Part 8
It was 12 midnight by the time she wrapped up that day. She quickly changed into her street clothes and was collecting her handbag, when Rajeev approached her.
Tired .??.Mehak ?? He asked wth genuine concern.
She smiled. Not really Sir!!.when you enjoy the work that you do no matter what the physical effort is , you never feel tired.
Great . It is this that I like the most about you ..your passion for cooking , but on a serious note ..I think you should take it easy for the next day or two . There are comparatively lighter days and we do not have any big booking for lunch on both days , so you can start your days in the late afternoon .
I know you would have preferred the evening off because you could have gone and seen your family, now that you have not seen them for almost two weeks ever since you shifted but you know we have two big dinner bookings .it has been an exceptionally busy per...
I know Sir, I know , and trust me I am fine. Don't worry about me. I talk to them everyday and they are so happy with my success. I truly cherish this opportunity and challenge. My family and I both appreciate that sometime to make the most of any opportunity a few sacrifices must be made.
Bahut accha ..Rajeev smiled.."now run quickly else the shuttle will leave you. behind"
Mehak was smiling as she unlocked her apartment door. Inspite of all her bravado , she was really looking forward to some down time ..A relaxed morning of sleeping in , winding down in a spa with a pedicure and a relaxing head message , planning how to improve some of her current dishes, day dreaming about Shau...
What where did that come from..Why would she want to day dream about Shaurya of all the people in the world??
Yes she had started appreciating the merit of his suggestion to move into the company lodgings when she had started saving about two hours of commute time , which she could use in strengthening both her and her team's skills , but she would be found dead before she let him know that.
The bugger had not even shown his face since that Sunday morning .." ek baar bhi aakar yeh nahi poocha ki kaisi ho " ( not once did he ask how are you adjusting"
Must be busy with some "deal" or page 3 parties. She mumbled to herself as she made a face.
Ofcourse she was happy that he had not shown his face and ofcourse she had not felt jealous when she had seen his picture with that skinny model on the society pages of the newspaper.
Kuch bhi kare ..meri bala se " let him do anything ...I do not care" she told herself fiercely.

She changed to her night clothes..a dark maroon silk nighty. It was birthday gift from Nehal. "DI you know you need to wear something sexy to feel sexy " She had insisted
Why would I want to feel sexy ..? She had asked truly bewildered
Because that boosts your self confidence ..buddhu " Nehal had replied truly exasperated at how simple her Di was..
She never had the courage to wear it in the Sharma house ..but here in the privacy of her own apartment she did wear it sometimes..
She liked how gracious and luxurious the material felt against her body and how it accentuated her curves at the right places.
It made her look almost .."beautiful"
She smiled to herself in the mirror as she prepared for herself a cup of green tea,
She loved to settle with her cuppa at settee by the window and stare across.
Inspite of the time in the night , road below was still busy and the noise of the traffic was in a strange way comforting , helping her to concentrate as she thought of the menu changes she wanted to propose.
Deep in her thoughts , she missed the chiming of her doorbell. However the urgent knock a couple of minutes later caught her attention
Madam , madam ..it was Shankar bhaiyya . The friendly cook cum caretaker   who worked for the pent house above.
She looked at the watch ..it was 2:00 AM..
At this hour?? She asked herself, hoping everything was ok ..
She looked at the key hole to ensure it was who she thought , she still kept the safety latch on and peeped outside.
Both Shankar bhaiyaa and his wife stood there , almost in tears.

Kya hua ??    ( What Happened )
Madam ..aap to bahut accha khaana banaati hai na... Building mein sab log kehte hain...( Madam every one in the building says you make excellent food)
Haan par hua kya ... ( yes but what happened)
Madam please help us .. Sir is back after two weeks and he wants to have kinnu salad with akdu dressing ?? The wife asked
Akdu dressing?? If only the only akdu she knew could be turned into a dressing .
And kinnu .. you mean orange ,,,
Nahin nahin ma'am it is a grain .
.oh ..you mean Quinoa (kinwaah)
What on earth is akdu ...Ma'am Sir said I will get it in the imported fruit shop ...
Akdu ..is an imported fruit???...
.oh it finally clicked .., you mean avocado ??
Haan haan ..wahi wahi ( yes yes that )
Ok so what happened ..
Madam...we could not find the akdu, I checked every market ..Khan market, , INA ..every shop is out of it    and I do not know how to make kinnu salad now ... Shankar bhaiyya whined .
Arrey to tell your Sir you did not find the akdu ..I mean avocado,,
Nahin nahin Ma'am you do not know my Sir ..he does not like a no .. Shankar bhaiyya confided
He will be vey upset ..please help us .. he will be on his way back from the airport by now ,, his wife added
Can you make something else out of the kinnu ... I soaked it ... Shankar Bhaiyya implored ..
Oh ok ..Come let us go to your kitchen .. Mehak sighed, picking her shawl on the way ,   as she let go of her wish of a quiet night.
Let us see what we have in your refrigerator , Mehak said taking charge of the situation ..ohh we have Guavas and those too ripe..
Buss kaam ban gaya ... ( there we are done now ) Mehak said exultantly
Matlab... ?? ( meaning)   the couple asked in uniosn

Matlab we will substitute avocado with Guava , now I am sure you have lemon and ...
She rattled out the ingredients she needed and her assistants quickly found them for her ..
As she was putting the salad together .. Shankar bhaiyya asked his wife .".have you checked Sir's room.".
Oh I forgot . because of this akdu. She answered , stricken...
Mehak saw the couple going again in the panic mode ..
Do not worry about this ..I have it in control ..you guys do what you need to do ..
I will be done in 5 mins and go down ..
Thank you Madam ..thank you so much..
Sir will be reaching in the next 10 minutes we need to ensure that his room is exactly as he likes it.

Please go ahead ...waise bhaiyya ..aapke Sir ke " duss sir " hain kya ? I mean is he a raakshas ?? ( does your Sir have ten heads ) Mehak chortled at her own joke ..
Nahin Nahin Madam aisa nahin hai ..he is a very generous employer ,,buss gussa thoda zyaada aata hai unhe.( he just has a little bit of temper) .
Oh ..I know a few of such people on my own ..Mehak said , thinking of her own akdu ...
Left alone in the kitchen she quickly mixed the salad .. and was about to leave , when the chef in her got better of her .
Let me plate it properly .
She decided to have a quick look at the crockery available, and caught sight of a very interesting looking bowl kept on the top shelf .
She removed her shawl as she stretched full length to grab the bowl.
I wish .. I had asked for something more ..came the husky voice from behind her , that husky voice ,
Surely it could not be him ..here ??
She turned back , her eyes wide in surprise ...
You ?? She croaked ...it was embarrassing that all she could manage was a croak in return of that sexy address to her
What are you doing here ? She asked the owner of the husky voice
Considering the fact that you are standing in my kitchen don't you think this question will sound better coming from me?
He smirked
Your kitchen ,?? this is your pent house??
He bowed in answer ..
You?? live here??
She got another bow in answer.
He quickly moved near her ...any other question laddoo ...he whispered in her ear..
I love the fact that in addition to my restaurant you have now taken full responsibility of my own kitchen.
I have done nothing like that ..I was just helping Shankar bhaiyya ...
At the mention of his name ..Shankar Bhaiyya appeared ..looking very very nervous.
Surley Sir was not going to happy with his plan to take outside help..
To his surprise Sir seemed in the best mood he had ever seen him in..
Ahh Shankar bhaiyya .. aap jaiye ..rest kariye ..I will call you in the morning ,
Shaurya dismissed him and turned his attention to the sight in maroon.
Yes laddoo ... he whispered ..
NNnotthing ...she was getting nervous now that she realised they were alone now ...
It is very late ..I should also go now ...I was just helping Bhaiiyaa..
She quickly turned to pick her Shawl and run...
Not so fast "Ms Sharma"...
Let me first taste what "you " made for "me" he said emphasizing the words making it sound very personal...
I am sure you would like to rest and eat alone in peace ..I should go .
He caught her hand and pulled her flush into him..
He held her firmly by the waist   keeping her plastered onto him , using his other hand to reach out and taste the salad...
Mmm.. you know you have magic in your hands ...
But I would like to know whether the dish tastes better or the cook ...
Her eyes grew wide as he came close..
No No ..let me go ...she pushed him half heartedly..
Come on Laddoo ...just one bite ... he laughed , giving away that he was just teasing her .
In his heart he knew better .After seeing her reaction the last time , he did not wish to scare her away again..
Nooo ..she twisted herself out his grip ..
I need to go ...
Oh come on Mehak ..I promise I will behave myself ... we are seeing each after two weeks ..come sit by me as I finish the salad ..you can tell me all about what is going on in the restaurant ...
Mehak sat down reluctantly , but soon she was animatedly talking about events , customers and Dishes ...
Shaurya kept to mostly listening to her as he ate, sometimes just getting lost in her smile , big expressive eyes and the biggest distraction for him..those lips. He had to shake himself mentally multiple times to keep track of what she was saying.., prompting her with a question or two just to get her going again
Boy could this girl talk...
It was already 5 in the morning .. they both had been talking for more than 2 hours
I need to go for my sprint ...He said ...
Oh what is the time ..she asked ..
5 AM
Oh I need to catch some sleep ..she yawned ,.stretching herself ,..Completely oblivious of how tempting she looked with her curves outlined in maroon silk.
"Oh..my Dear God "..Shaurya Khanna invoked every fragment of his body to control himself from grabbing her, there and then.
"This is my punishment for being too smart for my own good..."
He berated himself mentally as he tried to recover from this self inflicted torture ...
This girl has just no clue ..
The girl causing havoc with his system walked calmly to the door ..
"Bye" she turned back and smiled sweetly ...
No she was not going to get away so easily after doing that to him..
Mehak ...he whispered ...his eyes going all dark.. " you look beautiful..."
He chuckled inwardly as he saw her smile disappear replaced by confusion as she quickly walked out of the door.
tibs092016-12-24 06:35:59