PART IV -- THE WEASEL
Naseem was gone from my life and although it was pleasing to savour my victory, I had paid a real high price for it. Though Naseem had not made his case for reinstatement or responded in any way that I was aware of, I was not sure that this status quo would remain. For all I knew, his cohorts supposedly had a video record of my rape, and if this was somehow used as a tool against me, I would not be considered a victim but an active participant. I had to find myself a few more confidantes and supporters to back up my side of things if push came to shove.
I was surprised that Naseem did not make any protestations to the VP, having expected him to use his friendship with the other consultant to make his case. Yet none of this materialized and one day he just left the country. Still it was paramount to watch my back given that the folks in the office were now speculating about the reasons for his exit. Although the VP had kept the matter relatively under wraps, there were a few whispers concerning my involvement in the matter. Abida and Amber were cutting a wide berth from me. Even Imran, my "boyfriend," was acting a little cold, perhaps having just realized his supposedly inexperienced girlfriend was actually the office slut. It was critical that I found someone who had some power to wield and would come to my side.
II
My colleague Gibran announced that he was getting married and that the main wedding event in Lahore would be followed by a party in Islamabad. The VP asked about the pre-wedding henna ceremony, which was local custom, but was surprised to hear that, as Gibran had no family in Lahore, there would be no event. Always a team person, Mr. Jameel offered the use of his own large residence in Lahore for the party, given that many from the office and regional sales teams were planning to attend the main wedding party and the fact that he commuted to that city every weekend.
I was interested in going, given that Abida, Amber and most of the other folks were making the trip. Unfortunately, my father refused permission for me to travel. Apparently he rightly figured that I would be up to no good. I tried to get the VP to back up a story I had concocted about a field visit in Lahore, but he would have none of it.
Left alone I wondered what to do and for once felt good about going home to Abbotabad. It was on the next day that I got an interesting phone call. Mahfooz, the guy who had introduced me to the company had some hot gossip from the night before concerning Amber. She had gone with the group to Lahore, but then had apparently been seen alone with the Logistics Manager, Haramoon Mardood, in his hotel room quite late at night. Knowing that Amber had planned to stay at the VP's house, under the guidance of his mother and family, while the guys were to be at a rest house, the very idea of indiscretion by two of Mr. Jameel's most trusted people was very tasty, even if not exactly verifiable.
I returned to Islamabad on the same night and told Naila what I had heard and how I wished it were true. While we sucked and fingered each other on her bed, our minds worked to turn things to my advantage. The little chickie had to pay for being the boss's favourite. As Naila tongued my pussy, I had a truly earth shattering orgasm. She bit down on my thigh, calling me a "verifiably evil person" for getting my rocks off thinking about the plan to destroy Amber's reputation.
While Mahfooz's story had many gaps and seemed less than plausible, a woman left alone can create myths without much effort, a supposedly scorned one can raise hell, and two heads are infinitely better than one. By the end of the day an entire scenario had been created. I called many of the folks who had not made the trip, implying that something was amiss between Amber and Haramoon. The story aired had Haramoon seducing the innocent girl, by taking her to his hotel on some pretext, giving her a sedative or alcoholic drink to reduce her inhibitions and ability to resist, and then forcing her to part with her virginity. The silly girl, now soiled, could not do anything to him as Haramoon was in a position of power, and further because she was now ashamed to tell anyone, least of all the VP. May not sound much at all in a western context, but this could be the plot of a thousand Indian and Pakistani movies. What was interesting is that in the past few weeks, I had noticed Amber getting socially comfortable with Haramoon in the office, and he had often playfully tried to cuddle up though without reciprocity from her side.
On Sunday the group, minus the VP who had work to attend to in Multan the next day, returned to Islamabad and all went to the walima (post-wedding) dinner. This time I was free to attend, as my father had no worries about an event in town. I was quite happy to see that Amber was happily engaged in conversation with Haramoon and even sat next to him for dinner. Even though their interaction did not indicate any sign of intimacy, I could already see many raised eyebrows and questioning looks from people who had gotten some inkling of the rumour I had been spreading.
III