ArShi:Destiny With TRAILER Thread I - Page 7

Some 30 hours ago…

In another corner of the world, a beast was sleeping away in a large room that was covered in a cloak of darkness. He was breathing loud and hard whilst he lay on his stomach. One could easily mistake his loud breathing for rage and his nostrils seemed to flare as well. His eyelids were shut; his brows were still creased even in sleep; he lay bare and completely motionless wrapped in a satin black sheet. His right hand was tangled in a mesh of blond hair and his leg was draped over a striking creature beside him.

It was a still very gloomy outside, and sheets of rain were hammering down disturbing the peacefulness of this early morning. He, however, lay slumped on his large bed which most of his body was sprawled on. The creature lay crushed underneath the beast's limbs but perfectly asleep. Suddenly, the silence of this world was shattered with the ringing of his cell phone that lay next on his bedside table. He slowly opened his big, brown, daunting eyes, and soundlessly untangled his limbs from her. He stretched over with his strong, tanned arm and picked up the phone.

"What is it Aman, it is five in the bloody morning. What could possibly happen in the last 4 hours?" he yelled into the mouth piece as he sat up and slumped his tired body against the head rest. He rubbed his sore eyes as he tried to make sense of where he was. He recognized that he was very much in his apartment. He then focused on the voice coming from the other end of the line.

"Oh really… they sent their revised copy of the contract… That's great… Ok, send me the revised contract now!"

The voice on the other end halted his already racing mind. He was eager to read the contract and place his final demands.

"Oh shit, of course, it completely slipped my mind…the BBC interview, damn… uh Aman, send the contract, I'll read it on the journey over. Yeah alright… see you there."

He disconnected the call and placed the phone back on the table. He had a very bad head ache and his throat was parched. He squinted around the room to make out the objects in the dark. His eyes landed on the blond creature lying next to him sharing his bed. She stirred a little but she was too tired to open her eyes. He probed around the bed for his clothes since the only thing he had on was the sheet. He spotted his jeans carelessly dumped on the floor. He hurriedly grabbed hold of them as his eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room. He stood up and slipped his jeans on. He then opened the curtain slightly to let in some light. Walking towards the washroom, he pushed away the clothes, shoes and the wine bottles that were in his way. The clear and concise remnants of what must have occurred last night. Though he regarded not even the slightest, and stood in front of the washroom mirror to wash his face. The remnants of last night's party were pronounced loudly in the form of dark circles, lipstick marks, and alcohol breath. The images of last night flashed in his mind as he tried to remember how he had ended up in his room. He remembered going to the opening of a club; he was sure he got drunk, and he was even surer that he had ended up having sex after seeing the condom packet lying empty of the floor. Who was the girl? He didn't quiz himself further; he splashed cold water on his face and drank some water from the faucet. His one day old stubble was still itchy and he needed a shower but before he could jump into the shower, he heard a knock on the door.

He opened the door, clearly looking annoyed, and rude asked her, "What is it?"

The brave and flirtatious look that lingered in her eyes when she had worn his shirt off the floor along with her thong seemed to fly out of the window. She looked visibly petrified and distraught to see the sudden difference in the person whom she has spent the last night in bed and the beast who seemed to growl at her right now. She politely managed to smile at him and said, "Oh, I just needed to use the bathroom."

"Okay, hurry up." That was all he said to her. Inside the washroom, she hastily finished her business and came out. As he was going to enter the washroom, she blocked his way. "Arnav… come join me in bed," she whispered seductively but rather than getting an approval in response, she was shocked to see him impatiently rolling his eyes. "There is a car waiting for you downstairs… I just called my driver; he can drop you off anywhere you would like. Your clothes have been cleaned, ironed." He said calmly and before she could get in a word further, he slipped into the washroom and shut the door. Every night like last night, he was with someone different, but just like every morning, it was a past tense to him. Then he shrugged his shoulders. He could care less, so he hopped in the shower and let the water run over his body, relaxing his muscles.

That was Arnav Singh Raizada: a British billionaire, owner of Sswann, a playboy, a risk taker, an Aries by sun sign, unattainable with a surplus of good looks.

After finishing his necessities, he ordered breakfast from the help, and turned on the news. His every morning started like this, and he liked it this way. Living far away from his relatives, at opposite ends of the country, he liked it better not having to deal with his family, but saw them periodically. They were in the picture standing in the middle and stood far away on the side; far away from them but just in their reach. He turned the volume up of the TV; the only news being splashed was of his interview that was scheduled in the afternoon. He went towards his walk in closet, and selected a thin, black tie to go with his deep rusty colored shirt, and black dress pants. He picked up his blazer and placed it on the bed bedside him as he went through his emails. He ate his breakfast and later he sauntered around the now clean room that his help had cleaned while he was in the shower. He noticed that the day had started to clear up, though clouds still hovered about and the morning had turned into a rather ugly grey color. Arnav Singh Raizada packed his belongings which included his laptop, some work files, and a few clothes; he handed the bag to his help, who deposited it in his car. He dismounted the stairs, and with a curt nod to his help, left the house. His driver stood holding onto the car door, and Arnav slipped in the back without taking off his eyes from his phone.

"Aman… yeah… I am leaving right now. Yes, I'll see at the airport strip, you got the papers? Great," he said to his assistant.

"Oh and Aman, before I forget, I need you get this … Anjali has emailed it to me, I am forwarding it to you… some teenager something… some Justin Timberlake jacket is being auctioned, yeah see to it that you get it. Okay… see you there. Bye."

He hung up the phone and told the driver to proceed towards the airport. At the landing strip Aman was waiting faithfully like he had promised. As Arnav quickly proceeded towards his plane, Aman cleared the formalities with the officers and boarded the plane right behind Arnav. He filled Arnav with the details, and they took off into the cloudy morning.

During the flight Arnav read the contract, and discussed the changes that he wanted to be done. The flight was scheduled to reach London in about an hour and half from Bristol where he had gone to his friend's club opening. He rested his head back against the head rest and slowly allowed his eyelids to droop.

----

"Mr. Raizada… we are about to land." Someone shook his knee and Arnav slowly opened his eyes. His assistant was sitting opposite him and his hand was perched on Arnav's knee. He sat still as Aman removed his hand and fastened his seat belt.

In the next5 minutes, the plane had landed in London. Aman dismounted the plane and double checked whether his car had come. Meanwhile, Arnav went to the washroom and freshened up. His hair was combed back with a few strands resting on his forehead. His wrist watched indicated that it was just past 9.30 in the morning. Arnav disembarked the plane and sat in the car joined by Aman.

"Aman, let's go to the office first, I want to sit with the finance team one last time before we pitch them our last offer." His secretary nodded at the driver and the car was jerked into motion. "Mr. Raizada, there are rumours circulating about this merger, I am afraid that it may cause harm to this proposition," his assistant looked straight at him.

"Aman, don't worry about that," Arnav said calmly and continued, "I want rumours to be circulating around… they are just baseless rumours… they won't be causing any harm on the contrary, they will be helping us."

Aman looked astonished and thought he had never heard a more preposterous thing coming from such a well sought out businessman. Ever since last year he had been working for Arnav Singh Raizada, and he thought he was the luckiest person alive. He worshiped Arnav and his career but right now Aman he seemed skeptical. Did he make a rash judgement?

"But…" he couldn't put into words the worry that was nagging him.

"Aman, see, the negative can't possibly harm our shares, not even the slightest bit… it however, has turned the eyes of many onto us… therefore, on our shares have experienced a slight up… and the moment we announce this merger… just watch how our shares skyrocket. Then, it would a perfectly good opportunity to raise our prices," Arnav explained it to his assistant. He had very thoroughly planned it all out ever since FOX studios and Sswann had started negotiating this merger six precise months ago. He himself had started to spread rumours so that he could keep the market right where he wanted… in his tight grasp. They were now in the very core of the merger so Arnav knew every step had to be cautious.

"And this interview is exactly what we need, to let FOX know one last time the position Sswann possess in the world," Arnav pronounced arrogantly yet his calculative eyes screamed of shrewdness. The car stopped in front of his office building, and Arnav said his last words, "you have a lot to learn Aman." He then exited the car, and slipped on his aviators.

He entered through the revolving door, and proceeded towards the elevators. Everyone greeted him as passed by the long lobby of his office and he curtly nodded once in a while. He pranced towards his office like a panther, robbing every one of their ease. The one day old stubble made him appear more scary and monstrous, and walked like a force possessed him. His every stride was confident, and no one could mess with his realm. He informed everyone to meet him in the board room so that he could tell every one of his final changes to the contract.

----

By the time he reached the BBC office, it was close to 12.45 with only a few minutes to spare until his interview. The anchor was freaking out, but as soon as she saw Arnav and his raised brow, she silenced. Instead of yelling at him, like she had planned, she gave him a flirtatious smile, and laughed nervously when he introduced himself.

"I know your name… Arnav Singh Raizada… I am so very glad to see you finally; I mean of course I am glad… I mean I knew you were going to come… I mean I didn't mean to call you sloppy or late… I am Rita Skeeter."

She finally slipped in her hand into his and smiled nervously. "Great, let's get on with it then." Arnav said and took his hand back from her. She seemed to be star struck and hurriedly ran to the washroom to fix her appearance for the third time in the past ten minutes.

As the cameras were positioned to give a clear view of Arnav from all possible angles, he slipped calmly into his seat.

The host sat down onto her couch seat as well, and as the countdown began, she took a breath and started, "Good afternoon Britain and hello to the rest of the world… This is your very favorite show Up Close where we bring you the most well-known people that you desire to know up close and personal. And today we have someone who has been born and brought up in Britain itself and who now as I quote has been listed as one of the 100 most wealthiest and influential people in the world by the times magazine… yes, of course, it is none other than the very good looking and successful Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada."

"Thank you for that… and hello to the entire world," Arnav smiled and nodded towards the camera.

"So Mr. Raizada, I know that people have been moved and very well touched by your personal story and ask you all the time… but we would like to know it as well. Please do tell."

Arnav sighed and rolled his eyes inwardly, and narrated his life story. It was very much known to everyone… he had rehearsed it quite well by know. To tell the truth, he was quite bored of it himself.

"Very tragic… must have been hard to lose your parents at such a young age."

"Yes, well one has got to do whatever they can."

"Of course," the host tried to show sympathy towards him but Arnav could see right through her faade.

"So Mr. Raizada, what do you do in your spare time…? I am sure our viewers would like to know." The host quizzed him. Arnav spoke with as much simplicity as he could gather and said, "Playing sports, helping the needy, being with kids, and spending as much time meeting new people." And he could hear the entire studio and the audience watching the interview sigh admirably. He smirked inwardly and picked up the coffee mug. He was definitely getting hungry and a little edgy. Right before coming for the interview, they had faxed their final offer to FOX and were expected to receive a reply in a few hours since American time was hours behind. He just wanted the interview to be over now… the host had been quizzing him with absurd and very boring questions.

"That is exceptionally generous and thoughtful of you. We hear that your company is in the talks of a merger with FOX studios? Is there any validation to that rumour?" she asked.

"Well Ms. Rita," he addressed her and gazed directly into her eyes and continued, "One should not linger too much on rumours… the damage done could be irreversible."

The host fumbled with her words and she looked down at her lap, and Arnav knew that she was just one of his admirers'. That thought was later established when she had asked for his autograph and a picture. He couldn't remember anyone touching him so much on his shoulder. The interview concluded when Aman had announced that FOX sent their reply back. He abruptly ended the interview but had pecked the host on her cheek when he was leaving. Any sour feelings that she had because he ended the interview so fast flew right out of the building; she was left with only butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

-----

Arnav spun in his chair and looked at clock hung on the wall in front of him; it was past six o'clock and after much deliberation Sswann had sent their approval to FOX. The FOX CEO had made plans to fly down to London and sign the contract in a couple of days. Then, they were to officially announce their merger by the end of the week followed by an official party. After running around all day long, Arnav was beyond tired. All he now wanted was the comfort of his bed and the relief of a steaming cup of coffee. Just as he was sitting in complete silence on this particular Friday evening, his phone rang shattering the silence.

"Hello," he spoke into the mouth piece without checking the caller ID.

"Hi, big bro! It is me… Anjali," said an excited voice from the other end of the line. Instantly, Arnav's mood lifted as he spoke to his sister.

"Hello small sis… how are you?" he asked Anjali as he got up from his chair and walked towards the large bay window of his office. He placed his left arm on glass as he continued his conversation.

"Don't even ask me! Where have you been? We have not heard from you for over a week now! Why do you busy yourself so much that you can't even take time out for us," Anjali complained to him. Truth to be told, she was the only one that could voice out her concern without getting blasted by Arnav. She was his beloved younger sister and she was the only one who could persuade him to do just about anything.

"I hope you are not forgetting that my birthday is coming up?" she questioned him.

He smiled the slightest, and some would even think that it was just twitching of the facial muscle, and not a volunteered smile but it was a slight, genuine smile. How could he ever forget her birthday.

"Firstly, I have been busy… you know I work for a living… and don't go to a regular school from Monday to Friday and hog at home on the weekends! And secondly, I am perfectly alright… no news of any disasters meaning I am perfectly fine… And lastly, no I have not forgotten that your eighteenth birthday is coming up… Happy?" he asked her.

"I do not spend my time hogging around the house! To let you know, I have been trying to learn karate now… you never know when a woman needs to defend herself… especially if you and Akash bro are here! And good that you have not forgotten… and just to clarify… this time no one is flying out! Actually correction… you are not allowed to fly out any one of us from Liverpool but rather taking out your precious time and coming home… We all miss you… and we want you to come back home for a visit."

"Anjali… I… fine… I'll come home for your birthday… alright?"

"Alright," replied a chirpy voice.

"Goodbye then," he concluded but Anjali stopped him, "wait!" she said. "What about my email?"

"Your email has been forwarded to Aman, and he will get it to you as soon as possible." Arnav said as he rubbed his forehead as a headache was coming on. "Blimey! Why do I even ask you…I should just email Aman like always! Or better yet make him my brother" Anjali was clearly annoyed that her brother never took the time to personally send her anything she asked. He always told his assistant to do the work.

"Anjali," warned Arnav because he knew where this conversation was heading to.

"Yeah, yeah… keep your knickers on… I am disconnecting."

"Alright… good girl… now good bye and take care of yourself." He said one last time and disconnected the call.

Somewhere in Liverpool, Anjali excitedly gripped her phone and ran out of her room. She ran down a hallway, down the stairs and ended up in the spacious living room. Out of breath from running, she tried to speak, "he…. Ssaid… yess… he is… coming!" she announced to her family.

Somewhere in London, Arnav still stood in front of his office window, and looked straight ahead. The clouds still hovered and any moment a downpour was going to descend. It was a chilly November evening, and he couldn't help but reflect on the deal that he had just clinched. It was an exciting new expansion… and then he remembered how his sister had asked him to come home. He had not been home for a few months now. But he never went home, and he never did relationships because he felt suffocated being there ever since the death of his parents. His thoughts were interrupted by Aman and he was informed about a meeting with a previous client that was scheduled. The client was waiting and Arnav left with his assistant to tackle the next problem.