Dil Beparwah | ✔

eight

||CHAPTER 8||
《¤》

┊V A R U N┊

Rubbing my palms together, I addressed the small team of junior reporters, "So, tell me something I don't know."

This was the interesting part. Five raised hands, a quick mental inkey-pinkey-ponkey and Esha seemed to have the donkey. "What They Say host might be getting laid off for the second half of the show."

She was still stuck up on What They Say story, and I wasn't going to tell her that the only buzz we could give them was an advertisement block—that was Mikesh's mess to handle. "Interesting," I commented, folding my hands and standing against a desk in the cubicle. "And how exactly does that fit into the general outline of our magazine?"

Maybe I shouldn't have broached that at all, for she diced into the topic I was trying to avoid. "Sir, it's for the story we would be covering about them."

Quizzical looks and questioning eyes looked at each other. I had to divert it, "Okay, we'll get back to that later. Girish, what's your story this month?"

He was the same guy who had dug dirt on M&J merger. Though I had to keep that one on hold for a while—for some reason I did not feel very comfortable publishing the business repercussions of that news before speaking to Mihir about it, and I had to do it before other news agencies covered it.

"I'm working on the same thread as of last week's," Girish swiveled in his chair to grab his iPad. "Traced back the lead on the Mehra and Gupta merger break that I showed you  the other day, and made a list of all stability mergers, their impact on business, the likes."

The source he presented to me looked authentic, and I knew it because this wasn't something I didn't know. As far as my sources went, there was a crack in twenty-year term of their contract. "Impressive," I muttered under my breath. "

"PoppinUp has been airing a lot of stuff about mergers too," Kriti said. She was an old recruit, had been here longer than the other two, and managed the online blog for our magazine. "Should we upload a thing or two as well? That might increase the buzz."

Sure, that was a good option. However, "Mhmm not yet. We need concrete evidence. PoppinUp airs those based on theories– it's a gossip site. We are not."

Speaking of concrete evidence, a grin spread across my face when my phone buzzed on the table against which I stood, Arvika Deewan flashing on the screen. "Draft out your ideas," I commanded to the reporters, slipping out of their space, "and Esha, bring in all the drafts and keep it on my desk once you guys are done."

Patting the keys in my trouser pockets,  I walked out of the office floor before swiping towards the greener icon.

"I just landed," She said, the casual airport-bustle clear making up for the background noise. "Are we still on for the afternoon?"

"That eager, huh?" I couldn't keep it off my tone.

Ignoring that, she responded, "I'll be there in half an hour if the traffic is usual. No funny tricks, Varun, I'm warning you."

That only widened my grin.