Finding herself drifting off to gaga land for the billionth time in the past hour Riddhima cursed out loud, "Stupid fool"
"I beg your pardon ma'am" Mary was accustomed to being spoken to rudely but never had her boss ever sworn at her,
"Oh not you Mary, I was just thinking out loud. You continue darling, 12:30 what " waving her hand Riddhima attempted to brush away her off hand comment as well as trying to cover up the fact she hadn't actually been paying attention.
Clearly affronted by the comment Mary read out Riddhima's schedule for the day, handed her the files needed for the various meetings scheduled, in the most polite manner she could muster with her blood boiling at the same and left the office; unfortunately for her Riddhima had already noticed how Mary had left the room in quiet a strop.
"Well I never" Riddhima chuckled out loud allowing her mind to think of something else for the first time all day "The girl has attitude, admirable I say but we'll have to sort that out pretty sharpish is she wants to come back to a job" laughing at he last glimpses of Mary's swaying purple pleated skirt disappearing behind the wooden door Riddhima allowed herself to chuckle once more as she thought about breaking down the woman's pride
Carelessly flicking through the files Riddhima frowned deep as soon as she saw a certain file, it was none other than AM Enterprises initial business proposal file, still in it's rich matt black leather folder, it stood out for miles yet she had seemed to find no interest in it the first time she came across it; "What the" leaving her sentence unfinished and thoughts of how it got there in mid air she started flicking through the pages with genuine interest. She obviously hadn't gone through the file properly the first time round if she were now sitting in her office owning almost half the shares of the company; half the company.
Half the company, it dawned on her what she had done. She had gone out of her way and jumped at the first possible opportunity to get back at AM, without really thinking out the possibilities. Riddhima was rich but not rich enough to be able to suffer such a huge loss if the company she shook her head not wanting to think of the worst possible scenario, "At least I can always depend on this place if anything god forbid were to go wrong" looking around her office Riddhima took in no detail at all, her mind still clouded with doubt at her own actions and the intentions of Mr AM. "HA! Mr AM grrr I don't even know the man's full name! Who am I kidding I'm in deep water this time"
Hopelessly sitting back in her chair Riddhima stared out of her office window, none of the activities below her 4th floor office window interested her as much as the sky did, . The sky exactly where she wanted to be, there and beyond, with all her loved ones, away from the worries of this artificial world, away from "Have I made a mistake?" she asked to skies, not really expecting an answer, "he hasn't called, hasn't attempted to lend any further explanation for his tardiness and here I am sitting waiting for... anything?" letting a huge sigh she realised how hard she was finding it to breath. Taking deep breaths she tried to calm her nerves, being nervous always made her forget to breath, something she thought she had conquered at a young age but apparently fast forgetting with AM in the picture.
"I'm safe, my money's safe, the company shares are doing fine... everything is fine... Breath now god damn it Riddhima" putting her head in her hands as she closed her eyes leaning over her desk, her frown deepened. The RG of AC Investors, the RG who made others lose their sense of calm and pretty much any control they once may have possessed of their lives. And here she letting a client come business partner almost drive her to the brink of insanity, "Hardly but still, I must have been temporarily mad if it meant me losing all traces of rational thinking and just going and buy like a mad woman, well not any more" taking deep breaths to calm her nerves Riddhima unintentionally started to breath in the aroma of the leather folder.
The rich luxurious leather smell soothed her senses for a moment, calming the pulsating nerves in the nether part of her brain, conjuring images of a long forgotten leather coat she once had, bringing with it strange memories, memories of laughter with her friends, days lounging around sea side bars having fun till the early hours and then memories of those anxious lost eyes as they scarpered away trying to get free... only to be...
Jumping up at the sudden memory Riddhima found herself feeling sick, immediately getting up from her desk to get a drink of water from the cooler she felt the uneasiness settle in again as her hands shook trying to hold the cup under the dispenser. This had to stop today she decided, sipping the cold water she felt the cool sensation travel down her throat quenching her thirst and momentarily freezing her feelings.
Moving back to her desk slowly more relaxed now Riddhima picked up the phone to call AM Enterprises, if AM wasn't going to take her call's today then she'd have no choice but to sell the shares making the company volatile once again... "Two can play at the game of torture Mr AM"
"I'm sorry Sir, without an appointment I can't let you inside. Ms Gupta is very particular about not seeing anyone without an appointment"
"I know I don't have an appointment, you see I've literally just flown in from China and needed to meet Ms Gupta immediately, maybe you could just let her know Mr AM is here to meet her, I'm sure she won't refuse"
Recalling the events from the last time an unscheduled appointment had turned up Mary was not in the mood to be threatened with her job again. "As I've said Sir I can't disturb Ms Gupta unless you have an appointment"
Completely outraged by this ever efficient receptionist Aarman had no choice but to use his secret weapon... the million dollar smile and charm that had bent even the hardest cookie in the industry, literally. Well that and the help of Abhi who for some reason seemed to disappear completely leaving Aarman feeling a little insecure yet still excited at the prospect of finally being able to meet Riddhima; and there was no way some uptight receptionist was going to stop him now. Eyeing the mass of disorganised papers on her desk an Abhi idea came into Aarman's mind
"As you wish I'll leave, can you please pass on a message to Ms Gupta?"
"Of course" rummaging around for a piece of paper amongst the masses of papers on her desk to write on Mary only managed to make the mess worse, causing a whole load of paper in the process to fall onto the ground
Hurrying behind the desk to give her a hand Aarman had 'accidently' helped topple over he switched the intercom connecting to Riddhima's office on. Straightening up her paperwork and clothes as she stood up Mary thanked Aarman
"Oh it's no worry, have you got a paper now sweetheart? I guess if I can't meet Ms Gupta today then it'll have to be a day with an appointment"
Laughing feeling slightly awkward at being so rude to someone who had just helped her and not stood around like most men would have done she decided to see if she could get the man a meeting today. Remembering the morning incident only fuelled her on further
"Let me see what I can do Mr AM, I suppose there's no harm in asking"
Riddhima who was already at the ajar door in the process of just about to leave heard the entire thing on the intercom, butting in before the ever efficient receptionist managed to get up Riddhima startled the pair as she spoke, "No problem Mary, let the gentleman in" trying not to act to excited about finally seeing her plan starting to fall into place Riddhima casually walked back into the office with a smile playing in her lips
Aarman stood at the reception desk for a split second longer getting over the first glimpse of Riddhima, her innocent emerald shaded eyes, the subtle hint of pink lipstick, the loose strands of hair that had come undone from her bun, blowing gently as she moved her lips to speak... she had taken him off guard and left a lasting effect.
"Ahem erm you can go in sir" composing himself quickly Aarman turned to smile at Mary before hurrying behind Riddhima lest she changed her mind. But how could she, Abhi had said it would all go perfectly and she'd actually be waiting for him. Was that what she was doing at the doorway? Waiting for him? As long as he kept what Abhi said this was going to be the first of many memorable meetings.
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