The Polki Affair

Episode 3

As she entered the office, she realised that her wish had not been granted. The furious man was hot on her heels. Oh Goddess, please save me from this monster, thought Saraswati bitterly.

She went over to stand behind the manager’s desk and gently motioned for Rudra to take a seat. He ignored her and remained smugly standing in front of the table. This was going to be quite challenging!

Clearing her throat, Saraswati tried to placate his anger, “I…I would like to apologise for what happened earlier. I am very sorry that I wasn’t looking where I was going and bumped into you. Please forgive me.”

No answer. Instead, Rudra just continued glaring at her. It was a cold, hard stare which sent a shiver down her spine. Ignoring the gnawing fear that the man was arousing in her, she decided to be optimistic. Well, at least he wasn’t shouting any more, thought Saraswati hopefully.

She went on, “I also want to thank you for saving me from falling. I know that it would have been a very different story without your help.”

She smiled at him warmly to further express her gratitude towards him. She opened her mouth again and was about to ask him how she could be of assistance. Before the words could come out of her mouth, Rudra harshly interjected, “Stop wasting my time. I am not here for a chit-chat. Where is your boss?!”

Saraswati swallowed hard. “He….he….he…” she stammered before continuing, “He has gone out of town, sir. He had an emergency to take care of and will be back after a few days but I….”

“Bull dust!”

Rudra’s ruthless voice unnerved Saraswati even more, in spite of the fact that she was telling him the truth. Mr Singh had indeed gone back to his village to visit his father who was seriously ill.

She was now concerned that all the other customers in the store could hear Mr Rathore’s loud shouting hence she took a few tentative steps to the door and quietly closed it. When she turned around, she found the man staring at her. She had to be brave, she told herself as she moved away from the door.

“May you please tell me what the problem is so that I can help?” she asked, sounding so much calmer than she actually felt.

Rudra studied the woman who had come to stand before him more closely. She looked quite young, most probably in her early twenties.

Her simple, colourful salwar kameez suit covered her slender, delicate form. The matching dupatta scarf, worn across her chest and over her shoulders only served to accentuate her slender form. And that long, thick hair; it reached almost to her waist. She was not a very tall woman by any standards, in fact, she was quite petite, and so her dark locks seemed even longer.

He missed nothing. His gaze lazily raked her entire body. His eyes finally settled on her face. His eyes were first drawn to the shiny nose stud which adorned the left side of her small, button nose. It looked very pretty sitting there. The matching, small shiny bindi she had on her forehead drew his sight to those big, brown eyes. They were so huge and brightened up her face even more. He could also see how that delicate, oval face was so nervous right now, almost frightened, and how much she was trying very hard not to show it.

He found this very amusing. Not many people he knew would try so hard to show such courage in front of him, especially when he was this infuriated!

Slowly, Rudra took out a long and narrow black velvet jewellery box from his pocket and thrust it at her. Saraswati fumbled to open it.

Inside was an intricately designed two line Jadau set Kundan necklace. This delicate piece of jewellery took Saraswati’s breath away. The exquisite cut and set of the emeralds and rubies that adorned it was remarkable. The 24 carat gold in the necklace sparkled at her.

“I clearly told Mr Singh that I wanted this to be a Polki necklace with alternate rose and white diamonds. Do you see any diamonds in this?!” Rudra sarcastically implored her.

“I am very sorry for this error, sir. I would like to assure you that that mistake will not be repeated. Just give me a few days and….”

“I want it tomorrow!” Rudra interrupted.

Saraswati sighed and looked earnestly at the unhappy client standing before her, “Mr Rathore, my apologies but our craftsmen cannot produce such an intricately designed Polki necklace overnight. The earliest I can promise to have it ready is by Wednesday next week. I am very sorry for this inconvenience but we will do our level best to have it ready by then,” she said in a polite but firm tone. She had to be honest with him now to avoid any misunderstanding later.

Rudra looked at her with renewed interest. She was good. He had to give her that. She seemed to know how to do her job well but, he had to be sure. He was not going to go through this escapade again.

“What guarantee do I have that you won’t screw up this time?” he enquired in a sombre voice.

“You have my word, sir….” Saraswati had begun before she was interrupted.

Amused, Rudra’s eyebrows arched before asking, “What if your word isn’t good enough?” Then, taking a step closer to her, “Why should I take your word for it? Will you put your job on the line for this?”

He had come to stand dangerously close to her. She could feel his breath on her face. His deep, dark eyes had a glint of mischief in them. His lips curled in amusement. Saraswati knew that she was in trouble. She stepped back quickly. He held her gaze and she could not look away.

“I asked you a question and I want an answer,” stated Rudra in a low, deep and almost husky voice.

Saraswati held her breath. What game was he now playing? Her heart was racing and she could not think straight. She knew that using her job to bet against this man would be a huge mistake. She quickly averted her gaze and inhaled deeply. Against her better judgement, she whispered, “Yes….yes sir, I….I’m willing to use my job as a guarantee that you will receive your order on Wednesday.”

A humourless, cynical smile spread across Rudra’s lips. He loved to gamble but more than that he loved to win. This woman had better start praying to the gods to have those craftsmen finish the necklace on time, he thought. He really didn’t care. Either way, he was certain of a win.

Suddenly, he walked towards her. Startled, Saraswati moved, almost jumped, to the side. Her body trembled in fear. However, Rudra passed her and headed towards the door. Saraswati cursed him inwardly. He had noticed how unsettled she had become and he was relishing this.

When he opened the door, Rudra paused and turned back to look at her. He spent quite some time gazing at her, studying her. Saraswati hated this condescending attitude of his. She wished he would just leave and not continue playing these mind games with her. He seemed to have sensed this because, right then, he stated matter-of-factly, “You will deliver the necklace to me at my office on Wednesday.” With that he was gone, leaving the door banging shut behind him.

Saraswati was left in utter shock. No way, she was not going anywhere near Mr Rathore’s office-they had a messenger for that! she thought adamantly.