Disclaimer: Chapter is unedited. Apologies for errors in advance.
Chapter 12:
"I am Emily and I am the woman you will go to when you want
numbers." The woman held her hand out and looked at him plainly. Maan was
flabbergasted. He swallowed.
"Come on, come on, shake my hand and be done with it. I have
plenty of work to do," Emily waved her hand him to get up and shake her hand
already.
"What the hell are you doing here? I told you specifically
not to enter this building." Satya exclaimed who had come in to Maan's cabin.
Emily ignored him.
"Wait, she isn't a new hire?" Maan asked looking at Emily
and Satya.
"She told you that?" Satya asked Maan. "You told him that?"
He asked Emily. Maan was amused to see Satya rattled and little out of his
skin. It was nice to see him so humane for a change.
"You already have a job," Satya said.
"I quit today morning. Told them that I was bored with them
and needed excitement in my life," Emily replied.
"And they let you go without serving a notice period?" Maan
butted in.
"I think they are worried about the things I could do to
them if they don't agree to my terms," Emily replied. "Can I start working?
This conversation is already getting boring," she said annoyed. Maan and Satya
looked at each other.
"Do you have a resume?" Maan asked slowly.
"Are you insulting me?" Emily asked raising an eyebrow.
Satya sighed.
"Sir she has the same qualifications as me and has
collective experience in acquisitions and mergers." Satya said.
"Why would I hire someone with same qualification as yours?"
Maan asked just to annoy Emily further. Strangely she reminded him of Geet.
"I look prettier than this guy," Emily said flatly thumbing
at Satya. Maan burst out laughing.
"And besides what Satya mentioned, I will also be part of
your negotiation team." Emily decided her role in the company. Maan nodded. Who
was he to say no to smart people who wanted to work with him?
"How do you know each other so well?" Maan asked sitting
down.
"She is my girlfriend," Satya replied. Maan's jaw hung open.
Now that was a Googly he wasn't expecting.
"Ex-Girlfriend." Emily corrected. Satya looked at her.
"When did we breakup? We were on a date last evening." He
cried.
"I broke up with you when you were busily texting this guy."
She said pointing to Maan. "By the way, you are the one who is coming between
me and him. It's almost like he is cheating on me with you," Emily told Maan.
Maan didn't know how to respond.
"So you came here to take revenge on me?" Maan asked amused.
"You are already doing that for me Maan by dating someone
who is not Geet," Emily said to Maan who was rendered speechless.
"I am taking the corner right opposite to this cabin. All I want
is printer, two desktops, a laptop, mug noodles, guava and green tea." She left
without waiting for a response.
Maan looked at Satya questioningly.
"Last month Emily and I were at a coffee shop and we met
Geet there. Emily and Geet hit it off and they started meeting up frequently. Like
Geet, Emily doesn't have many friends either so they spoke to each other
frequently. Geet told her about an evening at a party where you announced your
girlfriend to her. Geet went to Emily's house after the party for reasons I am
not aware of; Emily didn't tell me anything, actually." Satya said feeling he
was in middle of some tension filled episode of rom-com drama.
Maan didn't respond. "I'll see what she is doing," Satya
said and left the cabin without another word.
Maan couldn't concentrate on the end of the year report he
was reading. However Emily's words stuck in his head and haunted him for the
rest of the day.
-- o00o --
"Sorry, I am late." Maan said sitting down at the reserved
table where Vaidehi was waiting for him. She smiled and shook her head. Maan
smiled at her in response which was tired.
"You look tired," she commented once the wine was served and
Maan had forgotten his manners and gulped the entire glass in one go.
"It's fiscal year end so we are swamped with work at this
time of the year. And we were busy with the next year strategy meetings." Maan
tried to explain but saw that Vaidehi was distracted. He didn't comment on it
till they finished dinner and he ordered coffee in the end as a habit.
"Is everything alright?" Maan asked. She smiled in response.
"It's just that I heard some rumors about your mother," she
started slowly. Maan stopped stirring coffee and looked up. He stared at her
blankly. "I heard that she left you and your father for someone else," she
finished looking at her own cup.
"Are you asking me if I am aware of my mother's choices or
are you validating the news first hand?" Maan asked flatly. Vaidehi looked up
distraught.
"I never…" she started.
"Then why are you talking about it?" Maan bit out. Vaidehi
looked at Maan wide eyed.
"I just…I don't know alright?" Vaidehi cried out hoarsely. Maan
simply shrugged and didn't respond. His apathy and the aloofness in the
conversation made her wonder if she even knows who the real Maan Khurana was.
"I apologize," she said formally, moments later.
"I accept." Maan replied equally formal. "I will take you
home," he added and signaled the waiter to bring the check. Vaidehi didn't respond
and watched him beneath the eyelashes.
Neither she nor he initiated any conversation during the
drive.
"Can I drop by at a place for a minute? I need to pick up
something as I will be going back to office after I drop you home," Maan said.
Vaidehi nodded. She didn't trust her voice to do justice for her personality.
"Thank you. It won't take more than five minutes," Maan said
parking the car in front of a building.
"What is this place?" She asked.
"I won't be long," Maan said and walked out of the car.
He didn't invite her nor did he offer an answer to her
question. His indifference stung her pride but she didn't say anything when
Maan as promised returned in record time.
"Good night," he smiled at her opening the door for her when
they arrived at her place. She smiled tightly and nodded.
"Why is that you never show me who you truly are?" Vaidehi
asked him out of the blue. Maan stiffened at her observation. She didn't give
him an opportunity to answer as she turned around and walked towards the house
without wishing him back.
Maan sighed and watched her retreating figure.
-- o00o --
"I have the names," the man on the other end of the line
told Vikram. Vikram was walking on the terrace taking the call from the man who
worked as a butcher by the day and a bounty hunter by the night. Only he hunted
those people who went underground after a heist. There were very few men who
know about this man's existence and Vikram was one of them. Vikram wheedled the
man to work for him exclusively but the man always declined. It's not that he didn't
have enough money.
"How may are there?" Vikram asked.
"There are at least four people involved. They went
underground as soon as your share prices started dipping." The man replied.
"If you already have the names then what's stopping you from
dragging their ass out?" Vikram yelled.
"The names are aliases and identity they have built around
the names are very thorough. It will take a while to find the real identity
behind these masks." The man replied.
"I don't care a f**k about your methods but I want their asses
in one week." Vikram barked on the phone.
"You will get it," the man asserted.
"And what about the other thing we talked about?" Vikram asked.
"I will go to the hospital myself." The man replied and hung
up the phone.
Vikram sneered in darkness and walked back inside the room,
into the arms of his mistress.
To be continued.
Music Companion for the day: If you're gone by Matchbox Twenty
And: Falling by Lee Sang Eun
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