Part 4:
"Thanks for the coffee Riya. Could you please do me a last favour by getting the list of interviewees who are supposed to come tomorrow?"
"Sure Ma'am" said her PA.
"Bless her" thought Riddhima, "she makes life so much easier for me, otherwise someone is hell bent on making every single day of my life a waking nightmare" she gritted through her teeth.
Not that she was to blame for these thoughts, because Armaan proved to be a very "difficult to please" colleague. Every decision she took or every proposal she sent across for the board's approval was met by dozens of cold questions from him. It was not that he didn't agree to her ideas, but to everyone's amazement he always created a great fuss before agreeing to them.
It was a month since Riddhima joined Verve, and in that short duration she made a huge impression on everyone. She was genial, down to earth and extremely passionate about her work, something that was greatly admired by all her colleagues. Even Yash Mallik was aware of her growing popularity, going by the number of people who spoke of her with high regard.
"So Miss Gupta, do we have the file ready for today's board meeting?" asked Armaan.
"Yes, Mr Mallik" replied Riddhima with perfect poise, though inwardly she was calling him all sorts of names possible.
"Great job" said Armaan looking at the file. "Sorry I had to be a little pushy as we need to make sure that our proposal impresses the board. I think we will crack it, teamwork is all what it takes."
"Teamwork, my foot!" she murmured.
"You said something?"
"No, why should I?"
"Alright, but I have a feeling that you are not very pleased with the way I like to get my work done. However, I can't help being a little cautious when I am working with women, as they tend to let the heart rule the head even in professional matters."
This was the last straw and Riddhima stood up, her eyes glowering with pure rage.
"That's it Mr Mallik, I have been a passive listener to all your jibes, but not anymore. You bombard me with inane questions, shoot down my ideas without even listening to them, you don't give me the freedom to make my decisions and mind you, that's not all. Do you find some sadistic pleasure in humiliating me? Please make it clear, so that I can be sure whether you have a problem with me or with womankind in general. Don't forget that I am human too and there is a limit to my patience."
With that she just stomped off, leaving a completely shell shocked Armaan behind.
"Is that really true?" he asked himself.
Indeed, she made him sound like those typical male chauvinist pigs, which he was not. To say the truth, Armaan used to marvel at the fact that women could not only take care of their homes, but also excel on the work front. His own mother had been a successful entrepreneur, until she decided to retire a few years back.
"Armaan, why are you doing this? You know very well how brilliant she is, but why are you constantly on your guard when she is around? Why do you always rub her off the wrong way for no fault of hers?" his inner voice decided to speak out again, this time making him feel very guilty.
"I seriously need to make up for this" he resolved before moving to the boardroom.
"Welcome board members," said Yash Mallik. "Today we are here to listen to two bright and promising members of our organization, as they present a proposal to open a new branch in Bangalore. I realize that we have no plans of adding more branches to our network right now, but I felt it would be good to hear them out at least once and see what they have to say."
With their last argument forgotten, Armaan and Riddhima soon donned the garb of astute professionals and started their presentation. Everyone in the room was impressed by the manner in which these two young people conducted the presentation and put their arguments across. Within two hours, the proposal was passed and everyone left the room congratulating Armaan and Riddhima for their bright idea.
"I am proud of you two kids" said Yash Mallik as he shook hands with both of them before leaving the room.
Riddhima was about to follow him when Armaan called out in a very hesitant voice, "Miss Gupta'"
Much as she wanted to leave the room and get away from this arrogant man, Riddhima could not help but halt her steps. She stood there looking straight ahead, without turning towards him.
"I know I have been a little too harsh on you, but please let me clarify that I absolutely have no problem working with women or you in particular. In fact, I respect women for the grit and determination with which they handle their homes as well as their work. It's just that there are some things going on in my life, which are taking a toll on me. Please don't take it the wrong way."
With that Armaan left the room leaving Riddhima stunned.
"Did he just apologize to me or was he clarifying his stand? Whatever it is, this is the first time he has spoken to me without making me feel humiliated. By the way, what is going on in his life?"
There were many thoughts and questions running in her head when she heard Rahul rushing in and giving her a bear hug.
"I knew it" he said. "I knew my best friend and bro cannot go wrong. Congratulations dear! Sorry I couldn't make it to the meeting due to a prior engagement, but I am so happy for you" said Rahul.
With this he hugged her again and this time Riddhima reciprocated the hug. As the two friends celebrated the moment, they did not notice a pair of grey eyes looking at them. Armaan had come to get his file which he accidentally left behind in the board room, but the scene in front of him just left him rooted to the spot. After a few seconds, his fists unknowingly balled up and he was just about to turn when Rahul saw him.
"Bhai, when did you come?" With this Rahul went and hugged his brother.
"Congratulations on your success. I am so happy to see two of the most special people in my life achieve the success they deserve" he said.
"Thanks little bro" said Armaan with a forced smile. "Now if you will excuse me, I will get going."
"Sure you can go now, but don't forget that we all are meeting at Jazz today" said Rahul.
"Before you both kill me with your questioning looks, let me tell you that I have planned a small celebration today and don't you dare say no. I have also invited a few other people, so we will have a blast."
Neither Armaan, nor Riddhima could ever say no to Rahul. They silently nodded their heads and left.
It was eight in the evening and Rahul was impatiently waiting in front of Riddhima's house to pick her up, even Muskaan was coming. Finally after what seemed like a long wait, both girls appeared and once Rahul looked in their direction, all he could do was to just sit and stare. He always considered Riddhima to be a very beautiful girl, but today it was Muskaan who simply took his breath away. Dressed in a red cocktail dress, she looked every bit the dream girl he always fantasized about.
In a few minutes, the girls were sitting in his car, Riddhima in the front while Muskaan took the rear seat. All smart jibes he planned to torture them with were forgotten as he just kept on grinning like an idiot till Riddhima asked him what the matter was.
"Oh nothing, it's just that I am shocked at seeing you girls look so good for a change" he said with a wink after which he was hit with a purse from behind.
"Kya bola tune?" shouted Muskaan. "Aaj to teri khair nahi Rahul ke bacche."
"The truth is always bitter" he said with a naughty smile, to which his shoulder received a couple more blows.
It was true that all three of them used to hang out together, but never did Rahul consider Muskaan as anything more than a friend. However, today was different and he could not help looking at the rear view mirror every now and then to admire her beauty.
"How come I never noticed?" he asked himself as he drove into the parking lot at Jazz.
Armaan had been waiting for a few minutes at the parking lot when he saw Rahul's car pull up. Not that he got bored waiting for them as he used this as the perfect opportunity to discuss work with one of his business associates. As soon as he saw Rahul's car, he waved and started walking towards it. Armaan was still talking on the phone when he suddenly stopped in his tracks as he saw Riddhima get out of the car. Dressed in an elegant black halter dress, she was looking stunning beyond words. Knowing that he could no longer concentrate on what his business associate was saying, Armaan ended the call and said a quick hello to all of them.
As soon as they entered the lounge bar, everyone was delighted at Rahul's choice of place. The ambience was just perfect with the right kind of music. They started chit chatting with Armaan and Riddhima mostly replying in monosyllables.
Noticing this, Muskaan suddenly asked, "Arre Ridzy kya hua? You were perfectly fine a few minutes back, why are you so reluctant to talk now?"
"Please Muskaan, don't be silly. It's nothing like that."
"So what is it like?" asked a persistent Muskaan.
"How can I make her shut up?" thought Riddhima as she saw Armaan's eyes on her, while Rahul was busy placing orders.
"Hello guys!!!!!!" a voice suddenly boomed.
"Jiju!!!!!!!" screeched the girls in unison as Atul stood in front of them with a big smile on his lips.
Both of them rushed to hug him when another voice said, "So you only remember your Jiju now?"
"Di, what a pleasant surprise" shouted Riddhima in joy as she and Muskaan enveloped her in a bear hug.
"Hey man" said Armaan giving Atul a tight hug. "When did you return from your extended honeymoon? Wasn't it supposed to be tomorrow?"
"Yes it was" said Atul. "But don't think that you are the only one who can give surprises, I can surprise people for a change too!"
"So you already know that I have shifted base to India?"
On seeing Atul nod, Armaan gave Rahul a murderous look as he hid behind Atul.
"Sorry bhai, it slipped out of my mouth when Atul bhaiya called last week."
"Tujhe to ghar jaa ke dekh loonga" said Armaan with mock anger as Atul and Rahul exchanged high-fives.
Soon all six of them were sitting and enjoying their evening. Having forgotten their previous discomfort, even Armaan and Riddhima were smiling.
Lost in her conversation with Anjali, Riddhima accidentally picked up Armaan's drink. On realizing her folly, she apologized with a "Sorry, Mr Mallik!"
Atul's ears shot up at that. "Yeh kya Mr Mallik bula rahi hai usko. Call him Armaan, he is not an oldie boss of yours!"
"Actually Atul woh'" started Armaan when Atul stared at him in disbelief and said, "Don't tell me tu isko Miss Gupta bulata hai!"
On seeing Armaan nod Atul just rolled his eyes and made them promise that they would call each other by their first names going forward.
Soon Rahul was in the mood to dance and asked Riddhima to which she agreed. As they started moving to the beats on the dance floor, Armaan looked at them with mixed emotions. He could not tell why, but a certain part of him was aching. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even realize when Rahul came and pulled all of them to the dance floor. As a newly married couple Atul and Anjali were of course dancing together and Rahul this time was more interested in dancing with Muskaan, which left no choice for Armaan and Riddhima. They had to dance together.
Riddhima stopped breathing as soon as Armaan's hand rested on her waist and much as she tried, she could not control her erratic heartbeat. Thankfully they were not standing very close, otherwise Armaan would have realized the state she was in. On the other hand, all Armaan could feel was a sense of peace and completeness enveloping him as soon as her delicate hands rested on his shoulders. That certain part of him wished this would go on forever as they slowly moved with the music. They rarely looked at each other but the sense of being together, even though it was on the dance floor, was awakening many new emotions in both.
After a couple of hours, as all of them stood in the parking lot, Rahul handed over the promised album to Atul and Anjali. Both of them were touched by his gesture and hugged him affectionately. Riddhima could also see traces of a few tears as Anjali flipped through the pages with Atul.
"Bhai, is it ok for you to drop Riddhima at her place?" asked Rahul. "The original plan was that I would drop both girls at the Gupta Mansion. However, Muskaan just received a call from her mom who said she is needed at home. I was thinking I can drop her, while you can go and drop Riddhima."
Riddhima was just about to come up with an excuse to avoid this, when she heard Armaan say, "No problem, I will drop Riddhima."
"Thanks bro"
She had no other choice but to say yes. Moreover, she didn't want her Jiju and Di to take the trouble of dropping her home, as they lived at the other end of the town. Soon all of them left in their respective cars.
Both Armaan and Riddhima were silent during the drive to the Gupta Mansion. Deep in their hearts, both wanted to start a conversation but didn't know how to go about it. As they were battling their internal thoughts, the car stopped in front of Riddhima's house.
As soon as the car came to a halt, Riddhima quickly undid her seat belt, murmured a "Thank You" and stepped out. In her hurry, she didn't even realize that her feet had still not found a firm hold of the ground. End result: she tripped and sprained her delicate ankle.
Armaan was immediately by her side as soon as he heard her cry out in pain.
"You fine?" he asked with concern.
"Yes, I am ok."
"Let me give you a hand, don't think you should put pressure on your ankle as it has started swelling"
"No that's fine, I will manage. Thanks so much" said Riddhima as she started walking towards the house with a visible limp.
Suddenly she found herself being lifted off the ground and before she could realize what was happening, Armaan was carrying her in his arms and walking towards the house. The sudden movement made her hands involuntarily wrap themselves around Armaan's neck and this was when their eyes met. The moment his bluish grey eyes collided with her hazel pair, it created a magic that left both of them spellbound.
Riddhima felt nothing like this in her entire life as Armaan carried her in his arms and put her down gently on reaching the main door of the house. He waited till a maid opened the door and helped her in. Making sure she was comfortably seated, he said a quick "Bye" and started walking towards the door. However, before reaching the door he turned around and said, "Riddhima, take care." With that he was gone, leaving her swarmed by a host of unknown emotions that shocked her by their intensity.
Armaan's last words kept ringing in Riddhima's ears as the maid helped her walk to her room. It was good that her parents were not at home that night, otherwise she would have had a hard time explaining the reason behind her flushed face.
Both Armaan and Riddhima spent a sleepless night, remembering the past few hours, reliving every single moment in detail. They both realized there was something that connected them - the eyelock, the touch, the words, everything was hinting at something. But did that connection have a name? Neither of them knew the answer to this.
Edited by richa_b - 15 years ago
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