The duo huddled in bed with Tanuja cuddling into Nikhil’s arms. He pulled her closer, sharing his heat with her, while she drew closer to his chest. He intertwined his long fingers with her short, cute ones. They finally seemed to be at peace with each other.  

Except for the faint whir of the ceiling fan, it was very quiet. 

They were still half bare; Tanuja with a wet towel from the chest down, and Nikhil with a thick one around his waist. They have been under the fan for quite some time now, enough to blow dry their hair and skin.  

Tanuja took a deep breath, shuddering a bit as she did.  

“Are you cold?” he asked, peering down at her.  

“No, not really,” she sniffled with a stuffy nose.  

He reached out and touched the skin of her face. It was icy. "You’re freezing,” he exclaimed.  

“I’m fine,” she lied and nestled into his chest. She liked his concern but kept it to herself.  

“Hang in there, I’ll turn the fan off,” he suggested and carefully climbed out of bed, making sure to not knock her anywhere.  

Tanuja felt anxious. She was beginning to enjoy being close to him. After all, it didn’t happen much these days, and it was something she’d longed for. Even though they were physically apart for just a fleeting moment, she feared that it would be so forever.  

Meanwhile, Nikhil turned off the fan, hurried to the wardrobe, and pulled out the first thing that he could lay his hands on... one of his shirts. A white one, to be precise. It was one of his favorites and he loved to see it gleam and shine. He grabbed it and took it to her. “Here, put this on,” he held out the shirt.  

She sat up with a short, stuffy sigh and took it from him. As soon as she did, he skipped off to check his phone.   

Tanuja sat up on her knees, pulled off the wet towel, and put on the warm, dry shirt. She turned her gaze to Nikhil as she buttoned up.  

He was pacing up and down with a hand on his hip and the phone to his ear. It was clear, he was disturbed. “Hello,” he finally spoke into the phone. “Yes, morning boss. Just called in to say that I’ll be a bit late today. There’s something urgent that---” he paused midway, his gait faltering, the creases on his forehead more pronounced. “Yes, I know. But ---” He paused again looking more upset than ever. His eyes spat fire when he spoke again. “Fine, I’ll be there,” he informed in a ‘f**k you’ tone and hung up quickly.   

Tanuja watched him, fiddling with one of the buttons on the shirt. She knew that it was his boss and that he hated him, but she wondered what could have happened to make him fume so much. Was the man rude, or did he pass any snide remarks as usual? Seeing how his jaws and temples throbbed, she couldn’t muster the courage to find out. Yet, she had to. “What’s wrong?” she queried.  

“Nothing,” he stated in a flat tone while blindly flipping through the notifications on his phone.  

"What did he say?” It took every bit of courage to probe him, knowing that he was already triggered. The last thing she wanted to do was fight with him again.  

His nostrils flared and he clenched his teeth. He was on the verge of exploding. After last night’s incident, he didn’t want to be rough on her again. Most of all, he didn’t want to take out his anger on her. She didn’t deserve it.  

The more she studied the monstrous look on his face, the more it disturbed her. His eyebrows were devilishly clumped, his eyes were bloodshot, and his jaw throbbed. “Tell me,” she urged cautiously.  

Without a word, he kept his phone aside, stomped off to the bathroom, and slammed the door shut as if he wanted her to know how mad he was as if she was responsible for his present state in one way or the other.  

She was back to square one, feeling terribly overwhelmed with guilt and confusion. I think that his boss said something nasty. That’s why he looked so angry. It’s all because of me. If I had kept quiet, Nikhil wouldn’t have had problems with his boss today. It’s all my fault.  

She was quick to slip into that brooding phase, but one look on the time through her blurry eyes knocked her back into place. Nikhil will be out very soon; I have business to finish before that!  

She skipped to her feet, poured into a fresh set of clothes, and hurried downstairs.  

*** 

Down in the kitchen, Tanuja found Aparna preparing tea.  

Aparna welcomed her with a pleasant smile. “Up? How’re you feeling now?” 

“Much better,” she answered awkwardly. The events from last night quickly reminded her that Aparna was there too, watching everything.  

Aparna, however, was oblivious, as if nothing had happened. “You’d better eat something,” she said, “I’ve already prepared breakfast since you weren’t well.” 

Tanuja felt embarrassed. She was the kitchen in charge, and today, she wasn’t able to execute her ‘duties’, thanks to everything that happened yesterday. “You shouldn’t have,” she said quietly.  

"That’s okay, child. You were sick last night. There’s no harm if I handle these things occasionally.” Aparna turned off the stove and strained the tea.  

“Haan, but ---” 

“Moreover, I’m still in a position to take care of everything singlehandedly should the need ever arise. For now, you are in charge. And that’s how it’s supposed to be.” 

Tanuja smiled back, checking out the morning’s menu. “Has Papa eaten?” 

"Of course. Early in the morning. You know how he is. He needs to gulp down something right before the sun rises or else, he gets really grumpy. Now you’d better eat something fast. You didn’t last night either.” 

“I will,” said Tanuja, “I’ll get something for Nikhil first. He must rush to work.” 

“Even today? I thought it was an off for him.” The kitchen grew noisy with the click and clack of crockery and cutlery being pulled out from the shelves.  

“No,” replied Tanuja while setting his breakfast: a couple of rotis and sabzi.   

Aparna sighed. “What do I say, dear? The scoundrel. He cheated my boy. He lured him in with a big fake package, squeezed the sweat out of him, and then went back on his word.” 

Tanuja paused, recollecting that fateful event.  

FLASHBACK – TWO YEARS BACK  

Face red and sweaty, Nikhil rubbed the nape of his neck as he paced up and down the porch of his house. Piles of wood, sand, bricks, and cement stood in and around the plot, indicating a heavy renovation in process.  

“Please rethink your ---” He was cut off by an ear-splitting noise.  

Inside the house, a handful of masons kicked up a cloud of dust as they ground and drilled through brick walls.  

He moved out, hurrying off to a quieter place. "Please rethink your decision,” he repeated with a hint of panic in his voice. “It’s a very crucial time. My house is being renovated. I have a huge loan to pay. I have a family to take care of. And on top of that, I’m getting married next month. Chopping off fifty percent of my pay is too much. I won’t be able to handle it. Please. Just think about it.”  

Cut to his boss, Mr. Trilok Chaurasia, a shorter guy with conceit plastered onto his face, one would feel he was born with that look. He wore an air of smugness as he walked up and down his cabin with a hand shoved down his pocket. “I understand your concerns, Nikhil, but try and understand. Recession has set in and the company is facing huge losses. We must take this step. Not just for you but everyone else. And this is only for a little while. Once we recover, we’ll get you back on your current pay scale.” 

Nikhil paused in his tracks, rolling around for words.  

Trilok savored on his plight before speaking again. “Don’t worry Nikhil. Everything will be fine. It’s only for a little while. And whatever is held back from your pay for these few months will be returned once we’re back on our feet.” 

Nikhil felt his knees buckle and tremble as he stood with a hand to his hip. It felt swelteringly hot and chilling cold at the same time.   

"Nikhil? Are you still with me?” Trilok prodded when there was no response from the other end.  

Nikhil sighed, letting go of his agony. “Yes,” he answered in a low voice.  

“Good. Then there’s something else we can do to resolve this matter. 

Nikhil was all ears. He hoped with all his heart that whatever it was, it would resolve this tragic situation fast. 

"We’ll need to work hard,” Trilok recommended, “try our best to get in maximum clients and business. As per the company’s current state, we’ll need to make at least twenty-five crores to recover.” 

Nikhil froze.  

“In three months,” Trilok clarified.  

“What!” Nikhil was stunned. “No way... that... that’s not possible.” 

“We don’t have a choice, Nikhil,” Trilok promptly answered. “It’s either that, or we’ll shut down, and all of you would have a tough time finding jobs during this recession.” 

Nikhil sighed, swallowing up the desperate need to protest. He wondered as to what on earth could have pushed an average, yet growing company like TriCorp into such heavy debts 

“Nikhil,” Trilok started in an assuring tone, “trust me on this. We can do it. Three months. In three months, if we’re doing this, we’re all set.” 

FLASHFORWARD – SIX MONTHS LATER. 

Nikhil’s pale, sweaty hands fought to hold onto the open letter. If it were not for the chair he was sitting on, he would have crumbled onto anything he could find.  

Across, Trilok sat smugly before a large, teak table and studied him. 

“Dear Mr. Nikhil Varma, 

Please be advised that owing to unforeseen circumstances, the company is forced to decrease your salary by a further 70% effective today, i.e. 15th September 2014. Starting 1st of this month, your salary will be INR 15,000/- instead of INR 50,000/-. Please sign and return a copy as a mark of your acceptance.  

Thanking you, 

For TriCorp, 

Trilok Chaurasia, 

Director.” 

When Nikhil was finally done, his head reeled. He couldn’t even understand half of what was written in the letter.  

Trilok seemed to be relishing his plight. “I’m sorry Nikhil,” he said with the least bit of remorse, “I understand what you must be going through right now. And trust me, this wasn’t something we wanted to do, but we have no choice.” 

Nikhil looked up with a blank face.  “You said that we’d turn around in three months,” he said in a defiant tone. “It’s past six months now, and I'd crossed all the targets you’d set. I brought in twenty-eight instead of twenty-five. So, what went wrong?" 

“I know Nikhil. I totally understand your concerns. But we had a slight miscalculation.” 

Miscalculation. The word perturbed him.  

“You see,” Trilok continued, “we might have been able to clear out existing debts. But these three months were enough for new debts to form and balloon out of control, like... we had to pay salaries, we had to clear bills, maintenance, and other extra unforeseen expenses. Truth is… things are… actually… much worse than before. And somehow… by hook or crook… we’ll need to bring in at least another two crores to recover.”  

Nikhil stared back; he knew there was more. 

“Individually,” Trilok confirmed. 

“How can I ask my team to do this? They’re already overworked and underpaid. This will knock them off their hooks,” said Nikhil in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.  

“That’s why I need your help,” said Trilok. “At this point, you’re my only hope. You’re the only one who can get the best out of your team. You’re the only one who can put this company back on its feet. Only you.” 

Nikhil leaned back, sighing in hopeless defeat. He was tired. For over six months, he’d toiled like a slave, hoping to restore his finances and his quality of living to what it was before. At least to what it was before. Now, it seemed like he was in a bigger pit than before.  

A hint of doubt pricked him. What if Trilok was lying? What if he was just being taken advantage of? What if he was purposely worked like a mule? What if they’d already made what they wanted to and Trilok wasn’t willing to share the profits with them? He wanted to see TriCorp’s books, make sure that Trilok was telling the truth, that they were still running into losses, that they were truly drowning in debts. But how could he? He wasn’t authorized for that. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was making a grave mistake.  

Trilok could see that Nikhil was thinking hard, and it made him a bit uneasy. “We can do it, Nikhil,” he encouraged, “we must, or else… TriCorp will shut down, and all of you will be on your own.”  

END OF FLASHBACK 

Tanuja hurried upstairs to their room with Nikhil’s breakfast. He was already out and half ready. Her face dropped as she saw the anger still raging within him. “I’ve got you breakfast,” she announced.  

"Not now,” he growled.  

“I’ll feed you!” She quickly tore up a roti, dipped it in the sabzi, and took it to his mouth, but he just snapped at her.  

“I told you, not now!” He backed off and picked up his laptop. “I don't have time, need to rush, I'll order something from there.” He hurried to the door and slammed it shut on his way out.  

Tanuja went back to fiddling with the food. It felt incredibly quiet after his exit. She wondered if things would ever be normal again. 

____________________