"Spank me? What did he mean? I know he was just teasing me, but does he still think I am a kid or was he flirting with me?" Her mind was working overtime. She knew her remark was cheeky, and she had a tendency to be brash. "But why does he not understand that I don't mean all that I say to him? He enjoys provoking me and I itch to retort, that's all!" She told herself. Nafisa sat her down and explained to her the work schedule for the current week, teaching her how to organise files and how to prioritise correspondence. All afternoon she sat besides Nafisa learning the ropes. During the tea break the canteen boy served them mugs of malted chocolate milk. Sanyukta was surprised, she had not ordered for any. She looked quizzically at Nafisa who smiled to see her expression. "No, I did not order for you either, it must be the boss! He's quite sharp you see, must have seen you decline tea or coffee in the morning. Since I switched to having milk during pregnancy  he must have left instructions to double the order. Don't worry, beverages are on the house!" She said warmly.

"But how did he know? He has not looked in once." Sanyukta was genuinely curious. "Are you forgetting that they deal in state-of-the-art communication and surveillance systems? He has the view of the entire building on the monitor at his desk, and he can even keep tabs while he is out of the office, he has the software loaded on his phone. And like in every modern office, the employer can access anyone's browsing history so be careful when you surf the net. Use your phone for more privacy." Nafisa informed her. "You mean he can listen in too?" She asked. "Well, if he is really curious he may. It is a security measure you see, don't lose your head over it. Besides the bosses have more important things to focus on rather than spy on the employees and the grapevine." Nafisa ended the discussion. Sanyukta realised that the staff was aware of the security protocol while she was not because it was her first day. She made a mental note to remember that the eye in the sky was always watching. She wondered aloud if they had cameras installed in the washrooms too. "Obviously not, now you are just being paranoid." Nafisa laughed.

It made sense, she thought, he knew I skipped lunch, he must have been watching the feed. Did he come back for me? Stop flattering yourself, she scolded her mind. But no harm in testing things, she thought. She noticed a guy called Noel chatting with a girl near the water cooler. She got up and walked across, saying a friendly hello to them. The girl returned the greeting indifferently and returned to her desk, giving a knowing look to Noel. "Sorry if I interrupted your conversation." Sanyukta said, really meaning it. "Hey, no sweat, we all work here, and so do you." He grinned at her, giving her a once over. She turned to the cooler to fill her bottle, partially aware that he was ogling her back. "Hey, if you need any help, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask. You know where my desk is!" No sooner had he spoken the office boy came by summoning Noel to Randhir's cabin with some random account file. A bit disappointed, Noel excused himself and turned to leave, probably cursing Randhir wordlessly. Sanyukta could not help but grin, though she composed herself before she returned to Nafisa's desk with her bottle.

Just then a visitor was shown into Randhir's office. Mihika Chopra hardly looked her age of 30, she was dressed in skin tight jeans and a sheer teal blouse with designer heels on her feet. As Randhir rang Nafisa on her intercom, she promptly answered. "Two espressos with biscotti from Angelo's cafe, right away!" Nafisa called the cafe, asking for an express delivery. Sanyukta did not fail to notice the charm cloud that was growing in Randhir's cabin as he grinned at some private joke whispered to him by the woman. "I thought he did not drink coffee," was all she could utter to Nafisa. "Hey, she is a rather important client, he has to give her company. He is just being a perfect host." Nafisa explained. Too perfect for his own good, the green ogre within her raised its head as she saw Mihika lean forward toward Randhir. Sanyukta was glad that the espresso order arrived just then, ruining the joke.

As they finished their coffee Randhir looked into Nafisa's cabin. "Watch over the office for me Nafisa, I am off with Ms Chopra for the site inspection. I'll be late! And teach kindergarten here not to accept candy from strangers." He grinned and left, even as Sanyukta bristled. "And Mowgli, get Parth to pick you up from office! I'll be quite late, am having dinner outside." He popped in just to deliver the message and was off. "With Ms Chopra", the ogre added. In a while Sanyukta did not know why, but she had a funny feeling in her belly. It must be the chocolate milk, I am not used to it, she tried telling herself. At half past five both Nafisa and Sanyukta got out of the office and said goodbye to each other. Randhir's car was still in its parking spot, looked like they took off in Ms Chopra's car. Sanyukta walked aimlessly along the riverfront, watching the boats cutting through the water. She got into a bus that dropped her off a short distance from her home. She let herself into the house, threw open the windows and did a little cleaning. 

Later she picked up her Physics and Chemistry text books, closed up her home and walked to the Shekhawats' place. Neither Parth nor Vidushi were in. She went upstairs to the guest room, changed and freshened up, rinsed out her new blouse and hung it to dry in the bathroom. She pored over her books until she was called downstairs to have dinner. She ate just enough to let the staff know she had dinner, asking them to wind up as nobody else would be home for dinner. She continued to read until her brain was saturated. Feeling tired she noticed that it was almost 11 pm. She went out on the sun deck and sat down staring at something she noticed. She hardly realised when soft footsteps ushered in her new boss, who was intrigued to find her there. He had already changed into his sleepwear. When she noticed him she asked him to be quiet, pointing out to what had caught her attention.

As Randhir looked up to where she indicated he saw a winged creature resting on a  plant. It looked like a white Chinese paper kite. "It is a male moon moth, it must have hatched today." She whispered. It really was the most beautiful winged insect he had seen, he whipped out his phone and clicked several pictures of it. "How can you tell he is a boy? He asked her. "They tend to be slimmer and have larger antennae to pick up the female's pheromones." She sounded like an authority on them. "Come on inside and sleep, the boy will still be there tomorrow." He said to her. "No, he won't, he can already smell the girls who may be as far as 11 km away. When his wings dry out and blood begins to flow through them, he'll be gone. He cannot resist the females." She added. Randhir grabbed her by the wrist and began leading her away. "I am not sleepy, let me go." She whined. 

"I know you are nervous about sleeping in that room alone. You can sleep in mine, just don't tell anyone about it." Can he really read my mind, she wondered. "But I'll sleep on the couch today." She sounded apologetic. "No need, we'll share the bed, with a barricade of pillows in between. Don't you dare violate the boundary!" He added with a grin. "You hardly ate for dinner, are you on a diet?" He asked her. She felt annoyed at his question."You've already eaten for both of us!" She fumed. "Stop being jealous, she's just a client." He told her. "I am not your girlfriend to be jealous. I don't care who you dine with." She fumed. He said nothing, and she began to feel awkward for having reacted. "You know, the moths never feed after they hatch from the cocoon. They only survive for a week to mate and then they die after the eggs are laid. No attachments, no heartache. I wish I was a moon moth!" She spoke with the slightest tremor in her voice. 

"You mean no dates, no romance? Sounds awfully boring and functional." He smiled as he spoke. "But the mating, it looks so intimate!" She sounded dreamy. "How can there be mating without intimacy, silly?" He laughed as she blushed, burying her face into the pillow." I was right, you are a pervert, cannot leave mating pairs alone without spying on them." He was having fun now. "Hello, all naturalists are supposed to observe these things, I am an amateur naturalist myself. And I didn't spy on you tonight!" She defended herself. "I wasn't mating with her, just let it go!" He said blandly. "As if I care!" Seeing that the talk was going nowhere he just closed his eyes, and after a while so did she. She realised she was acting childishly possessive, after all, she had no right over him, and he was simply tolerating her because he had been asked to look out for her. He heard her mumble an apology but was too sleepy to react. Next morning he woke up to find the barricade gone and she was back clinging close to him.