Espresso Love (SanDhir)

Chapter 9 - Triple Shot

I grabbed my coat that was lying on the sofa and walked out, dialling the same number once again. Her phone was switched off, but I had no doubt that it was intentional.

I dialled another number, "Avantika! Do me a favour and call Sanyukta Agarwal for an interview tomorrow."

"Sir, you mean Sanyukta Mittal?"

I took a deep breath; "Yes... her. Tomorrow morning 8 AM sharp!"

"Sure Sir. Anything else?"

"Nope that's it, thank you!"

"No problem Sir! Good night!"

"Good night," I said before disconnecting the call. Mittal... I had no idea if I was actually ready to see her, to confront her, or to even hear her story. But I knew I had to; if not for closure, then for reassurance that my heart was right and my mind wasn't. She couldn't have moved on... I refuse to believe it.

It was almost 10:30 PM now, but I didn't want to go home. So I went to the one place that was always open for me.

—

"Farziii! Come with me, pleaaaase! I'm falling asleep! I need a triple shot right now to stay up and finish this project! I'm struggling here!"

"Randhir I don't want anything right now. Why don't you just go alone?"

"Because Arun Sir likes you more than he likes me! He won't let me in at this late hour, knowing it's past our curfew!"

Sanyukta glanced at her watch and sighed. "I don't know why I can never say no to you... Let's go!"

I beamed, and we took off for The Coffee Club.

I pushed Sanyukta inside first, not wanting Arun Sir to yell at me.

"Sanyukta beta! How are you?" I heard his weary voice exclaim.

"I'm great Mr. Shalvi, how about you?" she smiled. I then appeared from the back, "Hi Sir!"

He laughed, "Sanyukta, your coffee is on my behalf. He made you come here right?"

She grinned hard while nodding.

—

With her around, Arun Sir would never ask me any questions. He said we reminded him of the times him and his wife would sneak out and go on dates at the nearest chai stall.

I thought back to the old times as I entered the place. I saw him chatting with some people at a table; but as soon as he saw me, he excused himself and joined me.

"Randhir! You at this hour? Is everything okay son?"

I smiled at the old man; he had a knack for observing people's moods.

"I just needed..." but he interrupted me before I could finish my order. "A triple shot of espresso?" he suggested. I smiled yet again before nodding.

As soon as the waiter served the triple shot, I swallowed it down in a sip; just as strong as I like it.

"Anyway, I'll take your leave now Sir. I have to go to the office for some work, so I'll have to rush out."

"It was nice seeing you Randhir! Take care!"

He wished me goodnight and retired back to his office as I walked out. The cold harsh wind hit my face hard, almost making me lose my balance.

Getting into my car, I drove to my office. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep tonight, so might as well get some work done, I thought to myself.

Upon reaching my office, the first thing I did was confirm the interview status. Lo and behold, I had a sticky on my desk from Avantika saying exactly that.

*Appointment Fixed, 8AM sharp!*

I was apprehensive about this, not knowing whether I was looking forward to it or not. But I knew one thing for sure, that I wanted to see her. I wanted to hear her. I wanted to speak to her, to listen to her...

I took out her file and decided to give it a glance. Graduated from FITE in 2015?

I looked at her resume in confusion. Did she actually just get her engineering degree? What did she do all these years then?

It was only after a few moments that things started making a little sense. Sameer...

—

"I can't believe Dad wants me to marry that idiot," she growled. I couldn't help myself but laugh; "Can you imagine being married to that... to that..."

"Chomu?" she angrily added, fuming in the meanwhile. "Seriously though, can you imagine me having to live with this guy?"

I took her hand in mine. "Relax Farzi, we decided right? By the end of this year, we will tell your parents about us! We will both get our placements next year and our degrees, so they won't worry about us jeopardizing our future," I assured her.

She smiled. "Plus, there's no way they will ever pick that stupid chomu over you."

—

She had hated that man and everything he represented. She knew his family was looking for a housewife, something she had no interest in becoming. She just knew that she could never be the one to stay at home and take care of the family.

I thought back to those days; I had, so confidently, assured Sanyukta that nothing could separate us. But what if it was that very reason that we were separated? What if I had listened to her the time she wanted to tell her parents?

I sighed. I pulled out my presentation draft that I was meant to work on for tomorrow's meeting, but I knew it was just a futile endeavour to stop thinking about her. Rustling through the pages, I waited for the night to come to an end.

—

—

I can't do this, I thought to myself. What if he is the one who will interview me? The thought itself made me shudder; but I couldn't put it off now... Not this time. I gave myself a glance in the mirror... Today's the day Sanyukta, I prodded myself as I left for The Shekhawat Corporation.