In the recent past Rano had tried to cajole Devi to share Rajjo’s thoughts, her moods, and lately her schedules as she arranged secret rendezvouses with her lover, but Rano realized soon enough that even if they had to pull Devi’s teeth out one by one, she would not give away anything about Rajjo. She was a wall of nothingness. The only thing that made her human was her very obvious devotion to Rajjo. Dressed mostly in white salwar kameez, she was a strange masculine–feminine mix. Rano wondered if she was a man in the robes of a woman. Those piercing black eyes took in everything. Sometimes Rano felt they bore into her too close. She was an odd one all right.

But Devi was the least of her worries right now.

To her relief, Karam looking handsome with his unshaved grizzly face and his trademark white kurta over jeans sauntered in. She was expecting him almost thirty minutes ago. Karam knew her well enough not to ask what the problem was as he sat down on the couch with a sigh. Rano puffed away in silence. As expected, Rano took off before she could finish her last smoke. ‘We have bloody invested in the 150-acre facility near Pune, set up a four-pronged distribution channel, and marketed all the products under the Durga trust. We have invested in medical centres all over the country – 1067 fucking chikitsalayas – this was her pet project, and now the turnover is nose-diving, not to mention the media, and political parties are baying for her blood and she just sits there and fucking broods!’

Karam knew Rano was in one of her moods. One large part of the wall was taken by Rano’s cutout where she wore a plain white sari and a painted halo in hues of gold. She had an angelic smile on her face but Karam knew what she looked like when she was spewing venom with the same celestial smile. It made him chuckle. Rano continued agitatedly, ‘What gets me is that she is just not bothered anymore! You know what that means?’

Rano wanted a reaction from this handsome man sitting on her couch, unruffled and faintly amused. Rano felt the habitual indignant drone starting at the base of her neck, taking over her entire brain within seconds. Pulsating like a living beast, it claimed her body and senses.

‘We will figure something out,’ Karam muttered in a soothing tone.

Rano hissed angrily, ‘For a year we have been fielding that bloody Pujari. He holds that political party in his fist. You know if they win the election next year what happens? If they win the election and we are not in line with them, they will grind us to the ground. The lands, the settlements, the investments! Am I the only one who has a bloody brain here?!’

Rano’s voice bordered on hysteria.