Work & Water slide
Ranjan told her about the shruti box R&B had sent... he had found it on his way inside to go to bed... Mahavir had put it on the chest by the Monet
Ranjan brought it to her at the dining table, gave it to her with an innocent expression "Must be some wedding gift beta" he said going back to read the newspaper, but carefully looking for her reaction secretly
She jumped up seeing the shruti box, "Woww!!" "You bought a new one?" she asked shocked
"Not me" Ranjan shrugged like "Why do I care"😉
"Phir kaun?" she asked "Oh!! Umm... did u tell him?" she asked uncomfortable first but shocked, she knew they didnt talk
about such mundane things at all, mundane or crisis, they did not talk. Period
"Hes a very thoughtful man" Ranjan supported a son who didnt even address him as Dad.
II ate quietly
MUST BE WHY HE SNEAKILY GETS TO GENEVA FIRST
AND THEN TELLS ME HE WILL BE DELAYED
BIWI GAYI BHAAR MEIN. ITS ALL ABOUT THAT NEXT INVENTION
RAKSHASAN!! HERE I AM IN HIS HOUSE WONDERING WHY AM I EVEN HERE
There was two missed calls from him this morning. one at 6 and one at 7
She didnt return it... she didnt want to go in to work either but didnt have a choice
Running away was not going to make Bally change his mind
Ranjan:U must come home by 7 beta
II:I'll try, I didnt even read my emails yet Dad
Ranjan: Did u pick up your job from the printer? (caring)
II:Oops! I forgot, in fact my laptop is also up there.
Ranjan: is there a meeting with Bally today?
II:I believe so at Noon?
She hadnt been inside the room he shared with Mom. She didnt have the heart to go in there. R&B rarely wandered around the ground floor, he was in the lounge a lot then the living room
In the dining area when they ate, otherwise he avoided the other 4 or 6 ground floor rooms.
"Did u call him? Ranjan asked
"Umm ya" she said after some thought
"U should send your car to your parents" he ordered
"No Dad I will start driving it" II said
"No the driver is waiting for you. When u get a chance talk with Manya...
I know she doesnt call much she is busy with research but she worries about you" Ranjan was being polite
"I will... definitely.. tonite" II promised
"You married him and you turned quiet?" Ranjan laughed out loud
"No... I havent I just have a lot on my mind" she said smiling
She was back to her no nonsense Burberry today, black & white
Did u talk with him this morning?" Ranjan enquired
"I did" II lied
Morning Noon and night thats all I think about, she cursed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was a big going away cake and punch celebration for Gurtej. in the biggest conference room lots of Public Accounting FMCG humor was exchanged good naturedly...
Talks about Bally's upward mobility were heard, Bally acted clueless
II did not feel resentful, she loved Bally too much for that but was definitely distraught. Too many life changes had occurred in the last month
Between marriage, honeymoon, new home, and now almost losing a friend...
"I AM GOING TO BE ON THE SAME FLOOR KIDDO" Bally countered as II moped tearing up her cake disinterestedly. KMPG was spread over 7th and 8th floors
"YA, but not three cubes away but in a room overlooking the fancy intersection" II whined
He hugged her shoulders... "Fancy intersection? Are u even listening to yourself? Maximum accidents happen at the corner of Tula Ram and Hooda Marg
"I cant even imagine working for someone else" II began to worry
Arey, we all work for KMPG" he argued
"Yeh bhashan to aap rehne do Bally" II was too pissed to listen to platitudes
Achha come over during the weekend. Apne hero ko bhi la, baithte hain daaroo waaroo peeyenge sab set ho jaayega" He pacified
"Hes not in town na, not sure when he is back" II pretended to be all cool about it
"Chal theek hai tu aa ja" Bally said
Gurtej interrupted II's tantrum and took Bally away... "How is the husband?" he asked her
"Great" she said
"I spoke to Mr Bhalla this morning, things will go well now that you are back" Gurti assured her
"SUREEE!! LIE WHO CARE
YOU ARE GOING ANYWAY
BALLY WILL BE IN YOUR FANCY GLASS OFFICE
I WILL BE BANGING MY HEAD TRYING TO GET THE NEW PERSON UP TO SPEED
RAKSHA... OOPS THIS IS NOT HIM!!
FOR CHANGE THIS GRIEF IS NOT CAUSED BY HIM
ARRGHHH
MUST BE WORKING AWAY WITHOUT A CARE. BIWI GAYI BHAAR MEIN
Suddenly she felt the urge to check her texts, she walked to a corner and sat down on one of the chairs lining the wall and checked... there were texts from him
"Can we talk?" was the first one after she hung up on him saying "Stay there and finish up for how ever long" slamming it on her desk to go find coffee at Perk
And then one at 8 PM last night "II" a half smile appeared as she imagined those letters being uttered
And then one around 9:48 PM "Answer the goddamn phone" he was running low on patience
And the one this morning at 8:08 AM "?" was all he sent
PIGGG!! Even in texts he used economy, why cant he type one sentence?
RAKSHASAN!!
SO BUSY OR WHAT?
STINKER!!
And the last at 10:12 AM.. "if this how u want to do this"
He probably doesnt miss the sex or the making out ONE bit... RAKSHASAN... he got it all at 14 or 16 and has been getting ever since
POOR ME!!!
ARGHHH!!!!
She recalled how the Wed? before she left Paris, how he lay on the couch reading, she woke from a early evening nap, after shopping all morning... she walked over
and pulled his book away... he literally pulled her down from over his head, she landed on him, wiggling, and falling back, her back on his chest
He rolled her over under him... "U should say "May I have the book please?" he chuckled moving roughly over her
"Phir to mil chuki book mujhe" she muttered... as he gently slid her tee over her head...
"U were asleep, u told me not to get frisky" he complained on her neck...
"are u always this obedient?" she asked moaning
"Usually in the honeymoon" he chuckled as she kneed him
"ouch" he exclaimed
"I was going to finish the chapter and come wake u" he squeezed her cheek... she eased him out of his tee softly...
"U can read all you want after I go" she complained...
He caressed her belly, his hand going over her short shorts, this one was particularly revealing, it was her newest acquisition from before her wedding
His hands were on her curves on the back... his fingers sliding under the distressed edge of the denim... she arched seeking his body...
Lets do this slowly II" he begged
"NO, I started it get to call" she ordered breathlessly bringing his head down on her curves...
He just grazed... "unless u want to be sent to the sideline and asked to sit out on the bench" she cursed urging him "Please da" she rushed unable to prolong her agony
He bit her ear lobe "havent u heard? Try going down a water slide while it isnt wet?" he soaked her ear and cheek, taking his mouth lower skipping her neck
She shook as his face came in contact with her smooth curves... "Ive only heard "Whats a man's idea of foreplay?" "30 minutes of begging"
II gasped when she felt his teeth...in her chest region... yanking his head "rakshasan!!" she cursed quivering
she led his hand to her upper back... seeking his lips... tentatively at first and hungrily afterwards... he pulled his head away
"I should go back to reading" he muttered... laughing down at her
"I will burn your book. I swear" she warned
"that cant be good" he agreed... letting her feel his arousal "II dont" he begged "Dont go, stay" he had begged, undoing her hook
there was no begging NOW...
She wanted to time travel and go back to Paris, to that apartment, sitting in the kitchen table listening to Vidyasagar hits, looking up recipes... or learning to make espresso or tearing up crepes.
this was too hard... quit my job, and go teach... get a Ph D... work for a clothes designer... become a personal shopper to the rich and famous... do taxes for rich and famous...
ARGHHH!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
I NEED TO STEP OUT AND TAKE A WALK...
She went to the stairway, and walked up to the 18th floor, not wanting to bump into her father in law, she walked down to the 5th... thoughtful, pausing at every landing
Sitting down to take notes
She was half way done with her email... she had found Gurtej's thank you note... an "unofficial" Transition plan email from Mr B about who expect will fill Gurti's spot
It was sent only to the deployment team... Gurti's clients knew of his quitting last week... according to the email, Mr B spoke really highly of Bally and hoped, he would "accept"
They would follow due process, but Mr B felt Bally had the best "chance"
Gee!! Like Bally was going to decline
Bally had told her yesterday that no raise was being offered, he would be the "Senior Deployment Mgr- Client Services"
KMPG had a suite of less than 6 SW, the most kluge being TransPro (wrt to Excelsior), the others were different kinds targeted at different markets and customers
Those were doing fairly well
He would inherit all of the products, clients and installations
II wondered what her chances were if she even applied for Bally's role, she sat on the steps between 4th and 3rd with her coffee.. and added up her experience...
Walked over to the tall windows and stared out...
It looked like it was going to rain, cloudy... she could bet it smelled like dirt
Paris rains were different, THERE WAS NO SCENT OF MOIST EARTH
Rains without the scent of moist earth, that would be like me "without my job" "Me without Rakshasan"☺️
She leaned on the wall and pulled her cord out of her shirt and examined the twin pendants...
she heard footsteps so she tucked em in quickly and scrolled on Outlook... nodding... it was nobody she knew... Phew!!!
she went to Paris pictures folder... there was over 1700 pictures... 1728 TO BE EXACT
TSK TSK... she mocked herself... she had the most random visual collage... his feet while asleep to stubble to... pigeons... to her crepes... to the cab ride...
she went back to her texts and began to type
"Can u come home right now?" she typed and erased
"How about we make a deal, be home in --- tonite and I will forgive you" and erased
"I promise not to brainwash Shravu for a week will you come home now?" she typed and erased
"what are you wearing?'
Mmm...mmm😭
She closed out of text msg and stared out the window again... she completes five years in 2016... she could apply for a promotional opportunity, but getting Bally's job wont make her life any easier. She would have to be in the firing line AND she would have to train her replacement.
Bally worked 10 hours more than her weekly on average sometimes 20... "work smarter not harder/longer" didn't apply for Pub Acctg. Everyone worked like a dog, pretty much
Excelsior seemed like the best thing for her resume in November... a Mid to Large privately owned company that employed between 10,000-15,000 employees
Installing/delivering a SW product in a company that size, with a SW user base of OVER 500-600 heads between Cashiers. Head Cashiers, Accounts Managers, Showroom/workshop Directors, and bunch of key people at the Corp Off at Spectrum,
It was going to be a phenomenal achievement not only for the product but also for her professional growth... "Going to be"...
Anupamaa
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
