"Sharma Ji!"
The shriek penetrated the buzz of the office like a streak of lightning.
There was pindrop silence as the normal office clatter ceased abruptly.
Everyone turned towards the source.
A saree clad, heavily made up woman with a pouting duckbilled mouth, somewhere in her midthirties, stood with her hands on her hips. The security and the receptionist were trying to control her in vain, but she shrugged them away with her blazing eyes.
People in various stages of work, hands pausing midways. Confusion was written large on their faces as they looked at each other with a hope for some sort of explanation.
Who the hell was she? Was she looking out for someone? This was as obvious as a neon sign on a dark night.
Sunny was the first to react. He had been cleaning the camera when the sudden noise made him to almost drop the lens cover.
"Oye teri! What was that? A Nuclear blast? And who the heck is she?" He muttered audibly.
"Must be one of those representatives from the NARI MUKTI MORCHA (NMM)..." Ronnie, leafing through a thick file, was quite unfazed. He had caught on the grapevine earlier that day, when Kabir had asked for all information related to the NMM. Earlier, Kabir had aired a rebuttal to their claims which had not been taken very kindly by the other side.
"Ohh I see..." The lens cover was firmly in its place. "So there are going to be some fireworks, eh?"
"Yeah...do you feel that a normal day in the office is without a scandal or fireworks?" Ronnie was quite matter of fact as he switched on the recorder on his cell phone.
"So true, Yaar...and the apt environment for a news channel! And where is my Mata?" Sunny replied. The reference was obviously to Ananya, his partner for the beat.
"Dunno...might be in the record room. And there goes the scandal...the first bakra of the day' Ronnie muttered as he spotted Trisha walking up to the woman.
"Yes, Ma'm...how do I help you?"
The woman turned to her angrily.
"I don't need to talk to you. Where is Sharma Ji?"
"Sharma Ji?"
The woman brandished a visiting card detailing K Sharma, Editor-In Chief, KKN channel, in her face. Trisha squinted to have a better look.
"Ohh you mean Kabir Sir!"
"Kabir? That's his new name?"
"I don't know that. But that's the name we are familiar with. Ok, Let me announce you then, maybe he is free...who may I say?"
"I am Manju, His wife!"
"What?"
You could have dropped Trisha with a toothpick. The silence hung around the office like a thick monsoon cloud. Kabir Sir's wife! They had heard that Kabir Sir was married but never...
"I want to talk to Sharma Ji! Where is he? Hiding somewhere? I want to see him right now!"
Trisha returned to the present by the banging of the table top. The woman was quite unrelenting and unmindful of the surroundings. No wonder Kabir Sir was such a workoholic. Anyone would have run away...
A voice bellowed from somewhere.
"What the hell is going on there? Who is this woman?"
Everyone craned their necks to the new source. Malvika stood on the landing.
Clad immaculately as ever, in a stylish cream coloured pleated skirt and a maroon collared blouse, Malvika strutted to the woman. Trisha promptly made herself scarce, fearing an explosion.
"What do you want? Kabir is busy..."
"I don't care if he is in a meeting with his Mother-in Law! I want to talk to him right now!"
"And who are you?"
Manju gave her a thorough up and down look, her expression turning into downright disgust. This woman thought she was the cat's whiskers, eh? And what a dressing sense! Did she even have an idea of what all was on display? And that slit on the skirt...one could almost count the number of varicose veins on her corpulent thighs as she walked down the stairs. Could'nt she just wear a saree?
Malvika waited patiently as she crossed her arms around her midriff.
"I am waiting for an answer!"
Manju exploded at this.
"Answer? What answer? And who are you to ask me this?" A painted fingernail jabbed at her bosom and Malvika hastily retreated by a step, "I just went to my mother's place and after I come back, this man has just disappeared...just in thin air. And he has done plastic surgery, so I don't know how he looks now. Otherwise I would have lodged a police complaint. All I have is his name. And here I hear that he has changed even that? What does he think of himself? He can escape me?"
"Plastic surgery? But..." If you could imagine a tiger bleating, this was something close to the sound that emerged from Malvika. And it only served to enrage Manju further.
"No Butts, Ok? You have enough of them. Just use your hindsight and you won't need reversing lights..." Another jab from the index finger and Malvika tried to retreat to a chair which due to the courtesy of having coasters, had anyway slid away. Manju brushed off her hands and continued in a matter of fact way.
"I will find out for myself. Now, out of my way. And next time, if possible, wear a saree to office. If you don't have any, let me know. I will send you some which my mother gave me. Now I am sure this is where my husband is, and I don't want ladies with this kind of dressing sense around him!"
Manju disappeared round to the first cabin and everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Malvika regained the vertical with help from Richa, who led her to the nearest chair. Ronnie poured a glass of water and switched off his cell phone recording.
The uneasy silence was punctuated by the humming of an offbeat song.
"Ho...Aaj mausam bada...beimaan hain bada..."
And the source was soon visible. Manav stepped out of the restroom, running his fingers through his shaggy hair. And halted in midstride on sensing the sudden change in the atmosphere.
"What happened here? Why are you all..." He stopped abruptly on sighting a dazed Malvika sitting with her hand supporting her head, "Malvika! What happened? Are you OK?"
"Dont ask, Manav...a hurricane has just visited us!"
"What? hurricane?" The smirk deepened to a scowl. What had he missed?
"Hurricane would be an understatement. It is a live ticking nuclear bomb. A woman, who claims to be Kabir Sir's wife!" The last piece of information was from Trisha, trying to hide her disappointment on the new disclosure.
"Kabir's wife"? Manav's jaw dropped open. "But...isnt he divorced?"
"Dunno, Sir. If the ex would be like this, how would it be when she was..."? Trisha fumbled and then left it like that, for the want of an apt word. The meaning was not missed by the audience anyway.
"Ok, where is Kabir himself?"
"In a teleconference with Khalid..."
"And he did'nt hear the commotion?
"The room is soundproof"! the last part of information was provided by Malvika, who had regained her composure by then. "I think I must alert him about she being here!"
"Ok, you do that. I will try to make her comfortable till Kabir is available!"
Richa rolled her eyes at the suicidal declaration. Manav had no idea what he was asking for. Or maybe he would cultivate the ex-Mrs Sharma to his own personal benefit? Quite likely. They didnt call him an opportunist for nothing. The ex wife of the foe was a friend indeed!
-------
Shall I continue the part II?
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