Arjun had been noticing the similar flow of events happening everyday for the past few days now. What irked him was the lack of any meaning in the particular flow. He had been trying, trying firmly, to put the puzzle pieces together and somehow come up with a reason that would not sound bizarre, but least did he know that nothing would make sense unless he approaches her in person and questions her about what the heck was she up to now? When the ACP in him ran out of the last bits of patience, he decided to follow her out of the office today itself. He could not take it anymore. He needed to know what "personal" tasks she was performing at the same time every day.
It happened yet again. Something came up and Arjun had to discuss the case details with Rathore right when it was the time for Riya to step out of their office this afternoon. It took all of his forced attention to hear Rathore's new strategies regarding the case. It seemed like his neurons were firing rapidly and sending signals to his limbs to get up from his chair and follow her outside. His patience was wearing out as everyday passed by. Arjun had even thought about taking Riya to a secluded place and demanding reasonable answers to his questions. Hard to believe but he had even suspected Riya one time that she was revealing confidential information about ETF to few outsiders but had brushed off his senseless thoughts when he noticed her dedication towards her work.
Tomorrow for sure. Arjun decided. Yes. He will get his answers tomorrow and he would make sure that he gets all his answers.
Arjun was drinking his cutting chai and he was excited inside his mind because today was sort of D-day for him. He would finally get to know the reason as to why Riya leaves their office every day at the same time. He finished his chai and rested his glass on the white table in front of him. Someone knocked the door and knowing who it is, Rathore let him in.
Bablu, chai wala, stepped inside, gave Riya a "knowing" look, walked towards the table, picked up the glass, and left.
Countdown began in Arjun's mind.
60 seconds.. 50.. 40.. 30.. 20.. 10.. 9.. 8.. 7.. 6.. 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.
"Rathore Sir. I will just be back. Need to catch up with something personal." Arjun mimicked Riya's words in his mind, and rolled his eyes.
Don't worry Ms.Mukherjee. I will catch you red handed today. Nothing can escape my eyes ' thought Arjun.
She stepped outside and after few seconds Arjun too excused himself. Chotu and Shree gave each other a I-told-you look and chuckled silently.
Arjun stepped outside the office and made sure the door did not make any 'click' sound as he did not want Riya to even have a faint idea that he was following her.
He looked towards both sides but the hallway was completely deserted.
"Crap! I missed her again."- he blurted out in disappointment. However he took a step further and walked down the hallway to his right. Walking cautiously, he marched towards the end of the hall. Just when he had reached the end, he heard some silent whispers. Arjun could recognize those whispers without taking any pains, but was unable to grasp her words clearly. He tried to get closer to the source of sound and as soon as he leaned in to see who was there with Riya, she walked out of the small cubicle with storm.
Riya felt familiar cologne nearby and stood rooted to the ground when she saw Arjun in front of her. Her eyes were about to pop out and her hands involuntarily hid what she was holding at her back. Arjun shot her a glance and she instantly took few steps back.
"Si'Sirr??.." Riya managed a word out of her mouth.
Arjun observed her bodily movements and concluded that she was hiding something big.
"Ye'Yes!!" Arjun replied back, mimicking the way she had spit a word out a second ago.
Arjun realized that she was feeling uneasy and bothered by his presence. Much to her dismay, he closed their distance in one step and made himself comfortable right in front of her. Riya looked everywhere but his eyes.
"What are you up to Riya?" He asked straightaway.
She looked up and saw suspicion in his dark eyes. She inhaled deeply and brought fake confidence in her expressions. To his surprise, she did not move back.
"What am I up to? What are you talking about Sir?" she pretended to be unaware of the meaning hidden in his question.
"You know what I am talking about way better than I do Riya. Answer me, what's going on? Why do you leave our office at one exact time and come back at the same time? You have been repeating this for last few days now. Tell me what you are hiding at your back." ' he demanded.
How the heck could I be so careless? How on the Earth could I not take care of the timing? How could I think that my tiny tasks would escape the eyes of the mighty ACP Arjun Suryakant Rawte? ' Riya slapped herself in her mind.
"Dekhiye Sir. First of all, I don't know what you are referring to and second of all, I can have anything at my back and I don't think it should matter to you." ' she answered back with all of her fake confidence while her soul was trembling.
"Riya, would you disclose your secrets out now or do you want me to call Rathore here?" ' he used Rathore to make her spill the beans.
"Ohh.. Rathore Sir aap?" Riya looked over Arjun's shoulder.
When Arjun turned around to see Rathore, he realized that no one was there and Riya took this opportunity to run across the hall. Before Arjun could hold her back, she had already entered their office.
"No. Not today Ms. Mukherjee. I won't let you leave till I find out the reason." ' he looked determined, and he too entered the office after few seconds.
When he stepped inside their office, Bablu came out of the cubicle, sighed in relief, and left for his place.
Part 2 - pg 5
