Murphy Part III

Bluestocking's Note: This blog is a continuation of the two earlier posts about Murphy. Please find their links here: Part 1:http://bluestockingzblog.blogspot.in/2011/07/murphy-part-i.html, Part 2: http://bluestockingzblog.blogspot.in/2011/09/murphy-part-ii.html, 

I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for the 10 MB mail to finish downloading. It was 10.30 PM and I was still at office. Somewhere outside my cabin door, my team members were valiantly working to wrap up a “big” presentation.

I was tired, miserable and disgusted. The story of my life, as it had been most of last year.

When the knock on my door came, I assumed it to be one of my team members, hopefully, come to show me the piece of analysis that I had set her. So, without turning, I hmmmed and looked up to see the reflection of the entrant in the glass window.

It took me a little time to register his presence, as I frowned and tried to place him. And when he smiled, I knew.

Holy shit. This couldn’t be happening. But there was no denying it. He was here.

“Hello, Murphy.” My greeting could not have been colder and it had no effect on his good-natured smile.

“Hey. I see that this time there would no exhausting rounds of denials and indignation, followed by the inevitable admission”, he said as he strode further into my cabin and made himself at home. On my desk. The nerve of the guy.

“Is there any point to that? And have you come here to gloat? If so, can you please do it away from here? Preferably, in the hypothetical world where you actually belong. As you can see and you damned well know, that I am very, very busy here. And would continue to do so, if you continue being contrary.”

I got up and walked out of my cabin to check up on the status of work. The darned mail was still downloading. I left him sitting smugly at my desk and refusing to test whether he was my imagination or real by calling one of my juniors in, asking them if they could see him. Nope. I was not willing to find out if I had finally gone around the bend. Not just yet.

When I returned some fifteen minutes later, he waved his hand towards my laptop. “Your mail is downloaded. I could have told you the contents beforehand, if you so wished.”

“And give you another opportunity to show off your perverse nature? Thank you very much. Given my luck, it cannot be good news anyway, this late into the evening or night, whatever you choose to call it.”

I quickly opened the mail item and the attachment, keeping my fingers crossed and ignoring his short laugh at my gesture.

It was not as bad as I had expected. In fact, the contents of the mail were quite harmless.

“Thank ye gods!” I murmured with a sigh.

“I think you could thank me also.”

I just gave him “the look” and continued with my work.

“You know”, he mused, “it’s not fair. You blame me when things go wrong and I get absolutely no credit if they go remotely right. How do you know that I sometimes in my benevolent mood don’t set things right?”

I turned and gave him a once over. “I didn’t know that you suffered from God-complex along with that insufferable arrogance. You invented that stupid law which ruins my life in thousand little ways every day. You do that to millions of other people out there and you want gratitude? You got to be kidding me. Anyway, you just stated a law which was probably always there. Like gravity, you know. But by stating it, you just gave people like me, a favourite whipping boy. So, I don’t think that you have the powers or benevolence to do anything. Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to get back to. And you – you should go and make some other person believe that she is having this conversation.”

I returned my gaze to my screen but before I could point my cursor to another spot, he offered, “What if I make you a deal?”

“You are no Lucifer. And I am not interested.” I started going through the WIP report.

“So you claim. But you should hear the offer before refusing. What if I promise that Murphy’s law will never again make your life miserable?”

“Still. Not. Interested. And there is going to be a catch somewhere. The fine print. There always is. All the legends, fables and stories show that. Now, go away.” I was getting pretty irritated now.

“Let’s do a test drive. For tomorrow.” He waited until I turned back to face him. “Tomorrow.”

And then he left, just as my team member entered. “Who was that? I thought we were the only ones working this late,” she commented.

I closed my eyes for a moment. Just a moment. “Nobody. Let’s work.”

With that I did not recall that conversation again. That night.