fifteen Warming Up
fifteen
Warming Up
Varun couldn’t have picked a worse night for team drinks.
Everyone was still nursing their bruised egos from the results of the pitch-off, so the last thing the group needed was to spend even more time together, especially with alcohol involved.
The whole thing was teetering on the edge of disaster.
‘You look like you need a drink,’ Varun said, filling a mug from the absurdly tall beer tower he’d ordered.
‘Thank you,’ I said, taking it from him as he poured another for Tanya.
Once he’d handed everyone a beer—except Neil, who was apparently being a responsible driver tonight—Varun raised his glass.
‘Congrats to Kavya and Neil … and to all of us for surviving the Hunger Games.’ He had to practically shout to be heard over the loud music.
‘I just want you to know how proud I am of all of you. Win or lose, you guys did a fantastic job today. Cheers!’
I blew out a slow breath. Varun meant well, he really did, but forcing people to celebrate with their opponents right after they’d lost to them was rather naive, at best. At worst, it was like rubbing salt into paper cuts.
I took a sip of my beer, pretending to be busy with my phone, mostly so I didn’t have to keep returning everyone’s tight-lipped smiles.
A few unread messages were waiting for me on my family WhatsApp group, all replying to the text I’d sent earlier, letting them know that I was coming home soon after all. They had obviously ignored my follow-up texts. For work. And probably only for a weekend.
Mehra Parivaar
@Mom: Ok but when are U reaching? Tell me the dates
@Pops:
@Keshav Bhaiya: Call me tomorrow. We’ll book your tix together.
Tanya slid onto the barstool next to me with a sigh. ‘This is so annoying.’
‘Tell me about it.’
‘Well, at least you have something to be happy about. Congrats, by the way.’
‘Thanks, Tanya.’ I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, contemplating the right thing to say. ‘I thought your concept was great. I know you worked super hard on it …’ My voice trailed off. Should I apologize? No, an apology would be tone deaf. Empathize? If only it were that simple.
‘It’s fine,’ she said, sparing me the awkwardness. ‘There could’ve been only one winner.’
‘But hey, Rajat did say he wants to do a mini social campaign with it … that’s pretty great, right?’ I rested my back against the bar counter, trying to keep my tone light.
‘Sure, more work and none of the perks.’ Tanya sighed, pushing her round glasses up her nose. ‘A true victory for me.’
This was torture. She hated me. My best (and only) friend in the office hated me.
I tapped my fingernails against the glass in a restless rhythm, trying to piece together a sentence that would kill the terrible tension that sat between us.
When I couldn’t come up with anything, I decided to take a sip of beer and blurt out what was really in my head. ‘Tanya … are you upset with me?’
She looked up from her drink, startled. ‘No … no, I’m not upset. Of course not. I’m happy for you,’ she said, her voice wobbling a bit. ‘I’m just … sad for me.’
I nodded, unsure what else to offer her in that moment. We sat next to each other in silence, cradling our drinks and catching snippets of conversations taking place around us—weekend plans, weather forecast, national politics. The usual.
‘The funny thing is,’ she began, taking another swig of her beer, ‘I knew it was over the minute Neil stood up and Rajat’s face lit up like a 1000-watt bulb.’
I frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
She lifted her mug, mumbling into the rim. ‘You know … it’s no secret that he has a soft corner for Neil.’
I stared at her for a second, wondering if I’d misheard her.
But the quick, embarrassed way in which her eyes flitted away from mine confirmed that I’d heard her just fine.
‘Are you …’ I began, swallowing the knot forming in my throat, ‘saying that we only won because Rajat is biased towards Neil? That our idea was crap?’
Tanya groaned and covered her face with both hands.
‘Oh Kavya, I didn’t mean it like that at all.
I’m just frustrated because I got my hopes up, you know?
’ She let her hands fall to her sides, her shoulders slumping.
‘I really thought this would be my chance … to move out of my parents’ prison, get my own place, maybe live a little. ’
Her words had stung, but she looked so deflated that all I wanted to do was comfort her.
‘Tanya, you’re amazing. And Rajat literally said he’s building a whole new marketing team for the fashion vertical …
so there have to be more positions up for grabs.
’ I gave her a small, lopsided smile. ‘Besides, I could still fuck this whole thing up and change Rajat’s mind. You never know.’
A tiny laugh trickled out of her. ‘We both know you’re going to ace it.’ There was a sincerity in her gaze that hadn’t been there a few moments ago. ‘I’m sorry … about implying your idea wasn’t worth the win. I’m being a little bitch.’
‘That you are.’ We bumped shoulders together, the last of the tension easing.
She checked her phone and made a face. ‘I have to go. My dad will have a full-blown meltdown if I’m not home by ten.’
Once Tanya had left, my eyes scanned the room absently. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for until I spotted Neil standing at the other end of the island bar, talking animatedly with Varun, Saloni and Nitya. I refilled my mug and let myself be pulled like a magnet in their direction. His direction.
As I approached, I could hear the bubble of chatter spilling from their little circle. Varun was mid-story, gesturing wildly with his hands. ‘—and then the client says, “But can we make it more edgy?”’ He paused for dramatic effect. ‘For a tubelight campaign.’
All of them broke out in loud laughter as I squeezed into the group, so I let out a polite little chuckle of my own, even though I had absolutely no idea what I was laughing about.
‘What’d I miss?’ I asked.
‘Agency days … I miss them even though I was miserable throughout.’ Varun shook his head fondly.
Saloni took a sip of her drink, then tipped her head at Neil. ‘So, Neil, tell me something … now that you’ve won the pitch-off, are you planning to stick around permanently after your internship?’
‘Uh … not exactly,’ he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
‘Why not?’ Nitya’s disappointment was apparent. ‘You were really good today.’
‘You were fantastic,’ Saloni corrected, squeezing his bicep through his tailored shirt. ‘My interns can’t even draft an email without using ChatGPT, forget about cracking a whole presentation.’
‘To be fair, ChatGPT writes all my emails too.’ Neil shrugged.
‘Same,’ Varun admitted.
Everyone laughed again. Except me.
I hated that they were hogging Neil. He’s my teammate.
Shouldn’t he be celebrating with me? I folded my arms loosely, pretending to be engaged in the conversation.
But my eyes were busy clocking the way Nitya looked up at him through her lashes whenever she spoke to Neil.
And the way Saloni was eyeing him … like he was some kind of edible candy.
If Neil noticed, he gave no sign. He just kept talking, easy and animated, completely at home as the centre of attention.
He laughed at something Varun added and I caught myself wanting his attention with an intensity that was pretty damn embarrassing.
It took forever for the group to disperse, but finally, Varun wandered off to order another beer tower and the two women headed to the washroom. Everyone else had formed their own little huddles around the room. A few interns had even managed to snag a nearby table.
Neil looked down at me, a smile playing on his lips. ‘Hey.’
My stupid heart fluttered. ‘Hi.’
‘You’ve been awfully quiet.’
‘Have I?’ I held his gaze and lifted my chin. ‘Or could you just not hear me over all your fans?’
He leaned back against the bar, propping an elbow on the counter. ‘You’re cute when you’re jealous.’
‘Pfft, jealous? You wish.’
He chuckled softly. ‘We made a great team today, didn’t we?’
‘We did.’ I pulled myself onto the barstool next to him, trying to ease the strain on my neck from looking up at him. ‘I still can’t believe we actually won.’
‘You didn’t expect it at all, did you?’
I shook my head softly. ‘Um … no, not really. Not after how amazingly everyone did today.’
He shifted his weight to the other elbow, turning fully in my direction. ‘That’s your problem ...’ There was something unsettling about the way he was looking at me. ‘You acknowledge everyone’s talent, but are completely blind to your own.’
I squeaked out a shaky laugh. ‘You need to stop saying things that sound a hell of a lot like compliments …’
He raised an eyebrow, amused. ‘Why?’
‘Because it’s very off-brand for you?’ I could feel my cheeks growing hot. ‘Besides, I suck at receiving compliments. I don’t know what to do with them.’
‘Well, you could try believing them, for once,’ he offered, his gaze sincere. ‘So, are you looking forward to the Mussoorie shoot? To going home?’
‘Yes … and no.’
He frowned, tilting his head. ‘Why not? With the unholy amount you crib about Bombay, I thought you’d be thrilled at the opportunity to escape it for a bit.’
‘I don’t crib about it that much.’
He pressed his lips together and gave me a knowing look.
‘Fine, maybe I do. But—’
‘But nothing. I’ve figured out how to make you warm up to this city.’
I let out a dry laugh. ‘Neil, I’ve lived here for over three years. If I haven’t warmed up to Mumbai so far, I doubt it’s going to happen now.’
‘Not with this attitude it won’t.’ The teasing in his tone slowly turned more sincere. ‘You’ve got a lot of fight in you, Kavya. It blows my mind. But surviving Bombay is not the same as living it, you know.’
I opened my mouth to protest, but a voice nagged in the back of my mind. He’s not wrong.
‘Come on,’ he said, straightening up. ‘Let’s fix that.’