Part 3:
Anjali's wedding turned out to be something dreams are made of. Needless to say, it was a grand affair that simply left all invitees spellbound. The Guptas were an affluent family, but never did they make any overt show of their wealth. However, Anjali's wedding was a different thing and Shashank Gupta went all out to make it a memorable day for his eldest daughter.
Looking absolutely stunning in her bridal attire, Anjali simply took everyone's breath away and Atul had a hard time focusing on anything. Time just froze when he saw her descending down the stairs and walking towards the mandap. Rahul had to literally shake Atul out of his stupor, so that he could also turn his attention towards the marriage rituals. The bride and groom took their wedding vows in front of the sacred fire and were soon taking blessings from everyone as man and wife.
As Atul and Anjali were committing themselves to a lifelong bond, a certain Mr Mallik was trying hard not to let his eyes wander to one particular direction of the hall. Talking about the object of his attention, it was a beautiful fairy clad in a shimmering white sari that accentuated her delicate features. Her elegant poise, rich laughter and infectious charm were simply making him all the more confused.
"Why am I constantly staring at this stupid and clumsy girl? What has gone into me? She is ok in terms of looks, but I have seen hundreds of more beautiful women. Don't think she is anywhere near them" he thought with an arrogant smirk.
"Hey man, be honest" said his inner voice. "At least give some credit where it's deserved. She does look beautiful."
With these conflicting thoughts running in his mind, Armaan decided to go and join Rahul who was busy clicking pictures of Atul and Anjali.
"Hey kiddo" said Armaan.
"Bhai, please yahan kiddo mat bulao. Meri reputation ka sawal hai" said Rahul with a frown.
"Hmmm... I can see that my kiddo has grown up"
"There you go again bhai'"
"Ok fine, just tell me if you have an idea as to how long this ceremony would last?"
"Around half an hour more I guess. By the way, I am famished. I am going to grab some food, so could you please take over my job for a few minutes?"
"Me clicking pictures! I think I can make myself more useful somewhere else. Moreover, there are so many professional photographers here, who are doing their job quite well. Don't think I need to show off my non-existent photography skills in front of them" said Armaan.
"Please bro, it's for Atul bhaiya. I promised him that I would capture all the beautiful moments of his wedding in an album, which would be my wedding gift. Yes, I agree that all these professional photographers out here are much better at this job, but for them it's only a job. They won't notice the sparkle I can see in bhaiya and bhabhi's eyes, they can't see the blush creeping up her cheek when he is looking at her and of course, they won't meet him again after the wedding, but I will and if I don't keep my promise, he will kill me without any trace of regret. Please!"
When it came to Atul, Armaan could do anything. Like on the day of the engagement party, he agreed to go to Anjali's room and place a surprise gift from Atul on her bed. Armaan was totally aghast when he first heard Atul tell him about this plan.
"Me sneaking up to a girl's room? You got to be kidding man"
However, Atul was dead serious and after a series of lectures and emotional blackmailing sessions, Armaan agreed to go there and place the gift at the designated spot. After getting his job done, Armaan was about to leave the semi lighted room, when his attention was diverted by a beautiful vision in blue, who was struggling to straighten herself and balance a whole pile of gifts in her hands.
Coming back to the present, all of a sudden a scene flashed past Armaan's mind. It was that of him holding Riddhima and looking into her hazel eyes. But it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Within minutes, the amateur photographer in Armaan took over his arrogant self that refused to admit that clicking photographs wasn't a waste of time. Soon enough, he was clicking photos of the bride and groom in all their moods. He mentally praised Rahul for this wonderful idea as he was now convinced that nothing else could be a better gift for Atul and Anjali. Suddenly, as if the camera and his hands had a mind of their own, Armaan found himself turning his camera a little towards the right, from where a tinkling laughter emanated. In the next few seconds, the camera clicked half a dozen pictures of a certain lady in white.
Riddhima couldn't ignore the "oohs" and "aahs" coming from the female population as they drooled over the hot and handsome photographer who was busy clicking away the bride and groom. Armaan was looking nothing short of a cover page model in a maroon sherwani that accentuated his height and well toned physique.
"If only he could turn and click us once" giggled one of them.
"I know dear. What would I not give to have him as my prince charming?" sighed another.
"Goodness, don't these girls have anything else to say or do" thought Riddhima with a frown creasing her delicate face.
Suddenly a scene from last week's engagement party flicked through her mind.....a pair of strong arms holding her by the waist as she clung to them for support. She had to admit that it felt different.
"Hey, don't even go there girl" she mentally scolded herself and went to get a drink to cool her suddenly flared temper.
With all the rituals over, it was time for the bride to bid goodbye to her family and childhood home. It was indeed a heartbreaking scene to witness the sadness and tears that characterized that moment. Even Armaan could feel a lump in his throat on seeing Anjali cry her heart out in her sister's arms. Soon enough, Anjali was gone to her new home, to a new life that held many promises for the future.
2 days later:
"Ridz you ready?"
"Yup Muski, am coming in two minutes" Riddhima shouted from her room upstairs.
Today was her first day at her new job and Muskaan was here to drop her. Riddhima had insisted on going alone, but Muskaan didn't budge an inch.
"I want to drop you to work and that's final"
Knowing that it was useless to argue with Muskaan, she gave in.
"I hope there are some hot guys at your new office" quipped Muskaan as they were waiting at a traffic signal.
"But tell me why are you so interested? Isn't the handsome guy who keeps bothering you in your dreams enough?"
"What if my dream guy decides not to show up? I am trying to look for a back-up just in case that happens" said Muskaan with a giggle and continued with her banter.
In another 10 minutes they were in front of the building that housed Verve, a media empire that was set up by Raj Mallik forty years back. It had a very modest start, but grew in leaps and bounds within a short span of time. Today, Verve was one of the most respected names in the media world with Yash Mallik at the helm.
As she looked at the building, Riddhima knew that she was moving to another level in her career today. It was an honour to be working with a prestigious organization like Verve and she promised herself that she would give it her best. After seeing Muskan off and taking a deep breath Riddhima stepped into a new world, with a small prayer on her lips.
"Hello Miss Gupta, welcome aboard. We are proud to have you here" said a cheerful looking man as he welcomed her at the entrance.
"Thanks so much Mr Saxena. It's really an honour for me to work with Verve"
Mr Saxena was her point of contact during the entire interview process, so he took it upon himself to welcome Riddhima and introduce her to the office. The next 20 minutes saw a lot of introductions as Mr Saxena made sure that Riddhima got to know everyone she would be working with.
"Now I would like you to meet the in-charge of the creative department, his cabin is to the right, please follow me."
"Please meet Miss Gupta who will be heading our HR department" said Mr Saxena as he opened the door to the cabin.
Rahul literally jumped out of his seat as soon as he saw Riddhima. Dressed in a smart formal suit, she was looking very different from the sweet and easy going girl she always seemed to be.
"How many surprises are you going to give me Riddhima? Please, have some sympathy for my poor heart, it can't take those sudden appearances of yours" said Rahul with a grin.
"Well, I wanted it to be a surprise. Jiju told me that you work here and I decided to remain quiet until I saw your shocked face" said Riddhima with a wicked grin.
Rahul and Riddhima had become very good friends during the past one week. They met regularly at the functions leading to the wedding and had struck a very good rapport with each other. When Atul told her that Rahul also worked for Verve, Riddhima was so excited that she decided to call him right away, but on second thoughts, she felt a surprise like this would be more effective. She was so right as Rahul's face was a sight to watch.
As the two friends continued chatting, Mr Saxena looked on with a confused expression. On hearing a sudden cough, Riddhima realized that they had forgotten the poor guy. She apologized for their behaviour and requested him to complete the other introductions. Promising to meet up for lunch, Riddhima left Rahul and followed Mr Saxena to meet the head of the marketing and PR department.
On entering the cabin, they saw it was empty but decided to wait for a few minutes. Riddhima could not help but notice the austere look that enveloped the entire cabin. It seemed like the owner was a serious person who hardly laughed or enjoyed the simple joys of life.
A slight sound at the door diverted Mr Saxena's attention while Riddhima continued with her reflections.
"Ah, there he is. Miss Gupta, please meet Mr Mallik"
Riddhima turned with a smile and an outstretched hand that froze midway as soon as she saw who she was being introduced to.
Dressed in a grey business suit, Armaan looked like a guy who could make any girl go weak in the knees. However, he was also looking at her with an equally confused look. His stormy eyes were a mixture of various emotions and it was difficult to make out what he was thinking, but he soon regained his composure and shook hands with Riddhima in a very professional manner. His cool professional attitude also rubbed off on Riddhima who soon slipped into the persona of the HR head of Verve.
"So you are the new HR department head Dad was talking about. Great, welcome aboard" said Armaan.
"Thanks Mr Mallik" she said with cool composure.
After a couple of hours, when she was done with all the introductions and induction formalities, Riddhima sat in the cabin with her head in her hands.
"Oh God, why is he here? How am I going to work with this rude guy who doesn't think twice before downsizing people?"
With this, her thoughts went back to the day of Anjali's wedding. All the rituals had got over and Riddhima along with Muskaan was busy trying to hide Atul's shoes under a heap of flowers. It was a custom for the bride's sisters to hide the groom's shoes and later demand a hefty amount of money in exchange.
As they were doing this, they heard a voice saying, "Aren't there better things to do than hiding Atul's shoes under this heap of foul smelling flowers."
Even before they turned, both girls knew that it was Armaan saying those words.
"You see it's a custom and we are just doing that" said Riddhima.
"Suit yourself, but I think it's a complete waste of time. Not many people would understand that though" he said with a smirk before leaving.
"Muskaan, I have never hated anyone in my life, but I am very close to hating this man. God, I don't think I have seen a more arrogant jerk in my whole life."
"Good going Ridzy. I knew this Lord Snooty is a jerk the very first time we met him, but it was you who decided to give him the benefit of doubt. Anyway, I am happy that you have realized the truth now" said Muskaan with a laugh.
The beeping of her phone brought Riddhima back from her thoughts. It was Anjali calling to ask how was her day going so far.
"It has been great Di" chirped Riddhima. "Except the meeting with that arrogant specimen though" she added in her mind.
Riddhima had got to know from Atul that Armaan worked for a leading bank in the US, however, she never knew that he shifted base to India.
"How come Jiju never told me this?"
The truth was that even Atul was unaware of this. He was too busy with the wedding and Armaan never broke this news as he wanted to surprise Atul after he returned from his honeymoon.
"No problem, I will find out why and I will also decipher what makes this guy the arrogant jerk he is!" she said with determination as she left her cabin to join Rahul for lunch.
Armaan had been staring at his laptop screen for a long time when his PA came to enquire if wanted some coffee. Mumbling a "yes", he turned his attention to the screen again. He had been studying Riddhima's CV for quite some time now. His father Yash Mallik did tell him something about having hired a very bright and competent young woman for the post of the HR head. In fact, he had also forwarded her CV, but Armaan never got the chance to look at it and now that he did, he was in for a shock.
This "clumsy" girl was not only a college topper, but also a pass out from one of the premier management colleges of India. Her prior work experience was also impressive.
"This is amazing. How could I never make out that she is such a brilliant girl?"
"Simple, because since the time you met her, you have been trying hard to make yourself dislike her" an inner voice told him.
"But why would I do that?" he asked. However, this time the voice chose to remain silent.
"Guess I will have to find the answers myself" said Armaan as he shifted his attention back to his work.
Both Armaan and Riddhima were trying to find answers to certain questions. However, they failed to see that destiny would reveal the answers itself in due course of time. Not many realize that if time can be the biggest healer, it can also be the biggest conspirator when it comes to making hearts meet.
