Choices

CHAPTER | 5

Sharath looked at his colleague walk into the building with a bubbling smile and a flustered face. He had been watching the same scenes for the past five days and the jealousy had never once decreased.

It should have been him in Vijay's shoes, picking and dropping Ambika to and from her house. It wasn't supposed to be Vijay who was getting all the attention from their boss as if he was the king of the jungle.

It had been the same ever since Vijay saved Pranay from a road-side accident. He had become the hero the very next day and was given actual columns to write in the paper. Even with less experience, Vijay had become the most wanted and suddenly, the most talented writers in the office.

Sharath had never let a feeling as low as jealously cloud his senses when it came to work. But looking at the partiality that went right under his nose, it was too tough to overcome them.

As Vijay walked forward, Ambika emerged from behind him with a big smile on her face. Sharath had believed that only his jokes had brought such a smile on her, but now the smiles she had given him seemed too fake and reserved.

Was something going on between the two? Was it time to raise an issue for an office romance?

"Hi, Sharath." Ambika waved at him and all the questions vaporized as his mouth twitched for a smile. "Are you early today?"

At that his previous emotions came back with full force. "I'm always on time." Sharath muttered. He had to be careful to not his inner emotion show. Unlike the kids that stood in front of him, he was experienced in this field and knew his way around the words. "Maybe you have started to come fashionably late, these days."

The blush on Ambika's face reflected on his face as an angry red. Every fucking guy in the office had an eye on her and yet she had chosen the obvious guy. Sharath's stomach churned differently.

Putting on a fake smile, Sharath opened his mouth to say more only to be interrupted by Vijay. Of course, he had almost forgotten the rotten man who had been watching the interaction go on silently. Had he read under the lines?

"What's up, man." Vijay smiled politely as he usually did and slid into his booth taking his sling bag over his head. He sat on his chair, pulling out his laptop from his bag and started to open it. "How was your weekend?"

"Not as good as yours." Sharath said impulsively. Though he regretted that he said things without thinking, a trait that he had to tame, Sharath put on a teasing smile for show to let his audience know that he was only teasing them.

"Why?" Vijay's smug expression wasn't what Sharath was expecting. "Did you fall down the stairs and sprain your leg?"

"You fell down the stairs?" Ambika was soon dodging Sharath and was headed over to Vijay for better inspection.

Could this day get any worse than this? It was already horrible that Vijay was getting all the hero attention even when he didn't deserve it, but now, he was snatching away the pity attention too. It wasn't fair at all.

"No, I was only kidding." Vijay smiled at the intern and she beamed at him releasing a breath of relief.

Sharath didn't want to seem like he had been intruding in their private time. After all, this was an office and he had every right to stand there and see what they were up to, isn't it? Like a unpaid duty of a senior writer in the building?

"So, what are you writing this week?" Sharath asked, changing the subject. At least, he had some pretty decent insights under this heading, Sharath mused. "Any wild animals to be put on the front sheet again?"

Vijay didn't turn back to Sharath with an answer immediately. He was taking his sweet time to process the question and give a deliberate answer. Was it something that Sharath had to be careful about? Was it the same article of sports that he was working on and Pranay wanted a another view of it so that he could chose one among the two?