The car had come to a halt in front of entrance to Kapoor Industries Towers. Heads had begun to turn as people recognised the occupant in the front seat.
"Blast, what a way to arrive. I am never going to live this down." No sooner had he said the words that Ram realised the mistake he had made. He was referring to his crumpled outfit and the uncomfortable position in the Mini, but one look at her tightened lips, made it clear that she had misunderstood his meaning. He was not ashamed at being seen with her. Priya had done him a favor and he knew his comment was unwarranted.
He squeezed himself out of the car, straightened up and had a quick stretch. He then bent down to apologise and thank her, but before he could say a word, she had simply sped off. He stood there a second, too stunned to move. Blast, she definitely was a strange one. And here I was feeling sorry for her' he thought. He was about to turn towards the building when he noticed that she had braked. Then she put the car in reverse. Another second and she was back at the spot she was earlier. The window got wound down and a folder was pushed out. As he took it from her hand for the first time, he noticed the ring. The diamond solitaire held back by the wedding band. And then she was gone again.
Well, well, well, so she was married'. For a split second the knowledge had a sobering effect and then he told himself that he was glad for her. He had always thought of her as a recluse but marriage meant she had a family who loved her. Then pulling himself out of his reverie he rushed into the building.
"Gentlemen, my apologies..." with that Ram Kapoor entered the boardroom and back to the world he was familiar with.
Priya parked her car and walked through the side entrance. It was much quicker to get a lift here for very few people used the elevators on this side. In the lift, she clutched her handbag to her body. She was right to take the decision that she had in life. All men were the same. She had thought that Ram was different, but he proved to be like everyone else. Image and outer packaging was all mattered to them.
Back at her desk she placed her handbag down, picked up her mug and went to make herself a cup of coffee. Then she walked back to her desk. Everything on her desk was neatly placed in its spot. She hated to start the morning with a cluttered desk and so even if it took her a few minutes extra each evening, she made sure her desk was left neat and tidy. Only one personal item was placed on it. It was a photograph of two little children, a girl of five and a boy about a year younger.
How are those adorable kids?' Neha questioned.
If any one person had broken through Priya's zone of seclusion, it was Neha. It was through Neha that Priya got her job at A & K Kapoor. They had worked together on many projects at their last place of employment. Neha never forgot how upset she had been when she and Priya had been paired together for the first time at their first job. At the end of the first week she had felt that she would die of boredom. Priya hardly spoke, they never had their lunch break together, nor did they socialise after work. It was the second week that saw the change in their relationship. It was Priya's work that Neha started respecting first. Her advertising ideas were ingenious. Once they found a common platform, their conversation became easier. Soon their relationship progressed to friendship. As they won award after award, that friendship got cemented into a stronger bond. Neha was the only person who knew everything there was to know about Priya and when Neha went up on the stage to collect the awards she knew that Priya should have stood there beside her. Only, Priya wanted to remain in her cocoon and as much as Neha wanted to, she knew that it was not yet time to pull her out of that cocoon.
Then Kapoor had approached Neha to join his firm. She agreed, on condition that Priya be employed as well. At first he had refused. He had never heard of her nor seen any of her work and was not prepared to employ people that did not share his vision. It was only after seeing Priya's work that Ram hired the two of them and five years later, they were still working there as a team'.
In that time Neha had met, fallen in love with and married A & K Kapoor's Sales Manager, Vikram Shergill. Her only regret had been that Priya had declined to become her bridesmaid. Neha had even agreed to let Priya wear the dark glasses. By the time Neha married, she had come to look upon Priya as her sister but no amount of persuasion worked. Neha did manage to convince her to attend the wedding and that had been a big step forward.
"They are fine. I spoke to them last night." Priya answered Neha's question. Lost in her thought, Neha looked blankly at Priya. Then realising that Priya was responding to her question she smiled back.
"Get yourself ready for a very busy time ahead of us." Neha informed Priya.
"Why, I thought we were right on top of everything?" Priya questioned without stutter or hesitation.
"Vikram just walked by a few minutes ago. He said that Ram was sealing a major deal this morning. And that means more work. Much, much more work." Neha grumbled.
But Priya knew that Neha was really looking forward to the challenge. Both of them worked best under pressure. And as long as Vikram was also at work, Neha really did not mind staying back either.
"When do you get the kids again?" Neha changed the subject back to the kids.
"Tonight, their father is dropping them off at six. I will need to leave at five. I have them till Monday. I hope you have not forgotten that I have taken Monday morning off. Rahul will pick them up at eleven in the morning and I'll be back here by lunch time."
Neha did not mind at all. In fact, she wished that Priya would take a lot more time off instead of spending so much of it at work. A phone call cut short their conversation.
Neha was glad she had sorted that out, for within ten minutes of their conversation the champagne bottle had been uncorked. A & K Kapoor had taken on their biggest client ever and the entire building was abuzz with excitement. An email invitation from Ram Kapoor arrived at every computer. "Celebrations in the boardroom at 4.30p.m - The American Media have come on board." Even as she read it Priya knew, this was another celebration she would not be attending.
The day turned out to be busier than they expected. Neha went from meeting to meeting while Priya continued with their existing work. The last hour was a scramble for Priya as she rushed to finish her work by five.
Ram was in his elements. After a disastrous start to the day, it had ended up becoming the most wonderful moment in the company's history. Ram and his elder brother Sidhhant had started the company ten years ago. He was twenty-three then. His brother had been two years older. Everyone had said their inexperience would be their downfall. But that very inexperience is what proved to be their success. They were prepared to try anything and everything. Failure was not a fear and success was not yet a drug. Within three years they had turned their two-man venture into a major player in the world of advertising. There was only one way to go, and that was up.
Then Sidhhant succumbed to cancer. Ram's initial reaction had been to close shop. But during the reading of the will, Sidhhant's wish was made abundantly clear and he left Ram with the responsibility to fulfill his dream. Ram tried to do his best alone but work kept flowing in and he found he just could not cope with the increasing workload. When it got to a point where he was sleeping at the office, he began recruiting additional staff. It was at the small business award ceremony that he first got a glimpse of Neha's work. He knew straight away that he had to have Neha working for the firm and with Neha, came Priya. Initially he could not understand Neha's insistence on wanting Priya to join with her. Then she had shown him Priya's portfolio. After that it was only a question of signing on the dotted line. He remembered thinking, as long as she does the work, what difference does it make if she does not possess the image or the personality that a corporate position requires'.
In the five years that Neha and Priya had been with the company. Ram saw Priya on a daily basis. She had been polite and professional but totally distant. She had never attended the social functions nor been at the award ceremonies that had taken place. Her life seemed to be her work. She arrived early and left late. That is why seeing the wedding ring had surprised him. Either her husband was away a lot or he was a very patient man. Neha and Priya's friendship also puzzled him. He never understood what Neha saw in Priya or how they could have become friends. They were as different as night and day. Even at Neha and Vikram's wedding, Priya had arrived just in time for the wedding and left as soon as the couple departed for their honeymoon. She had refused to dance with anyone. He remembered thinking of asking her to dance. She had looked so lonely and forlorn. Then he saw her refuse to dance with Neha's brother and not wanting to suffer the same fate, he had refrained from asking. He waltzed with Neha and several other people from work and noticed that she had barely looked in his direction. And even when she did, with her glasses, it was hard to know if she was looking at him or someone else.
His contact with her was limited to questions relating to work or glimpses when he walked through the corridors. As her employer he could have walked into the office whenever he wanted but he had instinctively known not to approach her territory. She worked best when she was left alone. Neha took the orders and Neha brought back the finished product. As the outcome was always satisfactory he went along with the arrangement. With another person this system would never have worked but with Priya, he noticed an uncanny ability. Without ever sitting with him or discussing the project, she managed to always give him the result he desired. It was as if she knew what he would have done himself and when Neha and Priya were allowed to interpret the project as they wished, he saw a unique talent that he did not want to interfere with. His clients to date, had always walked away very pleased with their advertising campaign.
Now in the midst of his colleagues and staff, he looked for Priya. He felt ashamed at not having thanked her for her help in the morning. But worse still, he continued to feel guilty about his comment. He caught up with Neha just after 5 p.m. and was informed that Priya had already left.
Ram could not explain the disappointment he felt. He had hoped that she would be there to accept his apology and his thanks. He had been even more ashamed of his behavior when he overheard a typist comment Poor Mr. Kapoor. She must have bored him to death.' That statement had made him angry both with the typist and himself. He told himself that his sympathy for Priya was the result of the protective feelings he had felt towards his brother. After chemotherapy, when Sidhhant had gone bald and his skin had discoloured, he saw how hurtful people's glares and comments had been to Sidhhant. Yet he had behaved in the same selfish way. He also accepted that he had indeed felt a bit embarrassed at being seen with Priya and that thing' she called her car.
Then he remembered the wedding ring and thought At least there was a man out there who is better than the rest of us'. With that he joined in the conversation going on around him and told himself that he would leave the words of gratitude until her return.
Just at that point he heard Vikram say, "Ram, Neha and I have something to announce. Hopefully it will be an extension to this wonderful moment."
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