"Are you wearing the nice lingerie I got for you?" I was hoping she would reply in the affirmative.
"Would you want me to?" was the almost expected reply.
"Isn't that why I brought it all the way for you?"
"I could not resist putting it on," she confessed, "it is so sexy and something I would never get in this place."
"Can I see you in it?" I questioned her, hoping of course to then see her out of it.
"Only if you can somehow show up at my door in the next few moments," she gave a nice laugh as she reminded me of the obvious insurmountable fact over the phone.
II
It had been years since I had been in Egypt, the land of the Sun, the country with a 7,000 year history and the cradle of the Nile. Flying from the Arabian Gulf to Cairo had always seemed to be more trouble, and this had truly been the case as Egyptians galore were headed back to their country after earning their periodic moneys in the oil rich states. The plane was full to capacity and the type of uneducated and relative boorish folks on board did nothing to help. Mercifully it was just a short three hour hop, which for a world traveler like me would not even register as a trip. Still being in a middle seat, having been bumped down to coach due to a change in flight seating and stuck between a smelly labourer on one side and a fat matron on the other, it was proving tough even for me to pass time. I did know that at the other end was the city with probably the best hotels in the Middle East, bar Dubai.
"Can I help you sir?"
Having finally exited the restrictive confines of the aircraft, I now was lost in the bustle of Cairo's Egypt Air terminal, a mass of humanity around me and no signage to indicate where to head to. The immigration officer had directed me to get a visit visa from one of the windows, but the crowd was in no mood to let me through. I realized at that moment why the travel company had suggested a meet and greet, for which they appeared to be charging inordinately. At the moment, I would have paid dearly to be out of the mess.
The 40-something gentleman in a dark suit and with an airport access card was addressing me, having seen that I was getting nowhere.
"Yes, I do not know where to go for the visa."
"If you let this gentleman have your passport and $15, he will get it done for you; meanwhile you can follow me to baggage claim."
Abdel Rahman turned out to be a senior immigration officer and unusually for an Egyptian, seemed to care about helping visitors to his country. His eyes lit up when I advised I was in Cairo to recruit sales persons for my employer in the Gulf. Not so surprisingly he knew the recruitment consultancy well and promised to follow up on my trip. Very surprisingly he looked hurt when I tried to offer some cash for his trouble.
"It is okay, Mr. Naeem, I might send a nephew or niece your way; maybe you will be able to interview them for any available positions."
III
Quick Work Enterprises had sent a nice Mercedes, with a driver who spoke some English and French to fetch me. I figured we were headed to a nice district like Maadi. Instead I was real surprised when let off in front of a rather old building on a crowded, souk-type street. A team of three persons was there to greet and head me upstairs via an extraordinarily creaky elevator to the fifth floor.
My impression of the place did not improve as I entered the reception area and was introduced to the secretary, Amal, who was a well-proportioned and highly made-up pseudo blonde with large boobs. The big boss, Mr. Afif came hurtling out of his side office and gave me a bear hug.
"Mr. Naeem, welcome al-Qahira," he managed in pidgin English, adding, "al-youm Miss Wafa give help to interview, wa baad maghrib you come ghida al-baab." I knew enough Arabic to understand that a Miss Wafa was to assist during the process and that he was inviting me to his home for dinner that evening.
I was led into the interview room, which had an adequately large table with plush chairs on one side and wooden ones on the other. I was directed to the best chair at the centre. The expected, unending rounds of tea and small sweets began almost immediately. A couple of minutes later I heard a sing song voice asking people to get organized and begin sending the applicants in as soon as I had indicated I was ready.
I was soon introduced to the owner of the voice, the Miss Wafa, who had been mentioned earlier. Expecting a matron in fully covering Egyptian garb, I was pleasantly surprised by a mid-twenties young lady, a bit over 5 feet tall and dressed in a fashionable brown skirt and jacket, who walked in and offered her hand. Wafa would have looked good in a jute bag, but dressed to work, she was stunning with dark brown hair, a very pretty face and eyes that just held my gaze for much longer than proper. Unlike the secretary, she was wearing light make-up and had just a hint of perfume.
"Welcome Mr. Naeem, I hope you have not had any troubles so far in Cairo?"
"Oh no, not at all, in fact, I am sure that there are not going to be any," I professed, unashamedly staring at the beauty in front of me.
"In that case, our first applicant is ......."
IV
I knew that there was no way she was going to come over to my hotel and let me see her in the beautiful white chemise and trimmings that I had presented her with at dinner. I had chanced that she would have opened the package the minute she got home and resisting the urge to try the lingerie on would be tough.
I had opted to let our taxi go a few hundred yards from her home and had walked back to wait. Rather than using my hotel phone, I was making an expensive roaming call on my mobile. Should she not be receptive, I would have a real hard time finding a cab in her neighbourhood at night.
Taking up on her dare, I was at the door within a moment or two, ringing the bell.
Not figuring that I would be there, she had thrown a coverlet over the lingerie and opened the door.
V
The morning session went off without a hitch. Wafa kept things moving professionally and the poorer candidates were weeded out instantaneously. My list of possible selectees, soon hit a respectable total.
We ran out to a nearby fast food place for a quick bite. I could note that most of the guys in the place were checking out Wafa and feeling a bit jealous of my proximity to her. I decided to take a chance at being even friendlier. Noting that she had not taken any dessert, I took my spoon and offered her some of the cake I was eating. Not giving it much thought she took the bite and then realized I was feeding her. To put emphasis what I had done, I took my napkin and softly wiped around her lips. She went beet red and conversation in the eatery stopped as all looked for what would next transpire.
But work was work, and a few minutes later, she reminded me we were now twenty minutes behind schedule!
We interviewed over 100 persons in the three days and selected around 20 to be working with my company in the UAE. Lunches remained nice, but since Mr. Afif had dinners planned in advance, I was unable to take things further for then.
VI
Wafa stood frozen with shock, her eyes wide open, failing to comprehend how I could take her up on her challenge so soon.
Entering the house swiftly, I lifted her off the floor and carried her towards the only lighted room, correctly guessing it was her bedroom.
"You should not be here, my mother will wake up."
"Oh that is quite okay, you told me earlier that your mom is away to visit your brother in Port Suez!"
My hands worked their way under the coverlet and soon it was off, leaving her standing in the white lingerie and matching heels. The chemise was somewhat demure, and may not have set off alarms in more liberal environs, but the state of undress for Wafa was still significant. I noted that she had reasonably shaped legs and petite feet. Her breasts were puffing up and down as more and more of her body was revealed to my sight.
Her complexion reddened and this added to her considerable beauty. Her dark hair cascaded down her back and her golden-brown skin was set off marvellously by the white coloured garments.
She was at a loss for words and I used the opportunity to put my arms around her waist and back her against the wall. She was unable to pull back as my lips came down on hers. She tried to push me away, but was not in position to stop my access to her lips, face, cheeks, neck or other parts.
"Please don't," she whimpered, knowing well that I had no intention of stopping.
After trying for a while, she appeared to give up the fight. I was able to pry her lips open and put my tongue into her mouth as my pelvic region came up against her privates. Soon she got the hang of things and we were able to deep kiss.
I was so glad that I had picked the right present and made the correct call regarding the taxi.
VII
The people I had hired in Egypt had made an almost immediate impact on our business. Whereas prior hires had not been high quality, the bosses were delighted that I had got this bunch. It was not too long before a second trip to Cairo occurred, then a third, and now a fourth.
Wafa had been polite and proper throughout, but had taken me to shop in the city a couple of times. During the last trip, she had accepted my invitation to accompany me on a Nile Cruise, with the promise that I would ensure she was back well in time. Her guard down a bit during the event and she was even sport enough to join me for a bit of dancing on the boat's disco floor.
I felt that things were going to work better this time around. Cheekily I bought her a nice set of white lingerie and some expensive perfume. Whereas I had simply presented all at the agency with T-shirts the last time around, Wafa was getting something of real value, not to mention symbolism.
I had packaged the items well and told her to open them at home. In any case it would not have been nice to open a present at the restaurant where we were enjoying dinner. I had offered to escort her back home in the taxi prior to returning to my hotel.
After going a bit up the road, I had paid the taxi off and waited for a half hour in a roadside cafe.
VIII