*As told to Kally from someone who wishes to be anonymous
I have been in this law firm since the very beginning and enjoyed my time working for one of the partners as a paralegal for 13 years. When he retired, his son took over his position and inherited me as his paralegal as well. Although it is a small firm, business is flourishing and we have plenty of regular clients that keep us on our feet. Bosses are generous with our salary increments and bonuses. All of us are like family and we are pretty close knitted.
My boss, James, the youngest son of the previous partner, is a friendly no-nonsense kind of guy. He is attractive mid-thirties family man with an equally attractive wife and three children. I enjoyed working with him and he pulled in as much weight around the office as the older partners do. As we are getting more cases, it is not surprising to see the lawyers working overtime and overdrive with their paralegals late into the nights and sometimes over the weekends as well but I was well compensated for both my time and effort.
One late summer last year, my son had measles and I had to miss work for a week. James was very generous about my absence and even transfer another paralegal from another section to cover my duties. Recovering from measles, my son developed complications that led to him having a prolonged fever and delayed recovery. With worries about my son at the back of my mind and inability to contribute extra hours after work, I struggled with my daily tasks and my work just kept piling up. James kept the covering paralegal, Elaine on to help me clear up some of my backlogs. Elaine is the sort of girl you’ll like on first sight. She is like the next door girl with a clean wholesome look and there’s just something about her that makes you trust your deepest secrets with. She is smart, bubbly and hardworking.
Rumours begin to start around this time that James is having an affair. I suspected that the rumours have spread to his wife’s ears as I bumped into her thrice in a month, “casually dropping by” the office to see James. It has never happened before. Colleagues started to ask me if I heard or know anything but I didn’t.
One night, I remembered I left my iPhone at my work desk, only after I reached home. Instead of going straight back to the office to retrieve it, I decided to have dinner with my son and putting him to bed before heading out to the office. That way, I reasoned, I might put in an extra two hours in filing some of the court documents tonight.
As it is, I reached my firm around 10 pm and I saw from afar that James’ office lights are still on. Recalling that James had left early for a dinner appointment, I figured that he probably forgot to switch the lights off. I barged into his office without thinking and there, basking in half naked glory are James and Elaine on the carpet. I totally blanked out. I remembered murmuring a half-hearted apology and rushed straight to the lift without looking back. I even forgot to take my iPhone with me. Again.
I was back into the office the next day and so was James and Elaine. I couldn’t look at both of them in the eye. It was business as usual and neither of them shows any discomfort or indication that something unusual happened last night. It was as if I dreamt up that incident!
It became obvious that both of them are having an affair as I started to notice all the signs like how they timed their lunch breaks to coincide and how they always stayed back after work. Elaine even started to doll herself up and dressed in sexier blouses and shorter skirts. On some personal level, I was uncomfortable working with both of them, knowing that James is cheating on his wife. I admit it is none of my business and I shouldn’t judge on their private lives. In the end, I was offered to transfer to another branch office nearer to my home and I took it.
Every now and then, I’ll bump into James whenever he comes over to my branch for the monthly partners meeting. It will always be a nod and a smile but nothing more. The image of his naked butt will forever be stuck in my mind.
*As told to Kally from someone who wishes to be anonymous
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