Unalome

Part 3

Nila was struggling to breathe. Of all the people that she could have worked for, it was him.

With her legs coming to a sudden stop, she was paralyzed all over, startled by the play of destiny.

Was this a figment of her imagination?!

Cold air from the window brushed against her cheek leaving her flushed. Trembling with a myriad of emotions overpowering her conscious, she struggled to stay afloat in the real world.

"Surya... this is Nila. Our new Strategy lead. Nila... this is Surya. Our CEO. My best friend. ", Sanjay introduced with a smile, clueless of the tension in the air around him.

Wondering if she should just turn around and walk away before he said anything that would tear her apart, she was meandering in her apprehensions and angst.

"Hi Nila. Welcome to our team.", he said with a straight face and steady tone that left her dumbfounded.

Her name, in his calm and composed tone, fluttered her insides like a roller coaster.

She gaped at him, hoping to decipher the unreadable expression that his deep brown orbs held with conviction. There wasn't a smile but there wasn't resentment either.

After months of penance, to look at him and not see his eyes accuse her of murder with wrath and distress was a relief. Heartwarming.

Did he know that she was joining his team? If no, why wasn't he shocked? If yes, how could he remotely be ok with her being here?

Scuffling to break away from her thoughts, she was too pre-occupied to notice that he was now standing right in front of her with his hands put forth.

"Nila... ", Sanjay murmured into her ears.

Brought back to reality by the third person in the room that she had almost forgotten existed, she mentally slapped her daft self.

After a couple of sharp inhales and exhales to calm her spinning mind, she put forth her hand to a firm hand shake.

A brief second of touch. That is all it was. That is all it took for him to make her a complete mess.

His eyes bore into her heart. Even the loneliest places inside of her were suddenly at peace. The gaze of his, whispered just the right words to make her feel alive, albeit in her imagination.

In actuality, she was still the stranger that wrecked his life.

"Hi... Surya..", she spelt out his name meekly, for the very first time and looked into his eyes that were still fixated on her.

How could the very eyes that were haunting her with guilt all these days, exude a kind of care that she had never seen before? Could one instant take away all the pain that one's soul has ever endured?

It wasn't anything more than professional but yet felt like the most personal conversation she would ever share with him. From lurking in the shadows afar and hoping to catch a glimpse, the sight of him this close was nothing short of a surreal experience.

What was he feeling? Was this all just a façade to keep his professional life out of his personal? Did he still feel suffocated when he saw her?

"Sanjay will show you around to your office. This team here is focused on ideation and how best to optimize new ideas into execution. The execution team works out of a different campus, in case you were wondering. Once again, welcome.", Surya informed.

How was he so unaffected by what was happening?

"Nila I will take you to your cabin", Sanjay added with a friendly smile.