Chupanke Ki Saaza
-PART
14-
She Quits
"Annie
told me about this already, and there is nothing we can do to fix it!" Jai
said. It was a Monday morning in the Walia Industries and Jai was seated in his
office, once again discussing a deal with Ranveer and Bani.
"I
get that Jai," Ranveer said. "But we cant just ignore the Mittals!"
"Of
course we can," replied Jai. "Annie talked to one of their representatives and
seems like issue is internal!"
"Yeah,
but its our hotel they are working
on. If something screws up, then who is responsible?"
"I
know," Jai said, letting out a frustrated sigh. "That's why I had Annie go
through the contract again and seems like the Mittals are the ones who should
be worried!"
"I
think we should cancel the deal, its more trouble than its worth."
"Of
course not!" Jai replied. "Annie is arranging a meeting with them right now,
and after that I am sure there will be no more screw-ups!"
Ranveer
sighed. Sometimes, Jai was a genius and other times – like now – he was as
stubborn as a rock, who refused to listen to anything or anyone. The problem with the Mittals has been going
for a while, and Ranveer, along with Bani, thought that the deal was better off
cancelled, for their costs were not only mounting everyday, but were quickly going
out of control. But Jai refused to see any of this; he believed in the Mittals,
god knows why!
"Ran
calm down," Jai said, watching the irritated expression on his cousin's face.
"Honestly its no big deal. I'll tell Annie to print you a copy of the agreement,
and you can see for yourself."
"We
have been through it a million times Jai," Ranveer informed, indicating himself
and Bani, who was seated very quietly – for once! – trying very hard not to be
annoyed.
"Yeah,
but Annie can explain all the points she found and then you will see that I
know what I am doing!" Jai explained.
"What
is it that makes you believe these Mittals?" Ranveer blurted. He sometimes could not see Jai's logic.
Jai
smiled. "I have a big list. If you want I will have –"
"Annie print it out," Bani finished,
speaking for the first time in the past hour. The two men turned to look at
her. "We got that. Annie ke bina tum
kuch nahi kar sakthe. No need to keep repeating yourself."
"What
do you mean?" Jai fired right away.
"Its
very obvious," Bani replied sarcastically. "You don't have to mention your
secretary in every sentence you say."
"Its
sad that you have nothing to
contribute to this conversation except for pointing out that I repeat myself."
Bani's
irritation peaked. She tried very hard to ignore Jai's growing relationship
with Annie, but it was very difficult, if not impossible, when he mentions her
in everything! She tried her best to
be patient, but it seemed like Jai was never
going to stop.
"That's
not fair Jai," Ranveer interfered. In this case, he supported Bani. His brother
may be smart, but right now he was being a jerk to everyone. "Bani was the one
who brought this issue up!"
"Exactly," Jai said. "She can only create
problems. Its up to me and Annie to solve them!"
"Jai," Ranveer said in warning tone. He
like Rano, didn't approve of Jai's changed attitude.
"Forget
it Ranveer," Bani said, before Jai could retort. "There is no point telling
him! He can't see past that girl!"
Jai
was enraged! " Excuse me?" he said. "Im telling the facts!"
"What
facts?" she fired back. "Your secretary cannot do a thing. I give her a file to update and it takes her one
whole day to do it!"
"You
purposefully give her difficult files!"
Bani
let out a sarcastic laugh. "Difficult
files? I thought typing doesn't require the use of a brain, not that she has
one!"
"Of
course she has one!" he replied, angrily. "In fact she is the most efficient
employee of this company!"
Bani
was very angry now. "What?!" she shrieked. "She is more
efficient than me? A manager of this company? All Ananya
Sharma does is daydream about how she wants to kiss yo–" She suddenly stopped,
aware of what was about to slip out of her mouth.
Jai
raised an eyebrow. "Kiss who?"
Bani
didn't answer. She didn't want to spill Annie's intentions, not that they
weren't obvious. But somehow she felt that bringing the girl's desires to Jai's
attention was not the way to stop the
latter from thinking about her.
"See?"
Jai said, taking advantage of Bani's silence. "You have all these
misconceptions about that poor girl, when in reality she works so hard!"
And
that's when Bani's anger reached an all-time high. Yelling did not even begin
to cover the rage inside her. "That's it," she said, in a dangerous voice. "I
have had it. With you and with your company Mr. Jai Walia. I quit."
She
stomped out of the room, leaving an annoyed Jai and a somewhat shocked Ranveer.
"Great," Jai said, sarcastically. "Just what I needed right now – for my
dad to come and yell at me for making his
bahu quit!"
* * *
Bani
walked into the Walia Mansion, muttering to herself. Her anger at Jai
intensified on the way home and there was only one thought in her head – how to
murder her husband.
Rano
and Lakshmi, who were discussing the room colours of the soon-to-be-born Walia
(Rano's 8 months pregnant), were surprised to see Bani in such a bad mood.
"Whats
up?" Lakshmi asked, as Bani angrily threw her bag on the couch.
"Woh
stupid Jai," Bani yelled. "Samajtha kya apne aap ko?! Can you believe what he
told me? That that stupid bimbo, Annie
is more efficient than me! I mean, what the hell? I work my butt off for his company and all he can do is go lick
someone else's a*s? When was the last time I came home at 6? NEVER! I always
work overtime and how is that idiot more efficient than me? Aur woh Annie, who the hell does she think she is?! The other
day-"
"OKAY!"
Lakshmi said loudly. "Back up here. Start from the beginning. Who is Annie?"
Bani
took a deep breath. "Ananya is Jai's new secretary."
"Who
is Annie than?" Rano asked, confused.
"Annie
is her nick name," Bani informed. "Atleast that's what Jai calls her."
"So
Jai said this Ananya – Annie – is better than you?" Lakshmi clarified.
"YES!"
Bani said. "She doesn't know anything
about business! She can't even update a file without screwing up and all of
sudden she is better than me?!"
"Maybe
she is smart or something," Lakshmi said casually. However, upon earning a
glare from her best friend, she quickly added, "Or not!"
"And
its not like she has talent or something," Bani continued. "She just wears
revealing clothes and all the guys are head over heels in love with her. Her
skirts are equivalent to bikinis… I don't even think it is allowed!"
"But
if Jai isn't saying anything," Rano said, thoughtfully. "Then I am sure its
allowed."
"Exactly!" Bani said, making the other
two girls even more confused. "Jai doesn't say a thing against her. I mean who
does that? The girl keeps screwing up and everytime she just gets away with it!"
Rano
didn't answer.
"And
on top that they both act like… like they are together! Like together together!" Bani said, struggling to
find words to explain her agony. "They even have lunch together! Did you know that? I found out yesterday and I am sure that it is against the law! A
secretary cannot have lunch with her
boss!"
Lakshmi
refrained from laughing out loud. Bani was making no sense whatsoever.
"I
can't even say who is worse," Bani continued. "I mean there is Jai, who feels
that she is too delicate to walk from her desk to his, which is not even ten
meters away and then there is that – that-"
There
wasn't a good enough word to describe Bani's feelings towards Annie.
"Imbecile?"
Rano offered.
But
Lakshmi had a different suggestion. "s**t?"
"Even
worse than that!" Bani spat. "She checks him out every single second of the
day. The other day she was on the phone telling her friend how her only desire
is for Jai to kiss her! I mean, how SICK is that? Who the hell obsesses over their
boss? And she kept going on about how
good Jai looks, how muscular he is and how hot
he looks when he is dressed in black… as if I didn't know that already!"
Rano
and Lakshmi passed eachother a look. This was not the first time Bani caught
someone obsessing over Jai, however, it is the first time that she was reacting
like this! She usually laughed at the poor girls, but today, something was
different.
"Bani,"
Rano said, cautiously. She didn't want to tick her off even more. "You cant
blame Annie for noticing how good looking Jai is!"
"I
am not blaming her," Bani fired. "But
doesn't she have a life? Couldn't she find anyone
else to obsess over? Last week, she actually touched him. It was like she was waiting for that since the day she
was born! "
"Why
are you getting all insecure about
that?" Lakshmi asked straight-forwardly, watching the irritation on Bani's face
and concluding it to be jealousy.
"Insecure?" Bani asked startled, as if it
was the first time she heard that word. "I am not insecure!"
Lakshmi
rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me you are not jealous!"
"WHAT?"
Bani yelled. "That is insane! Why would I be jealous of Annie?"
Rano
and Lakshmi passed eachother another look. It was obvious that something was
different about Bani. Since when did she react to girls flirting with Jai?
"Bani,"
Rano said, in a calm voice. "Why exactly are you mad? Because Jai said Annie is
better than you or because she flirts with him?"
"BOTH!" Bani said, without even thinking.
Lakshmi
smiled and relaxed into her chair, while Rano nodded knowingly.
"What?"
she asked, confused over the reactions of her two best friends.
"You
are jealous," Lakshmi informed. "And you have a good reason to be."
"Lakshmi!" Rano chided.
"What?"
Lakshmi replied. "She should know the truth the way it is, and not the way you sugar coat it!"
Rano
rolled her eyes and turned back to Bani. "Ignore her," she said. "Jai loves
you, so you it doesn't matter if Annie obsesses with him, because he will
always be with you."
"He
doesn't love me," Bani said, sulking.
"Don't
give me that," Rano said, irritated. "Just because of one fight, you can't question his love for you!"
"I
am serious," Bani replied. "He
doesn't love me. If he did, he wouldn't have let me leave today. But he did and
more than that, he would never let that
bimbo touch him!"
"You
quit?" Lakshmi said in a disbelieving tone. And when Bani nodded, she said in
an exasperated voice, "Why, why,
would you do that? You just gave that Annie girl an opportunity to hit on Jai!"
"Lakshmi," Rano said, interfering. "You
are not helping!"
"And
what do you think," Lakshmi retorted. "Reminding her of eternal love would
help? If you haven't noticed, Jai and Bani don't really act like a couple."
When
Rano was about to protest, Lakshmi
lowered her voice, so that Bani didn't hear the rest. "There is something wrong
between the both of them and the only way to fix it, is if she realizes she loves
him!"
Rano
couldn't argue with that, and so nodded her head.
"Exactly,"
Lakshmi said in a higher voice. "This is war Bani! And seems like this Annie
has scored a lot already. I mean, she has Jai around her fingers."
It
was Bani's turn to roll her eyes. "Please! Jai ko impress karna utna aasan nahi
hai!"
"Evidently
it is for Annie," Rano said, supporting Lakshmi. "And especially if Jai doesn't
love you anymore…"
Bani
closed her eyes. Ofcourse, she
thought to herself. Jai doesn't love me.
So… so, it shouldn't matter if he likes Annie or not, right?
"I
say, go back to work and keep that Annie away
from your husband!" Lakshmi said.
Bani
opened her eyes. "No," she said, her anger dissipating quickly. "I am not jealous or insecure, so it shouldn't
matter what Jai does or what Annie does."
"Of
course it should matter," Lakshmi answered. "He is your husband!"
Bani
laughed out loud. "In what universe? In my opinion we are friends," were friends, she corrected mentally.
"so, yeah, I don't care what he does!"
Rano
smirked. "Yeah sure," she said
sarcastically. She and for that matter even Lakshmi had much more experience
dealing with their husbands, who were both good looking and unnecessarily rich.
"I
am not jealous," Bani answered,
getting up and picking up her purse.
"Okay
fine," Lakhsmi said, as if she was surrendering. "But tell me, kitne din tak
tum Annie ko bardash kar sakogi?"
To
that Bani had no answer. She just walked away, leaving her two best friends
triumphant.
* * *
"TONY!"
Jai yelled. "HURRY UP! I AM GETTING LATE!"
It
was Tuesday morning and Jai was getting late for a meeting with the Mittals.
Unfortunately, a button on his shirt broke, delaying him even further.
"If
he doesn't get here in the next minute, I am going to sack him!" Jai muttered
to himself.
Bani
refrained from rolling her eyes. She was currently giving Jai the "silent
treatment" for their fight yesterday, but yet couldn't help but think how
short-tempered he is. It was in his
hurry to leave that Jai broke his shirt button and now was yelling at the poor
butler.
"That's
it," Jai said. "Tony is fired!"
Bani
put down the magazine she was reading and stood up. She walked to the dresser,
picked up the thread and needle and without asking permission, grabbed Jai's
shirt and began to sew the button.
Jai
was surprised at her behaviour, for Bani was never the one to call truce. Grinning sheepishly, he slid his arms
around her waist.
Bani's
eyes bulged as she looked up. "What
are you doing?"
"There
is no other place to put my arms," he said simply. "I am very comfy like this!"
Bani
tried not to loose her temper – thought secretly, she did enjoy his arms around
her – and resumed sewing.
"Waise,
how come you are not mad me anymore?" Jai asked, curiously. "Am I forgiven?"
Bani
didn't reply.
"I
thought Bani Dixit always gets her revenge?" Jai continued. "Toh aaj kya hua?"
Silence.
"Teek
hai maat baat karo," Jai said. He was in too good of a mood to become
irritated. "But it's a good thing you forgot about this whole mess… tum kal se
office join kar lena."
Bani
flashed her eyes.
"What?"
he asked. "If you really mad, why
didn't you give in your resignation letter? So it proves that you – OWW!"
Bani
smiled, having found her mark. "That
is for fighting with me yesterday!"
"You
poked me on PURPOSE?" Jai said, rubbing the area where the sewing needle was
jabbed. "That hurts!"
"Should
have thought about that before being
a jerk! Anyway, you owe me."
"No,
I don't!"
"I
saved you from Uday Uncle. If I gave in my resignation, then you wouldn't have
been alive to see the sun rise today. So, you are welcome!"
Jai
couldn't help but smile. In many ways, this morning reminded him of the time
when Bani was still his wife.
"Acha
teek hai," he said, turning to the mirror and combing his hair. "What do you
want? Shopping?"
Bani
rolled her eyes. "Shopping with you is boring!"
"Is
not!"
"Ofcourse
it is," she replied. "You can't even tell the difference between pink and red!"
"I
know the difference," Jai answered, absent-mindedly. He was going through the
many files on the table, looking for the one he needed. "You look amazing in
pink, and not so much in red."
Bani
froze. It seened eons ago that he complimented about how good she looks in the
colour pink.
Jai
however, didn't seem to realize Bani's stillness. "Damn it," he muttered.
"Where the hell is the file?"
"Which
one do you want?" Bani asked, trying to keep the smile from spreading on her
face. Her day was going to be so good! "And where are you going this early in
the morning?"
"The
Mittals," he replied. "I scheduled a meeting with them about the issue we
talked about. But it's a two hour drive and Im already late!"
An
idea struck Bani. "It's a long drive," she began. "Maybe I should accompany
you."
Jai
paused and turned around. "Ummm… Don't you have work to do in the company?"
"Nothing
urgent."
"You
sure?" Jai said awkwardly. "I know there is a meeting you have to go to."
"I
am fine Jai," Bani said, fixing her
hair in the mirror. "Besides, I think I should meet these Mittals in person as
well. Shall I wait for your downstairs?"
However,
just as she made her way to the door, Jai said, "Actually Bani, Im going with
Annie."
Bani's
face fell. "Why?"
"Her
car is at servicing, so I told her I will give her a ride," Jai said timidly.
The last thing he wanted was Bani to get mad again.
Bani
tried to keep the smile on her face. "Oh.. right. Actually, I do have work to do. Have fun at the
meeting."
Jai
smiled, relieved. "Sure! See you later!"
A
pang of jealousy hit Bani as she watched the grin on Jai's face. He doesn't even want to be with me, she
thought. She was almost to the door, when Lakshmi's words came back to her: This is war Bani! And seems like this Annie
has scored a lot already…
Bani
took a deep breath and turned around. No,
she thought. Im not going to be
logical about this, because there is
no logic. I quit.
"You
know what," she said, confidently. Jai raised his eyebrows. "I am not busy today.
I can come to the meeting. I will wait for you downstairs!"
She
left the room, leaving a speechless Jai behind.
👏 👏 👏
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