Rab Rakha

Chapter 45

"Remember I told you about Naman?" Shehnaaz asked Sidharth the other day while they were settled in the sofa of her apartment after dinner.

"Hm." He nodded, getting comfortable on the soft and plush couch, loosely hanging an arm around her shoulder.

"He likes me." She told him.

"And you?" He asked. She threw a pretty sharp look at him, challenging him to joke at the moment.

"I'm serious, Sidharth." She added, sitting straight.

"Acha okay, bol." He chuckled but then nodded.

"Office me hum kuch khas dost bhi nahi the, bas colleagues jo free time cafeteria me ghumte rehte the. And not just the two of us, our department as well. Kuch marketing wale, kuch accounts." She began as she recalled the days before they started to work on the new outlet launch.

"Aisha, Priya, Naman, uske accounts department ke kuch 2-3 log. Kuch management ke bhi. All of us would just hangout in the cafeteria during lunch, uske baad coffee lene jao toh kuch phir se dikh jate." She added and he just sat next to her silently.

"Naman was just a college acquaintance. Upar se junior, I might have been a little frank with him but kabhi bhi uske sath utna time spend nahi kiya maine ke wo mujhe like karne lage." She said and sighed, turning to look back at Sidharth.

"Out of all those things you just said, isme mujhe note kya karna hai? Tu mujhe clarify kyu kar rahi hai? I believe you baby." He replied, worrying if she was feeling bad about it.

"Nahi Sidharth. Baat itni si hoti toh mai jaane deti, lekin kuch din se bada ajeeb ajeeb lagne laga in sab ko leke." She told him.

"Kuch bola uss bande ne? Pareshan kar raha hai tujhe?" He grew concerned, wondering if he should pay a visit to her office and that guy precisely.

"Nahi. He thinks I led him on. I mean, mai usse sirf kaam ki baatein karti thi lekin mere sare colleagues me se uske remarks kuch alag alag se aur honest hote the. Toh mai uske suggestions leti rehti thi, chahe wo presentations pe ho, meri designing me ho, naye brochures pe ho and he'd have a good perspective on them." She replied and looked at him uncertainly.

"When I turned him down, usko lagta hai mai uska faida utha rahi thi. Like, I was friends with him only because he was quite helpful to me." She added.

"Arey? Yeh kya baat huyi?" He was surprised by the guy's comments on her.

"I cannot stand him having such a wrong notion of me, I agree ke usko meri help ki zarurat nahi padi aaj tak. Lekin iska yeh matlab nahi ke maine istemal kiya uska." She replied.

"I know sweetheart. Tu aisi nahi hai, don't let this affect you. Woh kya sochta hai Issey tujhe faraq nahi padna chahiye." He told her and she sat there, quiet. He caressed her shoulders, easing her into his embrace then.

"Shehnaaz." He called her.

"Hm?" She looked at him, still disturbed about the entire situation. She didn't know how to just ignore a guy who accused her of leading him on and being a meanly opportunistic person.

"Mai handle karu uss ladke ko." He spoke.

"Nahi, tu kyu baat karega? I can handle this on my own. Itni badi baat nahi hai vaise bhi yadi uss Naman ko lagta hai ke mai uski help pe chal rahi thi toh I'll very well prove it to him that I can do my job on my own." She replied.

"Ha." He squeezed her shoulder lovingly.

"Manti hu thoda tough hai yaha, mera purana office itna large scale pe kaam nahi karta tha toh mujhe heavy workload ki adat nahi hai. Lekin iska yeh matlab nahi na ke mai kar nahi paungi?" She said.