Tanhaiyan | neirohi

27. tease

He watched the bearded man fall on his chair groaning. Turning his office-chair, he laughed at his colleague's state who eyed him irritated. That made him crack up further as he rested his hands on his knees, and asked him amidst the chuckles.

"Pitch kaisa gaya bhai?"

"Gaya bhai, sab gaya."

Came the defeated reply which got every cubicle in the department laughing. Kotaris were difficult clients after all, impossible to please. To sit for one of their pitches was a nightmare. To the extent that even if it was a paid pitch, no one would agree. Even Jignesh, the man in question, had not attended it willingly. Just that their boss had caught him bitching on her during tea-break which got him stuck in the unwanted pitch.

Neil had expected him to get fired. But the lady was good in keeping her cool. She got him trapped with the Kotaris which was certainly a lenient punishment for sure, considering all the things she heard about herself.

Slowly everyone got back to work, or at least he and Sreejesh did. He tried to focus but was constantly zoning out, mind set on the sinking blacks of a certain someone. Clearing his throat, he sneaked a look at his phone, checking for any messages. The others went back to their gossips. Jignesh went back to retelling the terror inside the conference hall, the only story to which he lend in an ear once a while. Honestly, even boring marketers learned the art of storytelling once they worked in an Ad agency. That's when the telephone rang. The girl sitting nearest to it picked it up and replied with a meek, "Yes ma'am."

Holding her hand over the phone, she signaled for Jignesh who rushed and snatched it from her. Everyone had their ears perked up, even the ones who were working.

"Yes ma'am?"

Someone pressed the speaker button so that the entire office could here while Jignesh could do nothing but glare at the mischievous punk.

"Jignesh, can you see me? Right now," her stern voice echoed. He looked back and saw her faint outline through the glass doors and immediately replied back, "Yes ma'am, I can see you." The call ended at that. Since there was no drama, everyone sat back dejected till the phone rang again.

"Jignesh I asked you to see me."

"Yes ma'am, I can see you."

There was an awkward pause on line as Sreejesh had his eyes widened, while the rest were still confused. He tried to whisper but no one understood and especially with the call being on line, he couldn't do much about it till the boss herself spoke out, exasperated.

"Jignesh can you please get up from your seat, one step at a time, and meet me in my cabin? Now!"

The realization dawned on the entire room as the employee ran out, almost hitting the door on the way while the others cackled to their heart's might without any restrictions. And that's how one learns to fit in the crowd without feeling left out.

Just the way he was learning to.

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Unlocking the door, he set a foot inside as his cell rang for the nth time. Getting rid of the socks and shoes, he sat next to her and checked the caller ID. Confused, he scrunched his nose.

"Chipkali, why is Mimi calling me? Pick up the call naa."

"She's calling you, take the call. She might wanna talk to you maybe."

Hesitating, he swiped the accept option and it switched into video call. On spotting Suwarna and Mimi, he smiled as he knocked her arm and signed her to join in. She denied shaking her head and he dragged her lightly by her elbow, which got her burning holes into his head. Pushing the hair off her face, she managed to give her Badi Ma and Mimi an awkward smile in return.

The call happened on Mimi's insistence as for once she remembered them out of the blue. On her recalling the present, Suwarna did not have the heart to deny her old mother-in-law's request. After the usual pleasantries were exchanged, came the whining.

"Aaru beta, when are you both coming back to Udaipur?"

Grinning faintly, she replied, "Wait karo Mimi, thoda wait karo," which got him staring at her. Mimi huffed with annoyance and decided to proceed with the very reason she called. A sweet but sly smile settled on her face as she feigned being upset and said, "Waiting is all we are doing. Your siblings are not giving us any news. At least you both have some good news, right?"

The couple gulped in shock at the statement, looking at each other and looking away. Pushing the phone into his hands, she threw a glance at him and Mimi, asking him to answer that. Clearing his throat nervously, he stuttered out.

"Mimi... woh... uh, woh... shaadi... shaadi seh better good news kya ho sakta hain? Haina?" he asked the girl next to him, nudging her. She wordlessly nodded her head rapidly, afraid of slipping out anything unwanted.

"Neil beta, do you want me to spell it out for you?"

"N-no Mimi."

"Good. In that case, goodnight. Soon, okay?"

The line went dead at that, leaving the two embarrassed. Groaning she threw back her head, covering her face with her hands. His lips twitched at that. Moving in a bit closer, he whispered next to her ear, "What do you think chipkali? We shouldn't keep them waiting right?"

She peeked through her fingers, squinting her gorgeous blacks at the sight of his chapped lips which twisted into a teasing smile.

Once she leaned in, he pushed himself back on the sofa till the armrest hit his back as she cornered him. The glint in those striking eyes got him amused. Hands cupping his face, her nose touched his as she grazed her lips against his jawline, tracing it all the way up his ear. He gulped, holding his breath. Stretching her words, she breathed.

"Chamgadar. Isn't this the time you should be asking about strawberry or chocolate?"

And he couldn't stop the groan from escaping at that recollection, felt like such a long time ago. Pushing herself back, she laughed at having the last word and walked back to their room. He remained seated, flabbergasted as she left him just like that.

God, what a tease his woman was!

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