"Tum baat ko samjhte kyun nahi ho?" Arjun said, irritated. "Har baar apni marzi hi chalani hai toh rakha kyun hai mujhe yahanpar?"
"Tum rationally nahi soch rahe, Arjun." Abhijeet spoke. "Pradyuman sir ne mujhse kaha tha Daya ke upar nazar rakhne keliye. Tabhi mai use yahan lekar aaya hun. Phir inn sab chizon ki zarurat kyun hai?"
Arjun gripped his chair tightly and gritted his teeth. "Abhijeet, voh Zikri ka aadmi hai. Usne--"
"Usne nahi. Zikri ne." Abhijeet said, losing his patience. "Zikri ne kiya tha. Aur Daya khud use chhodkar yahan aya hai."
"Lekin-"
"Nahi Arjun." Abhijeet interrupted him. "Jiss team mein understanding na ho, voh team chal hi nahi sakti. Mai tumhari baat ko samjta hun lekin Daya ab humari team ka hissa hai. Tumhe uske saath vaise hi kaam karna padega jaise tum humare saath karte ho." He declared.
Arjun looked away and Abhijeet's gaze softened. "Arjun, please."
Arjun bit his lip. He gave Abhijeet a quick, reluctant nod and left the room. Abhijeet saw him go and clicked his tongue. He didn't waste time dwelling on the issue though. He spun the pen between his fingers and immediately got back to work.
...
Arjun came out of the cabin and almost bumped into Kabir, who passed him a surprised look. Seeing that, Arjun stopped to compose himself. He fixed his tie and straightened his suit. When he saw Kabir watching, he gave him a cold glare and stalked off from there.
Kabir shook his head and followed him. "Arjun, Abhijeet kuch galat bhi toh nahi keh raha na?"
Arjun stopped and turned towards him, raising his hand. "Dekho, hum dono ke bichmein baat ho chuki hai." He sighed, taking a deep breath to bring down his anger. "Tum unn logonko hatwa dena." He told Kabir. "Uspe nazar rakhne ki ab koi zarurat nahi hai."
Kabir narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?" He whispered.
Arjun nodded, looking away. "Abhijeet ki zidd ek din hum sabko bahot bhaari padne vaali hai."
Kabir sighed. He patted Arjun's back and gave him a reassuring nod. Then he pulled out his cellphone and walked into the elevator.
Meanwhile, Arjun's phone started ringing. Reading the caller id, he pressed his eyes with his his fingers, before picking it up. "Hello Subin sir. Maine aapse mana kiya tha mujhe phone karne keliye." He heard the callee speak and his face hardened. "I'm sorry sir, but we're not changing our decision. Aapko aapka hissa mil jaega. Agar aage apko humare saath kaam karna ho, toh beshak kariyega. Par ab hum humara irada nahi badalne vaale. Thank you, sir. I hope you have a good day."
He ended the conversation in a hurry, cutting the call straight away.
...
Daya hated heels. He absolutely despised them. He wanted to watch them burn down to ashes, then blow those ashes in Arjun's face just because he can. And okay, if the thought of Arjun looking like a freak and coughing his lungs up made Daya forget the pain in his feet for a moment, who is anyone to judge?
"Alright Daya," Surbhi beamed at him, "you're doing amazing. Bas paanch minute aur, phir break. C'mon."
Daya gave her an awkward smile. He was embarassed because Surbhi was already walking gracefully in her own six inches heels. Honestly, Daya thought, she was the one person he respected the most in this group of weirdos. He could tell she was strong, but at the same time she was cheerful and encouraging.
Minutes later, he kicked the shoes off his feet and sat down on the floor. Folding his legs, he began massaging his feet. Surbhi gave him an ice bag and he thanked her for it.
"You're welcome." She replied with a warm smile. "Aur aaj aapne kalse behtar kiya. Kal sirf ek ghanta hi chal pae the aap. Aaj teen ghante practice ki hai. Ek do din mein aapko inn jutoh mein chalne mein koi takleef nahi hogi."
Daya smiled at her, supressing his fear. "Jutein pehenne keliye pair bhi hona bahot zaruri hai, Surbhi jee. Mujhe shayad apne pairon ka insurance karwa lena chahiye. Pata nahi kab nikalke haath mein aajae." He looked at his feet in pity.
Surbhi chuckled. "Kuch nahi hoga, aap tension na le." She looked at the time and said, "Acha chaliye, mera kaam toh hogaya. Mai chalti hun. Aap thodi der yahi rukiye. Yah phir niche gym mein jaiyega. Agar aapke liye koi kaam ho, toh koi aajaega batane keliye. Mai chalti hun."
She waved at him. He nodded at her, saying goodbye as she left the place. After that, Daya pressed the ice bag to his feet and shuddered at the relief it brought.
...
A knock on the door startled Mr. Pradyuman, who was working on his computer. He asked the person to come in and a very exasperated Arjun walked in.
Mr. Pradyuman frowned looking at him. "Kya hua?"
Arjun rolled his eyes, sitting down on one of the chairs. "Subin ka phone aya tha sir. Phirse. Aapne unse baat nahi ki kya?"
Mr. Pradyuman sighed. Taking off his glasses, he spoke grimly, "Maine unse baat ki thi Arjun. Lekin aise hi kisi purane saathi ko kaam se hata dena thoda mushkil hota hai."
Arjun rubbed his eyes. "Ek bas yeh papers ka mamla sulaj jae sir. Koi agreement hi nahi rahegi toh koi proof hi nahi."
There was a long silence in the cabin before Mr. Pradyuman spoke. "Tum iska matlab toh jaante ho na, Arjun?"
Arjun sighed, nodding somberly. "No agreement means no team, sir. I know."
"Par tum toh iske khilaf the na." Mr. Pradyuman quietly supplied.
Arjun smiled sarcastically. "Don't worry sir. Mai Abhijeet nahi hun jo kabhi bhi kisiko bhi dhoka de saku. I'm not double-crossing you, sir. Aur mere akele ke kehne se kya hoga? Yeh decision toh sabka tha. Kisi had taq aap bhi toh nahi chahte the ki hum yeh kaam jaari rakhe."
"Tum galat samaj rahe ho, Arjun." Mr. Pradyuman said, to which Arjun only scoffed. "Hume iss organization se koi dikkat nahi hai. Dikkat hume sirf-"
"Humare kaam se thi." Arjun completed his sentence for him, eyes scrutinizing. "Baat toh ek hi hai na sir?"
Mr. Pradyuman shook his head. "Yeh decision humara nahi tha, Arjun. Boss ka tha. Waqt ke saath badalna padhta hai. Warna zindagi bhar pachtana padega. Behtar hai ki aaj hi hum sudhar jae."
Arjun snorted. Wishing Mr. Pradyuman a 'good day', he left his cabin too.
A/N This was kind of a filler chapter honestly. I only wanted to get back on track with this story. I promise I'll give longer updates henceforth.
Will update as soon as I can.
Thank you so much!
Take care,
Janhvi