As Anvesha took her seat, Adhyayan chuckled earning a murderous glare from her however, before she could start her lecture of him being insensitive, Adhyayan clarified, “I mean he is not working with us anymore”.
“So you called him a dead person”, Anvesha said frowning at him for the choice of his words. He immediately regretted the blunder he did due to lack of attention. Suddenly a fear gripped inside her heart. What if the man sitting before her had literally killed the poor chef after knowing about the email he had sent to her? She chanted in her mind, “This could not be a reality”, however, she was hyperventilating.
Has she caught herself into a weird situation? She wondered as she thought what if Adhyayan was a psycho killer behind the innocent, arrogant looks! However, her trance of thoughts was broken when Adhyayan spoke few words calming her timid soul.
Being a man of few words and having no-nonsense attitude towards life, Adhyayan said calmly, “Look, Ms. Chatterjee. I am not able to understand the logic behind this conversation. I was busy deducing the logic and motive of the conversation when I said those words. I regret saying them and I have no hard feelings against him.”
So, Mr. Haughty Shoes is trying to be a selfless, ethical businessman by saying that he has no hard feelings against his ex-employee, thought Anvesha mocking at his innocent face as she clearly remembered the words written in the email. Trying to probe his mind, Anvesha huffed as she said, “So he left after playing his stunt”.
“No, I terminated him for the stunt he played”, Adhyayan clarified immediately. Anvesha appreciated that he was a bit truthful. She planned to show him the email and let him decide for his ex-employee after all, it was not her place to suggest anything but she wanted to confront him regarding his threat too because that was simply unethical.
“And now you might make sure that he does not find any job”, Anvesha said calmly once she sorted her thoughts. Hearing the words that came out of her mouth, Adhyayan was left bewildered. He surely was angry on his employee but he never spent time on ridiculous things. He was indeed a celebrity chef but he reached to the peak of his career with hard work and his talent not with his contacts. He knew what struggles meant. For him, Mihir was just an employee whom he terminated not because he made a blunder but because he tried to ruin his reputation. He knew Mihir was a hardworking man and he could never think of spoiling someone’s life especially when the girl who was sitting in front had protected his restaurant’s reputation in her vlog of course, for her personal benefits but still nothing was ruined.
“No, no. It is nothing like that”, Adhyayan clarified. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “I terminated him for tainting my reputation and he made an unbelievable blunder but why did you say so”. He wondered why Anvesha was trying to probe him unnecessarily. After all, she had nothing to do with his restaurants or celebrity chef status. She was neither family not friend then why was she interfering in his life. What intrigued him more was he was actually giving her his time and taking pain to clear his stand in front of her despite she was a girl whom he was meeting for the third time in his life.
“I want to show something”, Anvesha said wondering perhaps, there was a misunderstanding between Adhyayan and Mihir. Suddenly, she was realizing that Mr. Haughty Shoes was perhaps, not a really haughty, arrogant and egoistical man as she thought him to be. Opening the email in her phone, she slid down her cellphone towards him and he took her iPhone in his hand to read the passage. Upon reading everything, he realized the little girl had not only an angelic face but a spectacularly beautiful heart. He smiled as his inner conscience did a happy dance.
Adhyayan realized Anvesha actually tried to help Mihir because she felt that he lost his job because of her. However, Mihir lost his job because of Adhyayan’s anger, he realized. He regretted for not listening to his pleas even once when Mihir cried in front of him. He closed his eyes as he remembered the face of devastated Mihir who pleaded him to at least listen to him once. He felt disgusted at himself for terminated him despite his mother was hospitalized. He sickened as he recalled that irritated at Mihir’s pleas, he had asked him to leave the place or he would ruin his career forever. Though, he had given an empty threat yet, he realized Mihir misunderstood him. He remembered the charming face of his mother and their happy times in his childhood home of Dehradun. A mere thought of hurting his mother shuddered him even today.
Taking a deep breath and regretting his mistake, Adhyayan vowed to bring Mihir back in the restaurant. He made up his mind to apologize obviously, without saying a ‘sorry’. He planned to give him a hike in Mihir’s salary as a gesture of atonement and redemption for his inhumane deeds.
Anvesha, on the other hand, studied his drained face, his chiseled facial features which seemed to have lost their color after reading the email. His closed eyes depicted the tiredness after working the whole day. His overgrown stubble looked cute to Anvesha. For the first time, she seemed to admire Mr. Haughty Shoes unknowingly.
Opening his eyes, Adhyayan said, “I will mend things, Ms. Chatterjee. You will find Mihir in this restaurant whenever you come to this restaurant no matter, what it takes. Also, I threatened him unintentionally, I did not mean it.”
Anvesha smiled at him genuinely for the first time and Adhyayan felt an unknown emotion rising inside him. He returned a wide smile showing off his thirty-two bright teeth, mumbling a ‘thanks’ to her. However, her face lost color when she glanced at the clock. It was nine at the night. She stood up to leave when Adhyayan offered his hand for a final handshake admiring her for her helpful nature and generosity.
“I will take your leave”, Anvesha said when Adhyayan spoke, “Take care, Anvesha and travel safe. Inform me once you reach back home”, friendlily as he gave his visiting card to her. Being a chivalrous gentleman, he was genuinely concerned of the beautiful girl travelling all alone at night however, he realized being summers, it was not this late in busy, yet a bit unsafe Delhi.
For the first time, Adhyayan called her by her first name and Anvesha felt butterflies in her stomach. Her name sounds so wonderful from his mouth, thought Anvesha. She smiled looking at him admiring the sense of care in his intriguing dark brown eyes. She mimicked him, “Take care, Adhyayan and thanks for your concern”, as she shoved her hand in her tote bag and slid her visiting card in front of him on the table.
This is how the one and only hot sun, Adhyayan exchanged his contact with the sweet and calm raindrop, unique Anvesha taking the first step towards forming their rainbow together.