Page 21 of Driven By Desire
“ Y ou’re fired.”
The smarmy, soon to be ex-General Manager, Operations stared at him in shock. “You can’t do that.”
Leaning back in his chair, Krish smiled. “Watch me.”
Across the table, the man quaked a little at the sight of that feral smile. “Sir, you don’t understand-“
“No?” The painfully civil tone whipped out of him even as he idly tapped a pen against the table. “Explain it to me then.”
“Sir.” Swallowing nervously, the other man’s eyes followed the almost gentle tap-tap of the pen. “You can’t believe the workers.”
“Why not?”
“They’re lying.” When his boss only continued to look at him with that scarily polite expression, he took it to be an invitation to continue. “These worker class of people are like this only. Good for nothing, lying scum.”
The pen stopped tapping.
“You have to trust me. They’ve been filling your head with rubbish.
” When he didn’t get an immediate response, he straightened in his chair and adopted a paternal tone.
“I’ve been managing this factory from your father’s time, beta .
I know what I’m talking about.” Leaning forward confidentially, he continued, “If your father had been here, he would have known at once that I’m telling the truth. ”
The soft chiming of a phone had Krish glancing down at the table.
He let the jackass in front of him continue to ramble in the background as he picked it up and opened up Max’s message.
A picture of a man clobbering a very surprised looking snake with the message ‘Get that snake in the grass.’ Fighting a grin, he looked across at the aforementioned snake who was still pontificating at him.
“You have ten minutes to clear out your desk.” The brusque interruption stopped the man mid-sentence.
“Security will escort you off the premises.” Gesturing to the two men standing on the other side of the glass door to come in, he stood.
Shoving his hands in his trousers, he watched in grim silence as they ushered the blustering, struggling man out the door.
Signaling to Mr. Mishra to wait in the other room till he finished his phone call, he dialed Max.
“OOOOH. I rate a phone call in the middle of a workday. Can you smell the rarefied air up here?”
Lips twitching, he asked, “Up where?”
“At the top of your priorities.” A loud sniff. “I think I might be lightheaded from the lack of oxygen.”
Chuckling, he basked in the warmth of her rich laughter pouring through the slightly fuzzy connection.
“Got the snake?”
Mentally holding on to the smile he could still hear in her voice, he looked out the office window to the dry, dusty yard full of men and buildings set against acres and acres of land.
Men whose livelihoods he was responsible for, factories built from his father’s sweat and blood and land that his father had bought as a gift for his mother the day Krish was born.
The weight of it all settled more heavily on his shoulders making him yank at his tie even as he said lightly, “Clobbered him.”
“Awesome.” An abrupt pause followed by, “Not physically I hope.”
Grinning, he resettled his mangled tie. “Didn’t need to.” Knowing he couldn’t ignore Mr. Mishra with a clear conscience for much longer, Krish said, “Max?”
“Ya?”
“Thank you.”
He heard a distant metallic thunk in the background before he heard a surprised, “For?”
“For helping me see more clearly. Giving me a fresh perspective.”
“All I did was give you an idea. The rest was all you.”
“Us.” He corrected, his eyes on the distant horizon that framed the bustling industrial scene. The weight on his shoulders shifted and settled more comfortably. “It was us.”
“Yay us.” The hope in her voice couldn’t be ignored.
The husky murmur had him fisting his free hand in his pocket. Speaking past the sudden dryness in his throat, he agreed. “Yay us.”
---***---
Three days later, on a freezing Sunday evening, Krish finally made it back to Hyderabad.
Three excruciatingly long days later. Days filled with long, stressful meetings, in-depth evaluations of what had gone wrong and how to fix it and practically back to back interviews to find the right person to replace the not-sorely-missed ex-employee.
Days interspersed with playful text messages and nights filled with scandalously intimate phone calls. It had left him craving more with a ferocity that scared the living daylights out of him. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on Max and drag her off somewhere private.
Frowning a bit at that last thought, he pulled his phone out for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
Still no call or message from Max. No reply either to his earlier message.
He would have been worried if Chirag hadn’t already mentioned that Pooja and she were spending the day together.
Apparently, they felt the need for girly stuff.
But still, not a single message? How could she not have the time for that?
The irony of the irritable thought had his lips curving in a wry grin.
Exiting the airport, he made his way over to the rank of taxis lined up for passengers. The ridiculously long queue had his frown deepening. He really needed to look into getting himself a driver. Getting in line, he pulled out his phone and called Chirag.
“All okay at home?” he asked without preamble.
“Yes.” Chirag’s easy answer had him relaxing. “How much longer for you to reach?”
“I just landed. I’m waiting for a taxi now.” Eyeing the motionless line with growing frustration, he muttered, “Might take a while given the crowd.”
“Pooja, what the hell?”
The sudden yell in his ear had Krish wincing. Scrubbing a tired hand through his hair, he waited for Chirag to finish whatever lecture he was giving Pooja and get back on the line.
When it looked like it would take longer than expected, he disconnected and shoved his phone into his pocket.
He’d anyway have to deal with whatever Pooja had gotten up to when he got back home.
Reaching the front of the queue, he handed over his luggage to the taxi driver and slid into the back seat.
Yanking his phone out when it rang, he checked the display and saw ‘home’ flashing.
“Ya?”
“Did you get a taxi yet?”
Chirag’s harried voice had him sighing. “What’s wrong?”
A moment’s pause and then, “I think you should come home and see for yourself.”
“Anybody sick, maimed or dying?”
“Nope.”
“Then I’ll get home and deal with it.”
“I offer no guarantees for once you reach home. Maimed is a distinct possibility.” On that ominous note, the line went dead.
Shrugging, he idly flipped the phone in his hand and let his mind wander back to Max.
He had an hour at the least before facing whatever the circus at home had got up to.
No reason for it to be an unpleasant hour.
Unable to help himself, he tried her number again only to go to voice mail.
Ignoring the unease trickling through him, he was about to put the phone aside when it beeped with a message.
Max’s name flashed and had him grabbing the phone. “I have a surprise for you.”
Did she? Smiling now, he forgot all about whatever mayhem was waiting for him and let his imagination have its own little party.
An hour later, he wasn’t smiling.
“Where is she?” He could barely get the words out past the red haze of fury that surrounded him.
“In her bedroom.”
“And Max?”
“Adi and she are out in the backyard.”
“I’ll talk to Pooja first.” Leaving his luggage where he’d dropped it, he took the stairs two at a time with Chirag close on his heels.
“Bhai, I think you might want to take a minute to cool off before-“ Whatever else he was going to say was cut off by the sound of Krish cursing as he tried the door to Pooja’s room and found it locked.
“I have a right to my privacy.” The surly response from the other side of the door had Krish gritting his teeth.
“If you don’t open up right this moment, I’m going to disable the lock on this door at the first possible opportunity. Then you’ll never have privacy ever again.”
The door swung open with an alacrity which would have been amusing under other circumstances. Storming in, Krish took one look at the tiny mutinous face in front of him and stopped in his tracks.
My God. Raking a disbelieving glance over the defiant form, he turned to look askance at the brother he’d left in charge. Whose only response was a shrug. So much for accountability.
“I think I look pretty.”
“You look like you have a head full of cotton candy.” Bright pink streaks streamed merrily through her previously jet black hair.
Wanting to groan at the thought of the firing he was going to get from her principal when she went to school the next door, Krish yelled, “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I wanted to look pretty for once. Not like one of the boys.” Glaring at his suit like it had personally offended her, she added, “Certainly not like the boys here.”
Was she seriously dissing his clothes right now?
Ignoring Chirag’s bemused laugh, he shoved both hands through his hair and gripped.
He’d take a factory full of striking workers over this, any day.
Wanting to rip his own, thankfully still black, hair out in frustration, he growled, “Who gave you permission to do this?”
“Max.” The lofty reply had something snapping in his head. Striding over to the window of the bedroom that overlooked the backyard, he yanked it open and stuck his head out.
“MAXXXX.” The angry roar had Max fumbling the hot mug of tea in her hand and looking up in surprise. “Get up here. Right now!”
Slamming the window shut, he whirled back into the room and crossed his arms, waiting for the other culprit to appear.
It didn’t take long for her to poke her head around the door and drawl sarcastically, “You summoned?”
Sarcasm? Really? There was a high possibility there was steam pouring out of his ears. “You gave Pooja permission to colour her hair pink?”
“It’s technically only highlights. And yes,” Shrugging, she shoved her hands into her pockets and asked, “Why?”
“Why?” His voice dropped a decibel and would have had most grown men cowering in a corner. Max just raised one enquiring eyebrow. “Are you out of your mind? She has school tomorrow. She isn’t even allowed to wear nail polish, you think she will be allowed to walk in with pink hair?”
“Krish-“
He held one finger up stopping her explanation. “I’m not done yet.”
“Of course you’re not. We couldn’t actually be that lucky,” she muttered in response which only fueled his temper.
“We have rules in this house. We have limits and boundaries and a certain set of checks and balances that need to be honored.” Aware he was sounding like a sanctimonious prig but quite unable to help himself, he continued, “You have no business giving her permission to do anything without checking with Chirag or me first.”
“I didn’t think it was that big a deal. It’s not like I took her to get a tattoo or something.”
“I understand that following the rules and having some discipline are not that big of a deal to you, Max, but could you try and not undermine the values I’m trying so hard to inculcate in my siblings.”
“I’m not undermining anything. It was just some harmless, girly fun.”
“She’s thirteen years old.” The roar was back.
“She goes to a convent school with extremely strict rules and regulations. What the hell am I supposed to tell her teacher and her principal when they call to complain? She’s just started to settle down.
She’s just started to fit in and not get into trouble. And now this.”
Turning to Pooja, he asked, “Aren’t you tired of being hauled into the principal’s office, Pooj? What the heck are you going to tell her when she asks you why you decided to flout the rules so blatantly?”
“She could tell her that it washes out.” The vaguely insolent response froze him mid-rant. Taking in Pooja’s smirk, he turned to eye Max who looked ready to swing at him with the nearest hard object. Good thing her tool box was nowhere around.
“What’s going on?” Adi poking his head into the room was a welcome interruption. Until Krish got a clear look at his head.
“Does that wash out too?”
The strangled question had Adi frowning. “Of course not. I spent a shit load of money on this. Why would I want to wash it out?” Admiring himself in the mirror that hung over Pooja’s dresser, he ran his fingers through the new blonde tips of his otherwise normal hair.
“Maybe because you look like a freaking boy band wannabe?” Was Chirag’s dry rejoinder.
“You’re going to be starting a business degree at one of the premier management institutions in the country soon and that is the first impression you want to make?”
Krish’s incredulous question had Adi shuffling in embarrassment. “I didn’t think of that. I just thought it would be fun. Everyone was doing it.”
Everyone? Refocusing on Max’s stiff figure, Krish grabbed her by the arm and yanked her closer.
“What are you doing?” The angry yelp didn’t deter him from his purpose.
Tugging the rubber band out of her hair, he combed his fingers through it looking for evidence. Finding it, he yanked at one of the green highlights subtly worked into the previously flawless waterfall of hair.
“What was the look you were going for? Fungus?”
Stiffening, Max untangled her hair from his grip and stepped back.
Wrapping her tattered dignity around her, she replied, “Pooja’s highlights are temporary and can be washed out so I don’t think it would be a problem with her school or anyone else.
Adi’s are permanent but as he is not a minor under your care, I’m assuming he gets to take a call on whether he wants them or not.
As for me,” A deep breath punctuated the even speech, “I do believe that what I do with my hair or any other part of my body is none of your business.”
“So there’s really no need for you to be a bitch.” The snide remark halted all other conversation and had four pairs of adult eyes swiveling to Pooja.
“What did you just call me?” The shock and fury in his voice had Pooja gulping. Suddenly aware she might have pushed her eldest brother too far, she mumbled, “Sorry. Max told me not to repeat that word to anyone but I was angry.”
“Did she?”
Now it was Max’s turn to gulp. “Oh God! Pooja and I were talking about something and the word just slipped out. I apologized and told her not to ever repeat it again but-“
One hand, palm out silenced her. The other raised to point a finger at Pooja. “In the bathroom. Now! Wash your mouth out with soap. Chirag will supervise it. And when you’re done, get your butt back in here and write ‘I won’t use foul language.’ five hundred times and hand it in to me. Tonight.”
“Krish-“
“Not now, Max.”
“But-“
“I said, not now!”
On that note, he strode from the room with his homemade Justin Timberlake trailing glumly behind him.