Inter-aisle love song

'...and I want to deactivate the value-add service. How long will it take?'

'Please hold on sir.'

The quality of the customer service was getting to him. Only a few minutes more, he told himself, just hold for a few more minutes.

And that's when it happened.

The faint smell of a perfume got his attention and he turned to look.

Tall and fair, with untied hair that fell below her shoulders, she took his breath away.

'Sir? Sir... excuse me sir?' The customer care professional at the other end of the line. He had forgotten he was waiting for a response. 'Only momentarily' he tried to convince himself.

'Uhh? Yes yes, tell me.'

'It will be deactivated within 24 hours. Anything else?'

There wasn't anything else. The only thing he wanted was to see where she went. But it was too late. He had lost her. He did not lose hope; he knew she worked in the same floor. He would see her soon.

****

She brought her lunch that day, but decided to take what was served at the cafeteria. When she returned, she found a person sitting opposite her at the table. Somebody she had never seen before.

'Must be from the other team. Never saw him in ours', she thought to herself.

While she talked with her colleagues, she noticed he ate his lunch quietly. He hardly looked up from his plate, seemingly intent on finishing his lunch as soon as possible.

Then on, their paths kept crossing regularly. Be it in the morning when they entered the building, during coffee-breaks or at lunch-time. They noticed each other, but neither said nor did anything.

An aisle separated the two large halls in the building. The walls of both the halls had large glass windows. One could easily see the entire expanse of a hall from outside.

One day as he walked towards the door of his hall, he noticed her at her cubicle. In the other hall.

'So that's where she sits' he told himself.

That evening as she walked to the cafeteria, she noticed him at his cubicle.

'So that's where he sits' she told herself.

Unknown to each other, both began to look for the other whenever they passed each other's hall, be at the cafeteria when the other was likely to be there or be loud enough to get the other's attention.

Occasionally when their eyes met, both turned away almost instantly. The stalemate continued.

****

'We are shifting some of you from here to the neighbouring hall', his manager told him one day.

'But that hall is occupied by the other team', he said with a slight note of alarm.

'Yes, some of them are moving out to another building. We are getting cramped here. And some of you are moving there today to take the free places. The places are scattered, so you will have to share the cubicle with the people of the other team.'

He did not know what to say or do. He kept hoping she was not one of those moving out. His heart sank when his manager pointed out his new place. It was in her cubicle.

'Is my place going to be in that cubicle?' he asked.

'Yes...why, do you have a problem?'

He shook his head.

'You will be sharing it with the other team. It is a temporary measure though.'

Saying this his manager walked away.

He looked around listlessly. She was nowhere to be found. Maybe it is for the better, he consoled himself. The cubicle still had her nameplate. Soon his would replace hers.

He was lost in these thoughts when he heard her voice.

'Excuse me, I think you are in my seat.'