A Broke Man

Breakfast was a forgotten affair for Veer, for his old man had ordered him to come to his office first thing in the morning when he was planning to finally hit the bed.

Don't ask what he was doing.

He was trying to find a needle from a bunch of hay.

Like literally.

As a part-time veterinary doctor, he had gone to an old man's farm to check on a restless cattle.

And somehow, he forgot to take extra needles due to his habit of putting off work.

Now, the moody little calf decided that it was in its best interest to kick the syringe away.

And comically, it fell into a bunch of hay, making the proverb quite practical, though with a slight variation, *cough* so it didn't take much time.

Turned out the calf was just going through puberty.

Now, what the hell was he doing with a needle again then?

Extracting money, of course- *cough* I mean, a moderate sedative had to be given to calm the creature's nerves.

Back to the poor guy with an unfortunate luck, he didn't get a wink of sleep, but he was used to it anyway.

Still, food is something he can't simply let go. And this really got him worked up, for he had run out of grain and the fast food shops were closed since it was three in the morning.

Anyway, he couldn't buy anything.

He was pitifully broke.

Moral of the story : If you wanna be lazy, learn to first stock up food. And also, be rich.

Sulking, he packed his bags and drove off.

Talk about bad luck.

He was sent to this isolated place with eccentric people.

Whose face did he see today first after waking up?

His own.

Now where do you vent your frustration in such a situation?

On food.

So he pretended that he was fasting, because he really didn't have food. He knows that, we know it too, but just to satisfy his ego.

Humans are simpletons.

And now his empty stomach decided to exact its revenge on him by grumbling loudly after he just politely declined the house-help who came offering brunch.

Ego be damned.

He's going to stuff himself from all kinds of delicacies.

But contrary to his expectations of plates and plates of extravagant dishes, a sickeningly nauseating bowl was served to him.

Let's give this horrible dish a name. For example, porridge - his all time enemy.

Talk about the value of food when one is hungry. Beggars can't be choosers, dear.

And this is why he can't reject this golden-egg-laying-goose of an assignment.

Why?

He's just acting tough (= too embarrassed to admit) , but his landlady just kicked him out yesterday after the sum of his delayed rent reached to the point that one could buy their own house with it.

If not for his superior's call, he would be on the streets.

He really is broke. But every dog- AHEM- everyone has their day, and it was finally his time to shine.

He's going to stick to these people like a leech and suck their money.

He grinned wickedly as he imagined swimming in bundles of cash, with his car's gold-coated body shining brighter than the sun.

Mentally patting himself, he started going through the case files given to him.

Soon, he was not going to be broke anymore.

...

Finally, the much-awaited lunch-time arrived. And a broke man feigning reluctance made his way downstairs.

And then he saw this very long table in the dining room, on whose ends the father and daughter duo were seated, and he couldn't really understand why it was kept there when there were barely any people living here.

And these people really didn't seem like those who would throw banquets every second day or just eat merrily with their servants.

Long-distance relationship, it seems. Veer chortled on the inside at his own silly joke.

On the inside, or so he thought.

In reality though, his ugly expression was in such a brazen manner, that even Butler Li would make out his evil intentions from miles away.

Now, he was preparing to witness a spicy argument like those typical gossip-monger aunties. He rubbed his hands, licking his lips mentally. Mentally, as he thought.

The spoiled brat would throw a tantrum after getting attacked, and rant about how her father doesn't really love her.

Nodding to himself, he decided to wear his ear-buds.

Silence.

He glanced at the duo. Still eating peacefully.

Okay. Never mind.

The pampered princess would get grounded by her loving father who fears her life getting endangered.

Nodding to himself again, he finally started eating.

Pin-drop silence.

He looked over again.

Still no sign of movement, nor any tension in the air.

Okay, okay.

The so-called independent girl wouldn't like a macho man like him tailing her around, making her image seem weak.

So, she just might argue with her dear father about kicking him out.

Chuckling, he nodded. This time it would happen for real.

Nerve- racking silence.

Now this was a bit odd.

He is starting to wonder whether the novels he read to date were really useless.

They're not even asking for pepper or salt, let alone behave like family members.

The atmosphere is like of a business meeting. Nah, even associates try to make small-talk.

Hell, even strangers would smile at each-other on making eye-contact.

(Me a socially-awkward person - That ain't true!)

Slowly, he looked up, only to be met with a pair of soulless black eyes, making him go numb.

...

'Fool', Riddhi thought to herself as she watched the little chick make an idiot of himself in front of her father.

Of course, he knows it.

She knows it too.

But both of them being as ignorant as ever to all the worldly matters choose to remain silent and wait for the little chick to be roasted and savoured upon.

What gave him away?

Heh, eating without an ounce of shame in his client's house, not even checking if his meal has any kind of poisonous ingredients in it, nodding to himself time and again, appearing childish to inexperienced eyes, yet the slight glint of conceited greediness in the orbs of this self-absorbed creature would never go unnoticed by the master of the estate, when even the young miss finds the fact obvious.

This kid is too confident.

He thinks that his schemes would never be discovered, as long as he has this innocent facade on.

Of course, who wouldn't want to take the advantage of such an opportunity?

Too bad he decided to mess with the wrong people.

She likes to chase and hunt. The master lets her.

She doesn't mind taking a detour, though. Scaring a prey is rather more thrilling.

So, she glanced at her trusted butler with a hint of playfulness in her eyes and a subtle smirk that the latter immediately caught on.

Grinning to herself, the old lady prowled towards the young man who was caught in his own bubble, and too lost in his thoughts to notice that the father-daughter duo had already left.

...

"Tch! You think you're here to guard the young miss? You're just a souvenir, kid. All pretty and untouched, waiting  for it's doom.", Old Butler Li whispered before laughing softly, suddenly appearing out of thin air before him, her body hanging upside-down.

Crap. He almost shrieked like an adolescent boy.

This lady sure has some talent. Almost scared the living daylights out of him. Almost. But Veer was a tough guy. The kind to hold onto the person's hand who might accidentally have the scary idea of saving him, pull the unfortunate person and then climb up by stepping on them.

He would like to take his words back. In no way is this scary lady sweet. He would rather prefer a scary old-guard who says he has been living with ghosts rather than an insane lady who looks like one.

For now, he has to find someone "normal" to talk to and vent his frustration.

Where is his phone again?

Yeah! Just that little device would solve millions of his problems in one click.

But seems like fate really has a thing or two against him today.

His left eye blinked ominously as he stared at his phone screen that read "no signal".

Now he is starting to reconsider his life choices.