The Two-Faced Man!!

Team 'Tandem Tensome'

This is the 3rd post in Round 2 of #CelebrateBlogging. Read the Round 1 posts here. 

Here are the links to previous posts of this round - Chapter 11, Chapter 12.

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       Mr Ahuja was hurrying around in his house making sure everything was in place. He didn’t want anything unusual to catch Shekhar’s attention. If he had one thing in his life, that was to be careful and make no mistakes. Because, in his work, mistakes were not an option; it could as well earn him a lifetime sentence. He ordered his servant to wind up the work soon and leave as he was expecting important guests. His servant didn’t speak much for he feared Mr Ahuja. He sensed there was something sinister about the man but he couldn’t pinpoint what. He just nodded and left once he was done with his chores.

       Not long after that, the doorbell rang. Before opening the door, Mr. Ahuja knew who it was. He could already hear Roohi’s excited chatter as she waited for him to open the door impatiently. His lips curved into a half smile and his eyes glinted. So far, his plan was working flawlessly. He forced a fake smile on his face as he opened the door and welcomed the duo. “Welcome Mr. Dutta” he said extending his hand. “Call me Shekhar” said Shekhar as he shook his hands. Roohi was not interested in the formal exchange. Her eyes were scanning the house, searching for her favourite pup. “Come on child. This way” said Mr Ahuja as he noticed Roohi’s impatience. He guided them through his mansion to the backyard where Roohi’s favourite pup was. Roohi ran towards and the pup leaped in joy as it recognized her familiar face. “She already is so attached to it” observed Shekhar and beamed, satisfied with his decision to gift the pup to Roohi.

       Jennifer felt totally powerless as Tara stared down upon her. Words weren’t needed; just her stare was enough to make anyone tremble. Such was the Ice Lady’s aura. Jennifer regretted to be on the receiving end of that stare. “This kind of indiscipline is not acceptable here Miss. You want a job? Then you adhere to the rules. Else I won’t think twice before finding a substitute for you. I don’t want to hear any excuses” thundered Tara as Jennifer opened her mouth to explain her story. “Your personal problem doesn’t concern me! And I advise you to leave them at home unless you want to be fired. Do I make myself clear?” she went on. Jennifer wanted to scream too. She was late just by a couple of minutes but she was wise enough to hold back her emotions. “Yes ma’am” she muttered when she noticed Tara’s rage increasing. “Good. Get to work” said Tara and left. Jennifer’s good mood had vanished. A day that had promised to be great was already turning bad. She badly wanted to smoke but she knew better. She didn’t want another lecture from the Ice Lady. She sighed and started walking towards the direction pointed by the receptionist, where she would be assigned her first project. Life was not at all easy.

       Shekhar and Mr. Ahuja sat chatting as Roohi played with the puppy. It had been an hour since Shekhar had come and Mr. Ahuja had taught them about the basics of taking care of the pup. Roohi had learnt everything with so much enthusiasm and Shekhar had no doubts that they would face any problem looking after the pup. After the session, he sat with Mr. Ahuja to talk while Roohi played with the pup. “You have a wonderful house” said Shekhar. He was pretty impressed seeing the mansion. He wondered how Mr. Ahuja passed time all alone in such a big house. He had moved in to this locality just a couple of years back and in that time he had never met anyone except Mr. Ahuja and his servant. Word had it that his wife had died years ago in an accident. That was one version of it. Some others even said that she was murdered. Shekhar looked around the house and his eyes fell upon the picture of the woman hung on the wall. A garland adorned the picture of the beautiful lady. “That must have been Mrs. Ahuja” wondered Shekhar. “Yes” replied Mr. Ahuja and Shekhar was startled. He didn’t realize he had said those words aloud.

        Mr. Ahuja stared at the picture of his wife as he expected for Shekhar’s next question. He was sure it would follow and it did. “I am so sorry. What happened to her?” Shekhar asked as expected by him. Mr. Ahuja remembered that night clearly; the night his wife had died or rather killed. He had come home late. It was their anniversary. He had promised to take her out for a date. He had expected her to be waiting for him and waiting she was. But her expression was different. She wasn’t her usual calm self. There were anger and fear written on her beautiful face. And it hadn’t taken much time for him to understand the reason behind it. She had found out his secret; a secret that had made her detest him. She had threatened to inform the police. She promised that she would make him pay for the cries of the innocent. She was threatening to expose his dark secret. He had desperately tried to talk to her but she was not ready to listen to his filthy excuses. He knew the game was going to end if he didn't act fast. Self defence took over and it didn’t take long for Mr. Ahuja to kill her. “What a waste” he thought as he watched his beautiful wife go limp. “You could have lived like a queen if you had kept your mouth shut” he muttered. He didn’t waste time, for he had to take care of the mess.  He called the police and lodged a complaint of accident. Some suitcases were exchanged and the murder was filed as an accident and the matter was closed forever.

       “Mr. Ahuja? I am sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable” Shekhar’s voice brought him back to the present. “No no. It is fine. It is just that I loved her a lot. She died in an accident on our anniversary” he said. Shekhar felt pity for the man. For him, it was evident in Mr. Ahuja’s voice that how much he adored his wife. He just placed his hand over his, trying to comfort him. Mr. Ahuja kept up the pretence. He didn’t mind the concern; in fact it was what he needed. If this continued, there would be no hurdles in his plan. “I would like it if you could join us for dinner tonight” said Shekhar. He felt sorry for the man who seemed so lonely. “That is so kind of you” said Mr. Ahuja as he looked at Roohi. “I definitely won’t mind coming” he said an evil plot started taking shape in his mind.

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Read the next posts here: Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17

PS: "Me and my team are participating in 'Game of Blogs' at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

Reunion!

Team Tandem Tensome

This is the 7th part of the story by our team. Read the previous chapters here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

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       Shekhar tapped his feet impatiently as he waited for the Red traffic signal to turn green. Ever since he had got call from Roohi, he was impatient. The person who spoke over the phone seemed to be nice. But a father’s heart wouldn’t listen to any logics. He knew his worries would cease only when he meets Roohi and see for himself that she was alright. His train of thoughts were broken when he heard the vehicles behind him honk. He quickly turned the ignition and zoomed towards the CCD which was just a few miles away from there.

       Jennifer paced through the corridor outside as she waited for the results of the interview. She had been pretty confident about cracking it before, but after the encounter with the Ice Lady, whom she had developed an instant dislike, and the other panel members, she doubted her chances of getting the job. The interview had felt like an eternity and she never wanted to go through so much stress again. She watched as the puffs of her cigarette made patterns against the night sky. Strangely, she found solace in it. “Jennifer” she heard a female voice and turned towards the source of it. Standing there, staring at her with a slight disapproval was the Ice Lady.

       Shekhar parked in a hurry and rushed inside the CCD. It had been years since he came to this place. It used to be the place he came with Tara during their early days of marriage. Those were the only days their marriage had – the early days. But once Tara had started drifting apart, he had stopped visiting this place as it brought back too many memories. But today, he had to come for Roohi. “Papa” came the voice and soon he found little Roohi running up to him. He took her into a big hug. Relief made him forget he had a company until he heard the other person clearing his throat. “Uh sorry” he said as he turned to look at the person who had brought Roohi back for him. He looked young, perhaps a student. Though fair, he looked like a geek with those big spectacles. Shekhar smiled as he introduced himself. “I am Shekhar. And as you already know, this is my daughter and my life Roohi. I can’t thank you enough for finding her” he was about to go on with his speech of gratitude when the guy cut him off. “It’s fine. I found her wandering by the park behind school. It seems she sneaked out from school bus to play and ended up missing it. By the way, I am Cyrus” he said. “And you happened to be there at that time?” Shekhar asked unable to contain his curiosity. For some reason, Cyrus appeared to him like a person who would fit in a picture showing students in laboratory rather than park. Perhaps his tone made it evident, for Cyrus’s face broke into a half smile. For a moment, the stern look of his face vanished. “Though you might think it to be impossible, I had a date. But my girlfriend ended up cancelling it. So I was just walking through the park when I found your daughter. I must say, she is a smart kid” he said stroking Roohi’s hair and she smiled. After a cup of coffee and some chat, Shekhar offered to drop Cyrus back to his mom’s place as Cyrus did not have a vehicle. He had said that he was from Delhi and was visiting his mom. “Come on. This is just a small favour I can do in return of what you did for me” Shekhar said as Cyrus declined his offer.

       Back at the office, Tara looked at Jennifer and wondered if they had made the right choice. The girl had been so much engrossed in her smoking that she hadn’t even noticed Tara’s visit until she had called out her name after watching her for a while. Of course her portfolio had been impressive and she was better than any other candidates. But Tara wondered if the girl had the sense of commitment she wanted in her employees. She sighed. If anything, she had learnt not to judge people by their appearances, for looks could be deceiving. Time would be the better judge. For now, she would let it go. “Miss Jennifer. I am extremely pleased to inform you that you are selected for our post. Congratulations. We hope you work with dedication and meet our expectations. And one more thing! I seriously hope you can cut back on that smoking, at least here in the office” she said and left without much ado, leaving behind a shocked Jennifer!

       Shekhar decided to pay a visit to Tara on his way back home and tell her about Roohi. He wanted to believe that, at some corner of her heart, Tara had a soft spot for their daughter. As he walked in, he saw Tara going around in the office, issuing orders about their next project and the little hope he had vanished. He was about to leave when he saw a familiar face. The photographer from the Kochi Railway Station was walking out from the office. She stopped on noticing Shekhar and gave him a big smile. “We meet again” she said and Shekhar smiled forgetting his worries for a moment. For some reason, the easy-to-go attitude of Jennifer attracted him. “I didn’t know you worked here” he said. “I didn’t! But starting from now, I will. Just got a job today” she said. “Ah How good is that!” mused Shekhar. He was happy he could meet Jennifer more frequently from now on. “I wonder if it is really that good. Let me tell you a secret. My boss is a Hitler” Jennifer said pointing towards Tara in her cabin. Roohi giggled upon hearing this. “Hey is she your daughter who believes in fairies?” asked Jennifer. After a long, stressful day, she enjoyed meeting a familiar person. For her, it was the next best thing after cigarette – presence of good company. Shekhar just smiled in response to her question and glanced at Tara and back to Jennifer. He wondered how Jennifer would react if he told her that her Hitler boss was his wife! It would be too good to see the expression on her face, he was sure. But for now, he would keep it a secret. For some reason, he didn’t want to disclose it to Jennifer; at least not yet!
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Read the rest of the story here:
Part 8, Part 9, Part 10.

PS: "Me and my team are participating in 'Game of Blogs' at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)