Payal
looked around her little cafe with a deep sense of satisfaction. It had not
been a good day; in fact, Govindan had sent his men in twice, asking for the
money. The customers had been unusually cranky and she had spilt coffee on
herself.
It
was not a beautiful cafe, the one Payal had. The occasional white plastic
chairs were an odd contrast to the polished black furniture. The black
furniture had been a gift from Mrs. Sharma, after she had gone weary of them.
The missing black furniture had been given to Govindan, who had liked the look
of the shiny straight backed metal chair. In its place stood the odd white
plastic chair, salvaged from the lane behind, where people dumped old
furniture. The walls were yellow and mouldy, for Payal did not have the
resources to give it a touch of paint. No kind patron had paint to spare, so
that was the way they would stay, unless God did exist and all her debts would
pay themselves naturally. The cafe was a mess of food stains and muddy shoes,
the after-effects of another busy day. The saving grace of Payal’s little cafe was
the food, and her secret ingredient.
Her
secret ingredient was a joke she shared with her regular patrons. The ones who
could see beyond the almost-in-ruins cafe, to enjoy the food. Just a pinch of my secret ingredient, Mr.
Das!
Yes
times were tough. They were bound to be if you haven’t studied beyond twelfth,
and did not have the educational qualifications companies were looking for.
Times were indeed tough. But; Payal
thought, reaching for a bucket of water and the mop, atleast she was happy.
* * *
Akash
was not a happy man. It had nothing to do with his job or his bosses. His wages
were wonderful, his boss was kind, the clients had not been too demanding today
and Tracy
Akash
knocked, and was welcomed in jovially. He walked inside and for the first time,
felt a little better. Shashi Gupta, the ferocious master of the entire Gupta Industries,
was no more than a second father to Akash. Wise, always ready with advice on
his lips and a twinkle in his eyes, Shashi Gupta had made his empire from the
very scratch. They had set well immediately, Akash’s incorrigibly truthful tongue
and Shashi’s incorrigibly truth-loving ears. Between them, there were no pretences.
Just two men who were friends.
“Akash” said the old man, not
looking up from his laptop, “I need you
to go to the Shah’s party tonight. We’re about to merge the deal, now will be a
nice time to butter them up. The part is couples only, you will need a partner.
Take Khushi with you, she needs to be there representing me”
Akash
personally had never liked Khushi Gupta. The woman had been born with a bottle of
beer in her hand, and music in here ears. When she was not out partying, she was
inside the board-rooms, bankrupting MNC ’s and proving her worth
as the next big thing in the business world. He respected her for her natural talent,
cut-throat deal making ability and sharp mind, but he disliked her for her vanity
and hey-man ways. Unlike her father, who would talk straight to you on the face,
Khushi Gupta was a letter-bomb waiting to be opened. Nobody would know when she
decided to burst upon you, until she actually did. And when she did burst upon
you, you would either die trying or would try dying.
“That deal, Akash, is gold” said Shashi, cutting
into Akash’s thoughts.
“All that glitters is not gold,
Sir”
“Akash my boy” said Shashi, suddenly smiling
a little too kindly “All that glitters is gold. You just need to find out which
one is the real thing, and which one is just gold plated”
A
classic example of the wisdom Shashi spouted. Akash nodded softly, and walked
out of the cabin.
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