Sneha turned to her left and looked at Viraj in confusion.
"Why is he calling you?" Jyoti almost whispered in surprise.
"I have got no idea!" Sneha answered as she tore her gaze from Viraj and looked at her friend.
"I think you should go. He is calling you and it would be useless to ignore him. I will wait for you here." Jyoti whispered in her ear.
Sneha took a deep breath and walked in his direction.
'Are there any more questions left for his weird interrogation?' She wondered.
"Sneha." Viraj greeted when she stood in front of him.
"Hello, bhaiya." She greeted back, with a little hesitancy.
Viraj closed his eyes in irritation for a second as he heard the endearment 'bhaiya'.
"Call me Viraj." He corrected her.
She narrowed her eyes in confusion again.
"But, you are Ananya's brother and elder than me." She reasoned.
"In that way, I would be the brother of half of the world's population. And, I am definitely not your brother." He asserted.
She looked at the ground momentarily as she misinterpreted his statement. She thought he didn't want to have any kind of relationship with her which is why he asked her to call him by his name.
"Okay." She mumbled as she looked up at him again.
"My men were tracking you for a week. And they have found absolutely nothing against you. So, I believe you saved Ananya with good intentions." He stated in his usual flat and emotionless tone and could see her sigh in relief.
But, she didn't throw any sarcastic comments. Right now, she just wanted to go back to Jyoti.
"So, as her elder brother, I want to thank you." He added.
She looked up at him again with wide eyes. Viraj Khatri wanted to 'thank' her! This is an achievement. So, she slightly smiled.
"You are welcome." She replied and then turned around to escape.
"So, when are you free for lunch?" He asked quickly and she stopped again. Looking at him in uncertainty, she asked.
"What?"
"Lunch." He asked again while maintaining eye contact with her.
"I...I don't understand." She said as she turned completely to face him.
"I want to treat you to lunch." He elaborated.
Her heartbeat fastened. She did not want to go on lunch or anywhere with him. He was in the mafia for heaven's sake. And, she had no intention to spend any time with a criminal, especially in private! God knows what he is capable of, she wondered.
She gulped before replying.
"It's completely fine. You have said 'thank you' and that is sufficient for me." She said in a low tone so that he won't take it as an insult.
It was his time to narrow his eyes at her.
"I wasn't asking." He said.
She looked at him in frustration this time. She hated his arrogance.
'He can't get what he wants every time!' She thought.
However, she also remembered what happened the last time she gave him a snarky reply. He had threatened her with a gun. She wondered if he carried a gun like the last time!
"Bhaiya..." She began to convince him but he interrupted her.
"Viraj." He corrected her and she nodded.
"Viraj, I helped Ananya with no other intention. So, this lunch... is not really needed. I am sure you must be... busy and I do not want to waste your time. You have thanked me and that is sufficient." She said politely despite the rage she felt inside.
He kept silent for a while. If anything, he hated being objected to. If he wanted something, he made sure to get it. Sneha just didn't know this.
"Didn't I tell you the last time to do exactly what I ask you to do?" He asked and the words processed in her mind.
This time, Sneha spoke without a filter.
"Well, I don't work under you." She retaliated boldly.
And, instead of getting offended, he smirked in amusement.
"So, you will not have lunch with me?" He confirmed.
"I am sorry. But, no." She answered quickly and turned around while internally saluting herself for her bravery.
"Don't regret later." He warned as she turned around to leave.
She faced him again in confusion. Part of her thought he was going to shoot her like last time. But, he was not carrying the gun this time. So, she took his threat lightly and turned back to go to Jyoti.
"What was he saying?" Jyoti asked.
"Forget it. He is mad." She replied in frustration.
"Still? What was it all about? He was smiling at you when you were coming here." Jyoti whispered as she started her scooty.
"He was offering a lunch for helping Ananya." Sneha told her friend.
"And?"
"Obviously I denied!" She said confidently.
"Wow! That's daring!" Jyoti said as they left the premises.
Viraj kept his gaze at Sneha as he retrieved his phone and dialled Gaurav's number.
"Yes, boss?" Gaurav answered on the very first ring.
.
.
.
Sneha entered the library where she worked part-time. She walked towards the employee's room where she kept her bag and other belongings. She showed her employee id card on the scanner. On habit, she opened the door but found it locked. She looked at the scanner's screen, and it clearly displayed in red: ACCESS DENIED.
She tried her id card again and every time it displayed the same error.
"What's happening!" She mumbled to herself as she tried it again and again.
"What's wrong?" Her colleague, Jayant said as he stood beside her. He worked in the same shift timing as hers and was well acquainted with her.
"It is not accepting my card." Sneha said in a panicked tone.
"Let me try mine." Jayant proposed and tapped his card. The scanner displayed 'ACCEPTED' in green. He looked at her in confusion and asked to tap her id card again. The result was the same as earlier.
"Go and ask in the administration office. They will help you." He suggested.
She nodded and almost ran towards the office to show her card and maybe get a new one.
"Sir, my id card is not working." She told the very first employee she saw in the office.
The man looked up.
"Give me the card." He asked and she gave him the card.
When he read her name, his eyes widened and he immediately asked her to meet the head of the library.
"But why?" She asked.
"Something happened recently. You should go and meet Rani ma'am immediately." The man told her.
"Okay!" She mumbled and walked towards the office of the head of the library.
Knocking on the door twice, she entered the office.
"Yes?" Ms Rani asked.
"Good evening ma'am. My name is Sneha Bohra. I work here in the management department. My id card was not working and the admin told me to meet you." Sneha said as she approached the desk.
"Oh, you are Sneha Bohra. I am sorry to inform you but you are no longer an employee here." Ms. Rani said as she removed her spectacles.
"But...but why?" Sneha asked. She didn't understand why would she be removed? She was working so efficiently here!
"It is a part of our cost-cutting process. The library is going at loss and we need to remove all the part-timers."
"But...one of the part-timers' id cards is working just fine." She added.
"We have removed only selective people." Came the reply.
Sneha wanted to defend herself again. But, she only sighed. Because she had no power or authority here, she decided to leave silently. Taking a bus, she sat on one of the seats and started thinking about the day.
'Why did they remove me for cost-cutting? The library is working just fine. If anything, more customers are subscribing daily. Is there any other Sneha Bohra working in the library? Did they mistake me for her! But, why would my id card be blocked? Id card numbers are unique. Now, how will I save money for the laptop!' Sneha sighed in her little monologue. It was the best job she could get where she didn't have to work much and even got time to complete her college assignments.
She exited the bus and walked towards her home. Her mother opened the door and narrowed her eyes in confusion.
"I lost my job." Sneha said before her mother could ask her the reason for the early arrival.
"You too?" Her mother asked.
Sneha turned to look at her mother in doubt.
"Who else did?" She asked.
"Priya lost the tutoring job as well." Her mother said as Priya came towards them from the kitchen.
"Yes, didi. They said that they hired someone more experienced than me." Priya added.
Sneha scratched her head in confusion. Why would they both lose their jobs on the very same day!
'Don't regret later.' She recalled Viraj's words.
Is he behind this? She wondered.
'No! He couldn't be. He can't do all this at such short notice. It must be pure coincidence.' She reasoned.
"Now what will we do, didi?" Priya asked as they entered their room.
"Get a new job. What else?" Sneha murmured as she changed her dress.
"Right! By the way, I got this while I was returning home." Priya said as she removed a small piece of paper from her bag excitedly.
"What is this?" Sneha asked as she took the paper in her hand and read it.
"Priya! Are you insane? How can you waste 500 rupees on a lottery ticket?" Sneha scolded her sister when she realized that her sister had indeed bought a lottery ticket! She was already frustrated from the turn of the events.
"It's not wasting, didi! I got this one because there are high chances of me winning." Priya said quickly in fear of her sister getting angry.
"And how is that so? Because as far as I know, all these things are utter fake!" Sneha said in an irritating note.
"No, didi! I have a good chance of winning this one. See, this lottery is open only for girls of the age group 18 to 35! And, how many do you think are there in our district! And, how many will buy it! So, my winning probability is extremely high." Priya explained as if she had hit a jackpot.
Sneha glared at her sister.
"Priya, you idiot! All this lottery thing is fake. These people will declare their own team members as winners! How can you be so naive!" Sneha said as she rubbed her fingers on her forehead.
"No, didi. That's not true. Plus, the winner will get two laptops. So, I bought this ticket. If we win, we will have our own laptops. We will not have to share and we can use our saving on something else! Think about the positives!" Her sister reasoned.
Sneha glared at her sister and tore the lottery ticket in frustration.
"Didi!" Priya whined as Sneha threw it in the bin.
"Don't repeat this stupidity." Sneha warned her as she walked out of the room towards the kitchen to help her mother.
Priya however picked up the torn pieces and taped them properly.
"I am sure of winning this time." Priya told herself.
However, Viraj heard the entire conversation as he was curious about Sneha's reaction to his actions. He wondered how she would react after her father reaches home.
.
.
"What happened, papa? You look stressed!" Sneha asked as her entire family had supper together in the living room.
"No. Nothing." Her father said as everyone looked at him in concern. He clearly had a frown and didn't even ask if their day was good.
"Something is off. What is it, papa?" Priya asked as she nudged her father's elbow.
Her father sighed. Sneha knew that her father couldn't resist Priya's questions as she was very close to him.
"The HR called me into their office today. They told me to resign as my manager had complained against me. They said that they found many errors in my reports. They also blamed me for sharing information with an outsider. So, I had to resign or else they would have terminated me." Her father finally revealed the truth.
Sneha's spoon fell from her hand.
"Is it true?" Her mother asked.
"Of course not! I don't know why they think I have done this!" Her father exclaimed.
"Isn't it strange? Didi and I also lost our jobs today!" Priya said.
"What? You two as well?" Her father asked in confusion.
"Yes, papa." Priya answered.
"I think someone has performed some black magic on our family. I will visit the priest tomorrow." Sneha's mother said as they ate.
Her entire little family was stressed and troubled over the turn of events. Sneha knew it and she wasn't going to be quiet over it. She very well knew which 'priest' she should visit.
So as she laid on her bed, she decided to confront Viraj about this. She knew he was behind all these events. He did it because she declined his offer.
"Arrogant man." She cursed him with the best word she could find.