Garima smiled.
‘And black doesn’t suit you, Garima. Whoever told you that must be blind. Wear pink. We are girls, after all!’
They giggled and went to their floor.
Just as they sat on their seats, Garima looked at Avantika and moved her lips. ‘Thank you.’
Avantika smiled at her and got back to work.
Garima picked up the phone and dialled Abhijeet’s extension.
‘Hi, Abhijeet.’
‘Yes.’
‘What yes? Garima, this side. Don’t act all investment banker on me!’
‘Oh, yes. Tell me.’
‘I am sorry for the last time. I was a little rude. But was kind of stuck in some work and couldn’t talk.’
‘It is okay.’
‘What are we doing tonight?’
‘We?’
‘The four of us?’
Avantika, who was listening to the conversation, smiled.
They talked for another fifteen minutes and made a plan to leave the office at eleven sharp and have dinner some place nice. Saurav and Shruti were only too glad to agree. Saurav suggested a roadside Punjabi dhaba since they hadn’t had good north Indian food in quite a while and the plan was finalized, the first of many to come during that month.
11
Weeks passed and they were hardly seen in office beyond the mandatory eleven o’ clock. No matter what happened, they pooled in all their energy in the last few hours to finish the allotted work of whoever was left behind. By Silverman standards, a thirteen-hour day was pretty relaxed and September went past without any hiccups.
The dinner at the dhaba near Banjara Hills was never missed, and it was their high point of the day when they downed their sorrows with glasses of thick lassi.
Every day they dug into piping hot paranthas served with pickle, lassi and dahi, at the only place in Hyderabad where you could get authentic Punjabi fare. The dinners out in the open, on the rickety chairs, brought them out of the drudgery Silverman Finance put them through. That one hour that they spent every day at the dhaba made it all seem bearable. It made them feel alive and it gave them the strength to wake up the following morning.
Sundays were spent at Saurav’s place, as none of them wanted to waste time travelling around in the hot sun. Movies were watched, popcorn was popped, beers were clinked, and they still drank like novices and puked and passed out. Those three had started mounting pressure on Garima to stop smoking and it had started to show results. She was down to just a few cigarettes a day. Her clothes got an occasional dash of blue or green and so did the nails. She spoke a lot more now, especially when Abhijeet was around.
Sundays were spent as Sundays should be. Lazily. They called Avantika and me over once, and it was heartening to see four good friends putting everything behind them and getting on with life, staying together and trying to make something more of their lives than what Silverman had to offer.
Abhijeet and Shruti’s reason for staying at Silverman had not changed in the last two months, but Garima and Saurav’s had.
‘I can’t leave them,’ they both had said once. Adversity makes the best of friends. It had been two months since they had been together, but their bonhomie was unmatched and it looked like they had been childhood friends. Their lives were wretched, their past botched and screwed up, but one thought of hanging out together wiped it all away.
‘Hey, Abhijeet. What are you doing?’ I asked.
‘I was just sending you the profiles, sir and it will just take five more—’
‘Leave all that. What about Garima?’
‘What, sir?’
‘What what? When are you asking her out? Are you asking her out? I want details, man.’
‘I don’t know, sir.’
‘See, if you think I am a fool, I am not. Saurav told me all about it. Why didn’t you tell me? See, I don’t give a shit about work, but if you keep me away from office gossip, we will be in trouble.’
‘Sir.’
‘Never mind. So when are you asking her out?’
‘I don’t know, sir.’
‘Look, Abhijeet. I am older, so there are a few things that I know better than you. When you get a girl as smashing as Garima, you don’t let go. You understand? Especially if that girl likes you too.’
‘What?’
‘I am not kidding, Abhijeet. Avantika told me this morning. And it is true. So just go ahead and ask her out. She won’t say no.’
‘I will try, sir.’
‘Good. And whatever you do, don’t let anyone know that I told you this. Right? And I should be the first one to know if she says yes. Or even if she says no, which she will not.’
‘Right, sir.’
I walked away and if I would have had eyes in the back of my head, I would have seen him dancing his legs off.
For Garima, the last few weeks were like a new lease of life. Garima and Avantika went to the Spirit of Living conventions whenever they got time.
‘I am so happy to see you smiling,’ Avantika said.
‘It is all because of them. I now wish I could go back to college and relive the moments, instead of sitting alone in the hostel and brooding.’
‘Never mind, Garima. There is a whole lifetime left.’
‘I am so glad I found them. I feel so lucky when I am with them and it is like nothing ever happened. And I wouldn’t have tried had it not been for you. Thank you, Avantika.’
‘C’mon. Leave all that. Did Abhijeet say something?’ Avantika asked.
‘Naah. I don’t think he will. He’s too shy!’
‘Why don’t you say something? You like him, don’t you?’
‘I mean, he is very sweet and good-looking and really nice.’ Her cheeks flushed. ‘Yeah, yeah. I like him. But I am not going to say anything. Are you sure he likes me?’
‘Yes. Deb told me so. And who wouldn’t like you?’
‘You’re too sweet,’ Garima said.
‘But don’t tell anyone I told you that Deb told me that Abhijeet told him that he likes you, right?’ Avantika said.
‘Right.’
12
‘What got you so late today?’ Saurav asked. Shruti had stayed late that day in the office and had asked the other three to leave, but Saurav stayed back.
‘Nothing.’
‘You cancelled today because of nothing?’ Saurav joked.
‘Saurav, I can’t come every evening with you guys. I need to be here no matter how much I hate not being with you guys.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘I just … I am just a little, well, I am scared, Saurav.’
‘Scared? Why?’
‘I don’t want to lose this job,’ she whimpered.
‘You won’t lose this job, Shruti. What are you saying, man? You work hard. Why would you say that?’
‘I don’t know. People are working really hard around here,’ she said.
‘Why are you getting so negative about it?’
‘Saurav, we are the only ones who leave the office so early. Everyone works or at least pretends to work till their bosses leave. We are the first ones to leave office. Have you seen anybody else do that?’
‘But we complete our work. What is the point in staying back?’
‘I don’t know. I just think we should stay here a little more. Everyone completes his or her work, but they still stay here, just to show the others that they are sincere. More sincere than people like us. I am thinking of doing the same.’
‘I think it is a silly thing to do.’
‘I know, but even if it helps a little. I don’t want to go back to my old life,’ she said, her eyes moist.
‘You won’t have to,’ he assured.
‘I am sorry, Saurav.’
‘I understand, Shruti.’
‘Thank you.’
‘And I know they won’t fire you. Just in case they even think of getting rid of you, don’t worry. My father has some connections. He will get you a job. Trust me
.’
‘Pakka?’
‘Cross my heart and hope to die. I will not let you go back to wherever you came from. I promise.’
‘Thank you.’
‘So, what’s with Chandni?’ Chandni was another colleague whom Saurav had been trying to hit on for many days and was making zero progress.
‘Nothing. She says she wants to concentrate on her career and doesn’t have time for all this.’
‘What bullshit! Why is everybody so concerned about their careers here?’
‘Isn’t that the fifth girl you have asked out here?’
‘Shut up! Why don’t you be my girlfriend? I think you should be.’
‘Yes, why not? We all know what you want in your girlfriend. A couple of months of fun and then you will dump me. Sorry, Saurav. Look some place else.’
He made a sad face and Shruti pulled his cheeks into a smile.
‘You will find someone. Who is hot and good in bed and who doesn’t mind breaking up.’
They both laughed.
‘But will she be better than you? That’s the question!’
‘Miles and miles ahead of me,’ Shruti said. ‘Where are the other two?’
‘Garima’s place, I think.’
‘Do you think something can happen between the two of them? After all, Abhijeet is the kind of guy she should go out with.’
‘What kind of guy do you want?’
‘Rich guy.’ They laughed and Saurav reminded her that he was rich and they should start dating each other.
Garima and Abhijeet thought about going to the dhaba like every day, but instead, landed up at Garima’s flat. It was awkward without Saurav and Shruti around, but slowly they opened up and soon they were completing each other’s sentences, even as Abhijeet wondered how Garima still smelled like a fresh morning. He took long, deep breaths and was thinking if his sense of smell would get used to the ridiculously fresh scent and move on, but it didn’t.
‘You really loved her, didn’t you?’ Garima asked Abhijeet about Riya.
‘Yes, sort of. I mean she was all I thought about then. She was the only real friend I had.’ He sighed and looked out at a distance from the veranda they were sitting in. ‘You tell me, never thought of going back to him?’ he asked.
‘A million times.’
‘Why didn’t you go back?’
‘It was easy going back. It was difficult staying away. Never mind, I am almost over it and it doesn’t matter now.’ She looked away.
‘I am sorry I asked,’ he said and stood close to her.
‘It is okay. There used to be a day when even thinking about him made me cry. But no longer.’ She clutched his arm. It sent tingles down his spine and he didn’t know how to react apart from involuntarily grinning stupidly and feeling dizzy.
‘Goo … good to hear that. Listen, there is something I have been meaning to tell you and I don’t know whether I should tell you.’ He looked into her eyes, and felt like he should shut up, and run back home, and chastise himself because he led himself to believe that there was a chance that he would tell her about how he felt about her and she would smile.
‘Go on.’ She stared back.
‘You … have … beautiful eyes,’ he stuttered.
‘Thanks,’ she smiled.
‘And.’
The harder she stared at him, the greater the tingles he got and the more he stuttered, and the more his confidence shattered.
‘Ummm, should we go eat something?’
‘Yes, sure.’ She let go of his hand and cursed him from within. Abhijeet’s head hung low and he followed her into the kitchen. A part of him wanted to curl up and die.
The last day of their second month, the four of them were out partying again, despite earnest requests from Shruti to keep from doing so, but then she got drunk and said it was the best night ever.
‘What happened yesterday?’ Saurav shouted. His voice was barely audible over the roaring speakers of the nightclub.
‘Nothing,’ Garima said.
‘Nothing?’ Saurav shouted.
They both entered the smoking area where they could hear each other. Someone offered Garima a smoke and she refused.
‘He didn’t say it. I think he was about to. But he just kept shut.’
‘Did you touch him? Hold his hand? Or something?’ he nudged.
‘Yes, why? Did he tell you that I did?’
‘He gets nervous. Next time, don’t do it. Guys like us get nervous when something like that happens, you know.’
‘Thanks for the tip,’ she said as she darkened her lipstick.
‘You have changed.’
‘In a good way?’
‘You look beautiful now,’ Saurav said and Garima blushed.
She was wearing a silver halter that night and Abhijeet had not stopped texting Saurav about how stunning he thought Garima looked.
‘But why don’t you ask Abhijeet out? Everybody knows that you guys love each other. You know that he likes you and he knows that you like him. I don’t see why you guys should wait!’
‘What? He knows? What!’
‘Obviously, he knows.’
‘Who told him?’
‘Deb told him, I think.’
‘But why did he? Didn’t anyone tell him not to tell Abhijeet?’
‘As if! Didn’t Shruti and Avantika tell you that Abhijeet likes you?’ Saurav asked.
‘But does he know that I know that he knows?’
‘Whatever! I’ll just be back.’
Saurav went off to pee and they didn’t talk about it for the rest of the night. They drank, and smoked, and drank some more, but thought they didn’t have enough so drank again, and the next day, they reached office with huge hangovers.
13
Garima and Saurav reached office that day to find Avantika and Dinesh standing at their seats. Dinesh was Garima’s and Saurav’s manager and Avantika’s boss.
‘I think and I know that you will be able to work on a deliverable,’ he said matter-of-factly to the two new trainees. Dinesh had joined the company a few years back and always had a bothered frown on his face. He was known to give girls a harder time than the guys, and was unpopular in the office. Personally, I hated Dinesh for he was a lecherous bastard. If I had it my way, I would have pushed a rod through his heart for the way he looked at Avantika.
‘But, sir, don’t you think we should practise a little more before that,’ Saurav butted in.
‘No, I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘I have given a list of ten companies to Avantika. Take them from her and I want the profiles by tonight. Avantika, you run a quality check on it and then we will send it by tomorrow to the off-shore bankers. Clear?’ he asked.
They answered in the affirmative. Avantika nodded and walked away.
Saurav and Garima heard Avantika mutter bastard under her breath. They looked at her with blank faces and they didn’t know what to make of it. Avantika went to her seat and mailed them the data source and the company names. It was ten in the morning when they started working on the profiles.
Shruti and Abhijeet called them for lunch. They waited till two and then ate without them.
After lunch, Sameer, my boss, was called up by Sumita and asked to give details of whatever Abhijeet and Shruti had been doing. She had the swipe-in times with her, along with the time spent by us in the TT room, and as expected, it didn’t mean well for us.
Sameer was given a solid pasting for being irresponsible and unprofessional with the joinees under him. Sumita humiliated him and used the choicest of words for him and for me. She threatened him with consequences, and with increments in sight and recession on the horizon, such threats were the nightmares of many. Sameer somehow pulled through the harsh words and politely took Sumita’s leave.
He sat down on his seat and leaned back and took a deep breath.
I let Sameer know that I had assigned work to Shruti and Abhijeet. And also that Sumita was a bloody whore and he should not mind whatever she said.<
br />
We had small talk where I mentioned that I knew I was a jerk, and that he deserved none of what Sumita said, and went back to our work in a few minutes.
I checked on the trainees at six in the evening and all four of them were working. They didn’t change positions until midnight. The clock struck one. Saurav was waiting for Garima to finish off the work when Dinesh approached Saurav.
‘Are you done with what I had asked you to do?’
‘Almost, sir. I will just take one more hour.’
‘Have you checked the format? This is the wrong one,’ Dinesh said as he peered at his computer screen.
‘Sir.’
‘At least read the guidelines properly. You even had a training lecture on that one. You have read those, haven’t you?’
‘No, sir. Guidelines?’
‘Then how come you are working? I hope you know there is a certain format that every document is presented in. Without it, everything that you do is a waste. I don’t know what you were doing during the lectures. Anyway, you know where they are stored on the drive?’ Dinesh asked, half-disgusted, half-irritated.
‘Sir.’
‘Go and ask Avantika. Go through them today. It is not much, just about eighty pages. Go through that and I will mail you some work that has just come up. This is an urgent deliverable and I need it tomorrow morning. I need both you and Garima to start working on this right now.’
‘But, sir.’
‘Is there any problem?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Good.’ Dinesh walked away.
Dinesh mailed them with instructions, the guidlines and the time by which he expected the work to be mailed to the bankers of Silverman Financial sitting in the US office. It took Saurav and Garima four hours to complete it, and they left the office at five in the morning, exhausted and sleepy.
October was traditionally the most hectic month for Silverman, before the holiday lull of November and December, and it was proving to be so. Days were getting hectic with each passing hour and no one slept for more than four hours a day.
Things had worsened. They were just starting out and the only help they got was from us—Avantika and me. Others on the floor had no interest in wasting their time on new trainees who were training to become them. Dinesh was way too condescending to approach. Sameer was better, but he was overworked too.
Now That You're Rich: Let's fall in Love! Page 10