'Varun NO...!', I let a faint cry out.
'What do you mean NO! Look at the time!', Dad rattled me and woke me up.
I opened my eyes wide and looked around.
'It's 7!', he was angry.
'You have no seriousness, how many times do I need to wake you up like a kid. You keep working through the night and wake up late. And today's your meeting right? You should work backwards and manage time. When will you... Nee thirindave maate', he shook his head in dismay.
'Sorry paa, I had a dream and I... '
'I'm tired of listening to this. I don't know, do whatever you want. You reach office on time or you're late, I don't care', he was now very evidently upset.
Anyone will be; for a meet with a client in the morning, 7 generally is breakfast and skim-though-agenda time. But I was setting my bed and sashaying along.
I picked my phone up to smile at 7 messages, a zillion Whatsapp notifications and 5 missed calls from Rishi. All in 1-minute intervals.
I prepped my mind, held my breath and called him up.
It was probably quarter of a ring and he answered it. I gathered my mouth to say 'Morning!' only to hear a very choleric 'WTF are you idiot, I've been calling for the last 5 minutes nonstop! We're all here so I tried your landline. Come fast!'
I skipped the greeting and said, 'Sorry Rishi, give me 5. I'm gonna be flying!' I expected a tiny laugh or smirk.
'Shut up and leave now, ass!' was what I got.
Rishi Sharma was one of the reasons why I loved to work, and go back to work everyday.
He knew just 2 things. Work. And wine. And he was a winner at both.
I huffed my way up to work to see him at the entrance.
'Hold it, hold it Rishi, I'm soo sorry. I woke up to a bad...'
He beamed. 'I just wanted to see you early today. They'll be here in an hour. How's the nice Monday morning looking?'
If only eyes could burn.
Coffee melts away anything. So did I.
'You'll pay for this Mister', I smiled.
'Rishi when're they going to be here? Isn't it late already?'
The room was getting impatient and the bustle only got louder.
'They'll come wait, probably stuck in traffic from the airport. All lofty sophisticated people mind you. Look', he handed the profiles of those who were coming.
I flipped over the pages and was bored halfway.
'No women in the team Vandhu', he gave me the puppy face.
'I thought I'll see the golden women at Goldman Sachs'
'Haha, awww. It's okay! But looks like a senior team, senior in age and experience', I sighed.
'Yeah, except for a few. There's one Aditya and one more. Rest, yeah senior', he laughed.
'Who?'
'Some Aditya. And... Aah, yeah Siddharth'
'Aditya who?'
'Dunno'
'What do you mean don't know?', I pounced. 'Give me that sheet!'
'Gosh, it must be him', I mumbled to myself.
'What happened?'
I riffed through every page praying I don't find him but equally anxious to see him. I was torn between excitement and apprehension.
'Aditya Kapoor', the name was right in front of me.
'He's coming!', I smiled and sighed at the same time.
'You happy or sad about it? You look confused. You know him?'
'You all know him!'
'Is he... Oh my gosh! Mr.Past? Really? Coool stuff. Dude I. Am. Loving. This!', he exclaimed.
'Are you nuts? What am I going to do?'
His phone rang, it was Smitha. 'Okay cool', he snapped.
'Sweetheart, they're here. Come let's welcome them. And a special welcome hug to your Him.'
'What do you mean NO! Look at the time!', Dad rattled me and woke me up.
I opened my eyes wide and looked around.
'It's 7!', he was angry.
'You have no seriousness, how many times do I need to wake you up like a kid. You keep working through the night and wake up late. And today's your meeting right? You should work backwards and manage time. When will you... Nee thirindave maate', he shook his head in dismay.
'Sorry paa, I had a dream and I... '
'I'm tired of listening to this. I don't know, do whatever you want. You reach office on time or you're late, I don't care', he was now very evidently upset.
Anyone will be; for a meet with a client in the morning, 7 generally is breakfast and skim-though-agenda time. But I was setting my bed and sashaying along.
I picked my phone up to smile at 7 messages, a zillion Whatsapp notifications and 5 missed calls from Rishi. All in 1-minute intervals.
I prepped my mind, held my breath and called him up.
It was probably quarter of a ring and he answered it. I gathered my mouth to say 'Morning!' only to hear a very choleric 'WTF are you idiot, I've been calling for the last 5 minutes nonstop! We're all here so I tried your landline. Come fast!'
I skipped the greeting and said, 'Sorry Rishi, give me 5. I'm gonna be flying!' I expected a tiny laugh or smirk.
'Shut up and leave now, ass!' was what I got.
Rishi Sharma was one of the reasons why I loved to work, and go back to work everyday.
He knew just 2 things. Work. And wine. And he was a winner at both.
I huffed my way up to work to see him at the entrance.
'Hold it, hold it Rishi, I'm soo sorry. I woke up to a bad...'
He beamed. 'I just wanted to see you early today. They'll be here in an hour. How's the nice Monday morning looking?'
If only eyes could burn.
'You know, I'm going to hunt you down. I drove like a fruitcake risking my precious life only to see your face?'
'Oh you'll thank me now. Take this', he thrust some Starbucks Espresso into my hands.Coffee melts away anything. So did I.
'You'll pay for this Mister', I smiled.
'Rishi when're they going to be here? Isn't it late already?'
The room was getting impatient and the bustle only got louder.
'They'll come wait, probably stuck in traffic from the airport. All lofty sophisticated people mind you. Look', he handed the profiles of those who were coming.
I flipped over the pages and was bored halfway.
'No women in the team Vandhu', he gave me the puppy face.
'I thought I'll see the golden women at Goldman Sachs'
'Haha, awww. It's okay! But looks like a senior team, senior in age and experience', I sighed.
'Yeah, except for a few. There's one Aditya and one more. Rest, yeah senior', he laughed.
'Who?'
'Some Aditya. And... Aah, yeah Siddharth'
'Aditya who?'
'Dunno'
'What do you mean don't know?', I pounced. 'Give me that sheet!'
'Gosh, it must be him', I mumbled to myself.
'What happened?'
I riffed through every page praying I don't find him but equally anxious to see him. I was torn between excitement and apprehension.
'Aditya Kapoor', the name was right in front of me.
'He's coming!', I smiled and sighed at the same time.
'You happy or sad about it? You look confused. You know him?'
'You all know him!'
'Is he... Oh my gosh! Mr.Past? Really? Coool stuff. Dude I. Am. Loving. This!', he exclaimed.
'Are you nuts? What am I going to do?'
His phone rang, it was Smitha. 'Okay cool', he snapped.
'Sweetheart, they're here. Come let's welcome them. And a special welcome hug to your Him.'
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