Page 21 of Can This Be Love?

‘Fine, then close your eyes and try to sleep,’ he said. I obediently followed instructions.

In five minutes, with the phone stuck to my ear, I was fast asleep, sleeping a dreamless sleep.

9

2 February 2013, 1.00 a.m.

I don’t mean to sound like a teenager who owns a pink phone and a purple bunny ear-cover, but my birthday is not far away!

Yay!

7 February 2013, 2.00 p.m.

‘Purva, darling,’ I crooned into the phone as P.P. Padma glared at me.

‘I know your birthday is round the corner,’ said Purva, laughing loudly.

‘Bye, then,’ I said. My job was done.

2.30 p.m.

That P.P. Padma hates me is beyond any doubt. How much she hates me, however, is worthy of being discussed in a panel chaired by the respected Arnab Goswami.

The nation needs an answer!

2.31 p.m.

I was lazily nibbling a piece of chocolate when Mr Vijaywada popped over for a chat. Before he sat down, I quickly alt-tabbed the Facebook page that I had been mulling over for the last two hours.

‘Kasturi,’ he said loudly, obviously conscious of my deafness.

‘Mr Vijaywada,’ I said politely, hurriedly gulping down the piece of chocolate.

‘Ear okay today?’ he asked gently.

I waited to see if a spasm of guilt would rack my soul. When nothing happened, I smiled even more widely. ‘No, sir,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘Today is quite bad. Please be a little loud.’

‘Oh,’ said Mr Vijaywada, his face falling. ‘I MEAN OKAY,’ he said, loud enough for people in Chennai to hear. I giggled mentally, wondering when this would ever stop being funny. I looked up at him with the most angelic smile that I could muster. P.P. Padma glared at me.

‘I have a proposition for you, Kasturi,’ continued Mr Vijaywada, in a loud voice.

‘Yes Sir?’

‘How about heading strategy for Vijaywada & Sons?’ he said, smiling widely.

Ha. Ha.

‘At my current salary? No Sir,’ I said, returning his smile. I wondered if I should add some nonsense about needing money for ear surgery, but decided to let it go.

‘Then we will increase it!’ said Vijaywada, smiling benignly.

I looked at P.P. Padma who was typing furiously, her ears red. Could this get any better?

The ears. Now is a good time to tell you the story of how I came to be deaf.

It all started in the first week I joined Vijaywada & Sons. I had only recently broken up with Rajeev and that fateful day, when Vijaywada repeatedly called out to me, I was sitting at this very desk, bawling my eyes out, unable to get over what Rajeev had done to me. Pitiful and pathetic, I was in no position to go speak to Vijaywada. Or anyone else on the planet. When Vijaywada marched to my work station, angry, he stopped short when he saw a red-eyed, red-nosed girl dabbing at her eyes.

‘Oh my gawd,’ he said, rolling the ‘god’. ‘What is wrong, bachche?’

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