I was newly married and had to shift my city to where my husband was. My husband was a strict man. It was an arranged marriage. My parents were so liberal compared to him. He was everything you feared how you don’t want him to be.
He did not like me talking to other men and did not like me wearing fashionable clothes or makeup. His one look was enough to scare me. He was from a very reputable family. He was rich but had a traditional outlook on life. He had respect for women.
But all I can do should be within acceptable boundaries. I felt like I was in a cage. I had done Computer Engineering and was not employed. After a lot of courage, I requested my mother to speak to his family to allow me to work. They were reluctant. But they did not reject my request either.
After I moved in with my in-laws, I was somehow able to get a good name. I did not dare to do anything for them to complain. Finally, my request was put in front of my Father-in-law, who was the final person on the approval list. He gave a slight nod. Life came inside my body.
I did not act happy. I quickly filled all applications but it wasn’t easy to find work. Finally, I got a call from a startup. I was surprised to find that only 7 people were working there. The top managers were in the US. I did not bother. I accepted the offer even though they paid me 2.15 LPA.
It was not about the money. It was freedom. All the seven employees were men. I was the only girl. The HR and Finance team sat and worked from home. Only the development team had to come to the office. We had hired a floor in a building, and it was cramped.
The 7 men were usually busy. Some used to sleep in the office due to work pressure. From the look of it, none of them were paid a good salary. I was happy that I escaped from my Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law during the day. I tried to learn the job from them, but I was into testing.
I was good at automation, and I was able to do my work without many mistakes. I was able to blend in without causing much trouble. I was conscious that I was the only girl in the company. Sometimes, I have seen the men steal glances at me. But they quickly looked away.
Somehow, they were also too shy to approach me. I always smiled at everyone and talked whenever there was work. But I never flirted or stood for small talk with everyone. I always used to come dressed in a traditional long kurta. My in-laws would get heart attacks if I wore jeans.
The month I joined was my birthday. I woke up early and went to the temple with my husband. I made kheer for the family and decided to wear a saree to the office. Since there was unavoidable work, I had to be in the office. I brought some ‘kaju katli’ for the guys in my team.
The men were staring at me when I entered as I was wearing a saree for the first time. I was surprised that my cubicle was decorated with some balloons and other items. There was cake kept on my desk. It seems the HR had already informed the others and they planned this before I came.
I felt so happy as they sang the birthday song. It reminded me of my college days. I became emotional as I missed those days. My eyes were wet. To my surprise the guys looked worried as they thought they did something wrong. I told them that I was happy and the tears were out of joy.
I cut the cake into small pieces, and by instinct, my hand went to feed the cake to the person near me. He was surprised but took a bite. I was so embarrassed. I thought I crossed the line. Since I fed one guy, I then took another piece and fed the other guy then the other guy.
They were shocked as I had never been this approachable before. Suddenly, the guys were relaxed was joking around. One guy was distributing Sprite, and he was trying to give me the plastic glass. I did not see it, and when I turned around, my hand hit the cup, and the entire drink fell on my saree.
The cotton was soaked in the Sprite, but it did not leave the stain. My entire saree was wet. I could see he was tensed as he apologized many times. I told him it was ok. I went to the washbasin and started pouring water on the saree and in no time, my saree was fully wet.
One guy told me that he had some spare clothes T-shirt and shorts, as he usually sleeps here, which were washed. The other guys gave him a sharp stare. But it was actually a good idea. I couldn’t sit in the sticky saree till 5 pm. I told him that I would use it for today.
He opened his desk and took out an XXL size t-shirt and an XL shorts. I looked at him. He was a very fat and short man. I was 5 feet 7. He was just 5 feet 2 inches. He looked at me and told me that he swears it was a washed one. I smiled and thanked him.
I went to the washroom and removed my saree, blouse, bra and petticoat. I took the T-shirt and wore it. It was very loose around my neck. I wore the shorts and it was so loosely hung on my waist. The shirt was short and hardly reached till my shorts.
I looked into the mirror and suddenly felt butterflies in my tummy. I was looking very sexy in the clothes. Most of my thighs were exposed. I was not wearing a bra. I hung the saree to dry in the washroom. I slowly came out of the washroom.
My heart was beating hard as I was not sure if this was a professional thing I was doing. There was silence as men took the first glance at me. I became nervous. I asked if it was decent or if I should go home and change and come. The guys quickly told me not to worry and to be comfortable.
They thanked the fat guy for this brilliant idea of his. I was very self-conscious as I went to my desk. The guys tried not to stare to give me privacy. As I started my laptop, I saw that they were still stealing glances at me. Instead of feeling guilty, I was enjoying the sudden attention.
Till now, they were all keeping a distance from me. Today, all of a sudden, there was an interest towards me. I was conscious not to do anything to reveal any skin. I was suddenly seeing that men were hovering around me. It was 11 am, and I decided to take a coffee break.
I stood up, and I was suddenly aware of all the eyes looking at me. I smiled not to sound creeped out and told them that I was going for a coffee. Anyone interested? To my surprise, all 7 of them decided to come with me. One guy said that since it was my birthday, they would not reject any of my requests.
I blushed. The fat guy asked me if I was comfortable. I told him that he saved me today. The coffee machine was inside, but generally, the seating was on the outdoor balcony. Since we were on the higher floor, there was a strong wind out there. I took my machine coffee and waited for everyone to get theirs.
We all stepped out to the outdoor balcony. As I had feared, the wind was hitting against me. The t-shirt was hugging on to my body and showing the shapes of my breasts to everyone. I tried to ignore the thought in my head that was telling me that it was indecent.
I saw that the men already noticed it. I tried to hold my coffee glass so that my hands covered my breasts. I felt relieved. But that was too quick. There was another problem. The wind was also trying to lift my T-shirt as it was not tucked in. My shorts were very loose, clinging to my waist by God’s grace.
It was hanging low on my hips. I usually wear a girl’s size S. This was making an ant wear elephant pants. I was not finding the solution to the problem. The wind was lifting the t-shirt, exposing some skin on my midriff. The lead of the team was asking me about the testing progress.
I was obliged to answer him. I turned and faced away from the team and stood near the side of the rails on the balcony so that only my back was facing everyone. As expected, the wind now was lifting my t-shirt all the way up. I was aware that the top was exposing a lot of my backside skin to everyone.
I acted like I was not aware of this and continued talking. My t-shirt was so far up that my entire navel would have been exposed if I had stood facing the men. I causally pulled down my t-shirt and held it so that it was not lifted. I turned around.
I stood with both my hands crossed on my stomach so that the t-shirt wouldn’t rise. I left half drank coffee on the table. I was able to talk more comfortably now. But I was sure everyone had seen my bare back already. That gave me a tingling feeling in my stomach.
I went back to my seat and started working again. I was busy working till 1 pm when they called me for lunch. I had packed my lunch. I generally sat on my seat and ate. But today, they insisted that I join them outside on the balcony again. I was hesitant as I did not want to risk exposing myself again.
But I was left with no choice. I decided to check the status of my saree and bra and found it was still wet. Seeing no other option, I pulled up my shorts and came out. The guys looked happy. Such simple are men. Happy to see some exposed skin on a woman, and their entire day is rated 11 out of 10.
None of them dared to cross any line. They were praying to God to give them a chance to see me in a vulnerable state. I couldn’t blame them. I was tall and slender. I maintained a perfect body. I followed them to the outdoor seating. I held my t-shirt from rising as I sat on the chair.
It was very noticeable as I struggled to handle the lunch box and my clothes. One guy surprisingly asked me if I was comfortable. That was a trick question. I replied I was without thinking. Now, I had to act comfortable. I sat now erect in between two men as they would shield me from the wind from either side.
The wind, however, was hitting me with full force on my backside. I ignored its implications. I went ahead and started chatting with everyone. I shared my food and also took it from others. The guys were cracking jokes. I let go of my inhibitions and started relaxing.
During lunch, I realized that my t-shirt was raised on my backside. I saw that one guy was giving sideways glances at my exposed skin. I was not feeling angry. I was feeling an unknown excitement inside. I acted unaware of my situation.
The fact that I wore no bra gave me tingles all over. I was still ensuring that my stomach was not exposed. Something in me made me let go of the inhibitions in me. I decided to take a chance.
Next Part: Jingbang with office colleagues – Part 2