The less you reveal the more people wonder. -Emma Watson.
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Chapter seven: Secrets.
Mahaya had to knock on the door five times before she got a reply.
She could hear whimpers from the inside but no sensible reply.
Then she heard her mother speak.
"Go. Your daughter is waiting for you." She chided.
Her father wasn't a morning person.
Though he could go to the business meetings any time required but anything else and he was as slag as a log.
"Do we really need to jog at seven-thirty in the morning?" Her Dad complained as they got into her car.
Mahaya drove towards the closest jogging track.
"Yes. And we're late. You were supposed to be down by seven. You should be punished." Mahaya teased.
Her father snorted.
"I'm half asleep darling. You're lucky I'm even standing on my two feet, much less jogging." Her Dad grumbled.
Mahaya chuckled as they jogged.
They had completed three laps of half a kilometre before her Dad began to pant.
"That's it. I'm done for the day." He announced as he took deep breaths.
Mahaya tightened her ponytail as she too took deep breaths.
Early morning in Mumbai was beautiful. The sun was in the sky, shining brightly but there was still the cold atmosphere from the night before.
The birds chirping could be heard from the trees.
There were several people jogging in the park now.
"C'mon. You're slacking! You need to run at least five laps a day." Mahaya tried to encourage her father.
He shook his head.
He wiped off the sweat off his forehead by the sleeves of his t-shirt.
"I can't." He panted. "I need to be ready. I'm leaving for Lucknow today afternoon." He informed her as they moved out of the parked.
Mahaya unlocked the car as she asked, "When's the flight?"
"Twelve twenty." Her father answered as he opened the bottle of water.
"When will you be returning?"
"Hopefully by Saturday. It's a two day work." He replied as he gulped down large sips.
Mahaya nodded. It was a Wednesday today.
"That's alright. I'll visit Oye today." Mahaya told him as she parked the car on her regular spot.
Her Dad nodded in understanding.
"You're still going?"
"I want to." She smiled sadly as they both got into the elevator.
---•---
Yashraj's first day as a software engineer in Roy Enterprises was going good.
He wasn't the chief as on his previous job but he surely loved this office better.
His division was on the third floor and well-maintained.
His cubicle was bigger than his previous one.
And the staff was pretty welcoming too.
Well, most of them.
His boss was Arnav Kher, a clever man of forty-two who had been working in this company for twelve years.
That's four times the longest Yashraj had stayed at one job.
His longest job was at a company back in the States where he worked for three years before realising that maybe it was time to move back home.
Currently the job that needed to be completed was the website of Roy Enterprises.
There was one made earlier but it was sh*tty, to say the least. So they had been reassigned the task to make a complete new website that would be easier to manage, run and operate.
Ag the end of the break, everyone would get together in the boss's office to discuss what they thought about it. Any new ideas were welcome.
And Yashraj was more than happy to contribute.
Apparently, his ideas were different as compared to others.
Everyone was putting down something that had already been used.
Yashraj suggested to open a complain box, which existed, but that this complain box will be an email handled by the Vice-CEO himself.
Most of the people seemed fazed by the idea.
It seemed terrifying them.
It was a bold move.
It was equivalent of a girl roaming out with her boyfriend after ten at night.
But his boss was cooperative.
He quickly passed on this idea to Kartik who gladly accepted it.
So, in short, Yashraj was a hero on the first day itself.
Also he'd caught a vixen beauty on his radar at the cafeteria today.
She was dressed in formals, talking to a guy.
Soon after the guy left, Yashraj approached her.
"Hey." He greeted as he took a sip of his coffee.
She gave him a smile.
"Hello."
"I'm Yashraj. I'm a software engineer." He gave her a million-dollar smile as he waited for her reply.
"I'm Rashi. I'm a lawyer." She smiled back at him.
He immediately wanted to ask her about Mahaya but held himself back.
"So Rashi, if you would like to have a coffee with me sometime, I'd be glad to offer my company." He smiled as he took a small step forward.
"I'm sorry but I'm currently seeing Praveen." She gave him a soft smile back.
"Well, if you change your mind, I'll be at floor three." He winked at her as he retreated his steps back to his cubicle.
She seemed like a decent girl.
A date with her didn't seem such a bad idea after all.
---•---
Rashi didn't turn up.
Not like he expected her to.
Yashraj knew that they'd go out sooner or later.
He was in no hurry.
He was liking this job.
And he was liking his new home too.
Kartik wasn't a bad company.
He reminded Yashraj of his childhood friend whom he had so dearly missed over the years.
And Tanya wasn't that bad either.
At least she want a fireball like her friend.
Though Yashraj was bothered by the fact that Mahaya wasn't there at the dinner yesterday night but he did have a good time.
The three of them bonded like friends from college.
Kartik and Tanya seemed to have loads of stories to talk about.
And of course Mahaya was a common topic to talk about.
But Yashraj didn't pry.
It was evident from the way he spoke that Kartik was possessive of his sister. And Yashraj wasn't keen on losing the only friend he had here.
Yashraj was in the dining floor at the time when Mahaya entered.
She had this look on her face. The look where she was content but at the same time disappointed and upset too.
Yashraj noticed her drink the orange juice.
She wasn't the office today. And Mahaya didn't cone across as a person who bunks office.
His curiosity was killing him.
He final gathered up the courage to ask her.
"Where were you today?" He asked nonchantaly.
"Out." She replied as she opened the refrigerator.
Yashraj looked at her clothes. She was dressed casual and she looked pretty in it.
Anticipation grew in his stomach.
"Where?" He prodded.
She snapped the door shut.
"It's none of your business." She hissed as she poured milk in one glass.
"I'm just curious." He tried to speak lightly.
But more secretive Mahaya tried to be, more Yashraj wanted to intrude.
"Don't be. Kill it." She ordered.
He laughed humourlessly.
"It's hard to."
She slammed the glass on the counter.
"Look, you are staying in our house but it doesn't mean you belong here. You are just a employee, Yashraj. We are giving you shelter because you are homeless. So stop intruding in my private life,okay? You are not family. You are no one to me. So I am not obliged to answer you and you have no right to question me. Stay in your limits and your stay here will be pleasant." She spat and then left the room, making Yashraj feel so degraded that he couldn't stay on this floor anymore.
He laid on his bed, looking at the fan rotate as he began to ponder upon what happened down there.
He knew he touched a nerve there.
Mahaya didn't seem like the person who degrades someone.
She didn't seem like someone who believed in inequality and she certainly didn't seem like a person who would bash out as someone's weakness.
So Yashraj knew he had done something severe.
And it left him feel uneasy.
He wanted to apologise to her but he didn't have the courage to face her.
Yashraj knew he had to.
It was the right thing to do.
But because of some reason unknown to him, he was feeling ashamed of himself.
Sure she had put salt on his wounds.
He wanted to be angry and pissed but Yashraj couldn't shake off the feeling that he was at fault here.
He took a deep breath and switched off the lights.
He decided to call it a night because understanding a woman's mind was more tiring than designing a website.
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