The day progressed and by evening Radha forgot about the morning visitors.
Around seven in the evening she was about to take her usual ten minutes break when Tanya informed her that she has been "called for", along with two others.
It was the code for Mrs. Sahni's summons where some of the cafe staff would be called to the Sahni Residency to help Madam with her private parties. It was an occasional event, yet, Radha still loathed it.
What a lovely Monday, she mumbled.
Ankit gave a light tap on her shoulder.
"Come on Mam, they have hot guys and hot chics in there... cheer up.... let's go."
"LOOSER", Radha gave him a playful smack as they headed for the Sahnis with an equally annoyed looking Shrestha trailing behind and grumbling inaudibly.
**************
Radha and Shrestha smiled, nodded and served the food and beverages while Ankit rushed from guest to guest looking after small tit bits.
Usually such parties continued till late night and dinner came free for the serving Cafe people. But the real cherry in the pie was the permission to come to the Cafe late the next morning. And yeah, Mrs Sahni's tips were never meagre. But even with so much generosity nobody wanted to serve the Sahnis. They were arrogant and mean..
But then again, who doesn't need a job!!!
Half and hour into the party and Ms. Sahni ordered Radha to take some refreshment upstairs where Kush was busy studying. He was the sole exception in the family who was persuing a medical degree and aimed at serving poor villagers. Definitely nobody in the elite circle cared much about him. But Radha and her likes appreciated his humbleness and intelligence. He was one exceptional character in the pseudo world, meeting whom lifted the spirit of the lesser mortals like Radha. He was a hero for the Cafe Staff. Like always, she happily obliged, expecting a few pleasant minutes with Kush.
He inspired Radha, always.
But today was simply an abnormal day.
Just as she stepped out of the serving area and turned for the hall exit, she bumped against someone making fries, sauce and soft drinks fly everywhere. The jug of orange juice splashed on Radha herself and she tripped backward landing on her back.
Damn...
She cursed mentally.
Mrs. Sahni is going to eat her alive.
High class parties are epitome of classiness and such clumsiness is unforgivable.
Sound of shattering glass gave a halt to the party and all eyes now rested on her pathetic being.
Radha was petrified.
Mercy is a scarce commodity and Radha badly needed the job.
And to make things rosier her presence of mind decided to take a break right at that moment.
Clumsily she pulled herself up to find all pairs of eyes locked on her with disgust.
All..... except one.
An amused pair of eye, darker than pitch, crafted on the face that nobody will forget if seen once. The face that she wanted to smack in the morning.
That rude arrogant prick from The Cafe.
And then the face approached her way too fast and even before she could realize she felt a coat being draped on her orange juice soaked transparent white shirt, now clinging to her in a not so appropriate way.
"YOU MEAN SCHEMING BITCH...."
Mrs. Sahni started screaming all of a sudden.
Radha knew some cursing was coming but she was really not expecting this!!!!
Scheming!!!! Bitch!!!!
What the...
"WHO THE HELL PAID YOU TO SPOIL MY PARTY AND CREATE SUCH AN OBSCENE SCENE TO ATTRACT MALE ATTENTION? THIS IS MY SON'S HOMECOMING CELEBRATION AND EVERYONE WHO MATTERS IS PRESENT HERE. HAD IT BEEN SOME ROOKIE, I WOULD HAVE KNOWN ITS AN HONEST MISTAKE. BUT YOU RADHA, YOU ARE THE BEST OF 'THE CAFE' AND I REFUSE TO BELIEVE ITS A MISTAKE.
I KNEW YOU WERE SABOTAGING.
SPEAAAAAAAK NOOOOOOOW."
Radha was trembling in fear and anger. Mrs. Sahni was a typical spoilt and rich woman but who knew she would stoop this low to portray this accident as a scheme against the Sahnis !!!
She heard rumours that recently the Sahnis were going through some financial setback but who knew this woman would use her as a scapegoat !!! How could a lowly employee like her cause any damage to the mighty Sahnis?
But her experience told her this is where she accepts her ill luck and walk away with the blame. Just that, today she was in no mood to play the part.
Just as she weighed in her mind the pros and cons of answering back , she felt a tight smack across her cheeks.
PAAAAAAAAAC.
For a moment everything went blank and then she focused on the young woman in her front.
She had completely forgotten Reet Sahni, the equally spoilt daughter who was but a spitting replica of her mother.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU LEECH.
AS IF SABOTAGING WAS NOT ENOUGH, NOW YOU ARE CLINGING TO OUR HONORABLE GUEST!!!
YOU.... TWO TIMER.... INFORMER FOR THE SENS....."
Radha froze.
Nobody knew she worked for the Sens once upon a time. But that was something to consider later. Right now the baby bitch was barking for standing close to the arrogant prick.
So you want war.... fine, I will give you one, Radha thought bitterly.
She took a quick glance at the man beside her and suddenly she remembered how smoothly he got his job done in the morning .Labh mentioned something about 'being a successful businessman' and Miss Greedy Sahni junior bitch is now barking at her for the prick defending her honour. Superb. No doubt this guy was not to friendly earlier. He simply didn't like Labh... rather he didnt like the Sahnis.
The enemy of her enemy suddenly seemed like a friend. And Radha decided to not to give up her honour stooping in front of the pathetic Sahni family.
Some people just deserve rudeness, and the Sahnis deserve it more than the others. The prick was right in the morning, he was righteous in being rude to Labh.
A wave of warmth and courage washed over her as a sudden realization hit her. She has been behaving like a doormat since she lost her last job. Yet, she was about to lose this job also and that too for no good reason. If this calamity was happening, she must have been too polite to make people believe that she can be mistreated and antagonized. Once labelled a traitor, she will always be called one. So why not answer back?
The fuming Mr. Sahni was well within her visual periphery. Radha could clearly see that the man believed that she was leaking his business secrets to the Sens. In that case, this job is already history. She was already a goner.
Right then, she felt a small encouraging pressure on her shoulder where the prick's right hand was still resting.
And she felt ready to smack Reet back.
"How dare you touch me Miss Sahni? If you think I am leeching around, fine.... But you know what, guys let such women leech around who interests them. Can't you see he is not interested in you?"
Radha remembered Labh addressing the man as Rathore. A wicked idea crossed her mind as her eyes crossed over a silent Labh standing in the crowd.
Huh!!! And in the morning I was so flattered by this rascal....
With a fresh zest of anger, Radha continued,
" Even that brother of yours, Labh, was flattering me this morning with his endless compliments and was leeching around me. See, even your own brother thinks I am attractive and I have the most beautiful smile that he has ever seen. Rathore Sir here is just being decent and chivalrous towards me and I am happy that atleast one true man is present under this roof.The rest doesn't even know how to treat a woman."
Letting out her inner voice felt amazing and Radha felt much better after the come back.
Radha's sentence hit the Sahni ladies in the exact way she wanted to.
"YOU ..... YOU.... ", Reet Sahni just lost her last strand of sanity.
"YOU KNOW HIS NAME? "
As if reacting to her words, Rathore's hand wrapped around Radha protectively. Radha could see Mr. Sahni's face turning red with anger. But she simply didn't care.
"Ooooouuuut.....Never ever show me your face.
Your contract is terminated....", finally Sahni found his voice.
"My pleasure Sir", huffed Radha.
Right at the moment Rathore took her hand, curtly nodded to the people and dragged her out.
"Head high, eyes up, chin set. Glare at them... Good... just keep on holding that expression ", he whispered as he protectively lead Radha out.
She obliged and walked out with Rathore, mastering grace and dignity she never knew she could achieve.
Once outside, Rathore immediately let go off her shoulder.
"Lady I am sorry for holding you so close. But I am known for doing what is needed to be done."
Radha smiled mentally.
What a man....
"Thank you Sir. I am Radha."
Rathore nodded in acknowledgement.
"Well Radha... the pleasure is all mine. You have a wild spirit. I quite like it. So, will you be okay going back alone or I need to continue being chivalrous?"
" Please dont bother yourself Sir, I am fine. But can I have your business card? I need to return this." Radha pointed to the oversized coat now hanging on her lean structure.
He handed her his card and tapped on the first address.
"Drop in tomorrow. I guess someone just lost a job."
Radha couldn't believe she was this lucky. From Reet Sahni's reaction she knew this man is powerful. Good that she caught his eyes. She wanted to talk to him a bit more but even before she could blink properly, he turned and left.
There goes my chance to impress the prick, she thought.
She looked at the card.
" R C Madhav" it read.
Madhav... wow.....she liked the name.
Radha suddenly felt light and happy. She felt hopeful and positive about tomorrow.
Madhav.... Madhav... Rahore... Rathore Madhav... Rathore C.... why does this ring a bell.... ding ding.....
She muttered to herself as she started for home. But right then, something started happening within her head....
She felt disoriented and confused as abrupt images started clouding her vision...She couldn't even understand what she was seeing... but she was not in control of the bizarre scenes playing in front of her eyes....
One moment she felt she was standing in a big hall in a poorly clad dress where men were humiliating her and the next moment she could hear Rathore's rich voice, "Will you marry me?" Was it Kiriti Sen hugging her? Or was she bathing in blood like a mad women?
The visions were fast and jumbled up and Radha felt her world swirling....
The last thing she heard before fainting was screeching of tires...
And then, everything went dark.