Tok, Tok, Tok
Lost in the world of thoughts, I had returned to the world of reality. Rajeev and Pratibha were standing in front of me, knocking on my desk.
Pratibha: "Come on, let's go for lunch. We've worked enough."
Shaking my head, I replied, "I'm not hungry. You guys go ahead."
Rajeev, asserting authority: "We're not asking; you have to come, and that's final."
There was no point in arguing with them. Giving in, I picked up my lunchbox and walked with them.
Just then, Sanket Sir passed by with my team leader, both laughing and chatting with their hands on each other's shoulders. Seeing them, I panicked and started looking for a corner to hide. But they didn't even glance at us and walked past, continuing their conversation. They were enjoying themselves after ruining my day.
The moment I entered in the canteen I saw sunlight streaming through the glass walls of the canteen scattered on the floor like crystals. Oh! How beautiful it was. Sometimes, it felt like this was an entirely different world, and I was just visiting.
Rajeev had a habit of drinking tea after lunch, and he had passed this habit on to both Pratibha and me. While I was admiring the view, he went to the counter to order three cups of tea.
We started warming our lunch in the cafeteria oven.
Pratibha: "Why do you look so upset? What happened?"
Me: "Nothing, just like that."
Rajeev: "Oh, her name came up in an escalation. The boss gave her a scolding in the morning, that's why she looks miserable."
Me: "Don't joke about it, Rajeev. He told me to resign if I don't fix it."
Pratibha: "What exactly happened? Maybe we can find a solution. If you don't tell us, how will we help?"
I explained everything, including how, despite having my ID, the bookings weren't mine. I had no idea how to find out whose bookings they actually were.
Rajeev: "That's easy to find out. The office maintains a file for all bookings sold. It contains details of the entire transactions, refunds, and the employee who processed them."
Me: "Where can I find this file?"
Pratibha: "With three people—Sanket Sir, the team leaders, and the accounts department. But the accounts department is based in different city."
Me: "If they have all the data, why didn't they check the file?"
Rajeev: "You know how these stupids panic when a client escalates an issue. Maybe in their rush, they only checked the booking details. Since your ID was showing, they didn't bother checking the file. You should go to your team leader and ask them to verify who actually processed those bookings."
Me: "Thank you. I feel a little relieved now."
The tea vendor called out, "Three teas."
I got up and brought the tea.
Pratibha: "Are you coming to the office party?"
Me: "Office party? When is it? I haven't heard about it."
Rajeev: "The announcement was made this morning. Everyone has to contribute a thousand rupees. It'll be fun, a good break from work. But you don't drink or eat non-veg, so your thousand bucks would be wasted. Never mind, I'll eat and drink your share."
Pratibha: "There will be vegetarian food, and for those who don't drink alcohol, there will be soft drinks and fruit juices. So shut up. Are you coming, Avni?"
Me: "I don't even know if I'll still be working here by then. But aren't you going on a family trip to Hong Kong? How will you attend?"
Pratibha: "My trip is next month, and the office party is on the 17th of this month, so I'll be there. Rajeev will definitely come. And from what you've told us, it looks like your issue will be resolved—the airline will issue a refund. They offer special services for business class passengers. As for catching the real culprit, we'll help you with that. So, will you come?"
Me: "Alright."
Pratibha's phone rang, and she got busy talking to her son. Rajeev was also on his phone.
There was a time when I used to be envious of Pratibha. She had five sisters, all well-settled with families. One was a doctor, another worked in an airline, one was in banking, another was a teacher, and one worked for the municipal corporation. Their husbands were also well-established. Every weekend, they met up, watched movies, or went shopping. They traveled abroad once a year and had already visited sixty countries. Her husband is also very understanding and no nonsense personality.
Pratibha's parents were kind, simple, and humorous. Sometimes, they even joined their children on trips. Her father's love for her mother was evident—something I had never seen between my own parents.
I admired their simple, happy life, and I often wondered—why couldn't I have a life like that? Could Varsha and I build such a family? But would it be truly happy? A strange fear crept into my heart.
Shaking off these thoughts, I took the last sip of my tea and got up to wash my lunchbox.
After coming back from lunch, the first thing I did was go to Rajat's (my team leader's) desk, but he wasn't there. He hadn't returned from his break yet.
I went back to my desk and resumed work. The clock showed six, but Rajat was still nowhere to be seen. Around eight, Rajat and Sanket Sir walked in through the door. As soon as Rajat sat at his desk, I immediately went up to him.
Me: "Sir, I need to talk to you."
Rajat: "Yes, I need to talk to you too. Come, have a seat."
I pulled up a chair and sat across from him.
Rajat: "There's a client escalation against you. The client has filed a complaint with the nodal office and even threatened to email the CEO. You've been working with us for over a year—we never expected you to do something like this. Now tell me, what should we do? Not one or two, but fifty bookings have been done incorrectly under your name. How do we cover that up? We've done everything we could, but if the higher-ups decide to fire the employee responsible, neither Sanket Sir nor I will be able to save you. The matter is no longer in our hands. Hope you understand."
Me: "I understand, and I'm ready to take responsibility if it's my mistake."
Rajat cut me off—"What do you mean? What are you trying to say?"
He stared at me with dead, piercing eyes, waiting for my answer, as if trying to see if I had the courage to speak up.
In a low voice, I asked, "Can you show me the transaction report? I want to check which employee received the commission for these bookings."
Rajat snapped back, "Madam, first of all, only managers can access that file, not employees. Second, your ID is clearly visible on the bookings, so there's nothing left to check. We gave you a chance to fix this mistake because your record has been excellent so far. You've done well in every way, but that doesn't mean we can overlook such a huge blunder just because of your past performance."
My voice started to fade. Regaining control, I said, "I agree, and I really appreciate you giving me a chance to explain. But I've checked my records, and I haven't received any commission for these bookings. I also don't recall ever working on them. If you could check and tell me whose name the transaction was credited under, maybe I'll remember something."
Rajat: "So you're saying someone else used your ID to make these bookings? Do you realize what that means? It's a security breach, and not just that employee—you'll be held responsible too. Think carefully about what you're claiming. This means you shared your ID and password with someone."
Me: "Sir, I never shared my ID or password with anyone. Can you just check the employee's name for me?"
Rajat sighed in frustration. "Let's see. The file is huge—it takes time to download from the server. I'll download it and call you after."
Me: "Alright. Thank you."
As soon as I returned to my desk, two chairs silently slid closer to me from either side. Two voices whispered into my ears.
Rajeev: "What happened?"
Pratibha: "Who is it?"
Me: "I don't know."
Both, in unison: "What do you mean?"
Me: "The transaction file takes time to download. He said he'll call me once it's ready."
Rajeev: "These are just excuses. You're being stupid. Why didn't you insist on seeing it immediately, no matter how long it takes? If they're telling you to quit, you should've said—'This is about my job, I have the right to see that file.'"
Pratibha: "Exactly. They don't pay your bills, and it was their job to thoroughly investigate the matter, but you're the one who has to do it. And doesn't Rajat care? If an employee from his team gets fired over an escalation, it'll affect his record too. It'll impact his incentives. He should be happy if you're proven innocent—it'll save his team's reputation."
Me: "I can't fight like that. I just can't. And he said he'll call me once it's downloaded."
Rajeev: "Talking to you is pointless."
Just as silently as they had arrived, their chairs slid back to their original positions.
By nine, most people were getting ready to leave. Rajat had already left. I logged out of my computer, grabbed my bag, and stood up.
Rajeev: "Are you planning to stay here all night? Just talk to him directly in the morning."
I nodded and walked out of the office.
By the time I reached home, Varsha was already asleep. That was usually the case. By the time I came home, she'd be fast asleep.
I soaked rice and lentils for the next morning, chopped vegetables, put clothes in the washing machine, and let them run.
Then, I just kept scrolling through reels on Instagram.