It was the world book fair 2013 when I met him, met him after many years. I know he was jobless or he is not doing any work, I know that he has started his own business but failed, and now his house is running on his wife’s salary , and that is quite high, enough to run a family of three. Meanwhile why should I be bothered by these details relating his life? After all he was the person who has sacked me or asked me to leave or fired me or in a little polite language asked me to resign when I was on the best of my career.
Leave that, I first thought that I should ignore him, walk from there as slowly to the direction where I was going. But now it is too late, he has comprehended me and it would be much uncivilised had I walked from there. We were the enemy once but now we are sailing in the same boat. At least I am far ahead then him, my house is not running on my wife’s salary. So I meekly said hello and he responded, responded soundly.
So what are you doing in these days? He asked, and I was damn sure he will ask this question or he cannot ask a better thing then this. I am doing what I have been doing for last ten years, I mean I am selling the books, I replied and what about you I asked. He seemed unsatisfied from my reply, but I am least bothered, he is no longer my boss, and now I have no need to answer in the way that pleased him.
Let’s have some coffee he suggested. Great Idea, I said but I will pay. No issue and we settled in a lounge at Baristas. While taking the first sip of black coffee the first thing that came in my mind was the cold conversation of three years back when I was in his cabin, or he has summoned me in his cabin, few heated words from his side, I was blanking looking into the wall, he shouted like a hungry lion, you want to carry with this job or not. He might have said these words to many people before in his long lusty career. You want to carry on with this job or not. And there was a silence an eerie silence, there were three more people inside the cabin, The CFO, The regional head and a beautiful lady. What the hell she was doing there; she might have been there to discuss a project with him, with the chief executives officer. He shouted again, do you want to carry on with this job or not. During that eerie silence I just thought the motive behind those words. Are they calculative words or just said plainly just to humiliate me. I think humiliation was not the condition. I did not understand on that time, I could not understood yet, and as the eerie silence over, Suddenly I said in a plain, confident voice NO………………………………….. I DO NOT WANT TO CONTINUE.
That was enough, my no has defeated him, it has just attacked on his weakest part and that was the Ego, maybe he has not expected this, maybe he has not heard it before.
OK Go is what he could have said in a cold tiring and feverish voice. My last sip of coffee has finished, may be this coffee was to revisit that past, may be my enmity has gone. I was feeling light, unburdened and I am sure so was He feeling lightened.
I paid the bill came out from Barista, none of us has spoken bye and moved as we came to our respective and different directons.
