Sana was pouring the ice cream into the trays when Mayil walked in with a look that indicated her desire her to murder someone.
"Who's pissed you off now?" Sana asked, smiling as she tapped the trays on the counter for the ice cream to settle in.
"Who else?" she said, tucking the ends of her pallu into the fold of the saree against her hip after which she placed a stainless-steel tea pan on the stove. "Adithya Pallavan. He wants Masala Chai but with conditions. The cardamom should be less than the ginger but the ginger shouldn't overpower the sweetness of honey. The taste of pepper shouldn't ruin the overall taste but it should be there. What does that even mean?"
Sana chuckled.
"Don't laugh, akka. You tell me. How am I supposed to prepare this tea? I swear to God, only he could make something so simple seem like a complicated task. I hate it when he visits. The only reason I'm still doing this is because Sir told me to," her cook complained, crushing the ginger with a strength that wasn't needed. "I don't know why Sir made this idiot as the CEO in his place."
"Sometimes I think it's exactly because of that," Sana said.
Adithya Pallavan was a fifty-eight-year-old man who had owed her father's family a big favour and her father had claimed it back by suggesting a favourable offer for him: Be the CEO in his place, attend interviews, be the face of the company. Only a fool wouldn't accept such an offer. He had his name stamped everywhere in the world with the company's name beside it when her father was a nobody in the eyes of the world.
Sana found it unfair and she'd pitched the idea to her father several times that they could fake an information leak and inform the world who the real owner was. But her father never liked the idea. He was a simple man who liked to work and only work. He didn't want to have to do anything else like interviews and receive awards. He thought it was such a hassle. And with his gender identity revealed, he'd become a sensational topic anyone with a brain would have opinions about.
Eventually, Sana let it go but she never liked Adithya Pallavan. She'd suggested that Arjun, the current COO, was more qualified to be the CEO than him. If Arjun was made to be as the CEO, the workload of her father would also reduce considerably. But her father had his own principles and calculations so she didn't interfere again.
"Just make him the best tea you can make and serve it with the look you're wearing now. He won't say a word," Sana chuckled.
"I hope so. Will you be coming for dinner? I was thinking I could make you your favourite garlic podi dosa."
"After hearing that, how can I not?"
Mayil grinned as if that was her plan along and went back to brewing her tea with a vengeance she might unleash any minute. Sana chuckled as she began loading the trays into the freezer.
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The crowd didn't make sense. There were a lot of men. Men who didn't look like they'd stop for ice cream without another reason. And for some reason, she felt like they were staring at her. But when she looked, they didn't. Sana wondered if she had become too cautious after the harassment incident. Maybe she was overthinking it. Sana should be thankful for the sales, especially because Wednesdays were slow days.
