Graphic FF ~When Love Calls~ Note pg 84 - Page 6

Part 2

Shantanu was inside the elevator when it jerked………..stopped at the tenth floor……one floor down than his own.

The lift opened and the sliding gates gave way to a mesmerizing view.

Khanak entered the lift and he got amused to see a pretty girl holding her purse, laptop, a huge folder and a water bottle……….her hands were full and she was probably holding weight more than herself……….he thought.

He noticed that she was beautiful, had lovely silky hair and smooth complexion.

The moment, she stepped in……….the lavender fragrance filled his nostrils and the inside of the elevator………he seemed to be in a daze for a while……….. trying hard, not to appear uncivilized gazing spellbound at the lady !!

He was still under a short spell when he saw Khanak drop everything on the floor of the lift to open her purse and start searching for something.

She practically drops everything out and frantically searches in the purse before putting a hand on her lips and shrieking, "Oh My God!!"

He wanted to ask whatever happened to her but being a completely unknown person, he just stared at her in an attempt to try and be of some help……

She stood up and saw the digital monitor…….above the door……..they were on 5^th floor. She pressed the stop button and pushed the button to go up.

"Hello, what happened? Why are we going up?" Shantanu jerked back to reality. He was getting late, still did not want to appear an insensitive person in case of an emergency.

"I left my phone at my home………I need to get it."

"What?" Shantanu was shocked.

She nodded in a yes…………….frantically.

"I don't understand, let me go down……….then you can go up and get your phone." He shrugged, while pushing the button to stop the lift.

"We are halfway………….why would I go down all the way?"

"Because I am getting late………..I don't want to miss my appointment….." he spoke softly trying to explain her.

She shrugged with a "who cares about you' look, and pushed the button for the lift to go up.

"Like really !!!" he was immediately anxious and stepped ahead to push the button to stop the lift again.

"What are you doing? Why did you stop it?"

"I'm getting late." And he pressed the button for ground floor.

"What rubbish…………….I left my phone……….that is very important for me."

She stopped the lift again……..and pressed the button for 10^th floor.

He stopped it again.

"So that is your problem…….." he tried to be as gentlemanly as possible, "why would I suffer?…………I'm already late for a meeting."

"Even I am getting late…………I am not fond of wasting time like this…." Her tone rose.

"You are wasting 'MY' time……" he stressed. She was irked at this.

"Your time……..haha…………are you 'Ambani'…??" She touched the weak nerve and he became furious.

"Madam, the lift WAS going down before you stepped in………..IS goingdown finally ………. If you left your phone, get down and go up by stairs."

"Whattt??? How rude? How harsh? What an ungentlemanly thing to do……… to ask a girl to walk UP the stairs for 5 floors !!!!"

He gulped at such heavy accusations and again tried to reason, "Listen………Ma'm."

"No way……………there is something called humanity and that is so rare these days. You guys are so mannerless………..so shrewd…………..so selfish…………"

She kept on accusing him and he tried to defend himself …………all in vain.

By the time he realized, they had already reached 10^th floor.

He was frustrated at her smartness.

She stepped out almost rushing…………her stuff was still on the floor of the lift……her laptop………….her folder and water bottle………she simply picked up the purse and ran…….

He shouted back, "Your things………."

"Don't go………….wait here." She turned to speak.

He was shocked with the almost ordering demeanour.

He couldn't go with her things all spread at the floor of the elevator. He kept standing there with the button pressed for the door to remain open. ……… trying to BIBO ( Breathe In Breathe Out) to control his anger. She returned as swiftly as she went running inside………quickly she entered the lift with her phone in her hand.

She entered the lift and kneeled down to take care of her stuff. He looked at his watch, he was late by half an hour………

"How smart of you……??" he roared in anger.

She smiled victoriously and looked up, "I will say – How 'budthal' of you…?"

"What? What's that?"

She didn't reply but just kept collecting her stuff, laptop, folders etc.

He was fuming and wanted to blast her left, right and centre.

He took a deep breath and almost yelled, "Listen…….."

She had stood up by then………. raised her chin and turned away from him, "I'm sorry…………can't talk to you right now………..I'm really late."

'Late !!!!'

He was shocked………..before he could speak anything, he saw that the lift opened and she zoomed out.

He followed her, "Hello, listen………….even I am not fond of talking to you. I became late just because of you."

She turned back, looking indifferently at him. She observed him up and down……… from top to bottom and then again up……..and non-chalantly…………said, "Sorry….."

He was completely flustered, "What do you mean by 'sorry'? Do you even know how careless and reckless this act was…..?"

"I don't even know you…………still I said 'sorry'………….consider yourself lucky, mister?" she snubbed him off and walked away.

He was furious but saw no point arguing with her and walked away to catch an auto.

She too stood at the stand for an auto……………but there was none.

They stood for nearly 10 minutes, looking for an auto and tried not to look at each other.

Finally, they spotted an auto.

The auto stopped at the signal from them. She sat inside first though Shantanu was a little ahead of her.

"Hey, I signaled it to stop."

"Why are you unnecessarily fighting? Since morning you are troubling me."

"What? I am troubling you…………..Ma'm the way you behaved at the lift shows how mannerless and discourteous you are………..I am late because of you and now you want to 'hijack' the auto that I stopped."

"Hijack?? You must be crazy…………I spotted it first………..showed the hand……… he stopped."

"No……………..I stopped him."

"I think he stopped after looking at me."

"Why would he stop looking at you…………you were standing far…………he might not have even looked at you."

"Ask him……"

"Okay fine…………….let's ask him."

"Bhaiya………..aap kisko dekhkar rukey they……………mujhe nah?"

"Leading questions are not allowed……" he pointed in anger.

"This is not a criminal court…………..Bhaiya, mujhe dekhkar rukey they nah?"

"Nahi, aapko mainey pahle haath dikhaya tha nah?"

The auto wallah was trembling by now looking at both of them…….

Finally, he said, "Actually, main to samjha ki aap dono saath mein hain."

"Main………..Inke saath? Bhaiya, Aapka dimaag thik toh hain nah??"

"Hello!! Apne dimaag ka ilaaz karwao………..who wants to be spotted with you…??"

Autowaallah gathered courage, "Sir, aapko kahan jaana hai?"

"Sir? Sir se kyun pooch rahe ho………Mainey auto roka hai………mujhe isme jaana hai?"

"Jab who mujhse pooch raha hai toh aapko kya problem hai? Please get down, I am very late." He said looking at his watch.

"Even I am late…………there is no other auto………….how ungentlemanly……….. how harsh………..how rude to even ask a girl to get down an auto………why don't you get down?"

"Why should I? You should have managed yourself better …………if I hadn't met you in the lift today…………my day would have been better."

"What? I spoilt your day………..???"

"Sir…………..sir……….ek minute………aapko kahan jaana hai?"

"Santacruz."

"Madam aapko?"

"Bandra."

"Sir, Madam…………..aap dono ladai mat kijiye……………raastey mein Sir ko Santacruz chorhkar……….. Madam, mein aapko Bandra chorh doonga."

Both sat quietly and looked at the outside road on the opposite sides.

The auto started and so there journey !!!

………………………………………………………………………….

Shantanu reached late for his meeting.

The head of the RK group had asked one of his managers to take care of the meeting with Shantanu. As Shaan was late………….the manager cancelled the meeting and went ahead with his plans for the day.

When Shantanu reached the office, he couldn't meet any of the officials and his efforts went futile. He kept sitting outside the office for nearly 3 hours so that the manager became free and talked to him.

Finally, he could meet the manager after hours of waiting.

"Mr. Shantanu, we have gone through the CD that you gave us………you have a promising voice, but you are throwing starry tantrums even before you started work."

"I'm sorry Sir, I was genuinely stuck in something………traffic and other random stuff."

"No worries, take care next time. Rahul Sir does not tolerate careless attitude and non-seriousness in work including unpunctuality."

"Rahul sir……..???" Shantanu was confused.

"Our MD and owner of RK group. He takes personal interest when introducing new talent. He loved your voice, and asked me to meet you………..he had an important meeting today…………..otherwise I wouldn't have met you. He will meet you himself on coming Friday. Hope you are free."

"Definitely Sir, I'll be on time." Shantanu was ecstatic at the positive response, though he knew that this meeting is just a start…………….he still had a long way to go.

…………………………………………………………………………..

Khanak was late too.

"I wanted to meet Mr. Joseph."

"Ma'm………….Joseph Sir is busy."

"Listen, It is important for me to meet him……………I was called for an audition."

"Audition? That is already in process…………I think it must have been over as we had called only 6 girls for that Ad shoot."

"Please call Mr. Joseph and let me know……….."

"You are late Ma'm."

"See, I was stuck in something…………..I'm sorry, I couldn't be on time."

"That's your problem, Ma'm."

"Why don't you just let me meet him once, Please….!!"

After a lot of pleading, the receptionist allowed Khanak to talk to Mr. Joseph……… who had already selected the girl for the ad film.

But he was highly impressed with Khanak and re-assured her that next time, she will be called again if anything worth her profile, comes up.

………………………………………………………………………….

Later………………..Khanak spends some time with her friend Sam.

"Leave it nah…….. Khanak………….it had to happen, so it happened. Why are you so upset?"

"Sam, I am just upset at the way things are going. I became late due to the landlady pestering me since morning for all kinds of bills……….then I got stuck in the lift with that 'bully'………and then I couldn't get an auto for a long time………..when I got it, again that nuisance happened………….then traffic…………I became late by one and a half hour. It's not their fault if they did not give me a chance. It's all my fault."

"Leave it………….let's order coffee."

"No, I won't leave it like that…………I'll take care the next time and this time…………I'll fix everything that is in my hands." She spoke determinedly……gritting her teeth.

"What do you mean Khanak?"

"That 'jerk' lives in my building……………I need to teach him a lesson."

"No Khanak……….just let it be……….cool down." Sam urged her to chill.

But Khanak was very angry.

In the evening, near the lift………….. Shantanu and Khanak meet again !!!

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