"Don't be stubborn, Jonas. You know pretty well that this beef you have with the biology department is not gonna end well for both sides, yet you insist on creating trouble for them," Malaya took a deep breath.
If I ask you, do you have a big ego? The answer may vary, but one thing I can assure you is that none of you would like any sort of insults thrown at you, and out of us, there would be many who would put every bit of their power to bounce back with another insult.
Jonas himself knew that provoking and denigrating the whole staff would not lead to any positive outcomes, yet he was a slave to his pride and dignity. At last, no matter how much he tried to suppress it, he could not let the feelings go.
"Malaya, do you remember when the chemicals corroded the pipes? Did you ever try to ask what was the reason?" Jonas asked in a heavy voice.
Malaya kept his silence and only waited for the answer.
"NO! You didn't, because your most eminent Prof Kumar who did not know chemistry bluntly accused me of mismanaging things and not being knowledgeable enough," Jonas's voice contained a sense of flame trying to burn the arguments of Malaya into ashes.
"Why didn't you tell him that he is no professor of chemistry, so he shouldn't make judgements without any solid proof, you just let him bash me on that day, and today I got the chance to return that insult thousand folds," Jonas let out a laugh mixed with fury and happiness.
Malaya stood in the office without any sort of retaliation, he knew that there existed no way which could make Jonas retract his stance. So he looked at Shekhar, and gestured for him to sit, while he fixed his tie.
"Shekhar, I have a question for you, mind answering it?" He asked as if these previous arguments meant nothing to him. Jonas scoffed and left the office, while Amita kept on standing.
"Go ahead," Shekhar replied.
"What sort of issues did you encounter that made you collect these years-old data sheets?" Malaya's tone was casual as if one friend was concerned about your problems. "And do not try to paint this whole situation as honesty of yours, you very well in heart know that frustration eventually built in your heart as it slowly took over you resulting in this mess."
One could see Malaya the man in power was able to stand on his ground very easily despite being cornered by so much evidence, he still found another way of persuading another man, that is the character required for a high position.
Breath!
Shekhar took a deep breath as he put forward another thing on the table. Malaya smiled and read it carefully for a minute then he uttered one word, "Done!"
"I don't think Prof Jonas would ever back down from accusing Prof Kumar," Shekhar still shook his head disapproving of the thoughts of Malaya.
"Jonas has gone mad in revenge, as long as we could provide enough benefits to him, I rather think he would let it go," Malaya put a straight face as he emitted the words.
"That can be done but sacrifices wouldn't be any less," Shekhar let out his final thoughts.
"I know," Malaya sighed in agreement as Shekhar grabbed his stuff and walked out of his office.
Tap! Tap!
In the room, Amita and Malaya remained in complete silence once again. Clouds covered the sky as Malaya searched for something on his computer while he stared at Amita.
"They both do not know, right?" Malaya's face was coloured with slight disgust as he looked at Amita's body. Amita shuddered in nervousness as she kept her head down, one could see some sort of guilt on her face.
"You're a dangerous one, aren't ya? Doing anything you can to gain a bit of praise or to get famous. You will even sacrifice the closest thing to you if it helps you to get your work done, a very generic sociopathic personality but destructive for close ones," Malaya kept talking while Amita's expression changed from guilt to cold face as she sat down.
Her figure once again exuded the maturity of a girl who has been through a lot. If one sees her first with her cheerful personality, one may mistake her for a mature sweet girl from the neighbourhood.
But now, she looked completely different with dead eyes and constant stare.
"I wonder, what's your stance gonna be on it, Head?" She ran her finger across her hair as she spoke. Her voice was clear and precise, there was no tinge of nervousness in her voice, no guilt nor the grief of a student who had lost her hard work of many years.
"That depends on what sort of result you want. You will have to consult Prof Kumar regarding it since you were the one who initiated it," Malaya spoke casually.
"I was enticed by Prof Kumar, because this college declared him as the most eminent researcher in the country, to get some benefits, I had to use some unusual methods but now all I get to know is that he is a poser?" There was a sort of anger in her voice as she poisoned out her thoughts.
"I guess karma is hitting you back then, after all, not everything goes as you planned, especially for highly ambitious people such as yourselves," Malaya chuckled.
Malaya knew that the sociopath girl before him would spill every piece of evidence before the court if something was not provided in return for her hard work over these years, it was fundamental nature of humans to spoil the things they could not get, but Amita may even go beyond normal lengths.
"You're a new rising genius of the country from tomorrow, is that enough to satisfy you? Along with that, I would provide you with a good amount of stipend," Malaya spoke with a tempting voice.
"Done," Amita did not hesitate for a second as she directly agreed.
"Good, now leave," Malaya sighed heavily as Amita stood up with confidence and slowly left the room.
"Kumar, Come to my office, right now!"
Malaya's voice was heard on the phone of a middle-aged man who was in a research lab.