She was hurt and angry. Why couldn’t he understand that she had a job to do and her work came first, no matter what! She had faced a lot of trials in her life and her perseverance had just recently paid off.
After her brother’s death, she had been so lost. A twelve-year-old growing up in a slum isn’t easy. Every male around thought they had a chance with her. They would either pass lewd comments or bully her or try to be compassionate only to want to get into her pants.
Thanks to her brother’s friend Geeta tai (in the local language of western India, tai is used to address elder sister) she was introduced to a Non-Government Organisation (NGO- a charity) that worked for women and children. She had enrolled herself in their ‘earn while you learn' program where the elder students provided babysitting services to the younger ones for a fee.
It wasn't full-time work and it helped save money. With Geeta Tai'
Rose released Andy’s hand, held the bottle of water with both hands and drank it in quick gulps. When she rested the bottle on the table, her dilated eyes spoke about the turmoil she was living again, while sharing this story. Anya was watching Andy. His face looked impassive and his jaw was clenched. A typical ‘angry Andy’ sign. “Thank you, madam,”Rose's soft voice brought Anya’s attention back to her. Anya waved her hand. “That’s alright. Will you be able to talk?” Rose nodded and continued, “The man Abbas, was handsome. About 30 years old at that time. He had seen me in the fields. Although I wore my hijab, today I wonder how he had seen me. But at that time I was young and naive. Full of dreams. I wanted to do something for myself and my family. Abbas was working in Mumbai. He wore expensive clothes. He had style! His sparkling watch and stylish sunglasses reeked of money. He gave 25000 takas (Bangladesh currency) to my parents for marrying
But Ma’am she has been abused and cheated.” Anya protested. She wasn’t planning to give in without a fight. After all, she had promised Rose that she would help. A call from her Commissioner of Police would not deter her from doing the right thing.“You are a fucking smart cop. Figure something out. But don’t let that reach me! I will let the minister know that you are going to visit.” She disconnected.Anya looked at the dead screen of her phone. What was she supposed to do which would be legal and still get Rose out of the hell that she was living in? Anya couldn’t fail. Her word to Rose and Andy meant everything to her right now.She looked at Rose. The girl’s eyes were teary as she could feel Anya’s dilemma. No one had heard what the Commissioner had spoken on the phone but the atmosphere in the room had changed considerably.Anya looked at Roshni and spoke <Bengali>, “Amra feshe ge
Anya and Eknath got Roshni’s tickets done. They helped her get to the train. Anya gave her the needed contact details. Eknath joined them at the railway station. Andy was quiet through the entire exchange. Just being around Anya made him happy and she had been pretty clear that he was supposed to speak only when asked to.He was frustrated with Anya’s high handed approach to him but remained silent. Before getting on the train Roshni hugged Anya and then Andy to say thank you. By Sunday evening their transaction was complete and Anya had asked Eknath to leave.Finally, they were both together.Anya asked Andy, “are you up for a coffee?”“Oh! So I am allowed to speak now?” His face looked amused.
Her heart had warmed up when Andy called her honey. She wasn’t sure if she should object. It felt good so she smiled to herself and took the wine glass that he had offered. Her body was reacting to his. She didn’t want to hop into his arms yet. To avoid losing control she sat on the sofa next to the coffee table.His smirk was also alluring although she felt a tiny bit of irritation that he knew about her discomfort. Her phone chimed. She was shocked to see a message indicating a deposit of 100,000 Rupees (INR) in her account.She never took bribes. Her job was everything for her. Her way to nirvana since her brother died. So where did this money come from? Was it Arya? No! He didn’t have her bank details.This was the exact amount that she had paid to the Madam for Rose. Was it the Madam’s w
It had been a nice evening. They drank till the wee hours of the morning. They both had called in to join work later.Anya had slept soundly after they had repeatedly made love to each other.After that day she had started meeting up with him sometimes for a coffee and sometimes for a nightcap.Things were going well. She liked it like this, no strings attached. It meant she could have the time to herself when she would be chasing criminals and solving cases. The added advantage was of her sleeping marginally better when she was with him.For some reasons her nightmares tended to stop or become less distressing when she was with him. That reduced her drinking too and her mood improved
“Wait a minute”, Andy glared at the muscular man with light brown eyes. He was a handsome man but had a darkish evil look to him. “Did you call on Mia’s phone sometime back? You sound familiar.”Andy was suddenly alert. Who was this man turning up at her flat in the middle of the night? He looked like a mafia head. What had she gotten into within a month that he was out of contact with her? He cursed under his breath as a million questions raced through his head.“I am Dane’s friend,” Dr Raj responded and left before Andy could ask any more questions.Andy did not like the speed with which the man who called himself Dr Raj dashed towards the hospital. Why didn’t he call Jenny or Dane? Why was he here instead of Dane’s flat? Dane wasn’t on the ca
So she did know the arrogant bastard and was attracted to him. What the fuck? Andy thought. He toyed with his phone as he eavesdropped.“I have no idea. Is everything alright with them? Jenny didn’t stop to say hello” he said. Andy could see right through him. He was making small talk.“Yeah, she was a little tipsy in the evening and then this patient arrived. I wonder how she even managed to function” said Mia in her sunshine smile. “Must have gone over to sleep”.She turned to Andy and raised her eyebrows, “what are you doing here? I thought you must be fast asleep.”“No Babe. Ask your friend Dr Raj here. He woke me up at 2!” Andy scowled.
Andy came back from Mia’s, happy to have confided his feelings of love for Anya to someone. Now he could talk about it to Mia whenever he felt overwhelmed with it. For over a month he continued to meet Anya like before. Andy had done a fantastic job on his previous project, he soon got a new one. While his work was being appreciated by the top bosses of his company and their clients, his immediate bosses weren’t very happy about the fact. Andy had received a double promotion making him lead his own boss. The deal was insulting for his previous boss. Andy could feel resentment from him but ignored it. He was bound to rub a few people, the wrong way while moving ahead in his career, especially if his growth was phenomenal. He had enough experience of that from his boating days. He loved his job, had almost no vices