“May I?”

The person grins like a Cheshire cat while popping his head inside the room. Aditya’s eyes collied with his amused face. His jaws become clenched. Ayan’s face turns ashen,gulping his saliva he looks at Aditya. The person slides in without a permission.

“Mr Oberoi! After a long time. It seems you are not very happy to see me.”

The guy snickers while sitting on the opposite chair. Aditya doesn’t remove his hawk eyes from his smiling face and asks in an impassive voice,

“Mr Bhosle! What brings you here? I hope you haven’t lost your job?”

SP Bhosle reclines on the chair and retorts,

“Nope! I am still SP Apoorva Bhosle. The SP Bhosle. One and only.”

He air-quotes the last line and continues,

“Fully dedicated to his duty. Answering your other question…well, I am here for a vacation. Then I thought I have some known people here whom I should say hello to. Courtesy you know! Last time you didn’t give me a chance to say a proper goodbye. This time I don’t want to give you any scope.”

His eyes flicker with hidden determination. He suddenly changes his tone to frolic and adds,

“I mean scope to be disappointed. By the way, how is your wife, Mrs Nandana Oberoi?”

SP Bhosle puts pressure on Nandana’s name. Aditya doesn’t answer him rather turns to Ayan and says,

“Ayan, I will call you later. Till then, do as I said.”

Ayan nods with conviction and leaves, however, his face is still gloomy with tension. As Ayan disperses, Aditya concentrates on Bhosle.

“What do you want, Mr Bhosle? Are you here to blackmail me?”

He straight comes to the point meeting Bhosle’s jubilant eyes.

“Blackmail..! TCH…TCH…TCH. Mr Oberoi, I am a government servant. Not a Mafia or a criminal. Whatever I do, I do within the bounds of laws. I don’t need to manipulate anyone to get my work done. It’s your speciality. I still can’t believe how you manipulated your wife to believe in your fake stories. Hats off to you, Mr Oberoi. I must admit, you are the smartest one among all who ever crossed my path. But you know, I can never forget a person who crossed my path and left with a winning wink. No…I can’t digest my undeserving defeat and by hook or by crook, I try to settle down the score.”

Bhosle pauses with a smirk on his face. Aditya leans forward and places his elbows on the table. His eyes are fixed on Bhosle’s predator ones. He hisses,

“So, you are here to settle down the score with me? How? By telling Nandana that I have kept her in darkness? I framed everything just to get her back in my life? Go ahead, SP. I know how to handle her. She is mine and she loves me. Nothing can change her mind. She will never leave me.”

Some moments of pin-drop silence make the air around heavier. SP Bhosle scoots forward and eyes Aditya’s fuming face.

“We will see. For the time being, I am doing nothing as such but I can’t assure you about my next step. So, be alert. My eyes are on you….all the time. And this time I know your instinct.”

He utters sternly. Both keep mum for a while looking at each other like two challengers. Then Bhosle gets up and makes his way to the door. As Aditya was observing him with scrutinising eyes, he turns to say something,

“I heard that currently you have been attacked twice! Are those real or you are just playing the old game? Be cautious, Mr Oberoi. Sometimes, our own game back-pedals and our blind trust kills us. See you soon.”

He exits leaving behind a man who is confused, tensed and scared at the same time. Aditya murmured,

“I can protect my paradise and I will. At any cost.”

.......................................

Today, there is an important presentation for the Dhawan Industry. Last night after emotional fights with Aabir, she left instantly. However, she prepared every point carefully and kept the presentation pendrive locked inside her drawer. It will be a cakewalk for her. Having those thoughts in mind, Navya enters the office. She glances at both the glass cabins where Aabir and Aarav sit but can’t see any of them. Glancing at her wristwatch she understands that she is before time. Sometimes habits take time to go from our lives. Navya sits on her term and keeps the bag aside. Pion has already kept fresh water in the glass. She gulps some water and unlocks the drawer. After taking out the laptop, she thinks to recheck the presentation drive. She gropes inside the drawer but to her surprise, doesn’t get the Pendrive. Lines of worry form on her forehead. She slides behind a bit and tries to take a minute look. However, she couldn’t find it anywhere even after half an hour of intense searching.

“Shit! How is it possible? I kept it here only. Did I take it home? But now, I can’t even go back and check. There is no time for that.”

She mumbles with frustration. Sweat beads appear on her forehead. Only then, the peon comes in front of her.

“Ma’am, Aabir and Aarav Sir came. They are calling you.”

Peon informs and disperses. Navya looks at her watch. There is not much time left to start the presentation. Her throat gets dried up. Wiping up her sweaty face with a kerchief, she gets up from her chair. She takes unusual time to reach Aabir’s cabin contemplating how all will react to this silly mistake. Hearing the knock, Aabir calls,

“Come in!...”

Navya steps in with a restless heart. Aabir is sitting on his chair, fixing his eyes on his PC while Aarav is checking on some files.

“Good morning, Sir!”

She greets both. Aarav stares up and gives a smile.

“Good morning, Ms Mehta. I hope you are ready for the presentation. But…”

He checks out her minutely. Her hands are empty. Very unusual.

“Where is your laptop? We haven’t much time. Clients are on their way.”

Aarav sounds surprised and edgy. Meanwhile, Aabir moves his eyes from his PC and mouths with astonishment,

“You remembered the presentation, right? Give me the Pendrive. I want to check it before the final round.”

Navya is anchored to the floor with a throbbing heart. Some silent moments passed. She stands stock-still.

“Ms Mehta? Am I audible to you? Give me the Pendrive.”

This time Aabir increases his pitch. Navya flinches and stammers,

“I…I…couldn’t find it. I ke..kept it in the drawer but now…now, it’s not there. I…I don’t…kno..know…how!”

Aabir springs up and chides,

“WHAT?”

His spat makes Navya flinch. She steps back with a hitched breath. Aarav notices it and gets up.

“Hold on, Bro! There must be some mistake. You guys discuss. Meanwhile, I try to push the meeting time back for a while. Navya, relax! Search it with a relaxed mind. It must be somewhere on your desk.”

Saying this, Aarav exits the cabin. Aabir takes a deep breath and utters with a forced composed tone,

“Navya, you know how important this presentation is to us. Last night I requested you to discuss this only. But you showed me attitude and left without handing it over to me. In that case, it was your responsibility to keep it safe. How can you just lose it like this?”

He mouths frustratedly resting his hands on either side of his waist.

“You have the duplicate key of my drawer.”

Navya’s sudden words puzzle him.

“What? What do you mean by that?”

Aabir asks with a deep frown and comes forward to her. Navya clenches her jaws and mouths again.

“You have the duplicate key. You removed it from my drawer. You couldn’t bear my rejection. That’s why you are up to make me fool in front of everyone.”

She utters in one go. Aabir comes closer and looks into her eyes.

“Are you even aware of what are you saying? You are blaming me for backstabbing you.”

Pain is palpable in his voice. Navya doesn’t shift her eyes and murmurs,

“Didn’t you do this to me? Backstab?”