Open & Common
“What brings you here?” he asked with a smile
“Rathiji was driving me home he said he was going to drive back to pick you up”
He was listening
“Mujhe laga hum dono saath hi challenge to unko drive nahi karna padega”
“Big decision” he couldn’t contain his sarcasm
“No it wasn’t actually….” She said calmly
There was a knock on the door
“Did you get your coffee?” Ms Ray asked her boss
“Oh yeah, I went downstairs and walked and got it” he pointed to the store cup
“Sorry, OK I w..”
Can you come in if you have a second?” he asked Ms ray
“Oh yeah?”
Viveka was leaning against the window, in a dark green Maharashtra cotton paired with an orange blouse, her messy bun tied with pompom strings
“Ruhi this is my wife, Viveka Mathur”
“Oh?” I am sorry I did not know” Ruhi was extremely apologetic
“That’s fine” he smiled
“Hi! Ma’am
“Viveka is fine”
“I thought you were some journalist” Ruhi laughed
“Oh? Thanks for the compliment”
“Can I get you something?” Ruhi looked frazzled
“Viveka this is Ruhi Ray she is an Intern Catalyst, she rotates from job to job for 6 months, or hopes to”
“Niice”
“Where do you go to school?”
“DU Ma’am Mass Comm”
“Nice, you could be a journalist at some point”
“I wishhhh” the young girl gushed
“My wife teaches at JNU” Raanav explained
The MY WIFE did it for Viveka she turned red
“Oh wowww they have such a good program too”
“Yeah I have heard”
“She writes scholarly economics articles” Raanav tucked his hands in his pockets
“Not scholarly, I just write stuff”
“Good to meet you Ma’am, I will send coffee”
“Don’t bother, I have a grande we can share”
“I will bring a mug”
“That’s not necessary” Raanav nodded
“Have a nice evening, its NY eve are you going some place” Viveka enquired
“Oh yeah” the girl laughed
“Enjoy Happy NY 2021”
“You too”
“Did you say Viveka Mathur downstairs?” he asked checking his text
“Umm.. yeah?”
“WHY?” he was baffled
“I cannot say Parashar here after telling you I am not willing to change my name right?”
“Ah”
“I came to see if you could go home Raanav, main bas…”
He didn’t “see” her as someone who would throw her weight around
Lekha had come in two days ago, and the entire floor knew who she was
She had come in many times the last 3 years, but this was her first visit as Mrs Parashar
He walked over and picked up his coffee and brought it to the window
“How was last night?” he asked
“Kya matlab?” she asked shocked
I SLEPT ALONE, kya matlab hai?” she thought
He chuckled
“With your friend” he laughed
“Oh WOHHHH!”
“What did you think?”
“Tumhara sawal bahut cryptic tha” she mumbled
“Coffee?” he handed her the mug
“Ghar chalo” she did not take the cup
He sipped
“Why are you wearing a tie?” she asked curiously
“Looks like dude cleans up when I am not home” she thought in her head
“I had to go represent the CEO at some governing council meeting
“It’s a nice combination” she mumbled, the silver grey trouser paired with a hot pink tie and white shirt
“Well… thank you” he nodded in a sing song voice
They stood assessing each other in the quiet conference room
The heating whirred behind her in the unit under the window
She shifted relaxing
“It’s a conference room” he mumbled a curse after
“Daro mat tumhe ravish nahi karoongi” she smiled
His eyes glinted cheekily
“Mere baare mein kuch nahi kahogey?” she asked openly inviting
He let his eyes rove her from head to toe, stopping unduly long on her neck and upper body and waist and hands, and went back to her lips and stopped
“Well” he shrugged impudently
He slowly sipped his coffee his eyes never leaving her
“Yeh hai tumhara office?” she asked
“No its outside…. Its an open cube, it was too noisy”
“Oh?”
She didn’t expect him to sit with the plebs
She had pictured him in a large grand room 1000 sq ft at least with a glass topped table and carved lion sculpture for the feet with a hot 20 year old admin
She smiled and pushed her glasses up, as she cracked herself up like Akash Mathur
“Hmm?” he questioned
“Nothing!”
“Laughing at the boss”
“Now if you say it that way it sounds bad”
“How would you say it” he whispered holding the cup on his lips
“Laughing at the guy who cannot find a quiet corner in such a large office”
“That’s a lie you were not thinking that” he challenged
She looked flustered
“You make a very intimidating prosecutor” she said softly
“Yet my wife hides things from me, can you believe that?” he injected silkily
She turned bright red, not knowing where to hide
He said those words uber possessively
“Umm.. you think she hid stuff from you?” Viveka boldly argued in third person
“Let me see”
“Raanav no” she begged
He sighed and sipped his coffee
“I have to first figure out why they rejected me right?”
“And I totally wouldn’t have allowed you to”
She looked at his shiny hand crafted leather shoes
“Mujhe self pity mein wallow karna achha lagta hai” she said quietly
He sighed again
“Apna cube nahi dikhaogey?” she asked after a while of silence and staring
“Want a tour?” he asked intensely
She nodded shaking off romantic thoughts
“Where do you want to go tonight?”
She turned to him forgetting what evening it was
“Oh NYE?”
He laughed
He gave her a long detailed tour, explained the architecture the interior design, she took pictures when he was not looking or when he was taking calls
When things shall go back to normal with Naina she would show her those and they would look at it together over dal chawal on a sunny summer afternoon
His cube was messy, it had running shoes under the desk, and a backpack and a leather satchel on a chair
He had three curved monitors
No personal fx
Just a bunch of magazines, travel lifestyle etc
She wondered if there were pictures of him modeling those shirts in them
“Your desk looks like my desk back home in Rohini just before I am about speak at a conference” she turned to him with a shocked smile
“We do have something in common then?” he whispered softly
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