Chapter 8

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Devakshi FF: Small Moments

Part 8

Sonakshi was positive that her head would explode any minute now.

She had been working continuously for the past two hours without any sort of break and before that she had spent almost an hour crying with her head on her desk, while everyone else thought she was reading files. After having drained almost all the tears she had then hit herself on the head saying "Eta Ki Sona (What is this Sona). Dev tumharey Boss Hai. Unkey Barein me aise sochna theek nahin hai. Stupid mat Bano." Trying to convince herself that she was being unreasonable, she had then decided to start meeting the remaining employees in her list. And she had done just that. But now her head was about to explode. She needed a break. She still had two more employees to meet. But she also needed a break.

So, asking Tina to call the remaining employees and tell them to come after lunch, she stepped out of her cabin and made her way to the common balcony on that floor. The balcony was the best place to refresh the mind. It was beautiful and long and the light breeze hit her right on her face. Mr. Dixit's personal balcony, that could be accessed from his cabin, was an extension of this balcony. But thankfully there was screen door that separated both. And usually that door remained locked. She knew Dev was busy with Natasha. Again, thinking of them together brought a fresh flow of tears and she angrily wiped the few stray tears. "Nahin. Main Nahin sochungi" she scolded herself yet again. As she tried to think of other things Sonakshi heard someone say, "Dr. Sonakshi?"

She immediately whirled around to find a girl of about her age or maybe a year younger to her looking at her expectantly. She was shorter than Sonakshi and wore glasses. She had three files in her hand. Sonakshi gave her a small smile and said "Yes?" The girl, realising that she had found the right person, gave Sonakshi a full-blown smile and said "Hi Dr. Sonakshi! I'm Riya Dixit." Sonakshi recognised the name immediately. She accepted her extended hand and shook it saying "Oh! Hello! Toh aap Mr. Dixit ki behen hai naah?" Riya laughed " Haan. Main hi hoon. Waise aapko mujhey aap kehney ki zaroorat nahin. Tum chalega!" Sonakshi laughed with her and agreed. "Mujhey aapko bhai yeh files dene the" she said extending the files. On closer inspection Sonakshi saw that the three files contained Riya's, Natasha's and Dev's medical records. "Woh bhai aapko hum logo ke records dena bhool gaye the. Toh isiliye main lekar ayi" she said cheerfully. But Sonakshi's mood changed back to sadness again. Seeing Natsha's and Mr. Dixit's file together brought back that sour feeling again. But she tried not to show that on her face. "Thank you, Riya Main Inhey dekh lungi." She said trying to smile properly. Riya was satisfied that her job was done. "Apki aur meri khoob jamegi. Main aapsey do floor nichey hoon. Lunch time pe milkey bohot saari batein karengey. Waise bhi bhaiya ke office ki ladkiyaan baadi ajeeb hai. Baat hi nahin karti. Snobbish people. Buss Tina, Natash aur ab aap achhey ho! Tina Natasha to busy rehti hai, isiliye aapse kabhi kabhi milney aa jaya karungi breaks pe. Okay?" she said with excitement. Seeing her in that state, Sonakshi could not help but give her a genuine smile. She was such a sweet girl. "Zaroor Riya. Jab mann karein aa jana" she assured Riya. Both of them made their way out of the balcony and Sonakshi decided to walk Riya till the elevator. "Pata hai, saachme bohot pretty ho" Riya suddenly told her. Sonakshi came to a halt, making Riya stop too. "Matlab? Tumney mujhey pehley kahin dekha hai kya?" Sonakshi asked confused. Riya vigourously nodded her head in negative and the answered "Woh actually jab humney bhaiyya se poocha tha company ke nutritionist ke baarein me toh unhoney doosrey baton ke saath yeh bhi kahan tha ki aap pretty ho. Wahi keh rahi hoon main." Dev said that? "Oho phirse Dev, Mr. Dixit bolo" Sonakshi's brain screamed at her mind.

Wait a minute.

That's not the problem.

The problem is, Mr. Dixit called her "pretty".

Is it a problem or not?

She had no clue how to react. While one part of her brain was angry that this affected her, the other part was doing the crazy dance. Mr. Dixit thought she was pretty! Good God. What was she supposed to do now? Laugh or cry? "Chup kar Sona. Aisi stupid batein mat socho phirse" she told herself. It seemed like she had started talking to herself a lot more after meeting him. Was she going mad?

But her happiness never lasted long because the next minute she saw Natasha walking towards her and Riya with a smile on her face. No no. She did not want to talk to her. But she had no escape. She would have to face her. "Man up Sona. Kya kar rahi hai? You are the best nutrionist in Delhi. Thoda tashan dikhao". And her inner voice was back. She might as well put the advice to good use. So she carefully schooled her expression into a proper smile.

"Hi Riya" Natasha said giving Riya a hug. "Hi Natasha. Waise mujhey abhi jaana hai. Will catch up with you later. Tum abhi Dr. Bose se mil lo" Riya said, putting Sonakshi in and uncomfortable position and leaving them there. Natasha turned towards her and said "Toh aap hai Dr. Bose. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Natasha Gujaral" Sonakshi reluctantly shook her hand and said a soft hello. "Aapke barein me bohot suna hai Dev se" she continued. "Dev!" Sona thought. "Inkey muh se Mr. Dixit ka naam bilkul cute nahin lagta jaise mere mann me lagta hai" Sona thought sourly. "Oh." She said aloud. "Achha hi suna hoga I hope." Sonakshi asked Natasha trying an attempt at a joke. "Haan haan. Achha hi hai. Dev toh aapko bohot pasand kartein hai!" she said confidently.

Once again, Sonakshi was rendered speechless. "Mr. Dixit mujhey pasand kartein hai? Yeh kya bol rahi hai?" Seeing Sonakshi's expression Natasha realised what she was thinking and started laughing. "Arey Dr. Bose mera matlab tha ki he admires your work skills. He's impressed aapki success and genuine hard work dekhkey aur uskey barein me sunkey" she clarified. Sonakshi sighed in relief, but there was that one part of her that hated having to hear the real meaning of the sentence. She just continued to smile and nodded her head once, not saying anything aloud.  "Accha Dr. Bose. Main ab chalti hoon. Aapse ab mulakat hoti rahegi. It was nice meeting you" she said with a sweet smile.

Instantly Sonakshi felt bad. Natasha was a very sweet woman and she was extremely hard working and successful. Sonakshi had no right to think ill of her. So, this time she put on a real smile and wished Natasha a good day. It wasn't Natasha's fault that she was engaged to Mr. Obhodro. It was Mr. Obhodro's fault. How dare he do such sweet thinks for Sonakshi, being engaged to this woman. But from what Sonakshi had learnt, Mr. Dixit was naturally caring. It wasn't actually his fault either. Sonakshi sighed. All this thinking was draining her energy. She waved Natasha goodbye as the latter stepped into the elevator and made her way back to the cabin. Natasha would make the perfect partner for Dev. Smart, intelligent and pretty, she was the person he needed beside him. It was no point thinking about something that could never happen. Taking her place at her desk, Sonakshi called Tina and asked her to send in the remaining employees and got back to work trying to forget everything else.

As evening rolled in, Sonakshi decided that she needed something to eat and a whole lot of coffee if before she went home. Packing her things, as she got into the elevator her mind went back to Dev. What had she done? Why had she jumped to the conclusion that he would complete her fairy-tale? She had made absurd assumptions and in the process, had ended up hurting herself. She had made that mistake once before, but it seemed like she would never learn. Why at all was she thinking of him like that? So what if he had a Fianc? "Mujhey koi farak nahin padta" she said to herself as she walked out of the elevator and into the cafeteria.

She went up to the counter and bought herself a sandwich. Just as she was about to order a coffee, she paused. "Nahin. Main coffee nahin piyungi" she scolded herself, "Phir mujhey unki yaad aati rahegi" she concluded in anger. So, she got herself a cup of tea instead. The man at the counter put both her orders on a tray and handed it to her with a smile. She accepted it returning the smile but then knitted her brows. She was terrible at balancing trays, even if they contained the lightest of things. So, biting her upper lip in concentration, Sonakshi made her way towards the nearest free table, all the while praying to God that she would not trip. She had almost made it to the table. Just one more step and she could put the tray down. But remember? Things never went the way she wanted to. Just before she reached her table she made the mistake of looking up and to her horror, she saw Kushal walking towards her with that same scary smile on his face. So, at that last step she tripped. Even though she had gripped the cup of tea tightly so that it would not fall, her sandwich remained unsheltered and it went flying. But as Sonakshi tightly shut her eyes waiting for the Sandwich to land on the floor with a thud, she heard nothing. Plus the cafeteria had suddenly become eerily quiet. She didn't want to open her eyes. She knew that if the sandwich hadn't fallen, someone had caught it and it was most definitely Kushal. But she couldn't stand there with eyes closed forever could she?

So slowly, very slowly, she opened her eyes. And for the umpteenth time that day, she was rendered speechless. Why? Because where she assumed Kushal to be standing with her sandwich, it was not him at all. Instead, the great Mr. Dev Dixit stood in front of her in all of his 6 feet glory, holding her sandwich with that same amused smile and his eyes fixed on her face. Sonakshi opened and closed her mouth like a fish. She knew she looked extremely stupid doing that, but she didn't know what to say. And how on earth had he popped up at the right moment? Dev, trying hard to control his laughter, said "Dr. Bose, Pehley toh aap sirf coffee hi giraya karti thi. Ab sandwich bhi? Agar phirsey yeh merey suit pe girta toh?" he waited for her to pounce on him. And in the next minute, his wish was fulfilled.

Sonakshi having shaken off the initial shock and awe kept her tray on the table with a thud and replied "Excuse me Mr. Dixit, maine aapko nahin dekha tha. Aur Sandwich aap pe giri bhi nahin. Aur aap agar har baar galat time peh galat jagah aa jatey hai toh ismey meri kya galti hai?" Dev putting the sandwich safely on the tray took a step back with both his hands up in surrender and said "Arey Arey, Dr. Bose. Aap toh gussa ho gayi. Main toh yahan aapko bachaney aya tha, aur aap toh mujhpey hi chilla rahi hain!" Dev said with a perfectly mastered stern expression, but he would burst into laughter any moment now. Sonakshi's angered was just fuelled further by his teasing tone. "Aap apney aapko smajhtey kya hai Mr. Dixit. Main koi abla naari nahin hoon, kahan tha naah maine aapsey? I can handle my own problems! And abhi mujhey ghar jaana hai, I'll see you tomorrow" she said indignantly, but inside her head she was silently cheering because no matter how angry and sad she was, she missed his presence around her immensely. Lost in their own world, Dev and Sonakshi did not realise that the entire cafeteria was watching this exchange with wide yes. While some women whispered about Mr. Dixit's smile being cute, other people were just amazed to see him truly smile for the first time. Seeing him tease someone else was a whole other story.

Kushal was also among the spectators and seeing Sonakshi with Dev once again angered him. So, he pushed past the crowd and went to them. "Main tumhey ghar chhor deta hoon Sonakshi" he volunteered eagerly. Sonakshi had forgotten about Kushal. Seeing him again brought back her fears. But before she could open her mouth to refuse, Dev did it for her. "No need for that Mr. Roy. Dr. Bose bohot thak gayi hongi. Mera driver unhey drop kar dega." he said giving Kushal a sharp look, forcing him to keep his mouth shut. Sonakshi did not say a word against the decision. She did not know how to thank Dev. As Dev walked Sonakshi towards his car, she thought of thanking him now. She hadn't done it in the morning. As Dev instructed his driver to drop her, Sonakshi sat inside the car. Rolling down her window she said, "Mr.Dixit?" Dev turned to her, "Boliye Dr. Tigress, I mean Dr. Bose" he corrected jokingly. Sonakshi smiled, "Thank you." Dev nodded his head again, dismissing it, just like he had done before. It was a silent agreement. He would not ask questions and only help and she would gratefully accept it.

"Before you leave Dr. Bose. Main yeh bata doon aapko ki kal mujhey aapsey kuch batein discuss karna hai, but kal main office nahin aunga. Toh Subah around 10 bajey aap Dixit Mansion aa jana. Meri gaari aapko pick karney chali jayegi time pe." Without giving her a chance to answer he continued, "Aapko kuch cheeze maine mail ki hai, woh padh lena aap. Kal ke discussion ke liye zaroori hai" with that he turned around and marched into the building once again.

"Dixit Mansion!" Sonakshi thought worriedly. "Unhoney mujhey aapney ghar bulaya! Ab main kya pehenkey jaungi?" she thought chewing her lip. But the next second she remembered that there was no point thinking of these things. He already had someone in his life. Then why did he do these things for her, making things more difficult every day. As she thought of this dejectedly, she looked back at his figure disappearing through the door as the car moved forward and after a point she could no longer see him.

But lost in thought, Sonakshi failed to notice something. She failed to notice that this entire time that she was talking to Dev and watching him go, Kushal had been standing at a corner and observing them with anger flashing in his eyes. 

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