Vaidehi - His Second chance [On Hold]

35. Official Date

✦Sankaar✦

"Sir?" I could see five fingers—or rather, an entire palm—waving in front of my eyes, but my focus was elsewhere.

All I could see was a cascade of beautiful black hair, like the waves of an ocean catching the first rays of the morning sun. She wore golden jhumkas that dangled gracefully, brushing against her shoulders.

Ah, she loves jhumkas.

Her eyes were fixed on a small plant. A tiny, almost insignificant thing, yet she was smiling as she snapped a photo of it.

Her Instagram is full of such pictures—plants, animals, small glimpses of life.

Yes, she finally unlocked me—or rather, I persuaded her to unlock me—on Instagram this morning.

"Sir, are you with us?"

"S-Sir..."

"What is it?" I replied, irritation creeping into my voice as I kept my eyes glued to my phone. Aniket had been hovering over me for a while, interrupting my thoughts. Couldn't he see that if I wasn't acknowledging him, it meant I was occupied?

What an idiot.

Reluctantly, I locked my phone and looked up, only to find a few pairs of eyes on me, all of them seemingly directed at the board behind me. Snapping out of my distraction, I turned to see what they were staring at.

I really do have the memory of a goldfish.

There it was, clear as day: "Phone not allowed."

And then I looked down at the phone still in my hand, which had been serving a very good purpose just moments ago. God knows what possessed me to put up that ridiculous sign.

"Take that down," I ordered, noticing the slight confusion on Aniket's face.

"Sir, it was put up on your orders. You mentioned that phones cause distractions in the workplace," he replied, his tone tinged with a trace of sarcasm.

"Ha, ha. I don't remember saying that. Just get it removed. It must have been one of your brilliant ideas that made me put it up in the first place."

The employees returned to their tasks, their whispers and glances fading as Aniket moved to remove the sign. His face, initially set in a frown, softened into a look of resignation as he approached the wall.

"Save that rotten expression for your wife, not me," I quipped, trying to lighten the mood despite my frustration.

"I'm unmarried, sir," Aniket replied, his tone flat but with a hint of defensiveness.

"Oh! My deepest sympathies. Now, get back to work," I said, waving him off. "Send Shreya in," 

Aniket nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Moments later, Shreya walked in briskly, carrying a stack of files. She set the files down on the table and took a seat.

"It's been a month, and you still haven't tracked the numbers I provided. What should I conclude from this?" I asked, flipping through the files with a sharp flick of my fingers. The papers rustled with an unsettling noise.

"Sanskaar, we are trying—"

"It's 'Sir' to you," I interrupted, adjusting my glasses with a deliberate motion. My eyes scanned her, noting the way her fingers fidgeted nervously in her lap. "And what do you mean, 'trying'? Your team is supposed to be the best in the security branch. Yet here we are, and you can't even track a simple number?"

Frustrated, I slammed my palm down onto the stack of papers, sending them fluttering into the air. The scattered pages settled around us, and I fixed my gaze on Shreya, her eyes darting anxiously between the disarray and my stern expression.