I had finished my post graduation from Germany and was all set to find myself the perfect job back home in India. I’d completed my Masters in Fashion Communication and after a few months of chilling, I found the job that was almost tailor-made was me. I was the Content Head for the fashion vertical of a startup, and even though the salary wasn’t what I’d hoped for, I was really happy with my role and the people around me. I moved to Mumbai from Delhi (where home was) to pursue my dreams. It felt really great.
For starters, I loved working for the startup because there was so much flexibility and the work atmosphere was so cool. I was reporting to the co-founder of the company, a techie, who was three years older to me.
Since this was a startup and I knew one of the heads in the other team who had referred me for this job, it was obvious that I was aligned to making this startup a big, big company. So with that, came late nights, post work drinks with the team and things that usually happen in a small team of people who’re spending way too much time together! My life was great and I was loving every bit of it.
But this one fine day, my landlord just called me out of nowhere and told me I had to vacate my apartment in 15 days because he had plans to move into that house. I was really taken aback because it had barely been three months since I moved there, and finding a house in Mumbai for me had been as hard as digging for diamonds in a gold mine.
So my first obvious cry for help was to all my colleagues. Like the perfect rescuer, my boss said his next door neighbour is in fact moving out, and the flat next to his will be empty by the end of the month.
I was really happy to know the flat was well within my budget and it just seemed like a blessing at that point of time! That evening, I went and saw the house and paid the advance rent as well. And to celebrate, we went to his place with some beer and popcorn and watched a web series. I was tipsy, it was quite late and he asked me to stay over. Knowing fully well that this wasn’t the right thing to do, I said yes. I slept off on the bed and he dozed off beside me. But just when I opened my eyes in the morning, I saw him looking into my eyes, giving me this intense look.
He brushed aside the hair falling on my face and kissed me. It made no sense, but a sense of closeness was unravelling between us. Minutes into the kissing, we began to have sex. I don’t know what made us do it, whether it was pure lust or if there were feelings involved. But right at that moment, it all felt fulfilling.
We went about our day in office, and it was pleasantly comfortable. Nothing seemed to have changed, and we could keep our attitudes just the way they had always been. Once I moved next to his place, we spent a lot more time together and I think we both genuinely loved each other’s company. Before it became complicated, this one night I told him how I felt about him, and he responded saying that he thought I didn’t want to commit. It wasn’t romantic but sometimes, we just need to express ourselves. The silence just puts too many question marks and it’s important to have answers to such questions before things get messy. The questions in my head were, ‘How’s it going to be at work? Are we going to keep it a secret? Will this affect our work ethics? Will I have to quit the job?’ and many more.
He took the time and answered all of them. We decided to keep it a secret, barring one of his friends, whom he couldn’t keep a secret from, who was also the co-founder of the company. While I don’t know if my colleagues have figured it out yet, I just want to say that it has nothing to do with him being my boss. We’re together because of the kind of people we are, and because we get along together.
A lot of you might judge me, but what do you do if you love your job and someone from the same office just as much?
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