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Thread 6: Part XCI - Page 1
Part XCI
Note: This scene was improvised for Maaneet in my fic 'Maaneet scenes' as my readers of that fic would have realised, but I had written the original scene for Sam-Dev.
The next morning Dev and Sameera were in tearing hurry to leave for work as both had overslept and got up pretty late. Barring the perfunctory good morning, they did not have time to talk to each other. They barely managed to gulp down their breakfast and rushed to the car. At the office they went to their respective cabins and began that day's work. At around 11.30 a.m. Dev called Sameera to his cabin. When she walked in, she noticed Dev fumingly pace up and down the cabin, a file clutched tightly in his hand. Looking up at her, he threw the file on the desk with force.
"Ms.Singhania, can I have an explanation for this?" he spat out angrily.
She lifted the file slowly and read through the document, her eyes widening in shock as she did so.
He continued in the same angry tone, "The undue delay in executing this order has caused us a loss of Rs.80 crore. Besides, our client has also threatened to sue us for the sub-standard product which has been delivered to him."
Sameera was momentarily stunned, witnessing this side of Dev. She never thought he was capable of such fury. Checking the date of the order, Sameera realised that this was undertaken during the time she was in Bangalore taking care of her mother. She knew he was aware of it as well. Then why was he accusing her? As if he read her mind Dev continued, "You may have an excuse that this order was executed in your absence but were you not the one who once said that you will assume responsibility for the omissions and commissions of your subordinates? Now I want you to assume full responsibility for this and submit your resignation letter immediately."
Sameera stared at him in disbelief. Was this the same Dev who had assumed responsibility for loss on an earlier occasion? Was it the same man who was compassionate and helpful to people? How could he be so unreasonable all of a sudden? While one part of her revolted at the injustice meted out to her, the larger part of her felt too hurt to be angry. Her disappointment in him was so overwhelming she did not have the will to fight. All she wanted to do is to run away from him and cry her heart out in the privacy of her cabin. Quickly blinking back her tears, she rushed out from there.
If she had lifted her eyes and looked at him she would have noticed the pain in his eyes. It took all his will power to stop himself from running behind her and dragging her into his arms. As the minutes ticked by he waited patiently for her reappearance. He had read her well. He knew she will not defend herself or beg for the job. Her self-respect would not allow her to do so. As he had expected, she came in within fifteen minutes, her resignation letter in her hand. She slammed it on the desk and said that she will vacate his house too by that evening. Without waiting for his response she left his cabin as quickly as she came in. He waited for a couple of minutes before following her. She was briskly walking out of his office premises, a cardboard carton in her hands holding her belongings.
"Sameera, wait," he called out to her. She pretended she did not hear him and quickened her steps but he persistently followed her.
Turning around, she cast her flaming eyes at him and spat out, "What do you want now, Mr. Singh?"
"I am Dev, not Mr.Singh. Remember, we are on first name basis outside the office?"
She did not say anything but turned back to leave. Ignoring her silence he caught her by her wrist and asked, "Will you have lunch with me?"
She turned around again in disbelief. 'Was he out of his mind?' she wondered. One minute he throws her out of her job and the next minute he asks her to have lunch with him. She shrugged her wrist free and was about to give him a heated response but he asked her to consider it for old time sake.
"Sameera, we have worked together for a year now. We have shared a lot during this time. Would you not give me the pleasure of having one last lunch with you? I may not be your boss anymore but I am still your house mate till you vacate my house. At least in that capacity you can still accept my offer?" he looked at her expectantly.
She gave in finally and agreed to have lunch, more to get him off her back than to really please him. She decided that she will give him the silent and cold treatment throughout the meal. He took her to a nearby restaurant and led her to a corner table. Once she was seated, he passed the menu card to her and asked her to choose the items she wanted. She looked at the card listlessly for a few minutes and slammed it down. She was about to tell him that she had made a big mistake agreeing to have lunch with him and that she wanted to leave immediately when she found the seat opposite her empty. Wondering where he would have gone, she turned her head and found him kneeling by her side. In his hand was an open ring case. Nestled in the centre of it was a large diamond ring.
Even as she tried to comprehend what her eyes beheld, he whispered fervently, "Will you marry me Sameera? Will you be my Valentine?"
She was totally stumped for words and looked at him with a mixture of confusion, exhilaration, and apprehension. 'Was this all a dream or has the guy really lost his marbles?' she thought.
As if to answer her question he said, "I am sorry about what happened this morning. I staged the whole thing to get you to quit your job."
She looked at him incredulously wondering why would he go to such great lengths to kick her out.
"You see, I have fallen deeply in love with you but I was unable to act on my feelings as long as we had this employer-employee relationship going. I did not want to violate the sanctity of that relationship by proposing to you when you were still working for me. I want you to be more than just my employee. I want you to be my better half. I want to share all my happiness, my sorrow, my pain, my troubles, my successes and my failures with you. So will you accept me, darling and brighten my life?"
As she struggled with her feelings, her eyes brimming with tears of joy, he said jocularly, "Darling, my knees are hurting. For now you can say yes and accept my ring so that I can get up. Later on you can give me that passionate speech you practiced on me last night." She went red in the face when she realised he had heard her confession.
Smiling lovingly at him she said yes. Dev punched the air in glee and slipped the ring on her finger, kissing her fingers tenderly. He resumed his seat opposite her and said that there was more. Wondering what he meant she looked at him intently. He signalled to the waiter who brought in a black forest cake. On it was written in big bold letters 'Happy birthday, Sameera'. She was surprised that he knew her birthday. Her birthday as per official records was June 1st whereas her real birthday was February 14th. There were only three people who were aware of her real birthday, one was dead (her grand mother), one was mentally deranged (her mother) and the third was absconding (her father). There was no way her mother would have told him her birthday. She was in a world of her own to remember her daughter's birthday. That left only her father. Has he found him finally? Her eyes looked at him with question and hope. He smiled and signalled towards the entrance. There stood her mother holding the arm of a distinguished looking gentleman in a business suit. The man was six feet tall , with a mop of thick salt and pepper hair. He sported a moustache and a french beard. When they approached their table, he flashed her a broad smile revealing pearly white teeth.
Dev got up from his seat and introduced the gentleman to her. "Sameera, this is Mr.Mohan Mittal, your father!"
Kumkum Bhagya
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
Cricket
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