twenty-one The Plot Thickens
twenty-one
The Plot Thickens
Neil
After arriving in Mumbai, Neil had decided to take a day off work claiming he needed it to recover from the shoot, but the truth was he needed it to recover from her.
Mussoorie had been … a lot. But he didn’t bargain for the alternative option, which he had found himself in now.
The last thing he wanted to do today was be forced into having lunch with his exhausting dad, who would no doubt criticize everything he said, and his mom, who’d most likely retreat to her room midway through the afternoon.
Which is why he was surprised when his mother began driving the conversation. ‘How was the Mussoorie shoot, Neil?’ Mrs Desai asked, passing him the bowl of rice.
‘Good.’
‘Just good? Tell us more, we want to hear all about it.’ She placed her elbows on the dining table and leaned forward.
Neil wasn’t sure what to make of her sudden interest in him.
She usually didn’t ask follow-up questions.
He glanced around the living room like he was trying to gauge if something in the decor had somehow caused this change.
With its high ceilings and long corridors, his parents’ house had always felt too large for conversation.
He’d never liked the way sound travelled in it.
‘It was a full schedule. The set had many moving parts, so it was a lot to manage.’
He thought about how Kavya had given him the cold shoulder throughout the shoot. And, as if that wasn’t fuckall enough, he also had to watch that light-eyed ex of hers following her around like a damn puppy all day.
He’d written off the entire trip as a trainwreck, so being invited to Kavya’s home for dinner had been a pleasant surprise.
The fact that the invitation had come from her older brother, not her, was beside the point.
Seeing Kavya in her element, surrounded by her loving family in her beautiful cottage, dancing like an absolute maniac in the middle of the living room, had permanently altered his brain chemistry.
He’d made a complete fool of himself, shaking his hips in front of her entire family, but the way her whole face had lit up as she’d watched him had made it worthwhile.
And then he’d gone and ruined it all.
‘What exactly do interns have to manage? The coffee?’ his father asked without looking up from his plate.
His mother opened her mouth to say something, but Neil beat her to it. ‘There wasn’t much time for coffee. I was too busy helping the crew set up the shots, keeping a track of the shot list so we didn’t fall behind, and reworking the sequence to suit the weather and the lighting.’
The older man studied him silently for a few moments, then nodded. ‘Hmm. So, you did learn something.’
‘A lot, in fact.’ Neil sucked in a breath and met his father’s eyes from across the table.
In his tailored three-piece suit, he looked less like a man enjoying lunch with his family and more like a wealthy businessman having a meal with his associates.
‘I’m glad you asked me to do this internship, dad.
It’s taught me what all actually goes into starting something of your own.
’ He paused for a second, wondering if this was the right time to push his luck.
‘Can I take you over the business proposal for my streetwear label this weekend?’
Mr Desai wiped his mouth with a napkin and placed it neatly on his plate. ‘That’s your problem … you’re always in a rush. Finish the internship first. Then we’ll talk about your label.’
Then, without waiting to hear his son’s response, he answered his buzzing phone and left the table.
‘Right,’ Neil muttered under his breath. ‘I’m the one in a rush.’
His mother glanced towards the corridor he had disappeared down. ‘He’ll come around. Give him some time.’
‘Like I have a choice.’
They ate in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. ‘So … I bumped into Aarushi’s mom last week. She mentioned you two were trying to sort out your differences?’
Neil set his fork aside and looked up at her. ‘We’re not, mom. It’s over.’
Kavya’s brutal rejection may have left him in pieces, but it had fuelled him to finally do the right thing.
He’d called up Aarushi that night in Mussoorie and told her they needed a clean break.
He’d always be there if she needed him, but it was time they both stopped confusing comfort with love.
She’d taken it with more grace than he deserved.
It should’ve made him feel lighter, but he couldn’t help but dwell on how it didn’t change the fact that Kavya still wanted nothing to do with him.
You know that’s not how it works, right?
You don’t get points for cleaning up a mess you should’ve handled ages ago, he reasoned with his stubborn mind.
‘Why? Is there someone else?’
Neil’s fingers tightened around the edge of the table. He could no longer pretend like any of this was normal. ‘Why do you suddenly care so much, mom?’
To anyone else, his words might’ve seemed unnecessarily harsh. But they both knew how much she had let him down.
It took her a few seconds to meet his gaze.
When she did, her eyes were swimming with tears.
‘I know I haven’t been there for you these last few years, Neil.
I’ve tried blaming everyone and everything …
but the simple truth is, I was unhappy. So deeply unhappy that I couldn’t see anything beyond myself.
Not even my own son.’ A single tear rolled down her cheek.
‘Mom,’ Neil began, giving into the overwhelming urge to reach for her hand. ‘What happened?’
She sniffled, waving his hand away. ‘We’ll talk about my dumb mid-life crisis later. First tell me … is there someone else?’
He exhaled sharply through his nose. ‘Yes and no.’
‘What is that supposed to mean?’
‘It’s a long story.’
‘Okay,’ she said, pushing her chair back to stand up. ‘Then I’m going to make us some tea.’
Internship Update
S 01/07/25 3:00pm
to Neil, Kavya
cc:
Hi Kavya,
Based on recent developments, we believe it would be appropriate to make a change to the current reporting structure for the remaining duration of Neil’s internship.
Hi Neil,
Since you have one week left in your program, you may choose one of the following options:
Transfer to another team (Social Media or Sales) for the final week, or
Conclude your internship early and collect your completion letter from HR.
Please let us know your preference at the earliest so we can facilitate the next steps.
Regards,
Swati Kaul
Head of HR
Jharokha
Neil read the email over and over, as if the words might rearrange themselves into something less alarming.
Change to the current reporting structure.
Transfer to another team. Conclude your internship early.
He could feel the muscles in his body stiffening with every cryptic corporate phrase he tried to decode.
What the actual fuck? What was this even about?
He closed the email and opened Kavya’s chat. He’d refrained from texting her in the last day and a half, but this trumped whatever noble idea he’d had about offering her space.
Neil: Kavya, has something happened? I just saw the email from HR.
He waited for the message to get delivered, but instead, a single grey tick sat stubbornly in the chat box.
He swallowed the dread crawling up his throat and switched to regular SMS. Message failed to send.
When even his calls refused to go through, he slumped back on the bench overlooking the million-dollar view from his apartment, defeated.
Has she really blocked me? Why? He read the email from HR for the hundredth time.
Based on recent developments. They couldn’t possibly be talking about the moment they had shared at Kavya’s house, could they?
What if that director dude had ratted him out?
Or maybe it was Tanya … she had been awfully quiet on the plane ride back.
This is not how he’d expected his day to go after he had returned from his parents’ house, emotionally spent but cradling the hope his mom had left him with.
You’ve already done the hard part by telling her how you feel. Now let her decide what she wants, Mrs Desai had offered.
This was what she wanted? Slowly, it all began coming together in his head.
You made your boss uncomfortable. You confessed feelings she didn’t ask for. You made a scene on a work trip in front of her colleagues, and now HR’s involved. Why would she want to talk to you? He knew he had screwed up royally, but if only he could get a chance to talk to her and explain …
A thought occurred to him. He opened his email and clicked on ‘Compose’ before he could talk himself out of it.
Re: Internship Update
N 01/07/25 3:35pm
to Kavya
Kavya, I’ve been trying to call and text, but nothing is going through. I know I crossed a line, but I didn’t mean for things to get this bad. Can you please call me so we can talk?
Neil
Time crawled as he waited for her response, eyes glued to his phone screen. But when minutes turned into hours and there was no word from Kavya, he put on his running shoes and decided to go for a run.
The salty breeze from the sea whipped against his face as he jogged onto the pavement outside his building. How the hell had I ended up here? He found himself thinking as he pushed his legs to shuffle faster past the clusters of evening walkers.
His Apple watch vibrated on his wrist with a message and he absently glanced at it.
Mom: I forgot to tell you earlier, I’m headed to Lonavala for a Vipassana silent meditation course tomorrow. Supposed to be great for healing.
This internship was supposed to be a simple means to an end, a box to tick to please his father, so he would cough up the investment for his streetwear label.
Neil had big dreams and real plans, and this internship was going to be nothing but a footnote in the grand scheme of things.
But then, he met her. Kavya Mehra. His boss.
He remembered that first morning so vividly.
He could still picture her, standing over his seat—which had turned out to be her seat—tapping her foot restlessly against the floor.
The first thing he’d noticed when he’d opened his eyes was how adorable she looked with her nostrils flared and the heat rushing to her already pink cheeks.
He should’ve known right then that she was not going to make this easy.
He’d caught her NYU lie almost immediately, not because he was trying to find fault in her, but simply because he couldn’t stop paying attention to her.
That tiny, irrelevant detail turned into a stupid choice, and instead of being a normal human being, he’d gone and used it to piss her off.
He could’ve let it go. He could’ve minded his own damn business.
But no, he’d decided to use it as leverage against her.
What kind of a twisted person does that?
Just thinking about it made him want to kick himself.
And then she’d found out his secret. That clever little woman, he thought.
She’d done what no fashion tabloid and none of the rich, powerful brats he’d roasted over the years had been able to do.
She’d unmasked @devilwearscolaba. The voice of Gen Z fashion, as she’d called him.
It should’ve made him mad, that she’d threatened to ruin everything he’d worked so hard for—his SoBo good-boy reputation, his contacts in the industry, future funding from the dads of all the socialites he’d mocked—but it just made him want her more.
A desperate thought presented itself. He could reactivate his @devilwearscolaba Instagram account—the one he’d finally pulled the plug on after months of stalling—and DM her there.
He knew she followed him. No, just forget about it, he instructed his mind.
There was no point in humiliating himself further.
He may not know the full puzzle, but her piece was crystal clear.
She wanted nothing to do with him. No contact, no closure.
He broke into a sprint for the final stretch before slowing to a halt.
He bent over, his chest heaving as he braced his palms on his thighs and fished his phone out.
He opened the email again and started typing out a response.
He didn’t need to drag this out. He could only imagine how much trouble she must’ve been in with HR for getting involved with her intern.
No, he’d done enough damage—the least he could do was bow out now and prevent any further office rumours that might harm Kavya’s career.
Re: Internship Update
N 01/07/25 6:17pm
to Swati
cc: ,
Hi Swati,
After giving it some thought, I’ve decided that I’d like to end my internship early. I’ll come collect the letter soon.
Thanks again for this opportunity.
Neil
He pressed send and watched helplessly as the email whooshed out of his inbox.
And then he sent a message to his mom.
Neil: Can I join you?