My life in the restaurant business started at the age of 10 when I was serving tea in a small cafe in Mumbai. My family was poor and I had no time for education because if I did not earn, my family did not eat. I slowly moved my way up through the kitchen at various different establishments. By the age of 21 I was head chef at a prestigious hotel in Mumbai that saw stars and many international visitors. I tried to do something different with every dish and I became well known. I had always lived in Mumbai but I wanted to experience something new abroad. At the age of 25 I moved to Dubai, I initially worked in a hotel but I grew tired of working for others and wanted to reach out on my own.
I was lucky that in Dubai there are many people looking for business opportunities. I was working my normal restaurant shift when the waiter called me out and said a customer wanted to speak to me. The service was quiet and I always enjoyed the flattery of an appreciative customer. The customer was a local Emirati and he surprised me by saying he was so impressed with my food that he wanted me to join him in a joint venture to open a new restaurant. I opened my first restaurant at the age of 30, "Ashok's Kitchen".
I don't mean to come across as conceited but my restaurant became one of the hottest restaurants in Dubai. I soon opened up several restaurants in different cities around the world.
I opened my first restaurant 22 years ago and I had now taken a back seat in the business. I was all but retired from the business. I was too old for the kitchen and took more of an advisory role. Following my divorce I found it hard to give up the business entirely and I still involved myself in the running of the business.
It brings me to today. I was flying out to Johannesburg as we were opening our latest restaurant. It was a flagship restaurant and it was intended to announce our entrance in the South African market. I was flying out for the Tuesday as I wanted to ensure that everything was ready for the grand opening on Friday night.
I was at the airport waiting to board the plane. As I was in first class I am usually the first on the plane. My luxury life now is a big contrast to my very humble beginnings. I could not have dreamed of living this life in my early years. As I was waiting my attention was taken by this striking beauty. She had the most amazing long legs which were only made to look more stunning by her pantyhose. She had a thickness to her that I really liked. She was working for the airline. I had lost my inhibitions over the years and I found myself being more outwards with my perverted intentions.
She was boarding the passengers. There were only 3 passengers boarding first class. I was the last of the three and as I looked into her eyes I noticed she had these mesmerizing green eyes. She had me completely distracted. I passed over my ticket and passport for boarding. As she was checking them I said, "You have the most beautiful name, Maryam." As I said this I held her name tag which was on her chest, this allowed me to touch her breasts briefly. She looked at my hand in shock but then must have put it down to innocent touching as I was looking at her badge. As she looked at my details she said, "Thank you, Mr Khanna."
Her response encouraged me. I would sometimes receive a scowl or a strong response but her timid response encouraged me.
I took my documents back but deliberately held her hand as I did so. She was taken aback by this forwardness but I gave her a confident look and then moved on.
I took my seat in first class and relaxed. She was working in the first class section which pleased me. I tried to engage her at every opportunity. As the flight progressed I tried to speak to her at every opportunity.
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Maryam
I moved to Dubai shortly after my marriage as my husband was an accountant in Dubai. I married at the age of 20 before I was able to complete my studies. I was studying to be a teacher but I was unable to complete the studies as my parents believed it was more important that I get married.
I was married 7 years ago to Ismail Malik in Lahore and after a few months I moved to Dubai. I struggled to adapt to my new circumstances. My new family was very wealthy but I came from humble beginnings. I was expected to stay at home and look after the household which included my parents in law and my husband's brother and sister. I was not allowed to leave the house without supervision. I had a tense relationship with my mother in law who was never comfortable with my presence. I was treated as more of a servant than a family member. My one purpose seemed to be to bear children for the family. But this became difficult as Ismail always seemed to be too busy. He was always away on business trips and was too tired to make love when he was at home. In a house full of people I felt a loneliness that I was unable to escape. My life was about fulfilling all of my husband's needs and devoting my life to him but no one cared about my needs.
I was blessed with a son after 3 years of marriage. Everyone seemed happy with the news but shortly after my son was born my mother in law took every opportunity to criticise my parenting. Ismail did not support me and he was never at home.
About a year ago I was checking my emails when I saw an email from someone called Emma Smith. It had the title "You need to know".
It had a picture attachment and a message that read, "Your husband does not love you. Have some dignity and leave."
The message made me so angry. I initially thought it was spam and I am wary of downloading attachments from random emails but if it wasn't junk email I needed to know. I opened it and the picture showed Ismail in a sexual embrace with a lady. She was a western lady. I dropped my phone and I was physically shaking with rage.
I called Ismail's office but they said he was not at work and this only made me angrier. I paced my room that night unable to think of anything else. He turned up late in the evening and I confronted him. He denied it initially but then admitted it. He had been dating this woman since before we were married but his parents wanted him to marry a Pakistani girl and have children so he did it for them.
I gave him an ultimatum to leave her or divorce me. He refused to leave her and gave me a divorce. The whole family turned on me and threw me out of the home. I was prevented from seeing my son and I did not have the money to pay for a lawyer.
I was able to sell my jewellery which helped me rent a shared apartment until I could find a job. I was lucky to find this job with the airline but I had been working here less than a year and the glamorous lifestyle advertised is not close to the reality as the pay is very small and I have to work long hours in different time zones. I was still unable to pay for a lawyer as I was just earning enough to cover my expenses.
I had a flight to Johannesburg but I was covering first class which seemed to be quiet as there were only a couple of passengers. I was hoping for an easy journey but there was one passenger I was unsure about, Mr Ashok Khanna. There was just something about him. I found it odd that he held my name tag when he read my name. His hand also brushed my breast but this seemed more inadvertent but something about the way he looked at my body and the brush of my breast seemed to excite me in a strange way.
As the airplane was about to start Mr Khanna seemed to be struggling with his belt and I went over to help him. I was leaning over him to help him buckle it in but it seemed to be stuck. As I was doing this I felt him squeeze my breasts. I was 100% certain that is what I felt but when I looked down his hands were by his side and they did not seem to have moved. I finally managed to buckle the belt in and went to the front to give the safety instructions.
My nipples were stiff but luckily I was wearing a padded bra. I felt his eyes on me during the whole of the safety instructions. I put down the squeezing of my breasts to my imagination overworking from our earlier interaction. I did not know why he was turning me on so much. He seemed to be in his 50's and would be described as a fat man due to his belly. But he had a sense of authority.
As the flight was settled the passengers were able to relax and move freely. I felt myself drawn to Mr Khanna. He engaged me whenever I was in his vicinity and he would draw me into conversation. I found myself divulging my personal story and he understood that I had been through a difficult time. I also learned that he was very successful and he told me that he was staying in South Africa for 2 weeks to open up his new restaurant before he flies back.
He was not like usual passengers and I found a strange connection developing. I was at the back sorting out the food when I heard him enter. He said, "Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom on the other side as this one is engaged."