Chapter 15

Sabari stormed into the rest room and was in action. He unlocked Ananya’s mobile phone and navigated to the call log. The last number was an unknown number without a name. He saw the digits and tried to recollect whether it is a familiar one. But his mind said No. He wondered who could that be.

Sabari knew that he cannot be inside the restroom for long and decided to call back. He pressed the ‘Call’ button and waited. There came a response that the person is not reachable. He wondered how come the person went into ‘Unreachable’ mode in a matter of few minutes interval. He was sure that Ananya was hiding something from him and her reactions are fishy.

‘Should I ask her about this?’

‘What if she lies once again? That would lead to another bunch of lies. I’m not ready to hear those’

‘I have to handle this softly right now’

Sabari came out of the restroom and walked to the hall. Making sure that Ananya was still in the kitchen, he placed the mobile phone on the table and came to the dining room.

In the next couple of minutes, the lunch was ready in the dining table. While serving the food, Ananya asked, “By the way, I remember that you said that you have got some gift for me… “

“Yes I did”

“Can I see?”

“Sure.. Open the bag that I brought from the office and you will find it”

Ananya went to the hall, opened his bag and found a velvet covered jewel box. She took it out and opened it slowly. Her face turned bright looking at one of the costliest jewels.

Ananya  hurried to dining room, turned to Sabari and asked, “This is … Just.. WOW”

Sabari put on a fake smile in response. Ananya couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Are these stones diamond?”

“Yes they are”

“How much does this cost?”

“Hmm.. A bit on the higher side”

“Come on Sabari… Tell me the exact price”

“Not much.. Just 50 Lakhs”

Ananya was astonished and said, “Come on… Why did you buy such a costly one?”

“I didn’t tell you that I bought it. It was my MD Sidharth’s gift to me”

“Why should he gift you?”

Sabari spent a couple of minutes and narrated the incidents. Ananya was dejected hearing the story. She said, “Don’t ever mention this as a gift in the future”

“Then what?”

“This is just a disgrace”

“Why do you say that?”

“You are one of the most honest employees in your organization. Everyone in your organization knows about it. They should be ashamed to stage a fake drama to evaluate it. And Frankly speaking, you shouldn’t have accepted this gift. I want you to return it back to your MD”

“I will return it back for sure.. But not now.. “

“If not now, then when?”

“After my successful completion of the project”

“Until then?”

“Let it sleep in the bank locker”

Once Sabari completed his sentence, Ananya’s mobile phone rang. Ananya walked to the hall and attended the call. She spoke in a low voice.

“What now?”

“Is Sabari in?”

“Yes”

“I need to speak for a minute.. Possible?“ and it was a male voice.

“Nope.. He will leave to office in an hour. Will call you back then”

Ananya disconnected the call and came to the dining room. Sabari asked, “Who was on the phone?”

“An anonymous telemarketing guy.. He was checking whether Im in need of any personal loan. I receive atleast two to three calls in a week. These guys are crazy”

“It is their job and they have to do that. Anyways, from which bank did you get the call?”

“hmm… I.. I think… Sorry.. I forgot the name of the bank”

Ananya stammered and Sabari read that but did not react to it. Sabari changed the topic.

“Didn’t you cook non-veg today?”

“No.. “

“Today is New Moon Today… A special day… ”

“May be it is for you… Not for me… Can I get an omelet at least?”

“Ok.. I will get it ready in 5 mins.. “

Once Ananya entered the kitchen, Sabari rose from his chair and grabbed Ananya’s phone. He navigated to the call log. The recent call was from a new number and he wasn’t sure who that was.

Sabari selected the number and tried to find out who the caller was. He got the response that the phone was not reachable.

Sabari’s heartbeat increased and he fumed.

“What the hell is happening with Ananya?’

‘Who is this person and how is he/she related to Ananya?’