My Birthday Promise (Editing)

Maggi, different shades of Dinesh, and us

"Maggi could soon be back on sale after the Bombay High Court lifted the nation-wide ban on Maggi noodles...." said the TV reporter. Dinesh glanced at me and then turned his focus back to the TV set. "I always wonder has anyone ever successfully made Maggi in two minutes. Is it remotely possible or is it just a marketing ploy by the company?"

I turned deaf ear to him but he continued speaking. I had no idea what I was still doing here sitting with him. It was suppose to be my alone time in the cafeteria. One can't even have a nice coffee alone, I wondered. To be honest I was engrossed in Rutt's thought all this while and was not even listening to him. I was just nodding my head with occasional 'Okays' and 'I sees'.

Rutt was leaving for US in less than three days. Her company was collaborating with a US based company as it was eyeing for a major expansion.

15 days without her.

I gasped.

If it was in my control I would have stopped her from leaving but she was really excited about her upcoming visit to US and was looking forward to it. And even though I would miss her a lot I wanted her to be happy.

"Mohit?" MOHIT?" Dinesh shouted to get my attention. He knew he has succeeded to some extent when I looked at him absent-mindedly. "Are you even listening to me?"

I looked at his confused face and scratched my back of my head. "Um, so how is Neeti?" I asked for the sake for saying something.

He threw his hands up in the air in despair. "Why do you do this all the time? Do you hate me?"

I could not help but smile. "I don't know. But I do feel good when you are not around," I said with a wryly chuckle. I felt myself warming up to him recently but still I never missed a chance to pull his leg.

His face dropped immediately. He wanted to say something but before he could say it Aman joined us. He patted Dinesh's back and said, "Still sad about the breakup?"

My eyes widened in surprise when I heard it. "Did you two break-up?"

Dinesh slapped his forehead in disbelief. "What was I telling you all this while?"

"Yes. Neeti dumped him." Aman updated with a chuckle. More of a mocking one.

Dinesh looked at Aman and said, "Beta, abhi hasn le. I assure you I will have the final laugh!"

Aman's mocking chuckle disappeared. "What do you mean?" he asked, frowning.

Dinesh was quick to reply. "As hard as you try to woo Alisha, she will never fall into your trap."

It was no secret that Aman was after Alisha. But to Aman's surprise Alisha was not interested in him. And I don't know why but I was happy about it.

"This drivel of yours should have been kept inside your head, where it sounds good." Aman was pissed which I found funny.

When Aman saw me laughing, he cut a dejected figure. "I know she is a hard nut to crack but I haven't given up yet." He said and cheered himself up. "In fact I have an excellent plan almost in motion which will make her fall in my arms."

His words piqued my curiosity. "What is the plan?"

"Not now. You guys wait and watch." Aman answered with a smirk.

I wondered what his plan was. As far as I knew Aman, he always managed to make girls fall for him sooner or later. If he put his plans into action it wouldn't be a shocker to see them together in future. This very thought scared me. Something inside me didn't want him to pursue Alisha.