"Uhh... Mein bahar wait krta hu..." Ankit said clearing his throat , in order to avoid getting stuck between any family discussion and closed the door leaving Reyansh inside.
"Maa... Meine nhi socha tha.." Reyansh started to explain but was cut off mid-sentence
"Nhi socha tha kya !? Wo log... pta nhi kon... wo Swati ko utha lenge... utha k pta nhi kya krenge !?" Their mother raged upon Reyansh.
"Meine unse subha baat kr li thi.. socha nhi tha ki wo ye sab kuch krenge.." Reyansh stated slowly.
"Kon the wo log !?"
"Wo actually mujhe hire krna chahte h... As their head chef..."
"Tujhe kabse khana banane ne me taklif hone lagi !? Ya fir bohot paise aa gye haat m , hain !?" Their mother said in a mocking tone.
"Mujhe khana banane mein koi taklif nhi h , par waha kaam krne k liye mujhe eatery band krni hogi..."
"To kr de na... Aur wese bhi us purane dukan kitna hi kamate h !?" Reyansh's mother said giving a scoff.
There was complete silence in the room for a few mins... Reyansh looked disheartened....
"Par wo Papa ka tha... unki aakhri iccha thi..." At this Swastika also looked quite sad.
Their mother , noticing Swastika's expression , quickly changed her tone and said to Reyansh , faking her concern
"Kit...kitne paise de rhe wo.. !?"
"Uh... Eatery ke daily income ka double..." Reyansh replied , quite timidly , composing his expressions.
"DAILY INCOME KA DOUBLE !?" Reyansh's mother shouted in a voice full of anger and surprise at the same time. Swastika also looked quite shocked by this amount. Listening to this huge response , Reyansh kept all the other offers of plots to himself , understanding that he might be told to go to the Ryankoi's right at this moment to work there , after his mother heard about all the bungalows and shops... Taking some time to digest , his mother continued
"Tu kis muh se unko NA bol k aya h !? Dimaag to thik h na tera !?"
"Lekin abhi hume utne paiso ki zarurat nhi h na... Eatery se jo m kamate hu , usse to kam chal jata h..."
"Kam chal jata h !? Tujhe pata bhi h , teri behen ke college ka kitna fees pending h !? Wo log keh rhe the ki agar pura paisa nhi diya to Swati ko exam nhi lene denge... "
Reyansh looked at Swastika with an expressionless face. She took out a paper from her bag , which apparently looked like a notice asking to clear all dues , and handed it to Reyansh.
"Tune iss bare mein mujhe kuch bataye nhi..." Reyansh murmurmered slowly.
"Wo kya batayegi ? M batati hu... ghar k kharche bohot mushkil se chal pate h... Upar se tu jo eatery mein free ka donation karta firta h na , uske bhi paise lagte h.. jo ki per p nhi ugte..." Reyansh's mother blasted upon him.
"Mein... mein , cafe se aur restaurant se advanced salary le aunga.. Ig.. Ig.. tab..."
"Tab kya !? Tujhe lagta sirf un paiso se sab kuch ho jayega !? Dekh... Mujhe kuch nhi pta.. TU , ABHI ISI WAKT UNKE PAS JAA AUR JOB K LIYE HAA BOL DE..." His mother shouted in a stern voice and stormed off to her room. Swastika too , shooting a pathetic glare at Reyansh , went back to her room closing the door with a loud bang.
After all the noise died , Ankit called Reyansh from outside the door in a comforting , casual - friendly tone
"Aja bhai.. Dukh bante h.."
Reyansh followed his voice and came out , his gaze fixed at the ground. He walked in funny robotic way and slowly banged his head in Ankit's shoulder.
"I feel miserable..." He said in a exhausted tone , burying his face face into Ankit's shirt.
"Aja.. Aja..." Ankit put a hand around his shoulder and both of them started walking slowly.
On the way Ankit took out his packet of cigarette and Reyansh snatched it from his hand ; but this time instead of throwing it away , he took out a cigarette and started smoking himself. Ankit got one out for himself and started smoking too... This was the common thing for the boys' , whenever something really serious decision was to be made. They walked for some distance and then sat in their usual spot looking up at the sky.
"Mein kya kru !?" Reyansh said , his tone clearly stated he was not at all ready to make any serious decision
"Maar jaa..."
"Kash wo kr pta..." They both looked at each other in and then shared a small laugh.
"Nhi... Nhi... Sach m...Kya kru ?" Reyansh resumed
"Offer man le..." Ankit said in a calm voice
"Kya !? Tujhe pta h na eatery..."
"Re sun to sahi... Tu to eatery raat ko chalate h na... To subha waha jake kam kr le... Simple.."
"Nhi ho sakta... Mein subha..."
"Ha.. Ha pta h... Tu café aur restaurant m kam krta h.. To waha ka kam chor de..."
Reyansh threw an angry glare at Ankit and then slapping his shoulder said
"Teri memory itni kharab kab se ho gyi re... Bhul gya kya , mein waha kam krta hu kyuki papa ne un logo se loan liya tha... Wo bas uske badle mujhe waha chahate h..."
"Haa... Ye to m bhul hi gya tha..." Ankit sighed deeply
"Wese tune jo kaha wo galat nhi h..." Reyansh said , something cooking inside him
"Kya ?"
"Mein Ryankoi's ke pas subha kam kr sakta hu... Café aur restaurant k bich bich mein..."
"Pagal h kya ? Bohot hectic ho jaye ga..."
"Mujhe parwa nhi... Yehi ek aakhri rasta h... Aur m yehi karunga..."
Reyansh stood up raising his fist marking his glory. Finally , the bright glow which adorned his eyes , returned to them but left only after a few seconds and he dropped down to the ground with a long and tensed face.
"I'm done with your damn hotel..."
"I'm done with Nackchari Madam..."
"I won't bother to hear anything from your stupid mouths..." The words which had earlier left Reyansh's mouth in anger , started coming back to his mind...
"Oh... No...! I'm doomed..." Reyansh cried banging his head on Ankit's shoulder
"Re... Re... Kya hua !?"
"Subha se un logo ko kitna bura-bhala kaha h... Pta nhi mujhe accept krenge ya nhi..."
"Hmm... Ye to sochne wali baat h..."
"My stupid mouth..." Reyansh said beating his lips several times. Ankit patted his back slowly giving a small laugh.
"Re le lenge... Don't worry..."
"Ahh ! I think I will die out of embarrassment..." Reyansh cried looking up at the sky.
"Ab hum kr bhi kya sakte h !?" Ankit said folding his hand and giving a know-it-all expression.
"Ahh!!! Really!!!!" Reyansh kept on complaining his luck and Ankit just sat there comforting him like a faithful friend , putting on a expression that completely showed this session wasn't ending fast...
Priyanka's Side :
Priyanka was lying on her bed talking to Rohini over vedio call.
"To man gya tera "'Kharoos Momowala"' !?" Rohini said chuckling , from the other side.
"What do u mean by "'tera"'... Wo pagal mera kab se ho gya !?" Priyanka replied with an irritated expression.
"Nhi matlab... Kam bana ?"
"Nhi... Abhi tak nhi... But am sure , kal subha ke andar ho jayga..." Priyanka said confidently.
"Bari confident lag rhi h !?"
"Ofc , confident hu... Mujhe uss technique par pura bharosa h... No one can resist it..."
"Haa... Tu bhi to resist nhi kar payi thi..." Rohini said in a nostalgic tone.
Priyanka turned her face sideways avoiding eye-contact with her. Rohini continued
"Mujhe laga nhi tha ki tu uske bare mein kuch bhi yaad rakhti h..."
"Yaad rakhna to nhi chahti thi... But situation's demand... Anyways , uska iske saat kya kaam ? I have forgotten him a long time back..."
"Really !? U didn't miss a word when u were describing the method... Pura ditto describe kiya tha..."
"Wo to... Wo to..."
"Khud se jhut mat bol Priya..."
"Re chor na... If u r gonna talk about all this , fir mein call rakhti hu..."
"Re nhi nhi... Gussa hone ki zarurat nhi... Kisi aur bare mein baat krte h..."
Both of them continued talking for a while and then disconnected the call.
Priyanka lay flat on her back staring at the ceiling. An old memory came up to her mind.
She closed her eyes and found herself amidst the memory , back in her good old college days.
"He-he-he... Mere charm mein fas hi gyi na aakhir..."
"Sach sach Batana... Daam k liye fasi na... Daam k liye..."
"Aaj se... Tu mera aur mein tera... Thik h na !?"
"Ei... Tum log piche hato... Ye meri h... Haat mat lagana..."
"Tumhe ye khana pasand h na !? Wo dekho waha golgappe h , chalo wo khate h..."
"Ayo... Ayo..."
A handsome , young lad was walking beside Priyanka and laughing and entertaining her. She seemed the most happiest in his company.
Priyanka opened her eyes. Her small memory had come to an end. She fixed her gaze on the ceiling and tried hard not to remember any more of it.
Reyansh's Side :
Reyansh got up a bit early than usual and prepared quite a few dishes for Priyanka , to give in the form of an apology , if she denied accepting him as their chef.
After cooking he packed everything and left for the Ryankoi Enterprise.
Priyanka's Side :
Priyanka was in her cabin , doing some important paperwork , when one of the employees made a small knock on her door.
"Mam... Mr. Sharma is here to see you"
"Yeah , I was expecting him..." Priyanka said , still organizing her papers. "Bring him in..."
"Yes Mam..."
And with that the employee left.
Reyansh , on the other hand , was astounded by the huge workplace. He had seen and been to many offices , but this was nothing like them... Completely formal decor... And an environment which was perfect for working... The more he looked around , the more embarrassed he felt about badmouthing them.
Rishi was leading him to Priyanka's office and there was an awkward silence between them. Reyansh wanted to break it and apologize to him , but before he could say anything , they were standing in front of the glass door with a nameplate ------
Priyanka Ryankoi
~Assistant M.D.
Rishi motioned him to go inside and Reyansh did as instructed.
He entered the cabin and came face-to-face with Priyanka who was still busy with her paperwork. Upon seeing him , she kept them aside and looked up at Reyansh
"Pls.. Have a seat..." Priyanka put on a fake sweet smile. Reyansh hesitated but then just came and sat down in front of her.
"So what brings you here Mr. Sharma ?"
"I.. Uh... I am ready to accept your offer as the head chef..."
"Wow... Thats very nice to hear... I'm honored that after so much of effort u have finally agreed to help a small and worthless company like ours..." Priyanka said in an extremely sweet tone.
For a second Reyansh thought that Priyanka was ready to forgive all his mistakes and give him a chance... But he failed to recognize the silence before a deadly storm... He , innocently proceeded
"No.. No.. How can you guys be worthl..."
"DID U REALLY THINK THAT I WOULD SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT ?" Priyanka banged her palm on the table and unleashed her wrath upon poor Reyansh.
"Just how much free do u think we r !?"
"I..."
"Did u really imagine that we would b wagging our tail behind someone petty like u !?"
"But u did that anyways..." Reyansh muttered under his breath.
"IS THAT THE POINT HERE ?" Priyanka banged her palm on the table again.
Reyansh composed his startled expressions and said
"I didn't mean it like that... I meant that I'm really sorry for everything... It may seem weird that after denying u so many times yesterday , I hv come..." Priyanka stopped Reyansh and heaved a deep sigh , which showed that she had vented 15% of her anger by now. She ransacked her drawers and took out a chocolate bar. Munching on it Priyanka said ,
"Usually (*nom*)(*nom*) I don't eat in front of my clients... But (*nom*)(*nom*) since I don't consider u one , its (*nom*) ok to eat it in front of u... This helps me relieve anger u know...(*nom*)"
"Ok... So should I take that as a compliment or as an insult ?"
"Anything u wish (*nom*)... BTW tell me truthfully... Which one did u fall for ? Saam , Daam , Dand ya Bhed ?" Priyanka said expressing a mischievous smile
"None.. For the double of my daily income... I... Uh... I need money for some personal reasons..." Reyansh said without a sign of embarrassment... Asking a job for money was not something new to him... He had faced much more embarrassing situations.
But on the other hand , Priyanka felt a bit sorry for Reyansh.
"I..."
"I know that I hv done a mistake by badmouthing u guys... And so I don't want that much of a salary... U can..."
"Badmouthing us !?" Priyanka seemed surprised
"So she didnt know about last night's conversation !? Darn u Reyansh... Khud k pyer par khudhi kulhari mar diya..." Reyansh condemned himself in his mind.
"I was just mad at u cuz , u had kept me all worked up with ur case... But now that u include this , I think I should lessen ur salary..."
"I completely agree to that... And also I hv a request to make..."
"Request ?"
"I want you to pay me as per the hours I work for u..."
"And I want to know y is that..."
"Bcs , I won't be able to work at the evening... I'm still not willing to leave my eatery..."
"Ok... So morning ?"
"Yes... For morning..." Reyansh handed over a paper to Priyanka. The paper seemed like some sort of timetable. Reyansh continued
"I work part time here... And I hv to continue them... So I made this timetable... Pls try to squeeze in the hours to work for u in the free times included in the timetable...." Reyansh stood up and bowed his head. "This is my hardest request..."
Priyanka looked absoulety surprised at this absurd offer. She said in a absurd tone
"Pls wait outside while I fix this timetable for our company..."
Reyansh did as instructed and as soon as he left Priyanka shouted out to herself
"Who even the hell he thinks , he is... How could he think that I... Priyanka Ryankoi , would hv the time to manage his timetable...." Priyanka looked at the timetable with a disgusted expression.
"U will pay for this , Kharoos Momowala..." She looked at the timetable and noticed some spots that were labeled as "'rest"'. A mischievous idea cooked up in her mind.
Soon after Reyansh was called back into the room and handed over the timetable. He scanned the timetable to find the new changes and noticed that all this "'rest"' hours were taken.
Priyanka was excitedly waiting to see the expressions on Reyansh's face drop , but he did not seemed tensed or worried at all... It felt like he had come prepared for something like this. To provoke him , Priyanka said showing some fake concern
"Sorry ha... I tried very much but couldn't save ur "'rest"' hours..."
"Its ok... I was ready for this..." Reyansh said absolutely calm , folding the paper back into his pocket.
Seeing that no reaction was to come from Reyansh , Priyanka gave up on her little excitement and said in a formal tone
"Well... Our resort is not fully developed yet , so for the time being ur going to work at another restaurant of ours and also as a cook in the cafeteria of this office... U can think this as a temporary test job before u start working for our main resort... Look up into the timetable for a more detailed explanation..."
"Ok..."
"So with all that said , u can start ur work from tomorrow... And ur salary will be as discussed..."
"Yes... Thank you very much..."
"U may leave now..." Priyanka concluded formally.
"Yes... Oh ! One second..." Reyansh remembered the small gift that he had brought for Priyanka. He took out a small box and offered it to her
"This is a small gift from my side... Pls accept it..."
"O...k... Thank you..." Priyanka didn't seem to hv digested the fact that Kharoos Momowala was actually giving her a gift... She took it reluctantly and with that Reyansh left her cabin and also the office.
Outside , near the gate Reyansh came face to face with Rishi. The awkward silence rose between them again and both of them tried to dodge meeting each other.
But coming near the exit , successfully dodging Rishi , Reyansh went back to him again.
"Hey !"
"Hi..." Rishi replied softly still avoiding eye contact with him
"I just wanted to say sorry... I am really sorry for talking with u that way last night... I was really out of my mind since my sister was with u..."
"I.. I.. Understand.. I should be sorry instead... I'm sorry..."
"Its ok... Here , accept this small token of gift..." Reyansh offered a two lunch boxes to Rishi. "One's for Kabir.... Tell him that I apologized to him too... Hope u guys enjoy the food... Bye !" And with that Reyansh rushed off towards the exit.
"We will... Thanks.. Bye !" Rishi called after him in a happy tone.
Reyansh signalled a bye sign to him and came out of the office.
Walking for some distance he said to himself
"Wow... Now it feels light..." He took out the timetable to look at it again
"I was ready for something like this... But she could hv left me some time to rest... She didnt even leave the lunch time..." He scoffed. "She really is Nackchari Madam..."
He folded the paper, kept it inside his pocket and accelerated to a greater pace which soon transitioned to running.
"Chal beta Reyansh... Aaj tera acche se kam krne ka aakhri din h..."
Priyanka's Side :
Priyanka was opening the gift given by Reyansh. It was a lunch box too...
"Huh.. Mujhe nhi pta tha Kharoos Momwala gift bhi de sakte h... Wah.. Bariya... Ab admi wo jitna hi bekar kyu na ho , khane se kya dushmani..." Priyanka took a quick sniff of the food. She had put on her usual foodie attitude which meant no harm to food stuff... Keeping the box aside she said smiling to herself
"Kal se dekhenge Kharoos Momowale... Kaun kitna khusiyan manata h... Agar tum wo kar bhi paoge to..."
Priyanka let out a scary and creepy laugh , which clearly showed that Reyansh was about to fall in deep danger...