The Shrew's Groom

9. The Catch

Avanti

"Alright everyone, I know you had a fun time speculating about theories behind my disappearance so allow me to clear the air and apologize." I looked around at my team, scanning their faces for any hint of a challenge of rebellion or even mild dislike. They were hard to read. Rajiv, Arjun, Hitesh and Mukta were expectant, waiting to hear my side of the story. Nishant had his arms crossed, head slightly tilted and appeared to be a second away from tapping his foot with attitude. But I was prepared to be the bigger person here and met his gaze directly.

"First things first. I am truly sorry for my reaction and unjustified display of anger Nishant. That was uncalled for, especially when you were only trying to assist me. You are an excellent chef and I had no right—in the capacity of a leader or otherwise—to demean you." It was not enough for him to relax his stance, and I didn't blame him. "While I didn't mean to insult you in front of the entire internet, even if my words had been uttered in private, they were still an attack and question on your integrity and skill, which I deeply regret. I will not blame you for thinking I am only apologetic because I was caught, but that is not true. The reality of me becoming an internet meme aside, I am deeply embarrassed of my behaviour that day."

A slow smirk appeared on his face. My tone, despite being professional, was sincere. He knew that, could smell my defeat in that moment. And yet, I knew, I was far from forgiven. "It's okay, I appreciate you admitting that."

Oh well, I tried extending the olive branch. If he still wanted a war, I'd oblige.

Refraining from shrugging off his attitude, I acknowledged his weak acceptance with a small nod before turning to Mukta, hoping she would fill me in.

She smiled bright, bless her heart. "I had planned the breakfast spread for the whole week on Monday, here," she said, passing me a notepad.

I scanned the contents till my eyes reached the Thursday column. Shakshuka, an onion Uttapam counter with sambhar and three types of chutney, dal kachoris, three batches of cereal, butter croissants served with cream cheese, spicy dhoklas, plain old aaloo paranthas with curd. "This seems good, alright then, get to work everyone. And Nishant," I said, stopping everyone else in their tracks too. "I trust you can handle the Uttapam counter, given your strength."

His face soured at the idea of the most inane yet labour intensive job. Hitesh barely managed to reign in his chuckle.

I was not above a little bit of pettiness.

~.~

I had no reason to extend my shift beyond the 13 hours it had already stretched on for. Yet, I found myself obsessively wiping the granite countertops at 11:30 pm, somehow still numb to all that had happened in the past week. Mukta had been the last one to clock off, giving me a small pat on the back. It hadn't been the worst day, not by a long margin, and still I could feel a heavy churning in my chest. The anxiety of facing my colleagues after the public humiliation I had been harbouring for weeks had emptied. Even Nishant managed to be civil. The emptiness was heavy, weighing down on me, and I didn't know my next move. I had to be here tomorrow, I knew that, but I had no clue about the menu, or the delegation of tasks, or even what I shall wear.

For once, I wanted someone to make a decision for me.

As I reached for my phone to book a cab, it chimed. Before the vlogger had slid into my DMs (and my life) I had a habit of keeping Insta notifications off. Not anymore.

@gauravpanditavlogs are you still at work?

@cookwithavanti haan, bas nikal hi rahi thi.

@gauravpanditavlogs the fullstops physically hurt me, itna formal kyu?

@gauravpanditavlogs anyway I just wrapped shooting, das minute de aaraha