lift, I found myself getting envious of the sports bra she was wearing. The padded bra that looked so simple and unassuming was struggling to support those huge knockers of hers. Her exposed midriff showed off her slim tummy, one with a hint of her abs if it caught the light at the right angle. Instead of yoga tights, which were all the rage these days, Maiko chose to wear shorts. A simple pair of high cut cotton shorts with sides that curved up generously to reveal more of her thighs, a cut of shorts that would threaten to expose her firm butt cheeks to anyone standing behind her on an escalator. Given her petite height, choosing shorts of that particular cut would have the effect of making her legs appear longer. It definitely had the desired effect, at least on me, as I found myself getting aroused when I looked at Maiko. While she chatted, she began tying up her hair, showing off her smooth and hairless underarms. In that instance, I was overwhelmed by the urge to just attack her and kiss her on her armpits. My erection got so bad that by the time the lift arrived at the gym level, I had to pretend to adjust my laces after stepping out of the lift.