chapter 5

Chapter 5Home truthsShe had hoped to catch Mr. Arya that evening to submit her resignation letter, but was told that father and son had left early. She left her resignation letter in an envelope on his table, relieved that she could avoid a scene... As if Mr. Arya would want her to stay on!When she walked in the next morning, she discovered that she was wanted in the MD’s office. She went in and was surprised to find Chintan alone.“Did Mr. Arya want to meet me?” she asked.He waved her in and pointed the seat to her silently. She noticed that her letter was open in front of him. She frowned and felt awkward. He cleared his throat as he looked up at her with the same intensity that was beginning to disturb her now. He said, “So…you want to resign. I hope it is not because of what I said.” There was concern now in his voice and eyes.She looked at him with faint amusement and said, “What did you say?”He glanced away quickly, but not quickly enough to hide the smile that touched his lips. Clearing his throat again, he said, “Well…you mention personal reasons. And that you would like to be relieved quickly. I can’t blame you…but,” again clearing a perfectly clear throat, he continued, “considering Mr. Arya is just taking over and, ahem…new to this place, can you serve your notice period?”She studied him uneasily.He continued quickly, “You have a commitment elsewhere to join at the earliest?”“No…!” she blurted out and then quickly recovering, said, “Not that…I…” Not knowing what to say, ended lamely, “I have sort of agreed to join early, yes…”He drummed on the table thoughtfully. “Okay…I wouldn’t insist. But it would have helped me gain my feet in the editorial side here, considering you are the senior-most. Can you continue for at least another week or so? Find a person meanwhile, hand over, etc.?” His eyes met hers briefly before looking at her letter, “That’s only fair, I think?” He quirked an eyebrow as he looked at her again.Anu looked at him silently, her heart and mind at odds with each other. There was something about him that made her want her to stay on. But of course, she didn’t want to, she reasoned. She said, unable to decide, “I will have to check.”He looked up at her shrewdly and said, “You have also promised father…Mr. Arya, that you would look at the database… You could have told him you were leaving…”Regretting not taking a firmer line, she said after a pause, “I didn’t have the offer then.”With a perceptive look, he asked, “And you got it between 6 last evening and 9 this morning?”She said resentfully, “You have a problem?”He backed off instantly, raising his palms, and said, “Sorry, didn’t mean to insinuate…”She was surprised that a son of Arya could apologise. She wondered what Ganesh had meant when he said Chintan could help her! She wished she had asked more details! The man intrigued her. She wanted to blurt out the truth.Mercifully, he had started talking again and she controlled the impulse. “But it is only fair that you give us some time to stabilise. Since all the seniors have left…”The ‘us’ in his statement reminded his inseparable link with Arya. “Made to leave,” she corrected him recklessly, angry with herself for her weakness.He paused mid-sentence, inclined his head and continued, “Made to leave, there are several gaps that will need to be filled up.”“And since I was foolish enough to stay on…” she said bitterly.His eyes stopped on her face for a second, making her flush, before moving back to her letter again. “Well Anuradha, I can’t comment on that. But I definitely must insist that you hand over your responsibilities…”“What responsibilities?” she asked vehemently, his cool tone irking her. “Typing letters for Mr. Arya, carrying out proof corrections on those? Being his odd-job woman?”He looked at her startled, and she realised she had been precipitate. But Chintan’s cool, studied air made her want to shake him up. “Sorry,” she mumbled. Somehow, it didn’t worry her that he would retaliate, or carry tales. No…she looked at him again and wondered why he hadn’t left Mr. Arya.He cleared his throat. She wondered spitefully if it were a genuine throat problem - because of trying out different tunes for his lyrics, perhaps? – or a mannerism. She watched him as he said, “I understand the difficulties. But that was because he was trying to introduce a new system, and you seem the most capable.”“Seem?” she asked, now her tone bordering on sarcastic. He was spouting Arya’s lines, she guessed.He met her steady gaze unflinchingly, smiled coolly, then said, “That’s what my father thinks. And,” he shrugged, “I would like to believe… If you give me the opportunity.”She matched his coolness as she got up and said, “Really, Mr. Arya! I am not a typist or a secretary.”“Why didn’t you tell him that?” he asked, his eyes squinting up at her, mercilessly reminding her of her dithering in Arya’s presence.True, she hadn’t had the courage to tell Mr. Arya, Sr. that she wasn’t his secretary. And she had used Chintan as the punching bag. But that did nothing to soothe her. “You know why.”He looked at her amused, “Really?”“Yes, because you find it difficult to tell him things too. Don’t you?”His face lost its calm, but in a fraction of a second, he was himself again. “So do I take it you will give me time?”She shrugged. “A week.”