Barrister Babu

Chapter 85: Not Safe At All

The courtroom corridors bustled with their usual energy, but inside Barrister Bondita Roy Chawdhary's chamber, there was only silence.

A mountain of files occupied nearly half the desk. Witness statements. Financial records. Property documents. Correspondence.

Bondita sat bent over the Saudamini case file, her brows knitted together in concentration. Three pages lay spread before her while a fourth rested in her hand. The more she studied the case, the more uneasy she became.

Edward Harrison's debts were real. The transactions existed. The payments to certain individuals connected to Heeramandi existed too. Yet something still felt incomplete.

Her fingers tapped against the edge of the paper. "There has to be something else..." She flipped another page. Then another.

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the large windows, illuminating the desk that had once belonged to Anirudh. Now she occupied it daily.

At first it had felt strange. Now it simply felt natural.

A familiar voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts. "You are frowning."

Bondita froze. The file slipped slightly from her fingers. She looked up.

Anirudh stood inside the chamber doorway. And behind him stood Joy, his assistant. The younger man was carrying so many things that Bondita genuinely wondered whether he had emptied an entire kitchen before arriving.

A tiffin carrier hung from one hand. A flask rested under his arm. Two paper packets were tucked awkwardly against his chest. And somehow he was still carrying files.

Bondita blinked.

Joy smiled brightly. "Namaste, Barrister Boudi."

Before she could respond, Anirudh walked further inside.

Without a word and sat down.

Not in his old chair. Not behind the large desk. But at the smaller desk across from her. The desk Bondita herself had once occupied when she worked under him.

One of her eyebrows rose immediately.

Anirudh calmly adjusted a file.

Bondita stared.

He ignored her.

She continued staring.

He continued ignoring her.

Finally, she closed her file and let out, "What are you doing?"

Anirudh glanced up. "Umm... sitting?"

"That much I can see." A faint smile threatened to appear on his face. Bondita folded her arms. "What brings you here?"

"The Saudamini case." The answer came so naturally that it only increased her suspicion.

Her eyes narrowed. "Very well. Then why are you sitting there?"

Anirudh looked around the room dramatically. "Because there is a chair. Oh, I am sorry, Barrister Bondita. I forgot to take your permission before taking a seat," he teased, his eyes glinting in mischief.

Bondita placed both palms on her desk. "Patibabu."

"Hm?"

"Take back your seat."

"No."

The refusal arrived so quickly that she nearly laughed. "No?"

"No."

Bondita pointed toward the large desk. "This is your seat."

"It used to be."

"It still is."