Orderly Chaos

Sharing is Caring

Katha stared at the hand extended in front of her. He was Ram Kapoor? The CEO? Her boss? She mentally chided herself for her sheer stupidity. How did she manage to make such a blunder on her very first day? How could she not recognise her boss? And if that wasn't enough, she had managed to crash into him as well.

"I don't bite, you know," Ram replied, on witnessing her lack of response. She met his eyes - they were a shade of brilliant blue. She hesitated to extend her hand. Would he fire her if he found out she was the architect that was supposed to meet him? How would she arrange the funds for Aarav's treatment then? A plethora of thoughts crossed her mind. She decided to take a gamble and extended her hand to his. "Katha Singh. The newly hired architect of Kapoor Urban," she blurted out.

Ram's face went from a mere smile to a full-blown grin. "Oh, so you're the newbie. Welcome to Kapoor Urban, Ms Singh." Ram glanced at his watch. It was way past 11:30 pm. "Oh, crap. It's late. Mom must be worried sick," he mumbled to himself. He looked up at Katha and smiled at her. "Should we continue this conversation tomorrow instead?" Katha heaved a sigh of relief and nodded in the affirmative. "The driver will be here shortly, he'll make sure you're home safely," Ram assured her. "That won't be necessary, Mr Kapoor, I can manage perfectly well on my own," Katha replied. She was too mortified to accept any kind of help from him after what transpired earlier in the day. "Ms Singh, I understand that you'll do just fine on your own but it's extremely late and I don't let my employees stay back beyond 6 pm. If in any case, they do wait back, I make sure they're dropped home safely," Ram explained to her. "It is my responsibility as the CEO to make sure my employees reach home safe and sound. I hope you understand."

Katha stared at her new boss. She wasn't used to such polite treatment at workplaces. She was always made to stay back till 9-9:30 pm. No one bothered to make sure she reached home safely or not. Despite her inner turmoil, Katha agreed to be dropped home.

Ten minutes went by and yet, there was no sign of the driver. Ram rang him up but his phone was switched off. "Mr Kapoor, it's absolutely fine if the driver can't make it, I can take the train," Katha said, observing his frustration. "It's fine Ms Singh, I'll drop you home. The driver's phone is switched off; he might've drained his battery," Ram replied. "Tarun, bring me the car keys," he said, calling out to his assistant. Tarun handed him the car keys. "Sir, I've filled the tank and kept your food items in the backseat. You should be all set." "Thanks, Tarun. You can leave for home now. I'll just drop Ms Singh and then proceed for home," Ram informed him. "Come on, Ms Singh," he gestured to her. "Mr Kapoor, this is not necessary. I can take the train," Katha urged him. He was putting in way too much effort for a random employee. "Ms Singh, you can either argue with me for another 30 minutes or stay back here for the rest of the night but I am not letting you leave alone at this hour of the night," Ram said in a serious tone.

Katha finally gave in to his insistence and nodded. They walked together to the parking lot and Ram stopped in front of a black Mercedes. He opened the passenger door for her and Katha couldn't help but feel embarrassed. The CEO of a company and holding the door open for a mere employee? That was truly unheard of. She got into the passenger seat and shut the door promptly. She kept her handbag in the backseat. Ram got into the driver's seat and secured his seatbelt. "Your seatbelt, Ms Singh," Ram motioned towards the seatbelt. Katha secured the seatbelt around her. He started the ignition and exited from the parking lot.

Ram was mindlessly driving around while Katha stared at him. Wasn't he going to ask her, her address? Minutes later, she realised he was driving towards South Mumbai. "Mr Kapoor, haven't you forgotten something?" Katha asked politely. Ram looked over at her in confusion. He then glanced at the backseat and realisation dawned upon him. "Oh jeez, I'm so sorry," he apologised and halted the car nearby. He grabbed the box of cupcakes and croissants from the backseat and offered it to her. "Here you go," he grinned at her. Katha stared at him in confusion. Was he messing with her? She took the boxes from him carefully and placed them on the dashboard. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him. "Mr Kapoor, do you know where I live?" Ram's nose scrunched in confusion. "No, but what's that got to do with anything?" Katha wondered how he had managed to rise to the position of CEO. She raised an eyebrow at him and finally, realisation dawned upon him. He was too embarrassed to even look at her.

"Do you mind?" she said while pointing to the box of cupcakes on the dashboard. "Go ahead." Katha took out a blueberry cupcake and broke it in half. She held out one-half of the cupcake to him. "Sharing is caring, after all. By the way, I know you haven't asked yet but I live in Andheri." Ram grinned at her statement and accepted the half cupcake. He popped it in his mouth and mumbled 'delicious' although it sounded more like 'elisshhhuss' to Katha.

Comfortable silence except for the munching of cupcakes and croissants enveloped them while Ram drove towards Katha's house. She witnessed him devour two croissants, three cupcakes and a pastry within a span of ten minutes and that too, while driving. Saying she was shocked would be an understatement. Meanwhile, she had barely even finished the half cupcake.

Katha sighed and stared out the window. The cool breeze hit her face gently. Yash's memories flooded her mind - his wide grin when Aarav was born, his exhausted eyes lighting up with happiness on Aarav's first word, his passionate laughter on Aarav's first steps, his sweet kisses when she was mad at him, his weekly routine of giving her a head massage. Tears trickled down her eyes, but she managed to wipe them hurriedly although it didn't go unnoticed by Ram. He forwarded the tissue box to her. Katha grabbed a few and dabbed it at her eyes. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, blowing her nose into the tissue. "Don't be," he replied in a serious tone. Ram sensed her discomfort and decided to change the topic. "I have a question for you. What do you call a funny mountain?" he asked solemnly. Katha scrunched her forehead in confusion. "I don't know," she replied. "Hill-arious" Ram answered and burst into fits of laughter. Katha managed a polite smile. It was all she could do to prevent herself from cringing in embarrassment. That had to be one of the worst jokes to ever exist. On seeing her reaction, Ram pouted in annoyance. "Rule Number One of being Kapoor Urban's Employee: You have to laugh at the CEO's jokes," he said teasingly. At that, she let out a laugh and he grinned at her.

The remaining journey was spent in utter silence, with Katha dozing off a few times. Finally, the car halted outside Katha's building. Katha unsecured the seatbelt and grabbed her handbag from the backseat. "Thank you for dropping me home safely, Mr Kapoor," she thanked him profusely. "I will accept your thanks on one condition. You have to address me as Ram. Mr Kapoor makes me sound like an old uncle. You've called me an old uncle a dozen times already. Besides, all my employees address me by my first name." Katha nodded at him. "Well then, I insist you call me Katha instead of Ms Singh," she countered. "It's a deal," he replied, grinning.

Before she could leave, Ram forwarded a box of pastries towards her. "Sharing is caring, no?" She smiled at him and accepted the box gratefully. "Have a good night, Katha. See you tomorrow," Ram waved at her. Katha waved back. "You too, Ram," she replied with a smile.