16. Mayukhi
SIXTEEN
Mayukhi
It had been two days since her supposed fiancé had last contacted her. He hadn’t replied to her message and neither had he made any attempt to make plans. Her hand hovered over her phone for a moment before she withdrew it.
She had work to do, she told herself firmly. If Ishaan and his little gang wanted her help then they would need to reach out. She had a life to get on with and their little intrigues were not her priority.
Her phone rang a moment later and she jumped to grab it. It was Shawn. She ignored the shard of disappointment lodged in her heart and answered. They were deep into a conversation on fabric choices for the new launch when her phone started to beep, signalling an incoming call. Mayukhi ignored it, preferring to finish her work call without distractions.
A half hour later, she disconnected the call just in time for her next meeting. Payal was waiting by her door to remind her of the appointment with her chartered accountant to plan finances and budgets for the business in the coming year. Numbers made her head hurt but Mayukhi had made it a point to teach herself everything there was to know about it so she could be in the loop of all business financial decisions. It had never been more important than at this moment.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Chatterjee.” Subramanyam Sir was a lovely, elderly gentleman who had guided her through every aspect of first setting up and then running her business.
“Good afternoon Sir. How’s the coffee today?” She smiled as she gestured towards the cup by his hand.
“Much better,” he smiled conspiratorially. “But your office hasn’t cracked it yet.”
It had been a running joke between them that he would never get a good cup of south Indian filter coffee in her office. It would be a cold day in hell before Mayukhi backed down from a challenge like that. Her office staff had been following endless reels and videos and trying variations on the coffee for him but apparently, they hadn’t cracked it as yet.
Mayukhi laughed. “We’ll keep trying then, Sir. But if you’re comparing our coffee to your mother’s, we may always be on a losing wicket.”
Subramanyam Sir chortled, his hands resting on his ample stomach. He pulled a large box file towards him before saying, “You’re on a good wicket, businesswise though. Profitability has grown by 8.5% and provided you’re not reckless with your spending, you can look at expansion by the end of this year.”
Mayukhi took a deep breath, knowing she was about to pop his bubble. “Actually Sir. There is something I want to do.”
Subramanyam Sir deflated before her eyes, recognising the glint in her eyes. “It’s something reckless, isn’t it?”
Mayukhi grinned. “I want to pay off the money invested in my business by my father’s firm.”
He blinked a couple of times before sighing. “It’s none of my business, but why?”
Mayukhi couldn’t burden him with the truth so she settled for saying, “It’s a pride thing.”
“This newfound pride appeared in the tenth year of your business, is it?”
His sceptical grimace told her he wasn’t buying it. But then he didn’t need to buy it. He just had to action it. This was Mayukhi’s business and she owed nobody any explanations for her choices. And her choice was to not allow Ishaan Adajania even a toehold in the company she’d built with nothing but passion and a stubborn bulldogged will to succeed.
She’d agreed to help him but she’d be damned if she’d submit to him.
A knock on the door had her looking up to see Payal knocking on her door to announce a visitor, one without an appointment. She gestured to Payal to give her ten minutes and focused on working through the broader details of her plan with Subramanyam Sir.
The meeting wound up and Mayukhi went to see who her mystery visitor was. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw Dhrithi sitting in the reception area, a copy of the latest Vogue open in her lap.
“Hi,” she said, uncertainly.
Dhrithi looked up and smiled, looking equally awkward and uncomfortable. “Hi,” she replied, getting to her feet. “I came by to have a quick word with you.”
That’s what phones were for, Mayukhi thought, but had the presence of mind not to say it. “Shall we go back to my cabin?” she asked, waiting for Dhrithi to nod before leading the way.
“I’m sorry,” Dhrithi babbled from next to her. “I should have checked if you were free before coming over.”
Mayukhi shut the door to her cabin behind her, shutting out Payal’s curious gaze and gestured to Dhrithi to take a seat. She rounded the large table and sat down in her chair.
“Tea, coffee?” she asked.
“Green tea?”
Dhrithi was perched on the very edge of her seat, like a terrified bird about to take flight. She’d lost a ridiculous amount of weight, Mayukhi thought, noting the toothpick like arms.
“Sure.” Mayukhi used the intercom to place the order with Payal and then leaned back in her chair. She waited for Dhrithi to tell her why she was here but Dhrithi was too busy examining Mayukhi’s office, her gaze taking every inch in and leaving Mayukhi feeling strangely naked.
“Did you need something?” Mayukhi’s abrupt question stopped Dhrithi mid scan. She flushed as she met Mayukhi’s gaze.
“Sorry,” she said. “I-“
“You have to stop apologising,” Mayukhi interrupted her.
“I’m sorry?”
“There you go again.” Irritation rose to the top of her jumbled, confused emotions. Mayukhi wanted to shake her. After everything Dhrithi had gone through, she was still being sweet and submissive. If it had been Mayukhi, she would have burned down the world in retribution.
“Don’t be so nice.” Mayukhi leaned forward, her perfectly manicured nails tapping on the leather planner on her desk. “You want something. Tell me what it is.”
Dhrithi’s cheeks went a fiery red before she murmured, “Having social graces are not being submissive.”
“Fuck social graces,” Mayukhi said bluntly. “Or save it for the people who care. Tell me why you’re here.”
“I was feeling a little cut off from the world I’ve lived in for the majority of my life. I thought connecting with you would help ground me a little. Clearly,” she said stiffly. “I was wrong. I misinterpreted the other night thinking your offer of support meant the start of a friendship.”
“Don’t your little tribe of men give you all the support you need?” Poisonous envy leaked through Mayukhi’s veins making her more abrasive than normal. If only one person would look at her the way the three of them looked at Dhrithi, maybe she would feel differently. They looked at her with affection, with loyalty, with trust…And in Amay’s case with the kind of love that spoke of moving mountains for her.
Dhrithi’s eyes flashed, anger chasing away the embarrassment. “They are my tribe and they have my unquestioning loyalty. Do you know why? Because they are the only ones who offered me the same. We may need your help, Yukhi, but we don’t need your judgement. So, you can take your horrible attitude and stick it where the sun don’t shine!”
“Is that the best you can do?” Mayukhi asked. “You’re not even going to call me a bitch?”
Dhrithi stared at her.
“Come on, Dhrithi. If you’re going to take on the world, you’re going to have to do better than stick your horrible attitude where the sun don’t shine.”
When Dhrithi still didn’t say anything, Mayukhi added, “I have a lot of friends,” she said. Dhrithi opened her mouth but she held up a hand staying whatever she was going to say. “There is not a single one of them I would turn my back on. So, I guess what I’m saying is, I’d like a friend too. A real one.”
Payal knocked on the door and entered with a helper behind her. “Ma’am the green tea,” she said.
“Well,” Mayukhi asked Dhrithi. “Green tea?”
Dhrithi smiled. “How about you take the rest of the afternoon off and we get to know each other over Cosmopolitans instead?”
“Make that a Margarita for me and you’re on,” Mayukhi grinned. “I’ll even leave my horrible attitude behind.
Dhrithi laughed. “You have a deal.”