“What things?”
“Don’t push it,” he warned.
“Is it related to the party and the election?”
“Yes.”
“Then why can’t I know?”
“Because it does not concern the Media Team.”
“Does Atharva know?”
“You will get nothing more out of me. Don’t push.”
“Then what’s the use? You are still behaving like a weirdo. I saw the rushes today. Why are you regressing in your style? How many times will we go over the same thing? Read your pauses. Read your commas and full stops.”
“Oversee it tomorrow.”
Her eyes widened — “Did you deliberately sabotage my hard-earned interviews?!”
“No.”
“You did.”
“It’s been a while since I sat down for a polished interview like this.”
“You give bites all the time.”
“They are different.”
She stared at him, and understood that he was right. Media bites were different from interviews. And he wasn’t above sabotaging parts of them to get her to come for the next round. He didn’t know why, but he had to have her come. Her snarling quietened his noise. He was selfish enough to understand and use that to get through this tumultuous time.
“I will drop in before they start,” she relented.
He nodded, stepping back and away from her face. She used both her hands and tucked her hair behind her ears, pushing it behind her shoulders. Samar noted the action, finding himself… wanting to see it again. A lock of her hair stuck out from behind her ear, and she tucked it back, jerking her chin to keep it there. And he kept staring like a creep.
“Anything else?”
He startled. “No.”
“Then don’t yell here. Go.”
He found a snort burst out of his nose. And her face, finally, after what seemed like centuries, relaxed into a smile. There was a single dimple in her left cheek. He had noted it years ago. It was even more apparent now. Or was it so because she was biting the inside of her cheek?
How could an anomaly in the facial structure of human anatomy look like it was the focal point of glow on her face?
“Why are you back here so early tonight?” He asked.
“Excuse me?”
“You are known to work into the night with your team.”
“Why are you back so early?” She countered. “You are known to not come home at all.”
“Careful. Question for a question is not going to work for long.”
“We’ll see when it stops working…” Her words trailed off, eyes rolling back.
