"Miss Mathur," he said, voice laced in amusement, "it didn't look like you were ignoring me,"
Shiv could feel the heat travel all the way through her neck to her face. She cleared her throat, "Aren't you tired of looking at my face."
"I'm a man of p...
Shiv was one of those people, who struggled to make excuses. She would try to get out of situations she'd never not be in, only on rare occasions would that be a success. To be fair, she tried her best to politely decline Chief's offer to drop her home. And now she was standing in front of a restaurant with the two Shergills.
As Shiv waited alongside Chief for Arjun to handover the keys to the valet, she tried to sum up her day, and she couldn't think of nothing but the Shergills. Shiv had worked as a mediator between the duo. Arjun is a modernist. Chief is like Shiv, he wants to preserve the traditions. It was obvious to Shiv why their opinions were conflicting, it was like they both were tugging the opposite ends of the rope and Shiv with the other employees had to hold onto it for dear life. Due to them, they had to leave work at after 9.
Shiv in her desperate attempt to avoid the Singh's stopped driving her car and had resorted to cabs and public transport. It was tiring, but her resolve was strong. The Shergill duo found Shiv standing outside the theatre building waiting for her cab.
Arjun's familiar SUV pulled up alongside her. The windows rolled down, revealing both Shergills. Shiv took a slight step back; their combined presence was intimidating. "Miss Mathur, waiting for someone?" Dharam Shergill's voice held a friendly note.
Hesitating, Shiv replied, "Yes, Chief."
Dharam's eyes twinkled with amusement. "A boyfriend, I presume?" His chuckle implied he considered this a secret he just revealed.
Shiv's eyes widened, and for a moment, her gaze locked with Arjun's before they quickly averted. "No, no, Sir. No boyfriend. I'm waiting for my cab."
A flicker of disappointment crossed Dharam Shergill's face. "Cancel the cab."
"Sir?"
"Join us for dinner, Miss Mathur. Don't you dare refuse. I could fire you," he said with an air of seriousness that bordered on intimidating. His subsequent laughter left Shiv feeling increasingly uneasy.
"That's a generous offer, sir, but forgive me, I must decline."
"In that case, get in the car," he persisted. "We can at least drop you home, right?"
Now, Shiv wondered what would've been the outcome if she had persisted not to go with them. Even though Chief had been nice and friendly, there was this uneasiness she couldn't shake off, after all he was the man who fired a total of fifty employees at one.
"Let's go, Miss Mathur," Arjun's voice disrupted her thoughts. Shiv reluctantly followed Dharam Shergill up the restaurant steps.
"Looks like they only serve soups here," Dharam Shergill observed. He walked ahead but kept looking back to make sure Shiv was following. He even pulled out a chair for her, causing her embarrassment to surge to new heights.
While awaiting their appetizers, Dharam Shergill maintained a light conversation, though the casualness made Shiv all the more anxious. If the office rumors held any truth, she half-expected him to fire her from her position by the end of their meal.
"Shiv," he began, using her first name this time. "Tell me, how do you find our office environment?"
Shiv's gaze involuntarily flickered toward Arjun Shergill, who leaned against the wall. One arm rested on the table while the other draped across the chair's back. "It's competitive," she responded with caution.
Dharam Shergill waved off her answer. "I'm interested in the real scoop. Who's crushing on whom, who's eyeing whom... those sorts of things."
Bewilderment crept over Shiv, she glanced at Arjun, he was utterly disinterested. Among the office staff, she was possibly the last person to possess that kind of knowledge. "I'm not attuned to those matters, sir."
"We are not in the office anymore Shiv, you should drop the 'sir' and call me Dharam." Dharam Shergill said, with a warm encouragement. He turned to Arjun, a knowing look in his eyes. "So, he was right after all," he mused. "You are a loner, aren't you?"
The words felt like a subtle jab at her. "I wouldn't say that, sir. The office isn't particularly a place for forming friendships."
"Why do you think so?"
"Truthfully, sir," he narrowed his eyes at her. Shiv couldn't find it in herself to use his name. "My colleagues are all fiercely competitive. We watch one another closely, hunting for that one mistake that could elevate us above the others."
"Are you part of that as well?"
Her eyes momentarily flickered towards Arjun, his eyes were fixed at the table, but she could tell he was listening.
"Survival is imperative, sir."
Gradually, Dharam Shergill coaxed her into sharing office rumors. Shiv had begun believing in those rumors less and less as time passed and she grew more acquainted with him.
"I can't believe people thought I fired fifty employees at once," Dharam Shergill chuckled. "See, Arjun, that's why they fear me." He looked at Shiv. "Some of those rumors, I started myself. Running a company is no easy task."
As they each took their first sip of the green colored soup, they exchanged glances, a collective realization that something was amiss.
"Dad, I thought you read the reviews."
"I did. They mentioned something unimaginable, out of the world experience."
Arjun sent his father an annoyed look. "Dad—" but he couldn't finish the sentence, for a canon event occurred at that instant. Arjun Shergill broke into a fit of laughter while shaking his head. His eyes closed, his face glowing, a rich sound echoed around them, Dharam joined him, and soon, Shiv found herself caught in the contagious laughter.
As they stepped out of the restaurant, Shiv caught Dharam putting a bad review of the place. He caught her eyes and grinned, "This generation, I tell you." he looked around the area and pointed across the street, "Oh there's the food stall. I'm starving, let's go."
Shiv eyed the stalls with skepticism but remained quiet and followed after the Shergill duo. The stalls were across the road, which meant they had to cross the road, it made Shiv anxious. She thought of waiting for the lights to let them walk, but Dharam walked ahead of them and he was already at the other side. Shiv hesitated, crossing the roads always scared her, she remembers that one time, the car almost hit her.
A hollow pit was opening in her chest, the lights seemed to blur and the noises, nothing but static, she felt a warm touch in her fingers. When she looked down at her hands, it was intertwined with Arjun's, she glanced up at him. He was looking ahead at the road. He led her through the traffic and she let him, her eyes fixed on their joined hands. The noises came back, the lights were brighter and that hollow pit no longer existed.
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