“No,” Atharva asserted. “They are for our dirtiest work. They don’t come in public eye.”
“They won’t,” Samar debated. “I will make sure they…”
“No.” Atharva’s terse command made him snap his mouth shut. His body snapped too, reflex ingrained from old days. Atharva stood to his feet — “Extra security, fine. Nothing more. Let’s move.”
Without a second glance, Atharva opened the door and walked out of the conference room, the noises in the headquarters loud and cheery.
“What happened between you two?” Qureshi asked.
“Usual, nothing worth worrying about.”
“Adil and Atharva have fought, you and Atharva have never been like this.”
Samar produced a smile — “There’s a first time for everything.”
————————————————————
Just when Samar thought Atharva was returning to normal, he went crazy all over again. The reason?
Samar gnashed his teeth, looking at him escaping the crowd at Lal Chowk. An entire roadshow, theirfinalroadshow was culminating, Sufiyaan Sheikh had cut their path and made a scene, and Atharva was sneakily pulling away, having whispered something to Amaal. Samar followed him with his eyes as he slipped out, went behind a shop, and came out wearing a helmet. And then he disappeared. It was disguise in plain sight, in a crowd this big and charged. Anything could happen.
Samar stepped close to Amaal and bent his head to her ear. “Where did he go?”
“To find Iram.”
Fucking Iram. Always Iram.
“Why?”
Amaal glanced at him, smiling at the KDP members around as they celebrated right there in the middle of the street, dancing as Sufiyaan Sheikh’s road show passed. Her mouth rose to him and he turned and bent his ear.
“That’s what men do,” she said.
He scowled at her.
“That’s what men in love do,” she reiterated. Samar pulled away, seeing her face angry but flushed in the grand gesture she thought Atharva had pulled by running after Iram. Granted, it was natural for Iram to get scared of Sufiyaan after what he had done to her. Samar did not expect anything else. But Atharva had a roadshow to finish!
“He will be back in a while!” Amaal yelled into his ear over the noise.
“Great.” He sniped.
“Why are you snapping at me?!”
“I…” he startled, turning his eyes down to her. “I am not snapping at you.”
“Try harder!”
“Don’t yell, I can hear you!”
“You are yelling now!”
He shut his eyes, unable to hold onto his temper. He didn’t want to aim his firing at Amaal.
Samar dipped his mouth to her ear. “I am not yelling at you,” he whispered. A shove hit his back and his mouth touched the shell of her ear, his nose getting that whiff of lilies that he had been trying to avoid. Her hair. Samar knew he had to pull back in a millisecond. His nostrils flared, inhaling it all before pulling back — “Sorry.”
He widened his stance and held himself tighter, absorbing the shoves before they reached her. But Amaal turned away, her back rigid. And he realised what she must see when he turned his back on her, every single time.
————————————————————
