A Breed of Counterfeits

Chapter 7: Vinay

"He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command."

- Niccolò Machiavelli

Vinay left office on his usual time, which was the earliest of all others. He arrived on time and left early on most of the days. Apart from the humid weather and constant crowd, one more thing about Mumbai which bothered him was the traffic. It bothered him not because he had to wait, sweating in his helmet on his bike, amidst the vehicle smoke, but because more often than not, someone ended up getting hurt by Vinay, and he hated this because it cost him time and time was money for him. Every second of his every day was planned out. But today was one of those days when someone was going to get hurt by Vinay.

Vinay's felicitation as the society secretary was going to be today evening, and he had not said anything about it to his wife, - Vishakha. Although Mr. Shukla from the 7th floor had earlier told him that it would be on a Sunday, they had to change the day since most people in their society would not want to spend their Sunday evening cooped up in a basement welcoming their new secretary. It was later decided unanimously on their WhatsApp group that it would be today.

Vinay wanted his family to be surprised. No unnecessary talking was his motto, and he stuck to that, at least at home. The office was a different story altogether. In the office, he was a person of authority, and he was expected to be strict, else people would be walking all over his head. He did feel he was a little more intimidating than it was expected of him, and people had complained about him in the past owing to his rude behavior and foul mouth, but he was clear in his approach. If you work properly and follow instructions, he will open his mouth and pour venom on them.

Results never bothered Vinay; neither did he care about them. All he wanted was that his employees had given their best. He often said to them in his peculiar way, 'I don't give a fuck if you win or lose the deal. All I want is that you have given your best. I would run the race and give my best even if I know I know I'm the slowest runner and sure to come last.' He wanted everyone in his office to have the same attitude, at least when it was related to the job.

But he was different at home and different at work, and he knew it. Isn't everyone different in different roles? Everyone has an unseen and unknown side of theirs, a territory that no one knows about, unexplored parts that only the person is aware of. Even the most honest and open person would have an innermost circle, that one side, which no one is allowed to explore ever. That thing could be something as substantial as murder they committed in the past or something very trivial like having guilty pleasures. They may have their secrets, their embarrassments, or perhaps just a quiet, reserved corner that they go to when they need solitude, but all of us have that one circle. The size of their dicks, the things people do in their toilets or when no one is watching them, fowl things that people think in their minds or that lusty moment which passes in your mind when you see someone sexy. Though we brush them aside, all of those little thoughts are collected and kept in that one little circle, and nobody knows about it. Ever.

Some people, like Vinay, had more than one such circle. When at home, his family walked all over him, but outside of the house, he walked over the world. Sometimes there were situations when his two circles had crossovers, like during the auto driver incident when his wife Vishakha got a glimpse of his other side, but those were rare occasions.

Vinay's office was in Nariman Point while he lived in Mulund, both of which were - like his personalities - exactly opposite and very different. While one was in the most elite part of Mumbai, the other was relatively mediocre. Accordingly, Vinay's journey to home was a transition from one part of Mumbai to the other, from one personality to another. His journey consisted of two modes of travel. One was traveling by local train from CST to Mulund, and the second was the bike ride from Mulund station to his home.