MaNan FF 'THE GREEK GOD' by Alohomora Chap 62 Pg 144 - Page 52

~ CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX ~

It was close to afternoon when the meeting finally wrapped up. A rather uneventful one. Though Mukherjee looked and sounded a bit strict, Nandini was liking him already. He had the kindest pair of eyes she had ever seen. Not to mention, he always looked pleasant unlike some people she knew.

Some people! That reminded her. Mr. Manik Malhotra. The devil's incarnation! And there he was! Standing around with Cabir and Mukherjee. Chatting away to glory as if he was the most dependable guy in the world. I wonder if Mukherjee has ever seen this guy's true colours! If he hasn't I wish that he does! I'm just dying to see what would happen when that day finally comes!

Nandini had an uneasy feeling in her guts. This was a day she never wanted to be reminded of. Twelve years back on this day, the car which Nandini, her parents and brother was travelling in met with a terrible accident. Fortunately or unfortunately, she was the only one who survived after suffering a serious concussion to the head. Ever since, she had made sure to hold special prayers every year in their memory.

Nandini glanced at her watch. The Puja's this afternoon. I need to leave soon, like now. But how am I even going to ask this guy to leave me? Hope he doesn't come up with any of his nonsense.

Her heart skipped a beat when all of a sudden Manik was no longer accompanied by Cabir or Mukherjee and he now had his full attention on her. Oh shit. He's coming. Whew! Just calm down. It's going to be okay. I'm sure he will understand. He will let you go. She took a deep breath as he closed in on her.

"Nandini Murthy!" From the way he called her name, she had this ill feeling that he's not going to make it easy for her. Surely, he had devised some of his evil twisted plans to screw up her life. Nandini found herself searching eagerly for Cabir and Mukherjee. She so wished that they were around. At least she could take Mukherjee's permission and leave. But of course, he had already left. Why else would this guy raise his hood?

"So!" Manik stood tall with his hands jammed into his pockets. "How far has the filing reached?"

"Actually... it's done," replied Nandini meekly.

"Done!!!?" Manik expressed fake surprise. "Good job! You know what? I didn't think that you..." he gave her a quick sarcastic glare from head to toe "...could finish it. I'm sure that you had help. Isn't it?"

Nandini's mind raced back to the time where she was stuck in the filing room and struggling to execute a simple task such as segregating the documents and pinning them together. Dhruv had managed to slither in without getting spotted by Manik. "It's fun when we do it together," he had told her. "Two is better than one."

Manik's voice snapped Nandini out of her pleasant flashback. "Dhruv!" From the way he beckoned his subordinates, this guy should have been in the army. He was not at all soft. Not at all!

In Dhruv's case, Manik's voice had this special something in it to instantly dissolve his muscles into liquid protein. "You called, Manik?" he asked nervously.

"Did you help her with the filing?" A simple and straight but stern question from Manik. Enough to give Dhruv that impending sense of doom. The poor, frightened lad gulped down the huge ball that had begun to form in his throat. "Well... Manik... I... erm..."

"Did you or didn't you?" Manik snapped firmly with his eyebrows raised in question.

"Y-Yes," came Dhruv's quaking reply after a brief moment of hesitation.

"Why?"

"That... Manik... I... erm..."

"Why?" Manik repeated. Dhruv flinched at this.

Mukti, who had sensed that trouble was on the way, looked up from her work and observed Manik's victims. Nandini felt helpless as she watched Dhruv fidgeting before the monster. The poor guy! He had been so warm and friendly to her all these days, even taking the risk of helping her out when he very well knew that he could land in serious trouble should Manik find out. I so wish that Cabir was here! Where did he disappear to? If he was here then he would have stopped this monster!

"I was just... wanting to... help..." Dhruv was so nervous that one could easily notice the shining sheet of sweat that was glistening all over his face.

"Did I ask you to do it?" Manik questioned.

Complete silence.

"Dhruv. Answer my question"

"No," Dhruv replied feebly.

"Then?"

"I'm... I'm sorry Manik," he mumbled.

"That doesn't answer my question," snapped Manik.

"Manik." Mukti finally spoke up. She couldn't take this shit any longer. "Dhruv was just trying to help her out. She couldn't do it alone in such a short time. No one can. After all, the entire point is to get the job done with or without help. So what's the..."

"Mukti. You stay out of this." Manik warned her with a wave of his finger. "Did I ask for your opinion?"

"Manik. I was just..." Mukti was so pissed off now that she was in the right mood to pick up a full-fledged argument.

"Shhh. That's enough!" He ordered in a stern voice with a quick wave of his hand.

Mukti was seething with rage. She clenched her teeth as she struggled to swallow up the ton of F-words which were itching at the tip of her tongue. Idiot! This son of a b...

"Dhruv. What's the current state of the HR information system?" It seemed like Manik wasn't ready to let go of Dhruv that easily. He was like an evil spirit that clung to its host and wouldn't let go.

"That... is up to date," he replied in an uncertain tone.

"Oh really?" Manik let out a soft sarcastic chuckle. "I was just checking it out this morning and I couldn't find any information on the last twenty employees who had joined including Nandini. Now why is that?"

Though Dhruv had seen this coming long back, he still hadn't managed to do anything on the system. All thanks to his huge workload. But now, that day was finally here.

"Maybe... it could have evaporated into thin air? Possible. Right?" Manik continued to prick Dhruv with his sarcasm. "You should have concentrated on updating the system which was your major task rather than taking time to have fun in something which you were never interested to do before."

At this statement, Nandini raised her eyebrows. What the hell is he suggesting? That Dhruv was trying to hit on me? Seriously?

Manik glanced at his watch. "It's 12:42 PM now. By 1:15, I need the system up to date. By hook or crook. And you better have a good reason if it isn't." Dhruv looked visibly relieved but devastated as Manik turned his attention to Nandini. "And you... come along with me."

Oh great. Now what? Nandini followed Manik's cue and tagged along to his cabin. She found him waiting inside with his hand still stuffed into his pockets.

"Haven't you always wanted that golden opportunity to not look dumb for once?" Manik had a ridiculous sneer on his face. "Well, here it is now. My cabin. I want it organized from top to bottom. Your deadline is... 7 PM. And your time starts now."

Nandini's eyes browsed around. It was no better than the first time she saw it. This time, it looked like it was hit by an atomic explosion. There were loose papers strewn everywhere. Cabinets were half open with stuff popping out. His desk was a nightmare and everything else was terrific!

"Actually... I have a question."

"Question." Infuriated, Manik's eyes went wide and glassy at the courage she had gathered to ask questions. He folded his arms defensively. "Okay. Shoot."

"Why am I serving a month's notice when I have hardly worked for a week?" she asked curiously. "Like... isn't it usually a week's notice for those who are on probation? And why am I doing all this when I'm supposed to hand over my job to a new person. Coming to the point, I don't have anything to hand over in the first place. So why am I still here?"

Manik's eyes visibly flickered with rage. He definitely didn't like being questioned or challenged. But he surely seemed ready to give her a virtual slap with his answer. "Okay Ms. Murthy," he began with a tight-lipped sarcastic smile, "for your kind information, it is very clearly mentioned in your offer letter that should you end your service, you will be liable to pay two months' salary which is equals to forty thousand rupees OR work for one month and pay one months' salary. Now which sounds better to you?"

Nandini was quiet. She wasn't really sure what was written in her letter. She needed to double check just to be sure.

Manik was very pleased with himself. He had managed to shut her up. "And if you have any more questions, you'd better check your offer letter and do some research before throwing up. Is that clear?"

"Yes," replied Nandini after a seemingly long pause.

"Excellent! You can begin now," said Manik as he plopped comfortably into his chair. "And... you're not going to go home before 7. Anymore questions?"

7 PM! But I need to get back now! The Puja is this afternoon!

"But..." Nandini was very nervous now. The fear of being humiliated was overwhelming. And with this guy's current state of mind, it seemed highly likely. "I tried to tell you before... the thing is that... I wanted to leave a bit early. In fact... now."

"Now? For what?"

Nandini twiddled her fingers as she worked up the courage to deal with his rude demeanour. "I have an important Puja... in the afternoon. And I can't miss it. I..."

"See look," Manik began aggressively, "let me make this quite plain. You're not some fuddy-duddy old lady sitting at home. You're a working woman. With responsibilities. And you are answerable to the company. Get it? So keep all your traditions, religion and all other sympathies at home before coming over here."

"But..." His reply felt like a painful slap to her face. A slap that she didn't deserve. At least not now... not when she was trying to talk about something painful. And that too with someone who probably didn't even understand pain! Something that she wasn't... in Manik's words... expecting sympathy.

Manik, who had been literally burning with coffee and embarrassment since morning was just waiting for an opportunity to get back at her. After all, she shared his nasty secret. "If you were so concerned about all these things you should have simply sat at home. Why did you have to come here and waste my time? I would have given the job to someone else."

"I... it's just for this one day." The struggle to bottle herself up was growing more tedious. The heart wrench was growing to an unbearable level. A level where she could end up breaking down. "I wouldn't have if it weren't so important."

"Really?" asked Manik was an amused smirk. He was now standing close to her. So close that she had to tip her head uncomfortably to meet his eyes. "How important? Someone died or what?"

Nandini felt like the lights around her had just flickered. His words were like a sharp knife that just got driven through her heart. The mockery in his words and expression was the last straw. "Yes..." her quiet reply sounded like a gasp as she struggled to stay strong before his ridicule.

"Seriously?" he chuckled sarcastically. "Who? Your dog?"

Nandini's breaths grew quicker and shallow. The constriction she felt in her chest was bad enough to cut off her air supply. As if it wasn't enough for him to humiliate her, he had now begun to humiliate the memory of her parents and brother.

"Or... let me guess," he continued relentlessly with no sign of giving up. "Wait," he pretended to think hard. "Oh come on. Now don't tell me that it's your dad."

Though her speechlessness gave him the much required satisfaction, the tears that had begun to spill over her eyes and roll down her cheeks told him that his "guess" might be right after all.

"Yes!" she heaved in a clogged and unsteady voice.

As realization dawned on him, the smugness on his face instantly dissolved to surprise and then an uncomfortable remorse. Nandini, who had crossed the threshold of her tolerance, broke into a quiet sob and bustled out of the room.

A stunned Dhruv and Mukti looked up from their work to see a tear stricken Nandini hurry out of the department. "Nandini?" Mukti shot to her feet and took off after her.

Dhruv turned his questioning gaze to Manik who was now at the door of his cabin. He looked stiff all over as he stood there with his fingers twiddling in guilt.

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