‘Whoa! What happened, Megha? You look like a fright!’ Vijay had looked a little startled when I’d bounded up to him and I didn’t blame him. I was having a bad hair day and all the running up and down the stairs hadn’t helped matters. It probably looked like a tornado was swirling around my head by now.

I hurriedly explained the situation to Vijay and he told me that I would find Yudi at the little coffee shop in the basement of the building that housed our office.

‘He’s gone there for his daily shot of caffeine,’ Vijay grinned. ‘That guy is a tea-totaler—he can’t stand the sight of tea and there isn’t any coffee served at these high tea sessions! Hey Megha, tell him I’m looking for him too, will you? Oh, and Megha?’

‘Yeah?’ I turned around just as I was rushing out of the cafeteria again.

‘Tie up your hair, will you? It’s kind of, you know, frizzy,’ Vijay said kindly and I smiled and continued on my way. A comment like that would have normally unleashed my temper but Vijay had said it so sweetly and in the most well intentioned way that it was impossible to get angry. Besides, he was right. I paused to glance in the mirror of the office elevator that was transporting me to the basement and cringed at the sight of my hair. It was in a particularly mutinous mood today and each strand had declared independence from gravity; any more frizz and I would look like I’d been electrocuted. I whipped out a hair band and quickly secured my hair into a tight knot at the nape of my neck. I normally avoided tying up my hair because everyone said pulled-back hair made me look very young and vulnerable, like a little lost soul. I had interpreted this to mean diffident and under-confident and had taken to wearing my hair loose most of the time. I was so used to it now that I felt strangely exposed with my hair pulled back, as though a crack had appeared in the facade of supreme self-confidence that I kept up most times as I lurked behind my gloriously swinging mane. Vile Varun could’ve probably eaten me alive if I’d walked into the appraisal with my hair tied back like this.

The lift lurched to a stop, jerking me out of my reverie and I hurried along to the coffee shop, my eyes peeled for Yudi. A strong whiff of espresso hit me as soon as I swung the door open and I inhaled huge gulps of it, the familiar smell comforting me somewhat. The Beans Coffee Hut was a popular hangout for the office crowds that worked in GF as well as the surrounding area, and even though the food sucked and the coffee tasted like dishwater, nothing could compare with the fantastic juke box they had in the corner which churned out melodies from as far back as the ‘70s. The owner, Samarpreet, had some ‘connections’ in the Bollywood music industry through which he had acquired this treasure and he took loving care of it, servicing it personally every week and polishing it until it shone. I had spent many a post-work evening there in the reluctant company of Vijay, who was more of a rock music buff, listening to old Hindi film songs and melting my office-related woes away over some piping hot masala chai which was the one thing the Beans Coffee Hut did a reasonable job at dishing out.

I looked around and my heart sank suddenly as I spotted Yudi in a corner, partially obscured behind some potted greens. He was in the middle of an intense discussion with Priyanka who was looking at him devotedly, her hands clasped in front of her. My mind whizzed back to the thousands of times I had seen Yudi and Priyanka together—at work, in Goa, at the restaurant where I’d met Gautam. They were definitely a couple from the looks of it and if not that, they had to be interested in each other given the amount of time they spent together. Maybe Yudi had turned his cell off so they could be alone, I realized, as I remembered the ‘not reachable’ message on his cellphone. Maybe they wanted to celebrate Priyanka’s success in private and here I was all set to crash the party. Well, there was no going back now—I had no time to lose if that stimulus material was going to make the flight with Yudi. I took a deep breath and approached their table, suddenly feeling terribly self-conscious and acutely aware of my slightly dishevelled appearance. Priyanka could make me feel like a country bumpkin in severe need of a makeover on the best of days, and today was not one of my good days. The recent work overload had taken its toll and I was looking like a dehydrated raccoon with dark circles occupying prime space on my tired face. I had rushed to work that day in my raggedy old jeans and a faded tee, taking advantage of GF’s Friday dressing policy, because I was much more comfortable working in them than the formal work wear I normally donned.

‘Umm . . . Yudi?’ I said nervously, walking up to the table. ‘Can I talk to you for a minute, please?’

I noticed the look of annoyed impatience on Priyanka’s face as Yudi paused midway through what he was saying and swung around to face me with slightly narrowed eyes. I saw a strange, unfathomable look flash across his face for an instant as he set his eyes on me but it was gone almost immediately as he rose and came towards me, effectively blocking out Priyanka’s face with his broad-shouldered frame.
‘What’s wrong, Megha?’ Yudi asked kindly, without a trace of the icy stares he’d been reserving for me of late and I suddenly felt tears welling up at the base of my throat.

‘I’m sorry I disturbed you. I wouldn’t have normally, but it’s an emergency,’ I choked out feeling incredibly stupid and being unable to meet Yudi’s gaze for some reason.

‘You’re not disturbing me, Megha,’ Yudi said before I could continue and I looked up to see him staring at me intently, a slight frown on his face. ‘What’s the emergency?’

‘You know the research, right? On Bright Biscuits? The script research that we are doing in Delhi?’ I took a deep breath and looked at him.

He nodded, ‘I know. I’m going to Delhi to attend research on Dinky Chips and I plan to attend some bit of the research on Bright Biscuits too. Is there some problem with the research?’

I blurted out the details of the situation we were in, my words tumbling over one another as they rushed out at top speed. Yudi heard me out patiently, looking progressively more relaxed as I narrated the sequence of events. He was looking positively amused as I ended, a smile even lurking around the corners of his mouth, but he remained impressively straight-faced and continued in the same kind vein. ‘Don’t worry, Megha, we can easily handle this. I’m heading back to office now anyway so I’ll pick up your stuff and give it to Neil before the research kicks off tomorrow. No stress. Don’t look so worried.’

He smiled at me and for a minute I felt he was about to reach out and take my hand or pat my head or something, but suddenly seeming to change his mind, he drew back and buried his hands deep in his cargo pockets instead.

‘Thanks a lot, Yudi!’ I smiled at him, suddenly feeling very foolish. He had made it seem so easy! He probably thought I was a total imbecile incapable of handling the tiniest problem. ‘Umm . . . thanks’ I said again like a total idiot. ‘I’ll SMS you the details of the research venue, where Neil is staying, etc. Will you let me know when you give the stuff to Neil?’

Yudi nodded, still looking at me thoughtfully, but didn’t say anything so I said goodbye and left, feeling like a total nitwit. I wasn’t feeling any better as I made my way home later that evening. Yudi had messaged me saying that he had successfully retrieved the parcel Neil had forgotten in office and would call me once he met Neil and handed it over. He probably thought I was a complete loser who couldn’t handle the smallest work-related crisis without completely falling apart.  In spite of all my bravado and normal hot-headed behaviour I had demonstrated only too well that I couldn’t stay on top of things when it came to what was my responsibility. And when things had blown up in my face, I’d gone cowering to him asking for help despite being all high and mighty earlier and acting like I didn’t need him.

But despite all these dark thoughts occupying centre stage in my mind there was another little intruder that was really bothering me. It had nothing to do with the near miss on the Bright Biscuits research that could have had disastrous consequences, or my clumsy handling of the situation, or Yudi probably thinking I was a total loser who couldn’t handle her job. It was much more than that. For, amongst all the clutter in my mind, was emerging the rapidly growing realization that over the last few weeks I had developed an unfortunately humongous crush on Mr Yudhishtir Joshi.

An extract from ‘No Deadline For Love’ by Manasi Vaidya, reproduced with the permission of Penguin Books India, exclusively for ‘The Punekar’.

About the Author: Manasi Vaidya spent her childhood travelling all over the world with her parents and reading all the books she could get her hands on. After a degree in Commerce at Pune University, she went on to do her MBA at IIM Ahmedabad where she was first introduced to the wonderful world of brands and advertising. She has worked in brand management for many years and loved every bit of it. She is passionate about writing and has recently published her first book ‘No Deadline for Love’ (Penguin Books). Find out more about her debut novel at https://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Deadline-For-Love/148951531831940?sk=info