The Perfect Chai
Ananya
Three seeds of cardamom, two strands of saffron and a clove.
After making Jai’s chai every day, twice a day, it had become muscle memory. In the mornings, before the rest of the office came to life, the rhythmic movements were therapeutic. Those few minutes to myself became a much-needed source of energy before the workday kicked off.
House of Advani officially signed the deal with the Mahalas two days ago. All the details were coming together seamlessly. We’d been treating them to all the finer things Mumbai had to offer. They seemed to be loving it. And Jai was over the moon.
I’d worked hard on it, too; I should have been ecstatic as well.
But ever since I realised I needed to talk to Rekha, the thought had consumed my mind every waking moment. Hell, I had nightmares about it. What should I say? How should I say it? What do I do if— no, when she blackmails me again?
The door swung open. Am I hallucinating? I had to be. There was no other reason I was seeing Rekha walk into the executive kitchen at eight twenty-five on a Wednesday morning.
‘I pride myself on judging people accurately,’ she said conversationally. ‘I pegged you as na?ve. Watching your stupidity has been … a revelation.’
I froze. The chai hissed softly on the stove, bubbling over. I turned it off.
She stood on the other side of the kitchen island, her posture regal and eyes glittering with dark amusement.
It really was her.
Horror crawled up my neck, cold and sharp. I’m not ready. I hadn’t come up with a strategy. I had no idea what to say to her.
‘I see that you have lost the ability to talk, along with the skill to answer your phone,’ she said. ‘Jai—’
‘Keep his name out of your mouth.’ The words tore through me before I could stop them.
Rekha looked taken aback. But in a fraction of a second, she was back to her usual unruffled self.
‘You have lied and taken advantage of me from the moment we met. I’m done. I want nothing to do with you anymore.’ I gripped the counter, my voice steadier and words sharper than I felt.
She arched her brow. ‘I’d be more careful if I were you. You’ve got a lot more to lose now.’
My pulse stuttered.
Her smile dripped venom. ‘Assistants can’t afford Elie Saab dresses. They don’t walk out of fashion events hand in hand with the COO either. It doesn’t take much to connect the dots.’
My throat grew parched.
‘Did you really believe you could keep it from me?’ she went on, her voice soft and cutting. ‘That I wouldn’t notice my son has been … distracted?’
Fury slashed through the panic. ‘Your son? You’ve never treated him like one. If you had, you’d see that he is everything you should be proud of. But because he isn’t your own, you refuse to see it?’ My blood simmered in my veins. ‘Why did you have me spy on him? Why—’
Her eyes sharpened. ‘You love him.’
Dread snaked down my spine.
‘And when he finds out what you’ve been hiding, what you’ve done …’ She trailed off, her words laced with mock sympathy. ‘Do you think he’ll forgive you? With that temper? With that moral compass that he waves like a flag?’ She let out a soft, cruel laugh. ‘Perhaps you don’t know him very well.’
Her words landed like claws around my throat. ‘If you tell him, he’ll know it came from you,’ I forced out. ‘He’ll know you set this up.’
‘Of course he will.’ She seemed unbothered. ‘But I don’t care what he thinks of me. I can’t say the same for you. And when the dust settles, you’ll be finished. No love. No career. Nothing.’
‘You’re pathetic,’ I spat, my heart hammering. ‘A bitter woman with nothing better to do than to poison other people’s lives.’
‘Wrong. I’m a mother,’ she said, her voice sharpening with warning. ‘And if you want to keep your pretty little life intact, you’ll deliver every detail on Rivaayat in three days. Otherwise …’
My fingers dug into the marble counter.
She never finished her sentence. Instead, Rekha smoothed her sari and glided out. Silence sharper than a blade filled the kitchen. The second the door clicked shut, my facade crumbled.
My breath faltered as everything in me tightened. The edges of my vision blurred. The kitchen spun.
Air. I needed air. Every breath was a jagged gasp. My pulse beat too loudly, frantic and off-kilter. Rekha’s words pressed into my head, sharp and unrelenting. Finished. No love. No career. Nothing.
The truth was brutal. Rekha hadn’t lifted a finger, but my life was already destroyed.
Bile flooded my mouth.
I pulled open the lid of the trash can and retched until there was nothing left but a burning throat. Sweat coated my temples. My knees felt weak. My fingertips dug into the counter as I held myself up.
A click. Footsteps. My blood iced.
She’s back.
‘Here you are. I’ve—’
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I looked up, gathering what little control I had left.
Jai.
Shit.
My heart jumped. I pushed the trash can’s lid closed.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked, coming close. His hand touched my forehead and then my cheek. ‘You look … unwell.’
‘Thanks,’ I croaked.
‘You know that’s not what I meant,’ he said, but a smile cracked through anyway. ‘What’s wrong, baby?’
‘Nothing. I was just … for a second, I felt a little dizzy.’
His hands grabbed my waist, and he lifted me onto the island. Then, he filled a glass with water and brought it to my lips. ‘Here. Drink.’
I took a few sips, feeling a little better. ‘Thank you,’ I murmured.
‘What can I do for you?’ His eyes swept over me, searching for signs of distress.
My breath still felt a little short, but his presence grounded me. ‘I’m fine. I … I just need to use the restroom.’
‘Of course.’ He held my hand as I lowered myself to my feet. ‘Do you want me to come with you?’
‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘But can I use the one in your office?’
Rekha was here. I didn’t – I couldn’t see her again.
‘Of course.’
Once we were in his office, I went straight to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I looked at myself in the mirror.
My eyes looked lifeless. My cheeks looked sunken in. And my skin was pale.
I’m fine.
I rinsed my mouth and splashed cold water on my face, trying to bring some life to it. I dabbed it away with a tissue and then walked out.
Jai stopped pacing and looked at me. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Better,’ I said, forcing my voice steady. ‘Maybe it’s because I skipped breakfast. I’ll be fine after I’ve had some food.’
‘I’m clearing my schedule, and we’re going home. You’re going to eat and rest. And I’m going to take care of you.’
‘You can’t do that. You have important meetings all day.’
‘At least let Madhu aunty take care of you.’ He pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘I’ll tell Dilip to bring the car.’
I’d spiral and drive myself insane if I had nothing to do all day.
‘Jai.’ I grabbed his wrist. ‘I promise I’m okay. I’m not going home.’
He studied me. I held his gaze, refusing to back down. ‘Fine. But I’m getting you some food. And I want you at your desk all day. No running around the office.’
That was the best I was going to get. ‘Yes, boss.’
Just as we walked out of his office, the elevator doors pinged open. Sharanji stepped out with his wife, son and Dadiji.
‘Jai sahab, Ananyaji, namaste!’ he greeted us.
‘Namaste,’ we replied in unison.
‘How are you?’ I asked.
‘Great, thanks to Bhagwan Krishna and the two of you,’ he said.
‘Oh, no, please, we didn’t—’
‘If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t even have dreamed of any of this,’ he said, waving his hand around, gesturing to the whole office. ‘We would have spent our entire lives in our little Bhagalpur. But you have transformed our lives. Thank you.’
Jai and I glanced at each other.
This is what he wanted to do. His Dadaji wanted to do.
‘We thank you,’ Jai replied. ‘You—’
‘Sharanji, namaste!’ Vikram sir stepped out of his office and walked towards us.
And right beside him was Rekha.
She watched us both, trying to read the situation.
‘It doesn’t take much to connect the dots ...You love him.’
My heart sank.
‘Mom,’ Jai said, surprised. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Vikram forgot a file at home. I thought it was important, so I brought it,’ she said. ‘Turns out it wasn’t.’
I lowered my eyes, forcing myself to remain calm. She’ll leave soon. In just a minute.
They made more small talk, but their voices garbled as though I was underwater. My breath shallowed.
‘… go.’
‘I’ll be right there.’
Footsteps faded.
‘Ananya.’ A warm hand touched my arm. ‘You sure you’re okay?’
I exhaled softly, looked up and nodded.
‘Take care,’ Jai said. ‘I’ll see you soon.’
As I watched his tall, broad retreating frame, Rekha’s voice whispered in my mind: ‘And when he finds out ... you’ll be finished.’
I couldn’t give her the details she wanted. Whatever her motive, she wanted to sabotage him. And the deal. I’d never do that to Jai. And when I don’t send her anything by Sunday … she would tell him.
It would be over.
I covered my face with my hands. Why didn’t I just tell him myself? I had chances. So many chances. The evening we decided to start over. The business trip. The first night I stayed over at his apartment. Hell, I could have done it on a random Tuesday.
And yet, I stayed silent.
It’s a random Thursday today. It’s not too late yet.
If I told him first, she wouldn’t be able to twist it. And maybe, he’ll understand.
No, he won’t. With the way he fired Lavisha, I knew he wouldn’t. What she did didn’t even come close to what I’ve done.
I could almost imagine his face when I told him. The hurt. The anger. The betrayal.
‘Breakfast delivery.’
My heart jolted.
I looked up to see Rishi. He placed a holder carrying two cups of chai and a brown paper bag on my desk. ‘Jai sir emailed me. Said you weren’t feeling well.’
Even when he wasn’t here, he was taking care of me. And I ... my guilt stung.
‘I’m better now,’ I murmured. ‘Thank you for all of this. You didn’t have to.’
‘The COO gave me a mission. Who am I to say no?’ He winked, plopping onto my desk. ‘And any excuse to hang out with a friend.’
He pulled a container out of the bag. ‘So, what happened to you? Jai sir can be such a hard-ass. I was so surprised to see that email.’
He opened the lid. Avocado toast.
‘The morning of the most important meeting of my life, you were the one I woke up thinking about. I refuse to wait anymore.’ Jai had asked me out on our first date with it.
Tears sprang to my eyes.
Rishi’s smile faltered. ‘Hey? What’s wrong?’
‘I–I’m not sick. I’m just … upset. I hid something from my boyfriend. Something big. And I need to come clean. But the moment I do, I’ll lose him.’ The words tumbled out before I could stop them.
Rishi stared at me for a moment, his eyes growing soft.
‘The only thing worse than the fear of losing him is never knowing how he would have reacted,’ he said gently.
‘Telling him the truth might cost you the relationship, but hiding it guarantees it. Secrets always have a way of resurfacing. If he’s the one, he’ll understand. ’
I loved Jai. And I wanted this to work.
I need to tell him.
And I needed to do it before Sunday.
The Mahalas were in town till tomorrow. His days were packed with meetings, and he was entertaining them over lunches and dinners. I didn’t want to drop this bomb on him and distract him.
I’d have to do it on Saturday.
I will do it on Saturday. No matter what, I’d tell him.
‘Thank you.’
‘I hope it goes well. But even if it doesn’t, I know you’ll be okay,’ he smiled, then winked. ‘You have me as a friend after all.’
My anxiety eased once I made the decision. But the pit in my stomach reminded me that Saturday was only two days away.