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Distance Makes...
...the heart grow fonder.
'Shree, don't you think your Rathod Sir is very lost nowadays?'
Shree looked up from his laptop at a confused Sakshi, who was biting the tip of her pen, deep in thought.
'Lost? I think you mean Arjun Sir. He's the one who always has a depressed expression on his face,' Shree sighed.
'No I'm talking about your Rathod Sir only. Look at him! Does he look like somebody who might get transferred or lose his job due to political pressure anytime soon?'
Shree frowned. Rathod Sir had been looking quite queasy in the morning, and Shree had put it down to a bad breakfast and a call from the DIG early in the morning. However, on closer inspection he realized that career was probably the last thing on Rathod's mind.
'Sometimes people lose their marbles before the end,' Arjun commented sardonically. Sakshi ignored him and posed another question to Shree ,'Do you think he's having family problems?'
'I don't know much about his family...'
Just then Rathod emerged out of his cabin, a stern expression on his face. 'What are you'll discussing?'
'Nothing Sir,' Sakshi said hastily. Shree immediately went back to his laptop. 'It's just that there's so much negative publicity surrounding the police nowadays, due to their failure to ensure the safety of women.'
At the words 'safety of women' Rathod's face took on a distinct green hue. He gulped and composed himself. 'I agree with you Sakshi. The conduct of my colleagues in this matter has been despicable. All of us at the ETF have always been committed to ensure the safety of women like you. Well, almost all of us,' he said darting a look at Arjun.
Arjun ignored the obvious jibe at his past and told Sakshi, 'Don't worry, the ETF is very progressive. Look at Ayesha for instance. She's a woman, but have you the way she beats up criminals? It's so impressive. Right now she's on a trip to Pune for a conference of female ACP's but we have not received a single call asking for help. See, she's so self-sufficient.'
Rathod looked like he was going to hurl. 'Sir are you alright?' Chotu asked, concerned. 'Have a glass of water.'
Arjun frowned. What was up with Rathod? He'd never seen him acting so frightened before.
Rathod disappeared back into his office, presumably to enquire whether there had been any new cases in the past 24 hours. Shree, who was scrolling for new gadgets on the Net suddenly remembered that Liza had gone for the conference too, and felt a twinge of shame. He should have at least called both of them and asked how they were!
Rathod meanwhile was doing exactly what Shree was thinking about. Unfortunately, though Liza picked up her phone and confirmed that she had arrived safely, Ayesha's mobile was out of reach. For some reason he could feel his temper shooting through the roof. How irresponsible of her to not call!
Yet, why should she call though? This wasn't some mission where she had to report to him. It was just a conference, and she was capable of taking care of herself.
She'll be fine Rathod, he assured himself. She's been in this job almost as long as you have.
----
Two days had passed. Liza had returned to Mumbai but Ayesha had stayed to 'discuss some important matters'. Rathod felt his reserves of patience depleting.
The ETF had got a case about the murder of a famous actress' daughter. Since the motive was suspected to be a drug deal gone wrong, the ETF had to co-operate with the Narcotics Bureau to solve the case. Arjun as usual was giving annoying suggestions which were clearly out-of-boundaries, but the Narcotics team seemed to be lapping it up. On top of it, without Ayesha's skills of psychological persuasion, none of the female leads in the case were willing to co-operate. Liza having spent half her life in a laboratory was of little help in interrogating the sensitive, self-centered socialite friends of the victim.
Even Arjun seemed to have reached a dead end. They were sure that the actress was hiding some important fact from them. However, she seemed like she would file a lawsuit if any of the men of the ETF got too close to her. It had happened with a rookie member before and Rathod didn't want to take any chances.
At the same time, he didn't want to call Ayesha back either. He knew that times were delicate, and the better all of them networked with important dignitaries, the more chances they had of keeping their job. He didn't want Ayesha to lose out on her career just because of his silly longing for her company...
Is that what you feel for her now? Longing?
'I miss Ayesha Ma'am,' he heard Chotu grumble from outside. 'If she had been here she would have bossed that heroine into revealing all her secrets in no time.'
Rathod sighed. Just then, a female voice said huskily, 'Well, you take the name of the Devil and she's back!'
Rathod's heart lifted itself out of the hole it had crawled into and he felt a rush of pleasure infinitely greater than all those times he had solved a case. 'Ayesha Ma'am!' Liza squealed happily, and they all formed a group hug, save for the grumpy Arjun of course.
Keep calm, he told himself. 'Ms. Ayesha would you please come into my office?' he called out.
It was only when he saw her walk in, flesh and blood, that he truly realized that she was back. He automatically got up from his chair, and the first words that came out of his mouth were, 'Is this a time to come? Why didn't you call? Don't you know how much inconvenience we've suffered because of you?'
Ayesha flinched. Rathod had never yelled at her before. He'd yelled at Shree, Chotu, Liza and even Arjun, but never her. As strange as it sounded, she'd always taken it as a sign that there was something special between them.
Her face betrayed no expression save for a raised eyebrow. 'I'm sorry sir,' she said, 'I promise not to take so much time returning from conferences in the future.'
'Good,' he said, his cheeks flushed due to both anger, and embarrassment that he had raised his voice. He sneaked a look at his fellow team-members. They had thankfully gone outside, presumably to give the two some privacy in their discussion.
'I'm sorry,' he said after a pause. 'It's just that-' he struggled as to what words he should say. 'If you were in my place you would have said the same thing,' he finished lamely.
She nodded, and before he could sense it, she had wrapped him in a tight embrace, her arms pressing onto his back, her head tucked underneath his chin. Though Rathod had a strict no-contact policy with all his employees, he couldn't resist himself. He relaxed, allowing her to lean into him. His fingers brushed through her hair, and she raised her face to nuzzle his cheeks, enjoying the friction created by his stubble. His lips brushed against her ear, and then down to a sensitive spot on her neck.
Ayesha was tired and sleepy, and Rathod's arms were better than any pillow in the world. She buried herself in his shirt, taking in his scent. Her arms dropped to her sides, but he put them around his neck so that she wouldn't fall. They stayed like that for god-only-knows-how-long.
They finally separated when they heard their fellow team members trooping back in. Both of them looked at each other with beetroot-like faces.
'It was just a hug,' she was quick to clarify.
'I know,' was his response.
Distance certainly makes the heart grow fonder, but unfortunately it doesn't enable it to speak the truth.
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