Story 9: XY Woman
Story for this month. Prompt: Delete Word count: 1250 words “I’m here… to …see… Ms. Verma,” the deep voice stuttered. Rakesh looked up from his computer screen. “May I have your name, please?” “Puja.” Rakesh did a doubletake. From the voice, the muscles, the baggy pants and loose-fitting T-shirt, he’d assumed the visitor to be male. The name clearly indicated it was a woman. She pretended not to notice his reaction and stared stoically ahead at nothing in particular. Calm before the storm , thought Rakesh, for no particular reason. Gathering his wits, Rakesh took Puja into Ms. Leela Verma’s office, did the introductions, and fled, eager to get back to that article he’d been reading online about his favourite cricketer. A few hours later, it was time to go home, but the visitor hadn’t left. Rakesh sighed, cleared up his desk, and took a few moments to delete his browsing history. No point in letting Ms. Verma realize how he’d been spending part of the afternoon.