Listen, sir, returning my parcel would be in your best interest. It……”
Before Namrata could finish, the man on the other end cut her off. “I have no idea who you are, but since last night, I’ve been bombarded with calls from a courier employee and a photographer about a missing parcel. I certainly didn’t collect it! Now, would you please end this call, or do I need to do it myself?” His voice carried clear irritation and frustration.
“Raising your voice doesn’t prove that you’re right. If you never received the parcel, why is your number listed by the courier? It contains photographs my photographer sent me. I’m an aspiring model, and if someone jealous of my appearance and success is trying to use you, you should know that you’re in serious trouble. I am the only child of a highly influential person, after all,” Namrata fired back.
“Really? Tell me, how does any of that irrelevant information affect my life?” the man replied with a mocking laugh. “Besides, I hold an important position at my company. I have a meeting for the next couple of hours, so stop disturbing me.”
“So, you’ve come up with an excuse to avoid dealing with this for now. Once your so-called meeting ends, expect the police to be waiting for you,” Namrata answered coldly.
Aparajith, managing director of a reputed MNC, the man subjected to the entire exchange, was stunned. “What on earth is this girl talking about?”
After his meeting ended, Aparajith checked his phone and found a flood of apologetic messages from the same woman.
“I’m sorry! This whole mess happened because the courier was careless. He gave my parcel to a security guard whose phone number was almost identical to yours, except for the final digit. He must have typed it incorrectly in his hurry.” Her messages were accompanied by a stream of emoticons.
Aparajith found himself laughing at her innocence, particularly when her next message asked him to join her for dinner the following evening.
“Please let me apologise in person. Come to Lalit tomorrow at 7 PM, and let me treat you to dinner. If you refuse, I’ll take it to mean that you’re still angry with me.”
He had initially felt insulted, but now an intriguing idea was taking shape in his mind. He was beginning to enjoy the girl’s boldness and innocence.
The next evening, while seated at Lalit, Aparajith noticed Namrata walk in. He recognised the woman in her early twenties from her display picture. Yet she passed him by and sat at another table. At that moment, 65-year-old Aparajith remembered that he had used a picture of his son, Vikram, as his profile photo because it had been his birthday the previous day.
“So, she’s looking for the man in that display picture?” he thought with a smile. Still, he was eager to see what the girl he had been considering as a potential bride for his twenty-eight-year-old son looked like.
Please note that this story has already appeared in another platform hence it has been posted as guest entry here since it fits this month’s prompt.