Shivaay had left by the time Dev arrived at a quarter before two. Annika did not leave the premises after Shivaay. She waited. She received Dev with a nervous smile. He, on the other hand, could not smile at all. He looked here and there. Annika mimicked his movement as she stayed confused about the same.
"What are you looking for?"
"Your husband dearest."
She sighed, "Look, I am sorry—"
Before she could continue, he stopped her by showing the front of his right palm. She did feel bad, a bit enraged as he cut her off. She stopped though, being guilty as she was for her husband's deeds.
"Where is he? I did come here at Priyanka's behest, but not to accept the job. Rather I came here out of my curiosity to know what's up about you and your husband. Your husband blindly hates people like me. You are lying to give me a job. For you, I am just a classmate. Or you can say a person who accompanied you to drink that night."
"You must know that I don't have the same principles as him."
"I know. From the time we met to the time I drove you home, you were blabbering your uber dislike about that man."
"You didn't drive me home. You drove me to a farmhouse at the outskirts of the city." For some reason, Annika felt the need to correct him. He needed not to know, but she did. She also felt the need to tell him that she did not dislike Shivaay anymore.
"I am not supposed to know if that is the address you gave me, right?"
She nodded, "Sorry. But I don't dislike him anymore. He has flaws, so do I. Then who am I to hate a person? I was wrong that night. He means no harm. And if he dislikes a certain group of people, he must have some reason. It is different that he never opened up the reasons to me. You cannot expect a boy who grew up without parents to be perfect."
He shook her head, "It's not my place to know if you like him anymore or not. And I am not even interested to know if he has a reason behind hating people like me. I don't want to work here after Mr. Oberoi's insult. I was here to know the whole matter and I sort of figured out that you lied to your husband based on Priyanka's words."
He took a few steps back before Annika spoke again, "I am giving you the job because you deserve it. If it makes you feel better, then let me say that though Shivaay is handling this business, it is under my name. I may not have the education or experience, but I have the legal age and authority to make decisions for the company," she chuckled sadly, "I never thought I would speak in such manner. It's true though. Shivaay tells me this often. I have the authority to make such small and even bigger decisions about the company. I watched your interview that day, not just Shivaay. And I want to offer you the job. Not because you are the guy Priyanka likes or you are my classmate. It's because you deserve it. Lastly, you were right. I hid your identity from Shivaay. Else there was no way he would get to know about the person you are. He wouldn't even agree to give you the job. He thinks you are Ved Arbahci, a name I coined. Once he sees your work, gets impressed by you, we shall tell him the truth. I plan to make him realize that people are known for their work, not for their parentage. You need this job. You and I can help each other."
"This isn't Loony-Toons. Once he figures out I am working as Ved, he will call the police. First, it's cheating for real. And second, he will be proven right if I take up this job by lying."
"Don't worry, there won't be any legal repercussions. In all the important documents, your name is written as-is. And about cheating, this is not cheating. Company is mine, decisions are mine. Rest is up to you."
"I need time to think," Dev said after a long moment of silence.
Annika nodded. She received a text from Shivaay that said he was waiting for her in his car outside the building. She excused herself from Dev and reached her husband.
***
Halfway through the ride, Shivaay noticed how Annika remained more silent than usual. He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers. Neither she stared at them like she usually would nor she showed discomfort like she did on a particular evening. He glanced at her from time to time. They were ten minutes away from home and he hated having to keep his eyes on the road. He would rather keep them on her and try to read her expressions.
"Anything you want to tell me?" he asked.
"Huh?" Annika came out of her thoughts. There were a lot of things she wanted to tell him. Especially the blunder she recently created. She was right to say that she had flaws. The biggest flaw being her perfection in hatching a plan with multiple loopholes. The thoughts revolved in her mind like a pendulum. At one point she got emotional thinking about Priyanka and Dev, about right and wrong. At another, her heart said lying to Shivaay was more wrong. She, personally, had more to lose than to earn depending on the consequences.
"I was thinking," she replied, "You have a business plan. If it works, it does less for you but can bring the greater good. If it doesn't work, it will bring you a huge loss. Should you give it a try?"
Shivaay thought for a bit. He did not remember getting such straightforward yet complicated questions in his business classes, which made him wonder if Annika was talking about her classes or something else.
"Your classes?" She nodded to his question. "I won't go with it. If one earns, it is good, but it shouldn't be at the cost of you. Going by your question, I assume you earn less, others earn more. But when it comes to losing, you lose a lot. Others don't. They are gaining more and losing less. You are gaining less and losing more. I hope I am getting the question right. In that case, this is unfair, don't you think?"
Annika gulped a huge lump down her throat. Her nails dug the insides of her palm. She was stiff. Her face grew pale.
***
"Did you meet the new intern, Dev Arbachi?" Annika's pupils dilated as a reaction to Shivaay's question. She failed to say if her moist face was a result of the water she just used to freshen up or sweat in the month of January.
He sounded cool. After coming home, he quickly freshened up and now he sat with an iPad on his lap. She returned after freshening up to the haunting question.
"Ved Arbahci, no?" she tried her luck.
"Ved Dev, Arbahci Arbachi, it's all the same for me. I just received an email where his name is written as Dev. There are so many names, how does one remember all of them?"
Annika rumbled a nervous chuckle. Shivaay raised his eyebrows. She shook her head.
"I remember. On the first fashion show, oops charity event, we went together, you told me that one must remember all the names in our class of society and you struggle to learn a single name."
"Hahaha, I will learn it soon," he promised. "But tell me, how was he?"
"Good guy," she struggled to get words out of her mouth, "I think he will be a good addition."
"Very humble, modest, and honest," she added thoughtfully. Dev was indeed a good man unlike Shivaay thought. The first time they met, he did not take advantage of her drunk state. He left the office and later their home after being insulted by Shivaay. Even today he came to her office for knowing the matter rather than accepting the offer gratefully. A man of self-respect. She wished Shivaay saw him the way she did.
"Great," he shrugged his shoulders and returned to his iPad, "Is Ved in the same MBA batch as you?"
"No," she lied. It felt like a knife stabbed her chest. "Why?"
"I was reading the availability of the new interns. He is available all-day Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Mondays and Wednesdays past lunch hours. He has classes in the morning those two days. That's exactly your schedule. I also read in an email Aastha sent me that he is studying MBA from the same grad school as you, so I asked. By the way, she is the one who wrote Dev instead of Ved. Are you sure Ved is his real name?" Aastha was the coordinator of new employees and the sub-head of the H-R branch.
Annika slowly placed a hand on his kneecap. His eyes shifted from the device on his hand to her shaking hand on his knee.
"Annika?" he took her hand in his. He caressed the part from her wrist up her elbow. Her face wanted to tell him a lot of things. He figured out that part. "If there is something, anything you need to tell me, you can," after debating a lot in his head, he voiced out the assurance.
She kept mum. She too was in a debate if she should tell him or not. She took the first few steps already. There was no turning back. Until and unless Shivaay truly understood her motive behind the steps she took, he will be angry and hurt. She could easily handle his anger. Him being hurt though was something she couldn't tolerate.
"Okay, I won't ask you again until you tell me the whole matter by yourself," he promised when she showed no sign of opening her mouth. Her eyes welled up. Second per second it was getting difficult to breathe. Her sight was poor due to the river that escaped from her right eye.
He failed to notice her pain as he went through some important emails. Not a gasp was heard to catch his attention either. Remembering something he got up. A pair of arms wrapped around his waist at the very moment. He felt her weeping against his chest. His countenance changed from confusion to concern with a blink of an eye. He placed his hands on her back.
"Are you crying?"
More tears flowed from her eyes. "I am sorry," she wept.
"Annika?"
"You have nothing to be sorry about," he told her when she showed no sign to stop crying. He separated her from himself for a moment and sat on the bed beside her. She gripped his kurta and continued to cry against his chest. Her guilt slowly changed to fear. Fear of losing him once he knew the whole matter. In no way she could handle another separation with Shivaay, small or big.
He placed his jaw on top of her head and hugged her softly. He felt confused about her state. He could not make any head or tail of her behavior. He remained unaware of what kind of support she needed.
"I—If I—something——that hurts you—but I don't know—any other," her words were barely audible. They made very little sense to Shivaay. She stammered and failed to express herself properly as she cried.
"Annika," he cupped her face and made her look in his eyes. Her eyes did not want to meet his. And for the first time, it was not because she felt shy but because she was afraid to spill out the truth. He knew it well.
"Look, I know you are hiding something. As I promised, I won't force you to tell me unless you want to. But if it is eating you from the inside, that's not good either, no?"
She closed her eyes. Each of his words was true. In fact, each moment she spent with him made her feel how wrong she was.
She stayed in the heaven of his arms. Her breathing paced with the rhythm of his heartbeat. Every time she breathed, the touch of his hand placed on her back felt twice as soothing. Her nostrils flared to intake as much of his scent as possible. Her forehead felt ticklish due to his stubble. All her worries, guilt, fear took a backseat for the next few minutes. She lived in the moment.
***
The following Wednesday saw Shivaay in an irritable mood. Annika could not accompany him to the office owing to her classes. Some of the records did not match and bashing the employees worked less. He trusted Annika in everything she said. Even when he received the email from Aastha. Yet almost everyone who knew Ved addressed him as Dev. They said Ved was studying in the batch as Annika. He figured it out by the course number and timings. He knew Annika won't lie, but how could someone be so sure and so wrong at the same time?
He rushed out of the office. He needed to see Annika. He could pick her up when her class finished, he planned.
***
Five minutes before one, Shivaay had reached Annika's grad school. He waited for her quite impatiently. If she was wrong to think the person was Ved and not Dev, he felt the need to clarify. And if she knew the truth yet chose to keep him in dark, he needed to know why. Annika's recent behavior added to his worries. There was something big she was hiding. His grip on the steering wheel tightened. He respected her wish to not tell him. But hiding and lying were two different things. If she was lying, it was unfair to him.
Annika came outside the building. She was soon followed by a man Shivaay hated immensely. There was no particular reason behind hating the guy personally. He hated the group of people Dev belonged. Those who did not have the surname of a reputable ancestry attached to them. They were the ones who were selfish, those who looked to reach up the ladder stepping off of a rich person's shoe. They had no backbone of their own. He saved his sister from the so-called love of that man. Now, his insides churned seeing the guy with his wife. Why didn't Annika tell him before? Given he was angry at first, she could tell him later.
"Why Annika?" he banged his hand on the steering wheel. First, he was confused about her equation with Ved. And now he spots his wife with a boy who became the reason for their first fight. He had no idea what was going on. All of a sudden it felt as if Annika hid a lot of things from him that he deserved to know as her husband.
Annika walked towards the car, having spotted his vehicle soon after coming out. She sat inside with a huge smile on her lips. Not everyday Shivaay surprised her by presenting himself in front of her classes.
"Hey."
He ignored her greeting. He turned on the ignition and left the premises. Annika's lips curved downwards. She received not a single glance at his face while he drove. She was unable to read his eyes or comprehend the reason behind his silence. He seemed to be boiling up in anger. One pop and he will burst.
Precap: Police in the office; Annika to the rescue.