Do Anjaane

Chapter 16

Please read disclaimer from previous chapter, if you haven't already!

The next day, Raghuveer arrived at the address she had sent him. Within minutes of driving, he realized it wasn't the address of her college, but when he messaged her, she confirmed that the address was right. What game was this woman playing? It took him to a community of offices in one of the major corporate neighborhoods of the city, not far from where his office was. Based on what she had told him, he expected her to be waiting outside by the time he arrived. But she wasn't there, and neither was she picking up her calls. Raghuveer parked and headed inside the building.

Walking up to the receptionist, he said, "I'm here to meet my wife, Vaidehi Malhotra." "I'm sorry sir, but there is no employee by the name Vaidehi Malhotra." "Shilpa, don't worry, I've got him." A man who was heading out for lunch, one of Vaidehi's bosses and the one who had assigned her the new project, overheard and walked over to Raghuveer. "Mr. Malhotra, a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard much about you. I'm Ravi Khurana. Let me guide you to Vaidehi's cabin." Raghuveer nodded and followed.

While he had never been inside this building, Raghuveer had worked closely with the government in the past and had a certain level of clearance at many agencies. He was coming to realize that this was another community of government agency offices disguised in plain sight. Not their existence, but their function. "You must be proud of Vaidehi. She has accomplished much in a short time. And she's one of our most gifted employees. I'm quite relieved to be her superior." "I'm glad to hear it, we're all proud of her as well."

Raghuveer still had no idea exactly what Vaidehi's work was, but his statement wasn't a lie. "Ah, here's her cabin." He knocked on the door. "Srivastav, it's Khurana here." "Come in, sir," she called out. She and another employee, a padhaku-type young man, were bent over a laptop screen looking quite serious. (Padhaku- studious) Vaidehi began typing furiously, murmuring to herself. "Yes! It worked. So, the same way we fixed this issue, try running the rest of the program, and I think that should work. Then we should be good to move on to the next level of testing." '

"Yes, ma'am. I can definitely do that." The boy sighed in relief. "Take a long lunch break first, you deserve it." The boy beamed before rushing out the door, nodding respectfully at Khurana on the way. "Sorry for making you wait, sir. I..." Vaidehi trailed off as she noticed her husband standing beside her boss. "Aap, yahan?" (You're here?) "Ring!" Vaidehi's desk phone went off. Saying, "One moment," she went to pick it up. Through the phone they could hear a frantic, "Ma'am. I'm so sorry, I know Khurana sir is in your cabin, but this is urgent..." before Vaidehi turned down the speaker. "First, take a deep breath. Good. Now, tell me clearly, issue kya hain." (Now, tell me clearly, what's the issue.)

For the next several minutes, Vaidehi outlined a thorough plan of action, covering nearly all possible loopholes, to troubleshoot their issue. Finally, she laughed, indicating the end of the phone call. "All right. I'm on my lunch break for the next two hours, reach out to Krishnan if you have any urgent questions. And you take a break, too. Bye." Seeing his wife in her boss lady avatar was a sight Raghuveer couldn't forget. He stared at her unabashedly, unfiltered admiration and attraction in his eyes.

"I apologize again for keeping you both waiting. Lekin sir, aap inko yahan le aaye? Kaise?"(I apologize for keeping you both waiting. But sir, you brought him here? How?) "Vaidehi, you'd be surprised to know that your husband has clearance in some high places. We have interacted with him several times before, though not directly." Vaidehi smiled sheepishly. She should have guessed that her husband would support government missions. "I was heading out for lunch when I found Mr. Malhotra waiting for you. I thought I'd show him your cabin and get an update from you as well. But it looks like you've got everything under control. Keep up the good work and let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you, sir." "I'll be heading out. Enjoy your lunch date!" Winking, Khurana left the cabin. Vaidehi picked up her handbag from the side of her desk and looked at her husband. "Chalein?" (Shall we?) Without waiting for him, she walked out of her cabin. Veer followed behind, smirking widely. Vaidehi on the other hand was extremely nervous inside, hence her walking ahead without waiting for him. She had been preparing herself to drop the bomb, but she hadn't expected it to happen this way.