Ajabdeh Punwar sat behind a pile of papers looking no less than a mess. Her hair was done up in a bun and her light pink shirt was not ironed due to lack of time. To make matters worse she had spilt coffee on it early in the morning, in a meeting. Now she had a load of paperwork to be approved, the worst part of her job, making budgets for
some of the future projects and approving the bills for some of the finished ones. Rukaiya insisted she did this month as she had been piled with the same month after month. Ajabdeh sat down with her palms on her head looking lost when the intercom phone rang.
“Ma’am Mr Singh is here for his appointment.”
Ajabdeh sprang up on her chair. She had totally forgotten about the meeting. Looking around she was quick to say “Make him sit in the lounge please, I need a few minutes.”
She rang the bell and with the help of one of the assisting staff cleaned the pile away from her desk making it look presentable. She took out the comb from her purse and brushed the front of her hair on her powdering mirror, puffed her cheeks with some powder and added a little lip colour. High society clients came with additional dramas
of looking presentable. She took a deep breath and looked around then rang her intercom again. “Let Mr Singh in.”
Pratap entered the chambers he was led to and saw a familiar face sitting behind a neatly made desk, as she looked up and stood up to shake his hand.
“Welcome to our office, Mr Singh. But you needn’t have come over. I could have ...”
“No, it's okay, I wanted to come to see your office once anyway.” He smiled. “Jalal said we should hire your interior designer for our space too.”
Ajabdeh nodded “What should I offer you? Tea or coffee?” She asked.
“Umm... tea sounds nice. Coffee didn’t seem to have a good day today.” He smiled indicating at her blouse. Ajabdeh felt awkward.
“So you have the guest list ready?” Pratap liked her attitude. No small talk or buttering suited her and she was straight to work without wasting any time.
“Yes.” He held out a file and Ajabdeh smiled.
“You like to go old school. Most of our clients prefer to do this over emails.”
“My mother says human interaction is the most important part of any contract, be it personal or professional. So I like to keep up with my appearances wherever possible. Even the weddings.”
“Ah.” Ajabdeh nodded. “Well, she is right. The majority of miscommunications happen due to the absence of in-person conversations. Are you allergic to house parties as much as weddings?”
“I am afraid so.”He shrugged “But you gotta do what you got to do.”
Ajabdeh frowned at the guest list. It had her mother’s name on it. She looked up at him with questioning eyes. No clients invited the planner’s family. They handed out invitations to the planner out of courtesy and wished that they stayed behind the scenes as much as possible. She was well aware of it. Pratap looked over to where her fingers lingered and shrugged.
“My mother has been quite excited to know you are her friend’s daughter. She insisted.”
“But I already told her my mother is not well and...” Pratap nodded. “She will like you to come with your sister.”
“Look, Mr Singh.” Ajabdeh closed the files and looked up at him.
“It’s Pratap.”
“I keep my professional life very professional and I don’t want Heer to be a part of it. As much as I appreciate Mrs Singh’s invitation I have to decline it so it is better you tell her before she writes an invite. My sister and I will not come as invitees. This is my job. I will like to keep it at that.”
“You are too serious over the slightest of details, you know that?” Pratap said, a little taken aback by her speech.
“Comes with the experience I suppose.” Ajabdeh smiled faintly.
“Don’t worry I will tell her.” He nodded. “Is there anything else you need?”
“Well, approval on the Menu as soon as possible. The theme has been approved.” Pratap nodded. His tea had arrived and he sipped on it while Ajabdeh went through the rest of the list. Once she was done and kept the file aside he spoke.
“Can I ask you something about what I heard from my mother?” Ajabdeh frowned at his question. Were the Sisodiyas gossiping about her? She nodded.
“She said you are from the Punwar family of Bijoliya.” Pratap waited for her nod. “Then why are you...”
“Here?” She asked putting down her cup noiselessly on the saucer.
“Well, I suppose this is no big secret. You could ask Jalal. He knows it. My Kakasa had refused to welcome us as soon as our grandparents passed away. They are planning on selling the estate now. I saw it all last when I was ten.”
“So you won’t get a share of what is rightfully yours?” Pratap asked with a frown. “That money can help you. This is injustice.”
“It is not about the money.” Ajabdeh shook her head. “It is more than that.” Pratap nodded. “Sorry if that was too personal.”
“No, it’s okay.” Ajabdeh nodded and went back to her files. Pratap took it as her sign and stood up to leave. She escorted him to the elevator and as the door closed Pratap managed to say “See you at the party.”
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