“Bastard! You ass hole you have stolen the guy I was dating,” she yelled at me while I was talking to Srinath at my office canteen. All the people were staring at me. Both Srinath and I were perplexed as to why she was yelling and abusing me.
“What happened Priya?” I asked her calmly.
“Don’t act innocent as if you don’t know the reason.”
“Why would I ask you if I was aware of the reason?”
“Okay, tell me what you are doing with Srinath now, when you know that I am dating him.”
“He is a good friend of mine, and we are here for some discussion.”
“Oh! Is it?” she looked at me cunningly. “Then what about yesterday evening?”
“He wanted to buy some clothes and so we went out,” I said. “But how do you know that we were together last evening? This means that you are keeping eye on us. You know for this I can throw you behind the bars. Better stop bothering me or Srinath and leave from here,” I told her angrily.
After this rebuke, she left the canteen, blocked us on facebook and on whatsapp, ended all contact with me and Srinath. And for every single thing Priya and I started communicating via email or through our colleagues as we were in the same team.
Srinath was working in my office but in a different team and floor. The day I saw him I started following him and grabbed every opportunity to look at him. He was 6 feet tall, with average build and was dusky in complexion. He was working as a software support executive and was very down to earth and humble. Slowly as the days passed, he also started noticing me.
One fine Monday morning, almost two weeks later, I got a friend request from Srinath on Facebook. I felt elated thinking he was showing an interest in me and accepted his friend request.
The next morning as I was working at my desk, I received a message on Skype from Srinath.
“Hey”
“Hi”
“R u in today?”
“Yes”
“I wanna meet you today. Can we?”
I had goosebumps all over, even as I felt scared thinking why he wanted to meet me suddenly. However I accepted his request to meet at 11 am.
He was already waiting for me at a table at far right end of canteen when I went there.
“Hey!”
“Hello”
“Come sit,” he said, “how are you?”
“I am good and how about you?”
“I am good… Thanks.”
“Thanks for what?”
“For accepting my friend request and for accepting my meeting invite,” he said. “Would you like to have some tea?”
“A coffee will work better.”
“Wait here, let me bring the order for us.”
He came back with two steel glasses – coffee for me and tea for himself. He sat in front of me and looked at me and then began to speak.
“Actually I noticed you staring at me several times. Can I ask you why?”
“I also have noticed the same so can I ask you the same?”
“That’s not the answer to my question.”
“Yes I look at you because I have a reason. But I wanted to know your reason first.”
“Yes I do so, because I like you and want you in my life,” he said gathering a lot of courage and enthusiasm. “Now your reason please.”
“I too want the same.”
The proposal and acceptance had been done. It was nothing but love at first sight and we started dating each other. He likes me a lot and loves me a lot and I share the same feelings for him. A couple of weeks later, Priya came to know that Srinath had been lying to her and had started avoiding her. Before he met me he used to go out with her, but he had suddenly stopped. And finally the dooms day came, when the volcano inside her erupted in canteen. But her anger didn’t create any bitterness among us, it only damaged her image in front of Srinath and other people present in canteen at that moment.
After her tantrums, we went to our floors. I neglected all that had happened in canteen and attempted to explain her my situation. But she was not ready to listen. As we worked on the same floor I did not want to create a scene and came back to my desk. After a few days I received an email from HR asking me to come to the meeting room. Priya, Srinath and his team lead too were present. That email was escalated by Srinath, who had lodged a complaint against Priya. She was booked under misbehavior, disrespecting individual, using abusive language, spying and a few more charges. She was asked to resign immediately.