Chapter
1
Priya
held her cell phone in her left hand and the steaming cup of tea in the other
hand . The strap of her leather bag slipped and fell in the crook of her right
elbow. Precariously she turned a bit sideways and pushed open the glass door of
the main lobby of the hotel with her body and as soon as she stepped inside ,
she crashed with someone who was hurrying from the other end towards the
interview room.
“What
the hell ! “ , She looked at horror at her off-white kurti stained with the
tea.
“Oh
! I am so sorry ! “ the man picked up
her cell phone and bag . “I hope you are fine.
The tea was hot .. “
For
a split second Priya could not fathom what had happened. And then her famous
anger surfaced. She looked squarely at the person , her face flushed with anger
.
“Do
you know what you have done just now ? You have spoiled my best Kurti - the only one which I have, for formal
interviews. I have been waiting for more than an hour for the interview to be
held there, in that room, praying to God that I get this Job. You have spoiled that opportunity , which I
know will never come again ! Do you understand
that ? “ She blurted out in one breath.
The
person stood there looking at her, not knowing what to say. Priya looked at
him. He was tall and well built, in his early thirties. The dark grey suit
complemented his dusky complexion. His eyes were sharp and intelligent. His
hair was wavy but it was kept in place with gel. His legs looked strong as the
thigh muscles strained from his well fitted suit. He had a file in his neatly
manicured hand. A diamond ring flashed on his finger
Just
as he started saying something, Priya started again.
“You
seem to be born with a silver, if not golden spoon in your mouth. The expensive
suit, tie , French perfume and all. What will you understand about missing an
opportunity ? For you , this is just one of the many interviews that you saunter
into, right ? I don’t have that luxury. For me, getting this job is almost a
matter of life and death “. Priya’s eyes
smarted with unshed tears. She was very upset. Before the person could say
anything , Priya snatched her cell phone and bag from his hands and rushed
towards the ladies rest room. She had to do something to recover the situation.
Inside
the rest room, Priya put a bit of water on the tea stain on her kurta so that
she could wash it later. She took out her compact face powder and put a bit on
the stains. She had read somewhere that if you put powder on stains, it is
easier to remove the blotch. She looked at herself in the mirror and grimaced.
She looked like a wreck. She took her black and off-white dupatta and adjusted
it such that it could hide the tea stains. She combed her ruffled hair,
powdered her angry red nose and flushed cheeks and stepped out.
Priya
could not afford to miss the interview.
She was desperately in need of this job. She took a deep breath and
strode confidently with her awkwardly pinned dupatta and sat on the seat where
the other candidates were waiting for the interview.
She
closed her eyes. The same images started flitting across her senses. “Life and
Death “ , she thought … it has become a figurative part of speech. But only she
knew what exactly life and death implied …
**
