Mrs. Shams's sweaty feet

Navid, who no longer had any hope of staying and was under severe mental pressure, suddenly said in a helpless and unexpected tone:

_Ms. Shams... there is a solution.

Ms. Shams, who did not expect such a thing, asked in surprise:

_What solution?

Navid said with embarrassment and hesitation:

_Let me... massage your feet.

A heavy silence reigned in the room for a moment. Ms. Shams stared at Navid with furrowed eyebrows and an incredulous look.

_What? What did you say?

Navid, who was also embarrassed by his own suggestion, lowered his voice:

_I said let me massage your feet... maybe like this... maybe I can make up for it...

Ms. Shams replied in a completely opposite tone and with disgust:

_Not at all! Such a thing is not possible! What is this suggestion? Are you okay? I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but this behavior is completely unacceptable and shows that you have no understanding of business relationships. I don’t want to continue this discussion any longer. Pack your things and come tomorrow to settle the score.

But suddenly, Ms. Shams’s tone changed. As if something had sparked in her mind. With a short pause and a look that was somewhere between surprise and thought, she said:

_Very well... okay.

Ms. Shams, with a look that still had traces of surprise and perhaps curiosity, muttered:

_Very well.

Then she slowly bent down and untied the laces of her black leather shoes. She put the shoes aside and then calmly took off her thin, black Parazin socks. Navid couldn’t take his eyes off her feet. The white and delicate skin of her feet, with its shiny white polish that showed even under the thin socks, had a special effect.

Suddenly, Navid noticed that the skin of Mrs. Shams's feet was shiny. It seemed that they were a little wet. He also caught a faint smell that showed that Mrs. Shams's feet were sweaty.

Mrs. Shams paused for a moment, and then, without putting on her black Parazin socks, she extended her foot towards Navid and said:

_Begin.

Navid, who was both surprised and hopeful by Mrs. Shams's sudden change of attitude, moved forward cautiously. He knelt down and gently took one of Mrs. Shams's feet, which had delicate, sweaty skin. The feeling of the foot's softness and warmth, along with the unpleasant dampness of the sweat, created a strange sensation in him.

Hesitantly, he began to gently squeeze Mrs. Shams's toes and soles. He tried to keep his movements gentle and professional, although the stress and unexpected situation had slightly disrupted his concentration. It didn’t take long for him to feel his hands getting wet too. The sweat from Ms. Shams’s feet had soaked the skin of Navid’s hands, and the faint smell he had smelled before was now stronger.

Despite the unpleasant sensation of wetness and smell, Navid couldn’t deny that touching Ms. Shams’s bare feet, with their soft skin and shiny white polish, had also awakened a slight sense of pleasure in him. This contradictory combination of unpleasantness and pleasure had put him in a complicated situation. He didn’t know where this would lead, but he was determined to try until the last moment to change Ms. Shams’s mind.

After fifteen minutes of heavy silence, broken only by the gentle sound of Navid's hands moving on Mrs. Shams's feet, Mrs. Shams said in a voice that no longer had any trace of anger:

_Enough.

Navid took his wet and trembling hands and stared at Mrs. Shams's face with expectant eyes.

Mrs. Shams paused for a moment, then continued in a tone that indicated she was thinking:

_I'll let you stay.

Navid's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this sentence. A glimmer of hope lit up in his heart.

_Really, ma'am? Thank you very much... I'll do anything...

Mrs. Shams interrupted him:

_But on one condition.

The smile faded from Navid's lips and was replaced by concern.

_What condition?

Mrs. Shams said with a look that couldn't be easily read:

_Massage my feet whenever I say so.

Navid looked at his wet, shiny hands. The faint smell that had risen from Ms. Shams's feet had now spread to his hands as well. A mixture of unpleasantness and a vague satisfaction was surging through him. He knew that this condition was strange and unusual and could be humiliating for him in the future, but in a situation where he was between being fired and staying, he saw no other choice.

In a voice that tried to be firm, he said:

_I accept. I will massage your feet whenever you say.

Ms. Shams glanced briefly at Navid's hands and then, with a look that showed that she had expected such an answer, said:

_Okay. Then show up for work tomorrow as usual. And try not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

With that, the unexpected and strange meeting ended. Navid, still shocked by what had happened, gathered his things and left Ms. Shams's room. The smell of Ms. Shams' sweaty feet still lingered on his hands, and he didn't know if this would be the beginning of a new era of work for him or the beginning of permanent humiliation. But at that moment, all that mattered was that he still had one more chance.