Chapter 4 ~ A Friendship Rekindled
Jaya checked her watch as she waited in the restaurant of the Diamonds Azure hotel. She had landed in Mumbai a few hours ago, with barely an hour to spare to freshen up and get her thoughts in order for the impending meeting ahead. It was a critical one as on it rested the fate of her recently developed plans. After her altercation with Jaidev a couple nights past, she had decided that it was best for the two of them to part ways. They were two opposite individuals, shackled in a bond for life by circumstances. Having hope gave a purpose to life, and she had clung to it for four years, but now she had realised that hope had fast begun crumbling and her life was teetering dangerously on the brink of despair. She couldn't let her life succumb to it and her best bet was to shift the focus of her energies to a cause more worthy than saving her relationship: Saving innocent lives. That was how she found herself here today.
She had met with her friend, Suki, and decided that she actively wanted to pursue a career. Suki was responsible for the running of Cherish, an NGO that campaigned for and was actively involved in the upliftment of the lives of street kids. Jaya had been an honorary member of the NGO until now, providing help and input as and when needed. However, now that she had a decision made, she had joined Cherish full time and taken up the position of PR and Marketing head. The first task on her list was to get in touch with potential candidates who would be willing to represent Cherish in the battle against Subhash Lal in the court of law.
As her eyes scanned the plush restaurant, they zeroed in and settled on a tall figure, resplendent in a black business suit, walking towards her.
"To what do I owe the honour of this meeting with the elusive Mrs. Sinha?" He asked as he stood before her, an enigmatic smile playing on his face.
"Sinhaal Vardhan Singh, as glib and suave as ever," Jaya retorted, "No wonder you're giving all those attorneys a run for their money in the courtroom with that smooth charm of yours."
Sinhaal threw his head back and laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners, as he took a seat opposite her. Sinhaal and Jaya had been close friends during their university days when both were studying together. After university, they had lost touch as Jaya had married Jaidev and Sinhaal had gone on to establish himself as a credible name in the legal world in a very short span of time.
"Guilty, as charged," he winked. "And you're as breathtakingly beautiful as ever."
"Incorrigible flirt," Jaya reprimanded.
Sinhaal grinned, "How is Jaidev?"
"Just like he always was," Jaya replied cryptically.
"You mean lucky," he deduced.
Jaya smiled, "How about you? How is Mrs. Singh?"
"There is no Mrs. Singh. You'd be the first to know if there was one," Sinhaal replied, as he took a sip of water from the glass on his table.
Jaya raised a brow, "Why haven't you married, yet?"
"Because I'm too cool to settle down," he grinned.
"You can give that cool crap to the world, not to me," said Jaya, her response an obvious attempt to dig deeper into the life of the friend she hadn't met or spoken to in four years.
"You know it, Jaya. Five years ago, a pretty woman stole my heart and she hasn't returned it," Sinhaal tossed back flippantly, as he shrugged.
"You have to move on, Sin," Jaya urged, the sadness in her voice barely veiled.
"Yeah, but where will I find a woman willing to settle down with a heartless man?" He waggled his brows," trying to steer the conversation from serious waters and brushing it off as a source of amusement.
"Sin! You're not heartless. You're just finding excuses. I'm sure if -"
"Wait, why are we even having this conversation?" Sinhaal cut in, feigning indignation, "I'm sure you haven't come down all the way from Delhi to give me lessons in dating."
Jaya rolled her eyes, "Fine. Let's talk business. But this conversation is far from over."
"Trust me, with your persuasive skills, I'd be a fool to believe otherwise," Sinhaal muttered.
"Did you say something?" At Jaya's raised brow, he shook his head and smiled innocently, "I think we should order. I'm starving!"
As Sinhaal hailed the waiter, Jaya took a quick glance at the menu and was ready with her order by the time he walked up to their table. She ordered Chicken Stuffed Peppers followed by Saag Paneer with Parathas while Sinhaal chose Mozzarella Gobi Koftas with Sweet Potato Raita followed by Garlic Egg Fried Rice.
"I see you haven't outgrown your love for spicy food," Sinhaal commented once the waiter had left with their order.
"Once a foodie, always a foodie," she grinned.
"I'm sure the Sinhas must never get bored for lack of food options, what with the variety of delicacies that their daughter-in-law would be treating them every day to," he laughed.
"You sound jealous!"
"Of course, I am!"
Their teasing banter continued until the food arrived.
"So, what are you up to these days?" Sinhaal asked as he bit into the deliciously soft Gobi Kofta dipped in the sweet Raita.
"You've heard of Cherish?" Jaya asked savouring the aroma of the stuffed Peppers.
"The NGO that works for rescuing street kids? They've been in the news for a while."
Jaya nodded, "I've joined Cherish as their new PR and Marketing head."
"Been a long time coming," He added.
Jaya smiled in agreement and continued, "If you've been following the news, you must be aware that Cherish is currently embroiled with the politico, Subhash Lal. During one of our recent rescue operations, we learnt that his carpet-making businesses employ street kids under the age of 14 and the working conditions are also not favourable to the health of the workers."
Sinhaal didn't comment, but the wheels had started turning in his head.
"As he's a popular figure in the political scenario, we tried talking to him about the situation to convince him to release the kids and change his employment policies, as we didn't want the issue to blow up in the media, but he denied any involvement of child labourers in his factory."
"So Cherish decided to take the matter to the court of law," he inferred.
"But someone caught a whiff of the matter and tipped off the media. Things then started spiraling downhill from there."
"Where does Cherish stand now?"
"Without a legal representative."
Sinhaal raised a brow, "How did the situation become so dire?"
"Subhash's connections and political standing has affected Cherish. We've had some of our long-standing funders backing out. When we didn't let it affect our resolve, we were met with veiled threats and incidents."
"Incidents?" he queried, curiosity lacing his tone.
"Three of our employees have called it quits since the news hit the media. Both the lawyers associated with Cherish have met with different minor accidents," Jaya explained.
"You suspect foul play," Sinhaal stated.
She shrugged, "It is too structured to be a coincidence."
"What do you expect from me?" he asked, looking Jaya in the eye.
"I need you to join as the legal representative for Cherish. Can you?"
When he continued to stare at her and didn't immediately respond, she hurried to add, "I know it isn't going to be an easy assignment. Knowing Subhash, there is potential threat to life of the people involved, but we can't leave all those kids in the lurch. Please, Sin."
"When have I ever said no to you, Jaya?" his voice softened at the plea in her voice.
The dazzling smile that she bestowed on him very well made his day, "Thanks, Sin! You're a gem."
***
A/N: Looking forward to your thoughts on the introduction of a new character. Those who're thinking that there's going to be a jealousy track, don't keep your hopes too high because as of now, I do not have any such ideas because I believe Jaidev incapable of jealousy.😆
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Edited by -Sarcy- - 9 years ago
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