Page 109 of A King's Oath

“Are you crazy? There’s a whole life, Ava. Tell me you just made this up to make me feel bad. Please tell me this is your idea of tormenting me.”

“No, Samarth.”

She collected his plates and walked to the kitchen.

“This can’t happen! What are your parents saying?” He followed her.

“Go live your life?” She laughed. “Relax.”

“Ava, I am serious.”

She set the plates in the sink and grabbed the dish soap.

“Ava,” he grabbed her wrist. Her tiny wrist in his big hand. And then his tall frame loomed over her, his sweaty body coming close to her.

“Don’t do this to me.”

“I am not doing anything to you, Samarth.”

“Then don't do thisforme.”

“I have already done it.”

“Since when?”

“Since we were 15.”

20. Dream-Dream

Fridays at Van Cleef & Arpels were busier than Mondays. The entire team except Marketing Ops would shut for the weekend. This meant, collaterals for digital for the weekend had to be handed over, reviewed and approved by five different stakeholders. Avantika tried her best to obtain approvals from all but was done with a capital D by the time the clock struck 7 and the loop of trail mails showed no signs of stopping.

Ivor and his team had no such qualms though. They were lazing around as if this was any other day. Not the weekend.

“Relax. If you twist your back a little more you’ll burst, Ave,” he commented from his perch on his reclined chair, feet up on his desk, hands behind his head.

“Why can’t they stop?!!”

“They are working remotely. They have to prove that they work.”

“And they do it like this? By arguing over a comma’s font size?”

Ivor nodded, grinning. He could go home. All he had to do was edit the copy on his phone on the go. She would have to carry her iPad and Pencil everywhere until these approvals came through. And where would she go with those?

All her dreams of enjoying some downtime at sunset went for a toss. She had big plans. Relaxing with a walk down a park followed by a solo dinner at an Indian restaurant while people-watching, grocery shopping Saturday morning, meeting up thesebunch of mixed breeds of French, British, Chinese and Indian coworkers for dinner and drinks Saturday evening and then check out some event to attend on Sunday night.

But what did they say about the best-laid plans of mice and men?

Her phone buzzed. Avantika glanced at it, drained to the point that she did not want to even lift her hand to unlock the screen. She leaned instead, only marginally, to let her face do the job.

SAMARTH

How’s your Friday evening going?

Avantika sat up.

“It’s your first week and seizures already?” Ivor laughed. She ignored him. She reached for her phone and swiped up the screen.

AVANTIKA

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