Just over a month ago, when sitting at my desk in the Indian branch of an international merchant bank, my post-lunch reverie was broken by an insistent telephone. Picking up the receiver I heard the voice of our departmental manager. Her name is Belinda and she was new both to the office and to India, to which she had been sent by our bank’s New York office.
‘Sema, this is Belinda. I’m glad I caught you. Can you pop through to my office please.’
This was an unexpected summons and it was with some unease that I made my way down the corridor and approached the heavy wooden door of her office. Now 30 years of age, I had been at the bank for some five years and had rarely come before the notice of the management. Anonymity suited me. Since high-school self-confidence had not been my strong point. Though my appearance was far from unpleasing - or so I liked to think - my body had matured early and left me feeling always awkward and self-conscious.
The root of the matter was my breasts. From my mid-teens onwards they had grown to become large, full, and heavy. B and C-cup bras had given way to D and now DD-cup. My hips and arse had filled out in proportion. The result was a sense of isolation. I envied my school and college friends their lithe bodies, their graceful movements, the tight tops they could wear. I could never have worn such clothes. I felt old, matronly, frumpy beyond my years and my behaviour changed accordingly. When my girlfriends sat in the college café flirting with the male students I took refuge in the library with my books.
Academic success followed - but not social. It had been a similar story at the bank. I worked hard as a data analyst and my work was respected. But I mixed little with the other employees, male or female, and still lived with my mother. Inevitably I was very much a virgin. This gives you some idea of the kind of person that it was that entered the manager’s office that warm April afternoon - unaware that her life was about to change. Forever.
Behind the desk sat Belinda. In her late 30s, she was an attractive woman. Her hair was black and well styled, framing nicely her rounded face and clear complexion. As she rose to greet me I was struck by the way in which her grey suit hugged a firm and shapely figure. Her skirt extended to just above her knees, revealing smooth and well-toned legs. She seemed to have everything: looks, brains, wealth. I envied her.
After taking my hand in hers she led me to across to the sofa positioned by the large window of her office. I sat down, watching as she picked up the phone to order us coffee, before settling down next to me. As she sat she crossed her legs, exposing still more of her feminine assets. I couldn’t help allowing my eyes to take in her beauty. It was not a situation to which I was accustomed. But it was nice just the same.
‘You will be wondering why I’ve called you through, Sema, so I’ll get straight to the point. I want to offer you a position. I have come to realise that I need a personal assistant, someone to work with me in restructuring the company and extending its operations. I need someone I can trust and rely upon, who understands our business and local conditions. I’ve been impressed by your work since I arrived here and yours was the first name that came to mind. It will mean your sharing this office with me, and accompanying me on visits back to our New York office. There will be a lot of work. But your salary will increase - and I hope that you’ll enjoy the work. Do you think you might be interested?’
I realised this was an offer I’d be foolish to turn down and signalled my assent. By now our coffees had arrived and Belinda proceeded to fill me in on what the job entailed and her visions for the company. As I listened my admiration for this woman only increased.
Her confidence, her command of detail, her professionalism, were all impressive. Yet there was something more. I found myself drawn to her vivacity, her flirtatious habit of crossing and re-crossing her legs and running her hand through her soft hair. Above all I relished her aroma of perfume and raw femininity. I began to relax, smiling and revelling in her company. In retrospect it was clear that I was, strange to say, being prepared for what came next - though at the time it was a bolt from the blue.
‘Since we are going to be spending so much time together, Sema, I think it useful if we know a little about each other. Tell me about yourself…’
I described my background and current lifestyle and how I still lived with my mother - my father having deserted us shortly after I was born.
‘So, can I assume there is no man in your life?’ she asked.
I nodded my assent. Emboldened I responded:
‘And you?’
‘Well, I do have a partner back in New York. He’s a lawyer. I do miss him - and I'm happy to say he will be flying out to visit me in a few weeks time. But there's something else I need to tell you, Sema, something private. If it makes you uncomfortable I hope you’ll tell me.’
She fixed her gaze on me now, leaning towards me as she shared her confidence and lowered her voice.
‘I think I ought to tell you Sema that I'm actually bisexual. Over the years I've been with women as well as men - and sometimes at the same time. I do hope that’s not a problem. If it is, if it’s something that you think you will find awkward or will affect our working relationship, please tell me. I don’t want to place you in a false position.’
Now this was something I had not anticipated - indeed, I had barely even contemplated such a thing in the abstract. In fact I was so surprised at what I had heard that I hardly credited it. Surely this beautiful feminine woman could not have meant what she said - surely I had misheard? Blushing deeply I could only mumble my reply.
‘No, no, of course that’s not a problem. Not at all. I don’t mind - really.’
Belinda leant forward and placed her small hand on my knee.
‘Good, I'm so glad that’s okay. I am already looking forward to our new partnership. I'm sure we will make a great team…’
At no point did I consciously realise that this first conversation with Belinda represented a turning point in my life. But the effects were felt very soon - within hours in fact. For that night, as I lay in bed, my mind ran and re-ran the events of my meeting. And one word continually recurred to me: ‘bisexual.’ It was not an idea I’d ever given much thought to. Now it obsessed me. This woman, so beautiful, so alluring, so much a male-dream, was, by her own admission, attracted to women as well as men.
I tried to grasp what this meant. And this meant visualising what it involved, giving some content to her phrase ‘I’ve been with women as well as men.’ I began to imagine Belinda were her female lovers. I pictured her walking hand in hand with some equally beautiful woman. I imagined her sitting in a bar or restaurant with her lover, squeezing her hand, flirting, allowing feet to touch. I imagined them dancing in nightclubs, pressing their bodies together, exploring their curvaceous forms with soft hands.
Above all, I pictured them kissing. Not forceful and quick kisses of the kind I had seen men and women exchange, but slow and sensual kisses as full feminine lips met and explored their needs, tongues meeting and making sweet love, oblivious of time, wishing only to know and enjoy female attraction.