Kapil stared at the drawing for several more seconds before taking a very deep breath.
Then another.
For a brief moment, it looked as though he was trying to convince himself not to commit a crime inside his own office.
Finally, he turned toward Krishna.
"Krishna, do minute ke liye bahar jaa sakte ho?"
Krishna immediately stood up.
He had already seen enough to understand where this was heading. Staying inside would only make things more awkward for everyone involved.
Without saying anything, he opened the cabin door and stepped outside.
The moment the door closed behind him, the last bit of patience on Kapil's face disappeared.
"Priya Mathur!"
The sudden shout echoed through the cabin.
Priya blinked once and finally looked up properly.
"Kab serious hogi tum?" Kapil demanded, leaning forward in his chair. "Tum kabhi apne seniors ki baat nahi sunti. Jo mann mein aata hai wahi karti ho. Main sach mein nahi samajhta tum kab sudharogi."
Priya quietly listened.
Or at least she appeared to.
In reality, most of Kapil's words entered through one ear and immediately escaped through the other.
She had absolutely no interest in listening to another lecture.
As far as she was concerned, she had made a small mistake.
An accident had happened.
The world had not ended.
Yet somehow she had spent the last hour being treated as though she had personally brought down the entire channel.
Honestly, her day had already been ruined enough.
First she had arrived late.
Then the accident happened.
And now she was stuck inside a cabin listening to a lecture that seemed determined to last longer than some government meetings.
Meanwhile Kapil continued speaking, clearly not finished.
"Main tumhe kitni baar bol chuka hoon ki thoda responsible banna seekho. Har baar koi na koi nayi problem create kar deti ho. Aur sabse badi baat..." He pointed directly at her. "Tumhe apni galti ka ehsaas tak nahi hota."
Priya remained standing there quietly.
Her expression didn't change.
The only thing going through her mind at that moment was how much work she could have completed if she hadn't been trapped inside this cabin for the past hour.
Kapil stared at Priya for several seconds.
At some point, the anger on his face slowly began disappearing, replaced by something else entirely.
Resignation.
Years of experience had taught him one simple truth.
Trying to make Priya understand something after she had already decided not to listen was one of the most useless tasks in existence.
It was like arguing with a wall.
Finally, Kapil let out a long sigh and leaned back into his chair.
"Theek hai."
Priya immediately became alert.
Not because she was interested in the conversation.
But because that tone usually meant the lecture was finally ending.
Kapil pointed toward the cabin door.
"Jao. Aur us ladke se properly maafi maango."
Priya opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but Kapil didn't give her the chance.
"From now on woh tumhari team mein kaam karega. Kam se kam uske saath relation kharab mat karna pehle din se."
His tone carried a hint of warning.
Team C was already short on people, and the last thing he wanted was for Krishna to start regretting his transfer before he had even begun working there.
For a moment, Priya simply stood there.
Then a small smile appeared on her face.
"Lecture achha tha."
Kapil's eyelid twitched.
"Priya..."
"Thank you."
Before he could continue, she had already turned around.
The smile on her face never disappeared as she casually walked toward the door.
A second later, the cabin door opened.
Then closed.
And just like that, she was gone.
Silence returned to the room.
Kapil remained sitting behind his desk for several moments without moving.
Then he slowly rubbed his forehead.
The familiar headache was back.
He had spent the last hour talking.
Scolding. Explaining. Warning.
And somehow he was now completely certain that none of it had achieved anything.
All he had really managed to do was waste another hour of his own life.
The moment Priya stepped out of Kapil's cabin, she completely ignored everything that had happened inside and started looking around the department.
Her eyes moved across the room before eventually stopping on Krishna.
At that moment, Krishna had already gotten up from his seat and was heading toward Kapil's office. Since the discussion inside had been going on for quite a while, he assumed it had finally ended.
Before he could reach the cabin door, Priya suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Mujhe tumse ek... important baat karni hai."
Her tone was unusually serious.
Unfortunately, before Krishna could even react properly, Priya had already turned around and started walking away as if she had no intention of explaining anything further.
The entire situation was so abrupt that it left very little room for discussion.
After a brief pause, Krishna eventually followed her.
The two walked through the department in silence.
Employees passed by them carrying files and reports, but Priya paid attention to none of it. She continued moving forward without slowing down once, leaving Krishna with no choice but to keep following her.
The further they walked, the quieter the building became.
The familiar noise of the newsroom slowly faded behind them. Phones stopped ringing. Conversations disappeared. Even the constant rush of employees became less frequent.
Eventually, Priya pushed open a metal door and stepped outside.
A cool breeze immediately swept across the rooftop.
The city stretched endlessly in every direction. Buildings filled the horizon while traffic moved far below like streams of light.
Priya walked a little further before finally stopping near the edge.
For a few moments, she simply stood there, looking out over the city.
Only then did she slowly turn around.
The cool breeze moved across the rooftop as Priya stood near the edge, looking down at the city below. For a few moments, she remained silent, as if organizing her thoughts.
Then she finally looked at Krishna.
"Mujhe abhi bhi samajh nahi aata Kapil Sir ne tumhe meri team mein kyun bheja."
Her tone wasn't mocking or angry. If anything, she sounded genuinely confused.
Krishna stayed quiet.
Priya continued, crossing her arms.
"Sach kahun, toh is industry mein tumhara experience zero hai. Mere team ke logon ne saalon tak kaam kiya hai. Kisi ne field mein reports cover ki hain, kisi ne research ki hai, kisi ne publishing sambhali hai." She paused briefly before adding, "Aur tum... tumhare paas kya hai?"
The question hung in the air.
For a moment, Krishna didn't answer.
Priya waited.
When he finally spoke, his voice was calm.
"To batao."
The answer was so unexpected that Priya blinked.
Krishna adjusted his glasses before continuing.
"Mumbai mein rehna sasta nahi hai. Mere paas itne paise nahi hain ki main aaram se baith kar doosri job ka wait kar sakun. Mujhe is naukri ki pehle se zyada zarurat hai."
He looked directly at her.
"Mere paas experience nahi hai. Main ye bhi nahi keh sakta ki main sabse talented hoon. Lekin ek cheez ka promise kar sakta hoon. Jo bhi kaam mujhe diya jayega, main usse poori koshish ke saath karunga."
For a few seconds, Priya simply stared at him.
Then suddenly she laughed.
A soft laugh at first.
Then another.
Krishna frowned slightly, clearly not understanding what was so funny.
Priya stared at him for a few seconds before letting out a short laugh.
"Accha hua ye sab tumne kisi aur ke saamne nahi bola."
She shook her head and started walking toward the stairs.
"Varna to koi insan hans uske pagal ho jata."
Krishna remained where he was while Priya continued moving ahead.
After taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Priya turned her head slightly and said in the same casual tone,
"Aur haan."
The smile on her face had already disappeared.
"Us raat ke baare mein kisi ko kuch mat batana."
There was no explanation.
Just a simple sentence.
Priya started walking again.
"Agar galti se bhi tumne kisi ko bataya..." she said while descending the first few stairs, "...toh main khud tumhe is building se neeche phenk dungi."
Her voice remained calm, almost as if she were discussing tomorrow's weather.
A second later, she added,
"Ise dhamki samajhna hai ya warning, woh tumhari problem hai."
Without waiting for a reply, Priya continued downstairs.
Within moments, she disappeared from sight, leaving Krishna alone on the rooftop with far more questions than answers.
END OF THE CHAPTER