Chapter 6

Devakshi FF: Reaching Out

Part 4

This time Sonakshi woke up even before her alarm rang. She had set the alarm for 5:30 am, but she was up and about at 5:15 itself. She had almost been late on her first day. She didn't want to risk it this time. Her mind was alert and hence she woke up before she needed to. But that just made things easier for her. She took her time to get ready and at around 6:30 she made her way to the kitchen to make breakfast. Keeping her bag on the couch she headed towards the kitchen.

But before she got there her eyes fell on her note lying on the table and she was surprised to see the food gone. As she neared the table she noticed that on her note, there were some extra lines of writing. Upon closer speculation she realised that Mr. Dixit had answered her note. She smiled and picked it up to read it. He had mentioned about meeting her in the morning. So she decided to make him some breakfast as well. This was a habit Sonakshi had. At home she would always make breakfast, lunch or dinner for her family or anyone else when she was cooking. It didn't matter when they ate. She would leave it there for them to eat it at their convenience.

Here also she did exactly that. She cooked for him because it was a habit for her to do so with everyone and to some extent it was also to show a sense of gratitude for letting her rent this apartment at such a low price. She really was astonished when Tina agreed at Rs. 15000. This penthouse was way beyond that. So she couldn't be more grateful. Sonakshi folded the note and left it on the table. She then went on to make two omelets and toasted four pieces of bread. She put one omelet and two pieces of bread in a plate and covered it with a lid. Taking it to the table she left it there and finished her own breakfast as she waited for Dev to appear.

But as the clock struck seven Sonakshi grew restless. She would have to leave in the next five minutes. The apartment was not that far from the hospital. It would take her just fifteen to twenty minutes to reach.  So she could afford to wait another ten minutes at the most and she did. But when the clock struck 7:15 and he still hadn't come down, she couldn't wait any further. She took out her post it pad, and wrote, "Sorry I had to leave for work. Will meet you when I get back. Have a great day Mr. Dixit" and she left it with a smiley at the end. She didn't think it was necessary to sign her name because he surely knew who she was.

So with a final look towards the staircase she took her keys and left. It took her exactly fifteen minutes to reach the Hospital. She stepped out of the cab thinking about the fact that Mr. Dixit had eaten the food she left for him. Food that had been cooked by a stranger. Maybe it was weird to think of it this way, but the fact that he had eaten the food showed her that he had a sense of trust in her, without even having met her. And this was a characteristic trait of people who had a simple mind. Someone who was a good soul. "Mr. Dixit ek achhey insaan hai" she mused to herself as she entered the building. "Achhey insaan nahin hote toh itna hardwork bhi nahin kar patey" she concluded, referring to what she had read about him. This in turn made her trust him a bit.

As she stepped into the elevator, wrapped in thoughts, she heard someone say, "Good morning Dr. Sonakshi." Snapping out of her thoughts, Sonakshi turned to her right and found Dr. Neha smiling at her.  She quickly returned the smile and said, "Good Morning Dr. Neha! Sorry main kuch sochte sochte andaar ayi so I didn't notice my surroundings" she said embarrassed. Neha laughed lightly and said, "Koi baat nahin. Hota hai aisa. Aap soch rahi hongi ki patients ko kaise tackle karna hai, aur unhey zyada se zyada help kaise karna hai, right?" Sonakshi joined into the laughter. She didn't want to talk about what she was really thinking so she agreed and said, " Haan. Yahi soch rahi thi. You caught me." The elevator stopped on the second floor and both Neha and Sonakshi got off. As they walked towards their respective cabins, that were not very far away from each other, Neha spoke up, "Waise maine aapke baarey me bohot suna hai. Jab aapka naam final hua, I was there in the meeting. You seem to be very dedicated to your work."

Sonakshi stopped outside her cabin and said, "Dr. Neha, mujhey doosro ko khushiyaan dena achha lagta hai. Toh main jitni jaldi ho sake logo ki problem kam karne me vishwaas rakhti hoon. Isiliye kabhi kabhi zaroorat se zyada apne kaam me doob jaati hoon. Aur kuch nahin" she said honestly. "Aap bilkul mere badey bhai ki tarah hai, kaam se pyar karna toh koi unsey seekhey! Aapko zaroor milwaungi unsey, mauka milne par." Sonakshi laughed and said, "Haan zaroor." With that she waved Neha a goodbye for the time being and entered her cabin. She had to meet quite a few patients today.

As she was busy talking to her fifth patient for the day she got a call. She apologised for the interruption and answered the call. As she said 'Hello' the person on the other side said, "Dr. Sonakshi Bose?" Sonakshi answered with a, "Yes speaking." The man, satisfied that he had the right person said, "Dr. Bose hum Packers and Movers se bol rahey the. Hum Goenka Hospital ke bahar khadey hai, aapki scooty deliver karne ke liye."

Sonakshi slapped her forehead lightly. She had completely forgotten that her Scooty would be delivered today. She quickly said, "Haan haan wahin rukiye, main aa rahi hoon neechey." She turned to her patient and said, "Mr. Shukla, aap apney ward me wapas jaiye, main ek chota sa kaam karke aapko wahi milne aungi." Mr. Shukla was almost fifty years old and he had anger issues. He had almost killed his wife out of rage, six months back and had then broken down and come to seek for help here. Though this hospital was not a full-fledged mental hospital, it had a huge psychiatry wing that had different kinds of patients ranging from problems of depression to having other serious psychological disorders.

Sonakshi mainly dealt with family issue patients and Mr. Shukla was her top priority at the moment. The other six patients were in a much better position and could be healed quicker than Mr. Shukla. So she didn't want to miss any of her appointments with him. She helped Mr. Shukla to go back to his ward and then made her way to the parking lot. It took her about twenty minutes to complete the formalities and take the scooty. She patted her scooty happily and said, "Thank God tum aa gayi Swiggy! Ami tomake khoob bhalobashi!" Her scooty was her life since the day she bought it. She had been saving since a long time for it. And in the final year of her college she finally bought it and since then they were inseparable.

Sonakshi decided to go back to Mr. Shukla but then her stomach rumbled. "Uff ho. Phir lunch ke barey me bhool gayi main. Aisa kaise chalega Dr. Bose" she said, laughing to herself. As she had already come all the way down here, she decided to go back to the restaurant where she had lunch the day before. As she walked towards it, she remembered about her encounter with that mysterious man. She would be lying if she said that she hadn't thought about him till now. In fact, throughout yesterday she had thought about him at certain points and to her utmost surprise, those brown orbs had visited her in her dreams last night. She remembered having seen the replay of her encounter in her dream. But the only difference was that she had seen him look back at her when he left the restaurant, when in reality that hadn't happened. "Uff ho Shona, what are you even thinking. Tum kyun chahti ho ki who tumhey dekhey? Ridiculous" she scolded herself while she stepped into the restaurant.

But her eyes involuntarily looked for his familiar face. By the time she realised what she was doing, the same waiter from yesterday was in front of her holding out a menu card, at the counter. She internally kicked herself and accepted the menu with a small smile. The man said, "Hello Madam. Aap aaj bhi yahan? Pyaar ho gaya naah yahan ke khaney se?" Sonakshi smiled a little wider at that and said, "Haan woh toh hai. Khana bohot hi achha tha. Lagta hai main yahan aap logo ka regular customer banney waali hoon." The man looked proud. "Madam, humarey khaney ki baat hi aisi hai. Riya madam itne pyar se jo banati hai aur humein sikhati bhi hai." Sonakshi looked up from the menu she had been studying and said, "Riya Madam kaun hai?" The man eagerly pointed at a photo behind him and said, "Woh dekhiye. Woh hai Riya Madam. Iss Restaurant ki owner. Wohi chalati hai. Bohot hi achhi hai Madam."

Sonakshi was confused. "Par aapney toh kal kahan ki woh aadmi yahan ka owner hai." The man waved his hand and said, "Woh toh riya madam ke badey bhai hai. Woh bhi owner hai, but 40%  Baaki ka hissa Riya madam ka hai. Sir ne yeh restaurant unke liye bana diya tha and iske finances wahi dekhtey hai. Baaki sab madam hi karti hai." Sonakshi nodded. She remembered the waiter mentioning something of this sort yesterday as well. As she looked through the menu once again, the man received a call on the landline. "Haan Sir. Abhi bhej dunga."

Sonakshi couldn't decide as her mind was somewhere else. So she said, "Aap aaj bhi ek chicken sandwich dijiye with French fries." The man said, "Okay Madam" with the phone still pressed to his ear. With that she found herself a seat and sat there. Within minutes her meal was ready and she ate heartily, but all the while kept an eye out for him. She really did want to apologise to him. As she left the restaurant she hoped she would meet him again in future, so that she could apologise.

**********************************************************Dev woke up at 10 AM groaning at the sun rays, which were responsible for the abrupt end of his blissful slumber. Turning on his side he looked around at his room. It had been a long time since he had taken a break. He forgot the last time he woke up naturally. He was like a robot, always going by the clock, running from one meeting to another. But today he would be the lazy one. He decided that he wouldn't even move from the bed unless he really needed to for some reason.

He spent the next half an hour lying on the bed thinking about various things. At one point, as he thought of his mother and her delicious cooking, he was reminded of the rajma chawal he ate last night. Right on cue, Dev jumped up from his bed. "Mujhey toh apney tenant se milna tha. Oho, kaise bhul gaya main." Quickly he brushed his teeth, made himself  some coffee, drank it and then went downstairs. But there, instead of his tenant, he found another note. Dev smacked his forehead. Obviously his tenant would have left for work. He remembered that Tina had told him that he was a Doctor at Goenka. He must be really busy then. Being a doctor wasn't an easy feat at all.

He left the note on the table and looked at the plate of breakfast that was left yet again for him. He removed the lid and smiled. Though the food had become cold he didn't mind. He just heated it up and ate it. So now he would have to thank his tenant twice. He would wait till his tenant came back. Making his way back to his level, he decided to take a bath and then watch a few movies to spend the rest of the day.

At around 2:30 he felt hungry. Dev could cook. But at that moment he felt too lazy to do so. So he decided to order in from his sister's restaurant. And he considered them to make the best food in the city. Yes, it could be a bias because his sister was the one running it, but he still loved it. So he reached for his mobile and called them. "Haan Rakesh, mere liye ek veg platter bhijwa do. Mere flat me." When the man, Rakesh, said, "Haan Sir, abhi bhej dunga" Dev heard another voice in the background say, " Aap aaj bhi ek chicken sandwich dijiye with French fries." He had heard that voice somewhere before, but couldn't remember where. After Rakesh answered the lady and he sensed she wasn't around anymore Dev asked him, "Rakesh tum kissey baat kar rahey the?" To that Rakesh replied, "Arey Sir, woh kal waali madam hai, jinke saath apka order exchange ko gaya tha naah!"

Dev frowned. That woman was back again? As he thought about this, Rakesh continued, "Sir unhey humara khana bohot pasand aya. Woh humari regular ban gayi hai ab." Dev just hummed and then asked Rakesh to hurry up and then cut the call. He thought back to the encounter with that woman, the day before. She seemed to be a very confident young lady. Nobody had ever had the courage to speak to him like that before. She intrigued him. He would definitely pay more attention the next time he saw her because as Rakesh said, she had become a regular there now. "Kabhi na kabhi toh mil hi jayegi" he said to himself as he smirked. Little did he know that he would be meeting her much sooner than he expected.

As Dev was lost in thought his phone rang. He found it to be Tina on the other side. "Good afternoon Sir." Dev smiled and said, "Good afternoon Tina. Sab theek hai naah office me?" Tina laughed at that. "Uff ho Sir. Aap office ki chinta chhoriye. Main toh aapko yeh batane ke liye call ki thi ki Dr. Bose, your tenant, wants the rent amount to be Rs.15000. Maine toh unkey agreement pe stamp laga ke pehley hi authorize kar diya, par aapse ek baar discuss karna bhool gayi. Apko iss amount se koi problem toh nahin hai naah?" Dev got up from the bed and walked to his balcony, " Nahin. Mujhey koi problem nahin. Money isn't the factor Tina. It's alright." Tina sighed in relief, " Haan Sir maine bhi unhey yahi kahan tha. And she has said ki she'll be paying the rent on the first day of every month. Bohot punctual hain Dr. Bose" Tina laughed and then smacked her head. How could she make such a big error? She held her breath as Dev replied, "Haan haan theek hai. Koi jaldi nahin hai." Tina once again sighed in relief. He hadn't noticed.

But her happiness was short lived because she had forgotten for a split second that he was Devrath Dixit, the business tycoon. Nothing could escape his eye or ear. She heard him say, "Ek minute! Kya kahan tumney Tina? She? Iska kya matlab hai?" Tina covered her eyes with her hand and said, "Woh Sir..." Dev grew impatient, "Kya woh Tina?" Tina gave up. "Sir aapki tenant She hai. Not a he. Her Name is Dr. Sonakshi Bose. Main aapko usi din batane waali thi par aapney pehley hi phone kaat diya!" Dev's eyes grew wide. He spoke in a very calm tone, a tone he used when he was angry. Even Tina was scared of this tone. "Tum mujhsey yeh kehna chahti ho ki last 2 din se neechey ek ladki reh rahi hai? A woman? An ab tak jo main soch raha that that it was a he who was cooking food for me, who actually ek she hai? A woman?"

Even though this wasn't the best time for it, Tina ignored everything else and asked in a shrill excited voice, "Kya? Sir Dr. Bose ne aapke liye khana banaya?" Dev took a deep breath and said, " Tina, I want you here at 6 PM sharp with whatever agreement Dr. Sonakshi Bose ne tumhey diya hai. Pata nahin ussey pata bhi hai ki nahin that she's living with a man. Kya pata tumney usko yeh bhi na bataya ho." Tina gulped, "N-Nahin Sir. Unhey pata hai ki yeh aapka ghar hai aur aap 2^nd level pe rehtey hai." Dev just pinched the bridge of his nose, "Sab kuch le ana, don't be late."

Tina arrived right on time. She knew how much Dev valued punctuality. And on top of that she had made him angry. But she was sure that she would handle it. She had learnt to manage Dev's anger in these few years. She knew he would scold her but she didn't mind that at all. She just knew that she wouldn't let her plan fail after coming this far.

Within seconds of ringing the doorbell Dev ushered her in and they sat on the couch that was now technically Sonakshi's. While the first half hour was spent telling Dev every detail about Sonakshi and her agreement, the next half hour was spent in Tina convincing Dev about how there was no need to ask Sonakshi to leave because she had agreed to take this penthouse knowing all the conditions. "Tum positive ho ki unhey koi problem nahin? I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable." Tina nodded her head vigorously, "Pakka Sir. Koi problem nahin hogi. Aur Dr. Bose toh aur kuch hi minute me aati hongi, aap mere saamney hi unsey pooch lena. Theek hai?" Dev, though reluctantly, finally nodded a yes.

Tina mentally patted herself on the back and decided to wait till Sonakshi came home to make sure that the introduction went well, without a glitch. So she took out her laptop and did some work while Dev paced the balcony as he waited for Dr. Sonakshi Bose to arrive.

********************************************************

Sonakshi had finished a bit early today. It was just 7:15 PM and she was already at the apartment. As she parked her scooty in the garage she remembered that she would meet Mr. Dixit now. She felt a little anxious. She coached herself not to be nervous as she rode the elevator up to her floor. She reassured herself that he was just a normal human being and not an alien just because he was a businessman, a celebrity.

Arriving at the penthouse door she rang the bell. She heard some shuffling sounds and then the door opened to reveal Tina. Sonakshi was confused, "Tina, tum yahan?" Tina smiled widely and said, "Welcome Dr. Bose. Main yahan kuch kaam se ayi thi. Sir se milne. Andar ayiye, Sir yahin baithe hai." Sonakshi attempted a smile, nervously and then slowly stepped into the apartment. Gulping nervously she followed Tina to the drawing room couch. She saw Mr. Dixit, but his face was turned away from Tina and her. He seemed familiar to her. But that wasn't what she wanted to ponder upon now. She wanted to back away and disappear into the room, but before she could take a step Tina said, "Sir, yeh rahi Dr. Sonakshi Bose and Dr. Bose, yeh hai Mr. Dev Dixit." As Tina finished her sentence Dev turned around to face them. The moment that happened all colour drained from Sonakshi's face while Dev's eyes grew wide. Both said, "Aap?!" And "Tum" at the same time in shock. Tina looked on confused. "Aap ek dusrey ko jante hai?" Sonakshi couldn't say a word. But Dev narrowed his eyes and gave a tiny smirk. "Aisa hi kuch samajh lo." Sonakshi gulped again. Tina smiled joyfully and said, "Yeh toh bohot achhi baat hai. Phir toh aap dono ki khoob jamegi!"

Looking back at Tina's face Sonakshi thought, " Ab toh mujhey bhagwaan hi bacha sakte hai."

What would she do now?

***********************************************************************

Note: Ami Tomake Bhalobashi means - I love you.

And Swiggy is the Name of Sonakshi's Scooty. How it acquired this name will be disclosed to all of you in one of the future chapters! 

So that's it for today!

Do hit the like button and drop in the comments.

Jo bhi dena hai, dil kholke dijiye!

See you on Wednesday with the next update!

Love

Mishti