Hello guys! Thank you for all the wonderful comments on previous parts, here is Part 4! Hopefully its worth the read! Enjoy and don't forget to comment :)
PART 4
Laying there in her cozy bed, Jeevika's face automatically lit up seeing the name being flashed on the phone; she did not delay answering the call even for a second.
Jeevika: Hi Mannu, kaisi hai tu?
Manvi: Di!!!!! Main achi hoon, aap batao kaise ho?
Jeevika: Main bhi theek hoon aur waise bhi abh tera phone aa gaya to aur bhi achi ho gayi hoon. Beeji bata rahi thi ki tera phone aaya tha.
Manvi: Haan par tab aap office main thi to maine socha ki apse baad main baat karloongi; so how was your day at work, the usual?
Jeevika kept quiet for a second thinking about what had happened at the office earlier.
Manvi: Hello, di? Kya hua? Aap chup kyun ho gayi?
Jeevika: Nahi kuch nahi bas aise hi...
Manvi: Di aap mere ko ullu mat batao...jaldi bolo phata phat
Jeevika: Are kuch khas nahi, bas usual office ka stress. Khair meri chod, yeh bata tu ghar kab aa rahi hai? Exams kab finish ho rahe hain tere?
Manvi: Are haan vohi batane ke liye to phone kiya tha...Exams finish in 2 weeks so I will be home for a week after that! I can't wait! Pata yahan hostel ka boring sa khana kar main pakk gayi hoon!
Jeevika (smiled): Chal tu aaja phir main tujhe apne haathon se khana bana kar khilaungi...ache se exams ki tayari karna! All the best and I cannot wait to see you, Mannu! I miss you!
Manvi: I will di, don't worry...akhir behan kiski hoon. Acha di main aapse kal baat karti hoon, mujhe bahut neend aa rahi hai aur aap bhi so jayiye! Goodnight, love you!
Jeevika: Goodnight and di loves you too, Mannu!! Bye!
Manvi: Byeee!!
Jeevika, with teary eyed smile, hung up and closed her eyes feeling relieved after talking to Manvi. No matter how worse the day could be at the office, a simple 2 minute conversation with her Mannu can alleviate Jeevika's mood. On the other hand, it was the same for Manvi who was away from home completing her post-secondary education in the University of Calgary; she would call home and especially Jeevika everyday without fail.
After a good night's sleep, Jeevika woke up the next day around 7:00 AM and headed out for a jog by Stanley Park seawall near her home. Dressed in a grey-shirt with black capris leggings and a black hoodie to save herself from the cold breeze, she jogged around the trails of the Stanley Park with music blasting in her ears. Her day always started off with a jog or a walk, she would then sit on of the benches looking out at the serene view in front of her; Vancouver downtown located amidst beautiful sea. Seawall, one of the popular tourist attraction, is a downtown sanctuary that offers city dwellers a multitude of indoors and outdoor activities such as biking, walking, skating, etc. The early morning jog would not only maintained her figure, but would also give her a moment for herself to relax and recharage before heading out to work and deal with the day's stress that might come her way; today she needed this moment more than anything to prepare herself both mentally and physically. She quickly looked at her watch striking 7:45 AM and headed back home to hit a nice hot shower. After spending good 15 minutes in the shower, Jeevika got ready in her professional attire and headed downstairs to have a quick breakfast with others.
Jeevika: Good morning Chachi, Chachu!
Chachu: Good morning Jeevika!
Chachi: Aaja baith naashta kar
Jeevika: Beeji kahan hain?
Chachu: Voh bas aati hi hongi gurudware se, tu to janti hai na unki adaat hai sawere sawere gurudwara jane ki.
Jeevika nodded and helped herself with a breakfast while conversing with others on the table. She informed everyone them about Manvi coming home in few weeks bringing a smile on their faces. Around 8:30 AM, she got up finishing her breakfast and was heading out to the front door only to meet Beeji half way.
Jeevika: Good morning, Beeji!
Beeji smiled at her and offered her the 'prasad' from the gurudwara.
Beeji: Ja raha hai mera beta?
Jeevika: Haan Beeji... Are Beeji, kal raat ko Mannu ka phone aaya tha voh ghar aa rahi hai kuch hi hafton main
Beeji: Acha? Yeh to bahut achi baat hai
Jeevika: Jee...acha Beeji baaki baatein main shaam ko aakar karungi, abh chalti hoon.
She quickly hugged her Beeji saying goodbye and headed out to the garage to drive out in her black lady. Shortly after 9 AM, she reached her office to finish off some pending work; she informed her secretary to divert all her calls and appointments to Agilent Office. After a quick lunch with Victor and other colleagues, she drove to Agilent Office to set up her new office and familiarize herself with new workplace. On the other hand, on 5th floor of Agilent Office, Viren Vadera was giving orders to his secretary ensuring that everything is well set up before Jeevika arrives; knowing her, she would definetely want everything well organized before time, thought Viren to himself. He stood there thinking to himself that this project collaboration would give him an oppurtunity to gauge her feelings; he knew she cared for him, and now the task was to see whether those feelings are still there. He was still lost in his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door only to see that person of his thoughts was now standing across him. She still had it in her to make his heart skip a beat; although she looked more mature and sophisticated in her professional attire, but everything else in her reminded him of the past- those same eyes that one could easily get lost in. The only thing that was missing was her smile; she was not exactly sad but her straight expressionless sent cold vibes, and he was well aware of the reason behind it. Coming out of his thoughts, he managed to say "Come in, have a seat", and he himself took a seat across her taking a sip of cold water.
Jeevika: Thanks, I was told to meet you first before continuing my work on the software launch.
She was trying her best to maintain her compusure and make minimal eye-contact; on the way to work, she was praying that she would not have to meet him and would just work by herself in her cabin, but clearly her lucky stars did not favour her today. The man sitting across her was almost the same as the she knew, but now he looked more mature in black Armani suit and crisp white shirt with silk maroon tie. Shaking herself she thought, "what the hell am I doing checking him out? I am here for work not to drool over his persona! Focus!!"!
Viren: Yes, you would be working from here now on, and as for our first meeting next week with clients, I have sent you an e-mail regarding what needs to be done and rest of the details, you can find them on your desk in the cabin next to mine.
"Next to MINE" thought Jeevika! "Great, that just made it all better"! She thought again.
Viren: You can follow me and I can show you around.
Without saying much, she followed him and was being introduced to others in the office and then he opened up the door to her cabin welcoming her inside. She scanned her temporary domain of work consisting of everything that she would need while working. After saying a formal thank you, she sat down on her chair to get familiarized with hew new surroundings, just as she was about to take out her laptop, she looked up to notice that Viren still had not left her office.
Jeevika (questioning look): Is there something else, Mr. Vadera?
Viren: Umm...nothing I was just trying to find the Jeevika I once knew in this new professional woman sitting in front of me.
That sentence stumped Jeevika, but retorted back instantly without giving him any indication that his talks still affect her in the same manner as it used to before.
Jeevika: Okay let me clarify something, Mr. Vadera; for you I am just Ms. Jeevika Chaudhary and for the months that we are going to work together, we will just be co-workers and nothing more than that!
Before Viren could come up with anything else, his phone rang calling for his attention and he left her office to take the call as Jeevika breathed a sigh of relief. She sat down thinking how can he expect her to be the same after all that happened between them. "There is no way I am going on that same route again, been there done that, I have to guard myself!". On the other hand, Viren was once more taken aback thinking how did Jeevika become this cold as a person; he had never expected this sudden change in her tone and behavior but he had no other option but to leave the things as they were for now. Days passed by and Jeevika continued to maintain her distance from Viren and Viren also did not step into her personal boundaries. It was friday evening when most of the staff had gone home and after finishing her work for the day, Jeevika also decided to head home but as she walked out of her cabin, she noticed a light coming out of Viren's cabin. She decided to quietly peek in and see why had not Viren gone home yet and if everything was allright. She opened the door and stood there looking at the figure relaxing on the chair with his eyes closed as if trying to relieve day's stress, but before she could stop herself, she was already by his desk. She was able to have a good look at him after years; she could a see him changed by looking at his face, which projected more mature look. She lifted her hand to brush a strand of his hair, but quickly moved away and rushed out of the office. She raced to the parking lot and sat in her car to control her breath; she closed her eyes to relax for a while only to realize that no matter how much she denies, she still has feelings for him, which caused her to act the way she was about to few minutes ago. She drove slowly thinking about what just happened and relating it all back to their past; whereas, Viren opened his eyes with a huge smile on his face knowing that Jeevika came in his cabin. Jeevika thought that he had dozed off but that was not the case; Viren, with his eyes closed, was fully aware of his surroundings and for him, her coming into the cabin meant a lot. The minute she walked into his cabin he knew it was her; slight noise of her heels and with her all time favourite perfume on, he could not go wrong in guessing that it was indeed her. This little moment brought a ray a hope for him, he decided to try and be friends with her again, ofcourse taking everything slow, and he thought if he succeeded to even be friends with her, he would tell her why he broke off contact with her and had not been in touch for all these years.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Current Affairs
