New Arshi FF : Merger - Link to Thread # 2 on Page 141 - Page 20

I am really really sorry. I had said that my work load will reduce, but it hasnt. I have been meaning to pen down this update for 7 days now, but didnt find the time. So, without any further delay, here it is.

I need to thank so many of you for your amazing comments. Really love you guys for that 🤗 Will write to you all shortly.

Here is the next chapter. Do let me know what you think of it.

CHAPTER 7

ONE DAY BEFORE THE CONFERENCE

NK and Deepak rehearsed their respective presentations in front of ASR. All the PPTs were made by Khushi with ample inputs from ASR.

"Alright guys. You are ready. As we discussed earlier, both of you will attend the conference on all three days. Khushi and I will join you on Day 2 and Day 3. I have also spoken to the HO and told them that we will be presenting last. And like last time, you guys will send us all the recordings of the conference, as they are happening. And there is no need to talk about our branch anytime before our slotted presentation. Am I clear?"

NK and Deepak nodded. As if they had any choice. He would skin them alive if they didn't follow his instructions.

"On an other note, all your clothes will be formal. Men would be wearing white shirt, dark pant, sober ties and polished shoes. He specifically stared at Deepak who was notorious for his gory and shiny ties."

"And Khushi, you will be at your best Indian clothing that you have. I want you to look elegant and professional."

"Ok then. Both of you can go. Khushi I have some questions for you." He turned towards Khushi. NK and Deepak left.

"Have you gone through the previous quarter's video recording and carrying the additional documents that I have asked you to carry?"

"Yes Sir. I am carrying whatever you have asked me to and a few more. I have scanned copies of all of them too."

"Good... Good... NK and Deepak will be sending us the recording for Day 1 and 2. We will have to update our presentations accordingly. We may have to stay up in the night."

"That's alright Sir. It is just a matter of two more days."

"Alright then. You leave the suitcase in which we are carrying all our presentation material in my cabin before you leave. I will pick you up at your house day after tomorrow at 5 in the morning. Ok?"

"Ok Sir."

"Let's get back to work."

***

DAY 1 OF THE CONFERENCE.

NK and Deepak arrived. Their peers were surprised to see them in extremely elegant clothes. They jibed them with sarcastic comments. Saying if they misunderstood the word "presentation" to "personal presentation" instead of the performance of the branch. NK was fuming. Deepak held him back.

They sent the recordings of the sessions at the end of every hour. Khushi made changes to all the presentations as per Arnav's instructions.

***

DAY 2 EARLY MORNING 5 AM

The taxi which Arnav had hired honked twice announcing its arrival. Khushi came out instantly. Kaka opened his door from the adjacent house and raised his hand. Kaka came forward to help Khushi with her luggage. But Arnav had already stepped out of the car. He took her suitcase and put it in the boot. And opened the door for Khushi. She was all flustered with his actions. But didn't show it in the open. She sat silently as close to the door as possible. She was behind the taxi driver. Arnav sat next to her, freely. Unaware that his assistant had butterflies in her stomach.

The taxi started. Khushi waved at her mother, Payal and Kaka. Her mother did not wave back. Still upset that her daughter was not listening to her. Payal gave a thumbs up and mouthed "All the Best". Kaka waved at her with a smile.

After a while, "Did you have anything to eat Khushi?"

"Ummm... I had some tea Sir."

"Ok, lets grab some breakfast before we board the flight."

She gave a small smile and locked her fingers on her knees. They did not converse for the rest of the ride to the airport. Arnav was busy checking his mails on his iPhone. Khushi just looked outside, running through her mind how the conference would be.

Once in the airport, they checked in and Arnav took her to the lounge for some breakfast. He automatically picked up the fork and knife. Khushi sat silently staring at him. He looked up from his plate at her. Realised she wasn't eating. The fork and knife still beside the plate.

He looked at her, held both his hands displaying the fork and the knife. Khushi followed his cue and picked her own cutlery. He showed her how to hold the sandwich with the fork and cut it with the knife. She struggled, but ultimately cut it. He waited. Did not rush her. He slowly picked up his fork and put the piece of sandwich in his mouth. She did the same. And smiled. Feeling victorious for having gone through so much trouble for just one morsel. She looked back at her plate and pouted out of frustration. "It will take me the whole day to eat this entire sandwich."

"Eat this sandwich by hand Khushi. But in the conference, I want you to follow table etiquettes."

She was relieved. But nevertheless ate the sandwich with the fork and knife. It took a full half hour.

Arnav did not look at her. But from his peripheral view, he was able to make out how she stuck her tongue out at the corner of her lips, everytime she cut the sandwich with the knife. He struggled to not laugh out loud.

The boarding of their flight was announced. Arnav guided her along all the check in procedures. They were finally seated on their seats. Arnav gave her the window seat and himself took the aisle seat.

"Put the seat belt Khushi."

She could find only one end of the belt, and looked back at him. "Sir, looks like this belt is broken."

Knowing she had no idea about all this, Arnav bent over her and searched for the other end of the belt.

Khushi sucked in her breath at this sudden unexpected proximity. His arms were touching her thigh. His fingers were searching for something on her seat. But she could feel them tapping beside her. His clean shaven cheeks was very close to her face. She smelt his cologne. His shoulders fitted with a crisp light blue shirt.

He suddenly pulled out a grey belt. It had the clutch of the belt. He showed the two ends to her. Buckled them. In the process touching her dupatta on her stomach. And pulled the belt slightly to tighten it. And rested back on is seat.

Khushi adjusted her dupatta and worded. "Than...thankkkyou Sir"

Arnav put his own seat belt and switched off his mobile. The flight started taxing.

"Devi Maiyya, Devi Maiyya Devi Maiyya..."Arnav heard a soft chanting beside him. She had shut her eyes and was holding on to the arm rest very tightly.

"Khushi, I think you have forgotten to get one of the sample garments."

She shot her eyes open. "No Sir, I have got them all. In fact, I have packed even those which you didn't want to carry."

"No, I am certain you have forgotten. I think I left it in on my desk."

"No Sir, I am certain. We have not missed anything."

"Look at the view outside Khushi. I don't think you want to miss it."

He got up to retrieve his laptop bag.

"Uhh..." Khushi looked outside the window. The flight was now in the air and buildings below looked like tiny blocks. She turned her head towards Arnav who was now looking down at her with his hands raised to open the storage box above them. He smirked at her softly and got his laptop down.

Khushi smiled and relaxed back in her seat.

Three hours later, they quickly checked into their respective hotel rooms and headed for the conference.

Khushi located NK and Deepak and walked towards them. Thinking Arnav was walking behind her, she turned back to tell him where Nk and Deepak were sitting. But Arnav was already walking towards another direction. She went ahead and sat beside NK.

"Good Morning Arnav. Mallik shook his hand strongly."

"Good Morning to you too Mr. Mallik."

"I understand you are not presenting anything today. I was disappointed that you missed last Quaterly conference and yesterday's too. Has your interest in the company tapered away?" He gave him a sarcastic smile.

"We have been the smallest branch Mr. Mallik. So I presumed it would only make sense to present in the end. Our presentation is slotted for tomorrow. So, there was no point in attending yesterday." He explained.

The Announcer said that the presentations for the day were to start. Mallik went to his seat in the front row. While Arnav sat beside Khushi at their allotted seats. Khushi made notes all along the day as Arnav instructed her.

In the evening, they all met at NK's room and updated their respective presentations.

DAY 3

At the end of the day the announcer said. "Ladies and gentlemen. This is the last presentation for the day and this 3-day conference. Since it is about our smallest branch, it should not take more than 15 minutes. Please note, this presentation will be followed with drinks and snacks at the banquet hall."

Khushi took her place near the projector. NK stood near the projector screen. Khushi presented her first slide.

The crowd was chatting amongst themselves. NK could hear some people laughing at him. He was nervous. This was his first presentation ever. Arnav glared at him. He gathered himself together and spoke aloud into the mike.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present my branch's achievements for this quarter. We have increased our sales by FIVE times. And if we were to include the confirmed orders for which delivery is yet to be made, we have increased our sales by TEN times."

"Kya re, ek zero extra laga diya kya...?" The entire room was roaring with laughter.

Arnav got up and stood at the podium. He asked NK to step down.

"I believe this is a company conference and not a college lecture class. May I request the gentleman who made the remark about a zero so casually to stand up and show his face to this gathering. I am sure a person working for an enterprise like Mallik Fashions would know the worth of a zero."

Everyone looked around to see if any person stood up. No one did.

Arnav looked at Khushi. She nodded and removed NK's presentation. And replaced it with Arnav's slides.

"So, to answer your question. No, we did not add a zero. And this is our growth chart for the past eight quarters."

The first four bars were miniscule, and the last four showed a gradual hike, with the last one towering the highest.

Mallik asked the Finance Head as to why he was not aware about this progress about the branch. The finance head said it was never reported to them. The Marketing Head said he was not aware about it either. Mallik said he was not happy that his Department Heads were not aware about what was happening within their own company. The Finance Head was fuming. "What does this new boy think of himself? Does he have no responsibility to report to his higher ups?"

Khushi showed the next slide where the top ten branches of the company were listed earlier in the day. She dramatically pushed her branch's name in between the 6^th and 7^th position.

Arnav said "Yes gentlemen, including our future orders, our branch is in the 7^th position in this list."

"Why haven't you reported this to us before?"

"Well Sir, It has always been reported. In our monthly reports as well as the report that you get from our Internal Auditor." Sarcasm was dripping in Arnav's statements.

"No, it has never been reported." The Finance Head said furiously.

"Sir...Sir..." Khushi whispered. Arnav looked at her. She pointed his attention to the screen. Arnav understood.

"Sir, how can you say we have never reported. As you can see on the screen, this is the report we have sent in the last 3 months. It clearly shows our latest Sales. And this is the report from the Internal Auditor." He again pointed at the screen. "The numbers are the same as our Sales Report. I think you did not bother to read the report due to the Branch's past performance."

The Finance Head stared stupefied.

Arnav nodded at Khushi. She displayed the Revenue, Expense and Profit Statement. Even before Arnav could make his point, the Finance Head attacked him with questions.

"What is that line item you are showing as purchases. None of our branches have purchases. Only Head Office makes the purchases. You have conducted business illegally."

Now, Mallik was really worried. Had he made a mistake by engaging this Harvard Boy.

"Sir...Sir..." Khushi whispered. Arnav looked at her. And she pointed him on the screen. Arnav understood. And so, he elaborated again.

"As you can see Mr. Finance Head, these are the company incorporation documents, where it is clearly stated that the branches can also engage in external purchase. And this is the report given by our company and branch auditor which gives us a go ahead to conduct the business by purchasing from external suppliers. And these are the tax registration documents. All of these, again, were submitted in our monthly reports."

This time, Arnav himself was surprised. Looked like Khushi had anticipated lot more questions than him and had come prepared.

Mallik questioned the company auditor who was present in the conference. "Mr. Auditor, did you give a go ahead to this branch to purchase from external suppliers." The Auditor gave him a politically correct answer. He told him that he just advised whatever was legally permissible.

Mallik found this entire drama very interesting. This boy had made his point loud and clear.

The Finance Head did not settle down. He tried to salvage his reputation.

"Where was the need to purchase externally, when we make excellent quality garments in our own company?"

Khushi presented the appropriate slide. Arnav elaborated. Gentlemen, please look at the screen. Both the garments are of the same quality and specifications. One is manufactured by us. The other by our competitor. Our's is priced 20% more than our competitor. So, what is the harm in buying from outside, if we can make better profits? Further our supply-chain channel is so expensive. Why not outsource it? We are all here to conduct business and make profits for the company.

The Finance Head opened his mouth to throw some more daggers at Arnav. But Mallik stopped him in time. The Manufacturing and Marketing Heads were very impressed. Finally someone had the guts to show the truth to Mr. Mallik instead of engaging in sycophancy.

Arnav continued his presentation, with Khushi matching his words with slides.

At the end, Mallik stood up with a loud applaud. "Arnav, I am really impressed. This is an amazing achievement. My company needs a person like you. You are the person my company has been waiting for all these years. My company is the right company for you to show case your talent."

The rest of the crowd stood up too to applaud him. They came forward to congratulate Arnav. But he side stepped saying that it was NK and Deepak who deserved all the praise. His eyes searched for Khushi. She was clapping too. With her widest smile. Her eyes moist with tears of happiness. "You did it. You achieved it." Her eyes said. But her smile dropped. Arnav was not happy. She knew him enough by now to know that he was disturbed by something.

Arnav kept shaking hands with anyone who congratulated him. But all along made his way towards Khushi. He let NK and Deepak, who were now near the stage to take the felicitations and compliments.

"Khushi, wrap up your files. Lets get back to the hotel room." He helped her put the papers and files in her bag. And carried the bags out of the conference room with him. Khushi held on to her notepad and purse and ran after him.

As they exited the conference room, the applause receded behind their back as the door closed. The corridor was quiet. Only the sound of Arnav and Khushi's footwear could be heard. Khushi did not question Arnav as to what was bothering him. They sped towards Arnav's room. Arnav opend his room door and threw the bag on the side. And paced like a lion inside the room. "How dare he? How dare he?" He kept saying. He sat on the bed and enclosed his palms on his nose and mouth. He eyes were red with rage. "MY COMPANY needs a person like you. You are the person MY COMPANY has been waiting for all these years. MY COMPANY is the right company for you to show case your talent." The words came back to him. Like hell, it is HIS COMPANY. HIS? Company. I will show him whose company it is.

"Sir, what's wrong." Khushi could not hold herself back now. Something was bothering him so much. It churned her stomach. Here she thought that the presentation went well, but Arnav's reactions said the opposite.

Arnav came back to his senses. He got up and rushed to the bathroom. Splashed some cold water on his face. And calmed down. He came out wiping his face.

"Khushi, can you make me a coffee? The coffee maker is in that corner."

"Yes... Sir..."

She quietly made a coffee for Arnav and a tea for herself. They drank in silence. After 15 minutes, "Lets go to the banquet hall Khushi. Everyone must have gathered there now." She nodded.

Both of them entered the banquet hall. "Where did you disappear Arnav? I have been searching for you." Mallik ushered him inside. Khushi looked around to see that NK and Deepak were with a different set of people. Feeling lost, she sat on one of the tables. She sipped on an orange juice which was served to her.

Arnav's reactions confused her. What was she supposed to feel now? Happy or disturbed? It was so difficult to understand him.

***

"Come here Arnav. Meet my company's top management team. You have already been the target of the Finance Head's interrogation. This is the Manufacturing Head. And this is the Marketing Head. And this is Shyam Manohar Jha. He is the son of one of my close friends."

Arnav shook hands with all of them. And they in turn praised him for a splendid performance.

"And Papa, wont you introduce me to your star performer?" A tall slender fashionable girl wearing branded stilettos joined Mallik by his side. Every inch of her spoke of class and designer wear. She wore minimal but expensive jewellery.

Shyam gushed at her presence. "Namaste Lavanyaji" He tried to grab her attention.

She in turn rolled her eyes in distaste and looked expectantly at her father.

"Baby, meet Arnav. He is heading one of our branches. And Arnav, this is Lavanya, my only daughter. Or shall I say the apple of my eye."

"Papa...don't embarrass me." She gently nudged her father.

"So Arnav, I hear you are from Harvard. How come a Harvard Graduate is in India and that too in such a small branch?"

"I prefer being addressed to as ASR. And no opportunity is too small Ms. Mallik. It is in your hands to make it big."

"Oh, you can call me Lavanya. Or Luv for my loved ones." She winked. "And if it is in our hands to make it big, then I believe you should be holding MY hands. May be we can explore how big we can make this acquaintance." She extended her hand towards Arnav.

Arnav decided to not dignify her open flirtatious comments with a response. "Gentlemen, I would like to excuse myself. I have to meet my team."

He turned around and spotted Khushi on a table and walked towards her, while a set of people kept looking at his retreating back.

One with a crush, one with admiration, two with hatred and two with appreciation.

NEXT: JISKO HAI KHO JAANA WOH MILTA HI KYUN HAIN? JISKO HAIN MURJHAANA WOH KHILTA HI KYUN HAIN

A/N: This chapter again has lot of business terminologies. Over a period of time it will all make sense. I request you all to bear with me on this. AND PLEASE DO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU FELT ABOUT THIS UPDATE. OR HIT THE LIKE BUTTON. THEY MEAN THE WORLD TO ME, even though i have not been prompt in replying to all comments. Personal life is currently very very hectic, hence have been giving abrupt responses to PMs. I am really really sorry for that.

Thanks for the update. Loved Arnav's frustrated walk from conferance.

awesome update
new entry of lavnya and shyam
but i am confuse
mr malik is arnav uncle means chacha
and lavnya is his daughtrr
its means she is arnav cousin
she is flirting with her own cousin brother
khushi is hard working

Awesome update.👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wonderful update !

The way Arnav Khushi present all the things and everybody left speechless. .

Arnav was furious abd khushi is not able to figure out. .

oh La's entry. And shyam is also thete. .trouble for Arnav and in future trouble for Arshi


what is next update- who is going away?


Looking forward

awesome update..!!!!!!!1

it was just awsome...u wrote the conference scene so well...though didnt get the business terminology but still it is quite interesting to read..
loved it..
lets see what those two new entrant do ...?
continue soon...

update was nice...loved the way arnav taught khushi to handle knife n fork...

i was a bit disturbed the way arnav needed khushi's helps to answer the finance heads questions...i tought arnav is the shrewd businessman so why he need prompting from khushi...but then u explained it there itself, that how khushi was two steps ahead of arnav in anticipating such questions...and had prepared beforehand... loved them as a team...

till now, i have assumed that arnav is mallik's nephew, and is trying to get back, what was originally his...am i right ? if so, then La becomes his cousin by relation, isnt it ? m glad if its that way, cause then arnav will maintain his distance...cause i wudnt want him to go near LA, at any cost, that will be so much hurtful for khushi...

but khushi n the rest of the people, dont know bt this, not even LA...so chances are for a heartbreak for khushi, in near future, isnt it ? hope Arnav doesnt let any mu creep up between them...

m very eager to read the next chapter, so update soon :)

i find this ff today . i won't believe that this is your first ff. you have beautifully written all the chapters . i loved it.