Exploring Unknowns
"Kab hai party? Iyer Suman aa jaayegi" Bally spoke loudly
"I texted u on 15th for dinner, jawab hi nahi aaya" she mumbled
"sorry yaar, Suman ka bhai aaya hai so was extremely busy" he was embarrassed
"Haan abhi direct report nahi hoon so u wont even read my texts" II countered
"Abey direct report ka kya matlab?" Bally asked
II didnt respond
She ate snack out of the tray Mahavir had left
"Kya chal raha hai?" Bally asked
"Work, and home, I took today off u know" she said
"I shouldnt know about such things, its between u and her kiddo" he said gently
OH COME ON WHO ARE U KIDDING
SHE PROBABLY WROTE TO TO YOU ALREADY
"Apko koi interest nahi hai mere work life mein main kab time off loon" she was very jealous and outraged he was no longer part of the "mix"
"Iyer, zyaada drama nahi" he warned
"I am shuttling between Punjab and Delhi Bally, and then its going to be UP" she whined
"I know yaar" Bally toned down speaking softly " We are not traveling salesmen, ab le liya decision higher ups ne to we have to deliver... kya bolti hai?" he asked
"I am constantly catching up, Ashwini was gone too, the two guys on her team she assigned to me.. kya boloon" II mumbled
"U shud have a word with Ashwini's manager, bata usko, everyone beats up on deployment team when a milestone is not achieved, IS sucks, nobody knows" Bally ranted
"Ashwini is great Bally" Ii was sympathetic
"Sorry Iyer main jaanta hoon, but shes gone for a NON emergency for a MONTH?" "I mean tujhe yaad hai Tax Dispute Resolution
Services mein ek bandi was back at work 12 days after delivery " Bally quoted in awe
"THAT WAS STUPID" II said vehemently
RITU MUST HAVE BEEN HER BOSS
THERE IS NO WAY ANY SANE WOMAN WOULD WANT TO DO THAT
"Stupid, hai jo bhi hai but being gone for a month for no reason?" Bally argued
"Who knows yaar" II defended Ashwini
"How far along are u in Punjab?" he asked
AS IF
DONT U GET HOURLY UPDATES FROM RITU?
OH COME ON!!
"Amritsar and Chandigarh are done, I am going to Bhatinda in the morning, Ludhiana hai aur shaayad,
not sure Hoshiarpur mein showroom hai ya workshop we havent heard from Mr Bhalla GM there yet, uska kuch alag locha hai" she explained
"Mr Bhalla?" Bally teased
"U know when its about work I better keep it professional"
"Iyer?" he was curious
II didnt respond
"Bally if I share something will u promise to act like u were unaware when the issue presents itself?" she asked mustering courage
"Is this about having an affair or laundering money?" he asked
"SHUT UP" she ordered
He laughed
"Umm.. u know about the strike right?" II mumbled
"Mr B has met with Mr Bhalla multiple times, KMPG ko apne revenue stream ki chinta hai, agar tere sasur ne gaadi nahi bechi workshop band raha zyaada din to apne income flow par asar padta hai na"
"Thats a joke right? the Operating Income of Excelsior in their last fiscal year was over 80 crores or 100
crores yaad nahi, the SW with all its future payments only costs less than 10 crores on full deployment"
Mr Bhalla can install Transpro five times over and he still wont go broke"II explained
"I am kidding... but u know Mr B and him are friends, I bet ur father in law shared his grief over whats going on" Bally said
"I know... Manya asked if I would help and so Dad forwarded some benchmarking studies that someone
had independently conducted, not the canned services u buy from suspect sources, I am running numbers for him to show Excelsior
paid labor at competitive rates and did not stiff the union" Ii explained
"Arey wah agyakari bahu?" Bally mocked
"whatever... anyway Bally, its exciting and fun"
"thats great beta" he was happy
"I was at Spectrum today around 5 and bumped into Ms Madaan" she said
Paused for effect
Bally didnt "get it"
"I bumped into her she bought me coffee at the Perk and ek ghanta interrogate
kiya aur lecture jhaara about how I may be causing a conflict of interest" II spoke bitterly
"WHATTT?" Bally acted as if he was distracted before and was suddenly paying attention now
"Umm.. yaa" she mumbled
"This has nothing to do with Transpro" he yelled
"Thanks" II nodded, exhaling audibly
"What did u tell her?"
"Pretty much that" she said
"Hmm" Bally nodded
"So she might come to u with the case" II spoke firmly
"Arey no worries kiddo" Bally was kinda stunned
"I am already a mess Bally, he keeps going back to Paris, I miss the new baby I travelling to Punjab every week,
doing this lil bit for Dad makes me feel connected to Excelsior and umm... u know" II mumbled
"Bol bol... the word u are looking for is RAKSHAS... connected to RAKSHAS" he explained LOUDLY
II blushed
"Tujhe uske saath connection establish karne ke liye BENCHMARK study mili kya?" he mocked "I will ask Suman to tell you how ALL u can do a "connection"
"SHUT UP, SHUT UP" II ordered
Bally laughed
"Banda sahi hai boss" Bally sighed
II nodded...
"Aur kuch?" Bally asked
"Umm.. no..." II mumbled
"Are u tired of deployment?" he asked softly
II paused by a rose plant
"I dont know"
"So its not a "NO I AM NOT TIRED" Bally was clever
"U think I suck at it?" II asked
"Oh no! dont do that... very clever, Iyer,
u want me to say something that will give your feelings of inadequacy some legitimacy?" Bally argued
"No... I didnt say I LOVED it remember?" II reminded him
"Kahin aur try kar?" Bally offered
"I cant quit half way through deployment" II was outraged
"Duniya khatam nahi ho jaayegi" Bally mocked
"But u know in our industry its all about perseverance" II reminded
"Thats all BS rey, do what makes u happy, let me know if I should speak with Tax advisory services,
waha mera batch mate hai ek, started three months ago" Bally offered
"Ive never worked with taxes" she complained
Setting the phone on speaker as she moved two flower pots to a side in a nervous flutter
Dude walked back with a beer and leaned on the doorway
"U never fought with a dude and married him either" he mocked
"Shut up" II was miffed
Bally was amused
"PEHLE LADI, PHIR SHAADI" Bally laid it on thick and creamy
"Ya like he was willing to let go" II blamed it all on the dude
"Rs.5 kisne lautaye?" Bally asked
I DID I DID I DID
I WANTED TO PROVOKE HIM
I WANTED TO
A slim rivulet of thrill snaked through her insides as she imagined how he looked at her when she went to his office to return his money "We are even" she said
When she kissed him
He kissed her like the world was ending and told her "Not even"
"Aa ghar par kabhi, us ganje(Shatabdi)
ko bhi lekar aa, Ankur Anay se kuch seekhega" Bally chuckled mirthfully "Tricks of the "boy" trade"
"Suman ki karhi bhi kha lena" "Dev aap kuch kehte kyon nahi? roti hai", "Tu kar de compliment usko"
II laughed hysterically,
"Yaha hai na do ghar par, Shravu Nandu" "I WOULD LOVE TO EAT SUMAN'S KARHI"she explained gushing, feeling that warmth and fuzziness all over again
Bally could some how do that to her
"Bechari Lasya" "Lasya hai na naam?" Bally asked cheerfully
"Hmm" II nodded
"1:3" Bally continued
"She is a darling" II imagined that fat luscious face and those silky curling locks
"U shud have a fire cracker" Bally ordered
"I want a gentle quiet one" II whispered
"TERE pe gayi to sorry, nope!! Haan Rakshasan par gayi to shaayad" Bally spoke all knowingly
"How MEAN" she was offended
"Ladna (Rakshasan se) band kya?" he enquired
"Umm... NO" she said outraged
HOW CAN I DO THAT?
THATS MY OXYGEN😳
"BAS... ISI LIYE.. teri beti will be a dakoo" Bally laughed
"I agree" dude said from the doorway, chuckling
II turned startled at his agreement, quickly taking the phone off speaker, saying her goodbyes to Bally
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