Samaina FF : Can I Love You

Chapter 9 : Work

Flashback are in italics

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"Congratulations ma'am", an employee wished her. "Thank you par Neil tumhe maam kehne ki zaroorat nahi hai, tum Naina he bulana. Yeh maam bohot ajeeb lag raha hai".  "Tumhe Naina bula loonga lekin sir naraz na ho jaye."  "Tum sameer ka chinta mat karo, main usse bhi samjha doongi." Just then the intercom buzzed and Naina picked the call. "Haan main abhi aati hoon." turning towards Neil she said "Tum references dekh lena main abhi aati hoon, woh mujhe.."  "Patidev miss kar rahe hai tumhe, yahi na", Neil chuckled leaving Naina smiling with a tint of red on her cheeks. "Aisa kuch nahi hai, kuch kaam hoga isiliye.....", she didn't know why her eyes were downcast or her voice softer than usual when she said this.

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There was a knock on his cabin's door and knowing who it will be Sameer said "Tumhe knock karne ki zaroorat nahi hai Naina" She entered the cabin biting her tongue, "Knock karne ka aadat lag chuka hai na. Aage se knock nahi karoongi, khush? Toh batao kyu bulaya mujhe"  "Bas aise he koi khaas wajah nahi", he shrugged his shoulder and leaned back more comfortably on his chair. She sat down and waited for him to start a conversation but all he did was look at her with a smile on his face. She raised her eyebrows in question and he too did the same. "Aisa kyu dekh rahe ho kuch bolo na", the gaze was now unbearable for her. She knew for sure several minutes would have passed by and he was just looking at her, smiling. "Kyu tumhe dekh nahi sakta?", he brought his chair closer to the table and leaned forward. "Nahi mera woh matlab nahi...". 

He started laughing suddenly, "Relax Naina, tumhe yeh dene keliye bulaya tha". He handed a brochure  to her. "Yeh kya hai Sameer?".  "Kholo aur dekho", she opened the brochure and was surprised to see her content printed on it with the pictures of various sample fabrics. "Yeh tumhara first copy hai iss company keliye. Naina I know tumhe likhne ka bohot shok hai so I don't want you to spend all you talent writing copies for only one company. Tum freelancing try kar lo, ya phir blogs likhna shuru karo, if you want mere pass kuch magazines ke names hai, tum unhe apne articles bhej sakti ho. Main nahi chahta ki tum sirf Maheshwari garments ke copies likho. Yahan ka kaam toh koi bhi intern kar lega but you are special. Tumhare shabdo mein jazbaat hai Naina, as a friend and future husband main yahi kahoonga ki yahan par tumhare creativity ko badhane keliye opportunities nahi hai. Just remember I am always there to support you. Rest is your choice".

A drop of tear fell on the piece of paper she was holding, she patiently listened to what he said and couldn't help but remember her Taiji's words after she had completed her 12th. 

"Padhke kya karegi yeh. Aree ladki hai, karna toh chula chauka he na. Mera manno toh isski padhai yahin tak khatam kar dete hai. Yeh college jaake kya kar legi."

"Taiji main kaam karna chahti hoon, kuch banna chahti hoon."

"Ne wah! Kaam karna chahti hai. Kaam toh tu karegi lekin grahasti ke kaam. Aur bannogi kissi ghar ki bahu. Sunle Naina yeh kaam kaajh wali bahu kisiko pasand nahi aati. Ek toh na shakal na surat, upar se baap ke paas dahej keliye ek paisa nahi aur yeh maharani ko kuch banna hai. Tumhari shaadi ho jaye yahi badi baat hogi".

Here he was, her future husband asking her to explore more options for her career. Truly Sameer was one of a kind.

"Naina!Naina... Kahan kho gayi?"  "Tum mein", she replied in trance. "Mera matlab joh tumne kahan uske bare mein soch rahi thi."   "Good, sochna, aaram se socho ki aage kya karna hai tumhe".  "Sameer if you don't mind kya mein yahan aake kuch articles likh sakti hoon, ghar pe rahoongi toh taiji koi na koi kaam de degi aur kuch kar nahi paaungi".  "Ofcourse Naina tumhe poochne ki zaroorat nahi hai, tum jab chahe yahan aake kaam kar sakti ho. Infact agar tumhe aitraaz na ho toh roz subah tumhe pick kar loonga aur sham ko ghar wapas drop kar loonga". She started to hesitate in giving a reply. "Kya hua, ghar pe sab kya bolenge yahi soch rahi ho na". She nodded. "Main baat kar leta hoon chachaji se, I am sure woh maan jayenge".

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According to this schedule, Naina started going to office with Sameer and returned with him, which did not go well with taiji who used to peek from her balcony and note her behavior when she leaves or returns home. She had tried planting seeds of doubt in minds of Rakesh and Anand to stop Naina from going to work right under her nose. "Anand babu aap bohot bhole hai samajh nahi rahe, abhi shaadi ke sirf 2 mahine baaki hai, agar kuch unch neech ho gaya toh samajh mein muh dikhane layak nahi bachenge hum." But the only reply that she heard was that Naina would never do anything to break their trust or put her family to shame. She just needed one reason to show her down and she assumed she had got that reason the day Naina came from work later than usual.

Before she could even refresh from a long day at work, taiji was already at her chachaji's place to start her drama. "Itni der kyu laga di aane mein, roz toh 6 baje aa jaati ho aaj kya hua".  "Taiji aaj bohot zyaada kaam tha na isiliye".  "Dekh liya kya kar rahi hai yeh", Taiji said looking at the rest of the family members who gave her a blank expression. "Aree jhoot bol rahi hai yeh, sach sach bata Naina kahan se aa rahi ho."   "Taiji sach bol rahi hoon main". Before taiji could say any more, Bela said "Naina sach bol rahi hai bhabhiji, bhagwan jhoot na bulwaye dopehar ko Naina ka phone aaya tha aur usse mujhe bata diya ki aaj late ho jayega. Aur bhabhiji aap Naina ke baare mein aisa waisa na he bole toh accha hoga", she said, not looking at her but with a firm voice. "kahin aapko yeh baat chub nahi rahi ke Naina ki shaadi itne bade ghar mein ho rahi hai" "O bai, yeh tu kya keh rahi hai Bela, aree mujhe toh khushi hai ki iss ladki ki shaadi ho rahi hai". Bela opened her mouth to say smoething but Anand stopped her, "bhabhiji main Bela ke taraf se maafi maangna chachta hoon". Shifting her pallu, Taiji replied "theek hai theek hai, iss baar maaf kar diya. Lekin Anand babu itna bharosa bhi theek nahi hai, dekh lena ek din naak khatwayegi yeh". She stormed off out of the house.

"Naina beta tu jaa aur haath muh do le", chachaji said to Naina an turned to his wife. "Tujhe kya ho gaya tha, bhabhiji se iss tarha baat kyu kar rahi thi". "Maaf kar dijiye ji lekin maine joh bhi kaha sach he kaha tha, aap nahi jaante lekin main bhabhiji ko acche se jaanti hoon, unhe yeh bardash nahi ki Naina ki shaadi itne acche ghar mein ho raha hai, toh bas uss waqt joh laga bol diya." "Koi baat nahi, aage se dhyan rakha karo, ghar ki badi hai woh." Nodding to her husband's words she went inside the kitchen.

Later that night Sameer had called on his usual time to speak with Naina but her voice in the phone did not contain the usual chirpiness. On questioning she revealed the drama that had played in her house. "yeh to acchi baat hai na ki chachiji ne tumhara saath diya". "haan sameer lekin mujhe taiji ke baare mein sochkar dar lag raha hai". "Dar kiss baat ka". "Agar taiji ko humare shaadi ki sachai pata chal jayega toh". "shaadi ka sac..", he stopped completely forgetting their circumstance for a second. "Naina aisa kuch nahi hoga, unhe kuch pata nahi chalega, so relax. Iss sab ke baare mein sochna band karo aur so jao. Bohot thaki huyi lag rahi thi tum. aaram karlo ab". "Hmm, theek hai Sameer, main kal milti hoon tumse". "Bye Naina". "Bye Sameer".

He sighed keeping the phone. How could he forget their circumstance. For the past few days their interactions in office were growing and the fact that Naina doesn't love him almost slipped out of his mind. Control! Came a voice from back of his head. But the interactions were pleasant. He was sure even she was enjoying his company. Opening his wallet he caressed her photo and held it close to his heart.

On the otherside, after speaking with sameer, she felt a little relieved. No matter how stressed or upset she is, just hearing his consoling voice always removes all the stress and fear from her. smiling she kept the phone on the side table and laid down on the bed, sleeping peacefully knowing that no matter what would happen Sameer would always be there by her side.

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Extremely sorry for the delay.... I hope you all liked this update.... 

Haven't proofread it so mistakes would be there.