Conspiracy

"What are you thinking?" Anya snapped.

"I was thinking of making Ann one of the contenders for the post." Viola said slyly.

"That's a brilliant idea!" Jess applauded.

"Oh, I know where you're getting at, Vye." Emily jeered.

" Ann, the youngest manager! Sounds good for tomorrow's headlines, ain't it?" Lizzy sounded ecstatic.

" I don't really think it's a good idea. " Tash remarked.

" Exactly, Tash. What were you thinking,Vye? Managerial post is not an easy place to attain. You need five years of work experience and two years of experience in that particular Company. You can't just get promoted like that." Anya snapped her fingers.

" You can, especially when the Company is owned by my dad." Viola winked.

" What?" Anya laughed. " Does he love me? Yes. Does he trust me? Yes. Will he make me, Ann, a girl with no work experience, "The manager" of his branch office? No." Anya shook her head.

" Actually, he will." Emily coyed. "Work experience is required to gain the employer's trust and to know their efficiency and in your case, he knows both. So there's a ninety percent chance, he'll promote you like that." Emily snapped her fingers, imitating Anya.

" But why?" Anya whined.

" When you have the power in your hands, Ronan will beg."Jess drawled.

" Why should he beg?" Anya sighed.

" He called you crazy! That's verbal assault if you ask me, big enough to sue him." Emily exclaimed.

" He looks like your ex! " Jess hissed with a fork in her hands. Yes, they all knew her deepest, darkest secrets and she knew their's.

" He called you a woman! " Lizzy shrieked. People in the nearby tables glanced at them.

"I am a woman, Liz." Anya chuckled.

" No. We are young, beautiful girls. Woman is a term, usually used to signify females who are married, having kids." Lizzy whispered the last part.

"In India, as soon as a girl attains puberty, she becomes a woman." Anya said sardonically.

" Girls attain puberty as early as they're eleven and twelve ." Tash protested. Anya simply shrugged.

" You know what? I think Ronan's right. You are crazy, Ann." Jess crossed her hands.

" We are trailing off topic. Where were we? Yes! He threatened to put you in an asylum." Emily intervened. She didn't want her friends to argue and fight over silly things.

"Maybe he's just really upset that Ann called him a....Well, you know what she called him. " Tash pointed out.

" An infertile bastard." Lizzy chuckled.

" Yes, I did." Anya pursed her lips.

" Men are generally sensitive on that subject." Tash continued. " I think it's wise to be patient, Ann. If his erratic behaviour towards you still persists, then maybe we can do what they are suggesting." Tash squeezed Anya's hands.

" Oh, what will I do without you, Tash?" Anya smiled at her friend.

Viola cleared her throat. Even though they were a group, Viola loved Anya like a sister. She naturally felt jealous when Anya preferred someone else over her.

" I think I'll tell dad about Ronan and transfer him to a different branch." Viola scoffed.

" That's not fair, Vye. I think we should listen to Tash. If he continues to prick me with his stupid attitude then I'll sign up for the post." Anya said trying to balance both of their opinions.

" Okay, but promise us that you will." Emily replied.

Anya looked at Viola and said, "I promise." Viola smiled.

"And we'll call it, 'Mission Ronan'." Jess drawled. " Wow that rhymed." She tugged her collar.

" I think it's better if we call him Ronan, the mistaken. Since Ann mistook him and it rhymes too." Lizzy said while eating a mouthful of lasagna.

" Oh my god, Liz. That sounds really cool. Why didn't I think of that?" Jess blinked.

They all clapped and patted on Lizzy's shoulder. Lizzy grinned radiantly, happy with her achievement. "I should definitely tell this to Dan. He'd be so proud of me." She replied in a deadpan voice. They all stared at her for a second and bursted out laughing.

" Ok let's not talk about Ronan . It's just every time I look at him, it's like I'm looking at Rahul and I get so flustered up. Everyday I silently pray for one thing, just one thing - Oh god, Don't let my past haunt me. And this is exactly what I feared. I know he's not Rahul. I know he's not that terrible person but when I look at him, I naturally hate him. I just don't know why." Anya sighed dolefully.

" We know, Ann and it's not your fault. Maybe you'll get over it. Stay strong. We're with you, no matter what." Viola assured her by draping her arms around her shoulder.

" Till death do us apart." Lizzy said wanly.

They all looked at her and laughed.

" Practising lines again, are you?" Viola teased. " I think you're really taking this wedding too seriously. He hasn't even proposed." She complained.

" I think he's waiting for the right time." Lizzy protested.

" I think Viola's right. You've changed a lot, lately. I mean look at you, you dress differently, eat different cuisines and now you're trying to speak in British accent."Anya said picking up the sauce bottle.

" Which sounds dumb." Tash continued.

" And damn hilarious." Jess added.

"We know you love him, but don't you think this is a bit above the line?" Anya looked concerned.

" I know, Ann. But I'm not doing this for him, I'm doing this for myself. It's just I love him so much and all I care about is, his interests, his priorities and his wishes and it makes me happy. I think that's the magic of love and besides Dan does the same for me. But honestly, I don't care even if he doesn't, doing things for him and changing myself for him gives me happiness and they're definitely not suppressing my interests." Lizzy spoke dreamily, rubbing the surface of her pendant that Dan had presented her with.

Anya flinched at the word love. She had loved like Lizzy once. She had felt exactly how Lizzy was feeling now. She was happy for her but at the same time, she didn't want her friend to get hurt. She liked Dan, he was smart, good natured and most of all he treated Lizzy with respect. She prayed to God that Dan loved the same way as Lizzy.

"Go ahead and lecture me," Lizzy waved her hands breaking the awful silence between them.

" Oh, no, we're so happy for you." Emily hugged her which was followed by hugs from all the others.

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She knocked the door to Ronan's cabin and waited for his response. After he asked her to come in, she entered.

Ronan sat, his face hidden beside the desktop computer. He tilted his head and looked at her.

" Ah, I was expecting you!" he smiled at her. She forced back a smile. "Please, take a seat, Ms.Anya. " He motioned her towards the chair. Anya was surprised at the sudden change of his demeanour.

" Please, call me Ann." She said sitting in front of him.

"Why? Two syllable too much for you?" He chuckled. So he knows to smile. Anya was surprised by his question as people usually never asked her why and simply called her Ann.

" Let me guess, your mother is an English teacher." Anya rolled her eyes.

" No." he shook his head.

" Oh."

"My dad was." he smiled. Anya was happy with her almost correct guess but realised that he referred to his dad in the past tense.

" I'm sorry." Anya replied.

" Why? Because you guessed it wrong?" He grinned, not looking at her. He was looking at the computer screen intently and muttered,

" Dr.Chase, Dr.Chase, where are you? Ah, yes! Here's your mail." He said and looked at her." So, are you nervous, Ms.Anya?"

"What? No!" She lied.

He looked at his screen again and clicked the left mouse button. She noticed a ring on his index finger that had inscriptions on it, but she couldn't read it.

" How disappointing." He said still looking at the screen. Her heart raced painfully. Oh no, I failed.

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