Posted:
Chapter 3
Prerna looked around her new cabin which was a considerable improvement from her old one. It was a large room with plain white walls with a designer ceiling. The ceiling had yellow, white and grey colours giving her a nice, sober look. There was more classy furniture and it was properly air conditioned. It was a very spacey room and the wall sized window to the side looked over the beautiful city, giving a breath taking view. But none of this registered her mind.
She sat in her lush seat, and shook her head. She disappointed herself. She let Anurag Basu rile her up. She didn't expect her first day at this new venture to go this way.
Sighing, she tied her hair up into a messy bun and turned the AC up. She opened her laptop and found around a fifteen new mails already sent. She was supposed to work double now. She has three departments under her.
The work took her majority of the morning and she skipped her lunch to get her work going. Her mom would have yelled at her had she known. She would not know, obviously.
It was quarter past three when she ordered herself a sandwich. She leaned back into the seat, sighing. This work was VERY taxing.
Just as she was about to close her eyes, Prerna's phone pinged. There was a new message. It was from a contact called The Genius. Who? She opened and read.
It read as follows :
I guess I was correct about your ego in the morning. The boss wants us to work on this together. There's no way out. Please don't make it difficult for me and reply to the information I asked you earlier. I want this job. We can deal with our problem later.
Anurag. Why was his name saved as Genius? Oh, he seemed to have fed it that way in the morning. So mature! And he was calling her immature.
And what was this guy going on about? She refreshed her mail and checked through all of them. Nothing.
She went into the spam and checked. There was a mail from Anurag asking details about the new Investments List.
Prerna rolled her eyes. Why did it have to happen that way?
She typed out her reply :
Your mail went straight to the spam. I had to check it again after you sent your kindly worded reminder. I am sending you the list.
P. S. I wouldn't bring ego into profession. And my job is important for me too. I haven't been offered with a job for free. Or for time pass.
She then sent the list and got back to work.
She got another message. A single word :
'Whatever'
Prerna ignored it.
Her evening too was very burdening. She had to send mails and ask for information many times from Prerna. Very frequently indeed. It was very frustrating to have to type out a new mail every five minutes. She had work to do as well, apart from sending mails. They also had to discuss a lot of things. Mails weren't the best option. Her inbox mounted with mails that day.
After a thorough discussion of the marketing department's progress of strategies, with Anurag, over the mail of course, she was done for the day.
She headed out of her cabin and made a beeline to the elevator. Anurag was already in it along with two other old men.
Anurag held the door open and let her in.
"Thanks," she muttered, he just nodded.
Prerna wanted to speak to him. About work. They can't go on like this. They HAD to sit together and work.
"Sharma? I want to talk to you about something." he started, hesitantly.
Oh wow! He wanted to talk too. He'll let him do the talking then.
"About what?" Prerna asked, feigning to be utterly clueless.
"I don't even know why I am doing this. Its humiliation but," he said, seeming to be on real doubt.
"But what?" Prerna prompted. Come on, dude. Say it already! Say that we should work together.
And he spoke real fast. "I just saw in the morning that my car ran out of fuel, as soon as I reached here. Could you give me a drop?" He asked and closed his eyes shut. It took him every ounce of his self esteem, or ego, whatever you call it, to ask her.
"What?" Prerna asked, this time seriously non plussed.
The elevator pinged and they got out.
"I need a drop, Sharma. What's so difficult?"
Prerna narrowed her eyes suspicious.
"It was fine in the morning."
"Didn't you hear me say I checked after coming here?" said Anurag, getting impatient.
"What a convenient coincidence. Your car ran out of fuel as soon as you reached office and no where in between?" Prerna asked, testily.
"Yes," Anurag gritted.
He had to put with all this for one ride. Cruel fate.
Prerna surveyed him for a little while her eyes narrowed. Still suspicious. "What about booking an Ola Cab?"
"I've been trying since half an hour. There seem to be none in the area."
"Why not ask somebody else?"
"It's my first day. I don't know anybody. Remember?"
"But I am a bad driver according to you."
"I seem to have no option left."
"What about flagging an au -"
"Oh god! Just stop!" Anurag roared, putting an end to her questionnaire. "Don't give me a ride. Okay?"
Prerna started.
He started walking away, muttering under his breath. This Sharma was nuts. And she is set upon on driving him nuts too.
Prerna hurried behind him.
"Hey, I was just asking." she said, shrugging. "You can come."
"Sure?"
"Yep" she quipped.
She got her car out of the park and Anurag settled in.
"Where do you stay?" she asked.
"House 243, 13 Street, M G Road."
"Okay."
"Why so many questions when you knew you wanted to agree?" Anurag
asked in the always irritated tone. The tone that he used only in her presence. Because no one drove him nuts like Prerna Sharma did. Not then. Not now.
"Who knows? You might be a crazy stalker. You might want to kidnap me. Kill me also, considering our history." Prerna replied, shrugging.
Anurag gave a short laugh. "That, is a very tempting offer but I think I'd reserve it for later."
"And I might very well push you out if my car right now and you will be left stranded on the road," Prerna reminded him.
"Oh yeah?" Avinash replied, giving a lazy smirk.
"Yeah." Prerna said, winding the car left. His address was just five minutes away from there.
It had been bothering her since morning. She had to tell him.
"Hey, Anurag?"
"Yeah?"
Do it, Preu! "I was being very mean in the morning. I shouldn't have said that."
Anurag's face became stony. He just nodded and didn't speak further.
After a minute or two, Prerna said, "I am sorry."
Anurag did a double take. All deliberately.
"What!? Did you just say something like sorry? For me? You, you apologised? To me? You strung those five letters S-O-R-R-Y?" Anurag said, pretending to be utterly shocked.
Drama. Prerna rolled her eyes.
"Get out already." she said, bringing the car to halt.
Anurag grinned lazily and got down.
"Thanks, Sharma. One good thing you've done in your life."
Prerna gave him the finger and drove off.
Thankless fellow.
She reached home, had dinner quickly and changed to her night suit. She was so tired that her eyes were shutting off on their own accord.
Prerna was about to turn the lights if the bedroom off when her phone pinged.
The Genius : We didn't negotiate about the car still. My charm made you drop your plans?
She forgot all about it. Why did Anurag even remind about it to her? Maybe this was his way of thanking her. Crazy guy.
She typed her reply :
No energy to laugh at your jokes. Negotiation will be done. Tomorrow at office. Where are we both going?
She got another message a minute later :
Cool
Prerna gave no reply to that and shut the lights off.
She dozed off to sleep in two minutes. It was a very tiring day.
__________
This is more like a filler chapter. But our duo had to fight in that one too! Tell me how it was anyway!
-Vignyathri
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
Ufff Yeh Love Hai Mushkil
Asian Shows
Cricket
Anupamaa
