Meeting after so long!!!

Jerika went to the celebration hall with Martin and Martin gets busy with his lot. Jerika tried to avoid Antoine as much as she can but when she was alone to grab a drink for herself, he came into her direction. When Jerika noticed that she knew that it was too late to run away and now she has to listen to his stories and to his lies. Jerika drank the full glass in one go and she knew that it will hit her hard. Above that, she grabbed another glass of wine because she knew that she will not be able to handle Antoine without alcohol.

“I never expected to see you here after such a long time” Antoine said. Jerika looked at Antoine who was standing beside her, putting one of his hands in his pant pocked and grabbing a champagne glass on other. Jerika knew he was trying to bluff his position and his smile and his whole existence was false… Jerika’s head was boiling with anger and her heart was thumping too fast. Jerika could feel her blood pressure growing up but still she tried to manage a straight face in front of the creature trying acting so nice in front of her.

“Congratulations Dr. Mark” Jerika said. Jerika congratulated the man with the only hope that it will drive the man away but he kept standing there to test Jerika’s patience even more.

“Thank you Dr. Stoll. I can’t wait to start working with you” Antoine said. Antoine was meeting Jerika after such a long time. They use to be very good friends earlier but then he went away because of word and his relocation and then they just lost the touch although he knew that Jerika was still upset about certain things happened in the past but there was a fact that no one can change the past and you need to move forward and let the things stay in the past as well. Antoine only hoped that Jerika would have forgotten her past too and she was too looking in the future then clinging to the past and its haunted memories.

“Well I cannot promise you anything” Jerika said and Antoine knew that Jerika had been still clinging to the past and it was not good for them and for the project too. They were going to work together. It will be better if there will be no differences and conflicts between them because that will make the work environment healthy and prosperous for them and for the sake of project too as Antoine knew that Jerika was incapable of controlling her emotions and holding them back for long. If the problems between then continues then surely it will lead to troubles between them in long run and it will also affect the project too and the project was very important to get ruined because of some stupid brawl.

“Jerika... please stop. You are getting me wrong. You have always got me wrong and you think that I am the villain but I am here to help you” Antoine said. Antoine wanted to clear his difference with Jerika and he wanted her to understand that whatever they were discussing was of no use as it was not important to debate on that topic anymore. Whatever happened… it is done… it was all in past and nothing can bring it all back. So what was the point in fighting over all that?

“You were not there to help me when I needed the most and never again try to touch me like that ever again. We are not friends Antoine and it has not been that long, it has been two years, twelve days and five hours. I know this clearly because this matter to me and I thought it mattered to you too but again I think we were again on dissimilar page and it looks like our differences never seems to cease trouble between us” Jerika said. Jerika could not believe that man in front of her was saying that he was her friend. What kind of friend was he? When she needed a friend the most then he was nowhere to found. He was not there to help her in fact he went away. He did not ask her once how she was doing and he did not bother to check on her and after two years he was acting like nothing big happened and she was making a deal out of it. It was no fair that he above all was belittling the problem when he was the cause of all.

“There were no differences before two years, what changed now?” Antoine asked. It seems like he was not getting Jerika’s point or he does not intent to understand it. He was telling his story… his version of truth whereas Jerika was telling her version. Both were speaking about the same things but on different terms.

“You are asking me!!! I am the person I have always been but you are the one who changed somehow. You did something... something horrible, I know you did something you should not have done and we... many of us... I... you so proudly called as friend paid for it and you did not had guts to face me so the next thing you did was you ran away to the other continent on the planet” Jerika said. According to Jerika, Antoine was not just a bad friend but he was worst among all and she knew somewhere that he was hiding something… he has at fault… he definitely did something and that is why he ran away two years back but why did he came back now? Why now when Jerika was not expecting him to come back? Was it because of the project? What was going on that man’s mind? Jerika was not sure of Antoine’s intentions but she was sure that they will not be good for her.

“I was relocated” Antoine said. Antoine did not want to get into that conversation because he simply cannot. Jerika was asking for the things she should not and there was no point in discussing all that now. It was all in the past and they were living in present but looking at Jerika it was evident that she was still in past. Now hoe to bring her to the present? If Jerika kept asking same questions and thinking in the similar way then she will become a threat and a threat to the project is not taken cared very well. There were certain protocols and certain rules unofficially set to handle such situations and such people but Antoine did not want to use the same methods with Jerika. He simply did not.

“And so was your cell phone” Jerika said and Antoine let out a deep breath. Jerika was scratching each and every surface of the past. She was getting into the details now. Everything was still fresh in her mind. Antoine made a mistake in thinking that he can handle her. She was an impossible woman. She does not know how to let go of things. It will not prove to be good for her but how to explain that to her.

“My number changed” Antoine said. It was the only thing that came up to his mind. It was a stupid excuse but it was something for Antoine.

“Do not take me as a fool Dr. Mark. I know very well what kind of person you are and I know why you came back” Jerika said. Jerika could no longer hide her true emotions and she could not falsify her nature like everybody else.

“That is ridiculous. I came back because I was appointed as a Project Head” Antoine said.

“Do you really want me to believe that huh... I know government is involved so it is practically impossible to seek some inquiry or to complain. Firstly, the whole management changes and then now a new Project head were appointed. You... out of everyone, why you? I think it is because of the nature of this project” Jerika said and Antoine looked around and he realized that people had started gathering around them to listen to their conversation because clearly they were not just talking but fighting and others were taking interest in that. Antoine was not sure what to do now but he cannot get back because that will imply that he wrong and he could not let that happen. It was not right. He has to stand to his guards and not let that matter slide. Jerika was getting out of line and she was not going to stop so easily so the best way to solve that problem was to make Jerika wrong in all this.

“The nature of this project!!!” Antoine asked to Jerika but he was more focused on people surrounding them and whispering about them. They were having nice gossip. A new Project Head fighting with the most potent colleague, what kind of message does that fight implies!!!