hey all..
ok.. another depressing episode..!
I hope this part will cheer you all up..! Milind and Prachi finally meet..!
take a read and please let me know what you all think..!
Chapter 4 Milind Mishra was surprised at the dcor of the office he was waiting in. He was told that it was Ms.Shah's office but the ambience was definitely masculine. Leather chairs, large mahogany desk, neutral colors on the walls and no girly knick-knacks. There were a couple of paintings though. The larger one dominating the room was a portrait of the late Mr.Inder Shah. And the other one was on a shelf at the far end of the room and was of three girls laughing. It was very obvious that it was placed there at an angel, so that the person sitting at the desk was the only person who had a clear view. He sensed something familiar about that portrait, like he knew one of its subjects. He was tempted to walk across the room and take a closer look at it. But he was stopped by Ms.Reddy poking her head in to the room for what seemed to be the twentieth time asking if he was comfortable and he if he needed anything. He repeated to her for the twentieth time that he was just fine.
Prachi sat in the conference room alone. She wanted some time to compose herself before meeting the infamous Milind Mishra. She knew he was Mishraji's son who had made his fortune in Turkey, in an insanely short amount of time. She had met once before a very long time ago. It was at one of her father's business parties. She had noticed him immediately. He might have been the most attractive man at the party but he also looked like the party was the last place on earth where he wanted to be. She had tried to strike up a conversation and put the man at ease but it only made him surlier. So she had politely excused herself and mingled with the other guests.
"Come on Prachi focus!" She went over the papers again and realized that the best thing to do would be to let Mishra take over the company. He was saving the company a lot of money and the jobs of the employees. The right thing to do would be to negotiate a good deal that would ensure that she ran the company and none of the employees were fired. But just because it was the right thing to do didn't mean she had to like it!
She straightened herself out and brushed away invisible lint. Her cell phone beeped indicating she had a text message. It was from Mru and Geet telling her they were there for her and everything was going to be alright. Prachi smiled and silently thank god for those bullies.
She walked in to her room and saw the man who had caused the uproar. Suddenly the room looked much smaller than it actually was. Milind Mishra had changed. A lot. Gone were the ripped jeans. In its place was a very expensive suit that seemed only to accentuate the broad shoulders they were in place to cover. His hair was a little longer and he seemed to sporting more facial hair that made him look more dangerous than she remembered. But the same surly expression was there. But today he was trying to mask it with a phony smile. He rose and extended his hand. Well at least the man had enough manners to rise when a lady entered a room she thought.
" Hello Mr.Mishra. Welcome to The Shah building. I hope you were comfortable during your wait." Prachi said politely shaking the outstretched hand.
"Ms.Shah, it's a pleasure to meet you again. It's been a very long time. And please call me Milind." He offered.
"Ok then Milind, please take a seat. I think there is a lot we have to go over and I don't think there is much time. So lets get started shall we?" She crossed the room and sat behind her mahogany desk.
Milind quickly noted that she hadn't asked him use her first name and had offered him a seat even though he had already picked a chair. She had just made sure he understood that even though he had bought her company she was still in charge. Ms.Shah was definitely going to give him a fight. Milind quickly conditioned his mind for the duel that probably lay ahead.
"Ms.Shah, forgive me. But I would like to extend my condolences on your fathers passing. He was a great man and will be missed." Milind said with utmost sincerity.
"Thank you Milind, but it has been over 6 months since he passed away. We have tried to cope as best we could but as you know things haven't turned out quite as expected. Now Milind what do you propose to do with the company? I know you have controlling interest in the company but I'm still CEO and would like to remain so. Your plate must definitely be full with all your other companies. So I'm guessing me staying on as CEO would also be in your best interest as well. And I would also like you to confirm in writing that none of the employees are going to lose their jobs or have pay cuts. We are like a family here at Shah's and I would like to keep it that away." She said as business like as she could. But the mention of her father had rattled her a little.
Milind tried to keep a straight face but he was a little surprised. She had not only dictated the terms she wanted but made it seem like it she had taken over his company not the other way around.
"Milind," She continued, "I'm sure you are a very busy man and as you probably know I am going to have a lot of work to do as well. So if you could get your lawyers to draw up the necessary papers and have them sent over I'll have my legal department go over it before I sign. I also think we might need to release a statement of some sort. I'll have my PR people release one on my behalf. I'm not a very big fan of press conferences. Too many people and too many questions. If you decide to have one please come up with some good excuse for my absence. So I think that's all we needed to go over. Thank you for coming over Mr.Mishra. I'm sure this is going to be the start of a very successful business relationship." With that she rose and extended her right hand to him. Milind realized that he had been politely dismissed. And that had never happened before.
Just as he was about to leave the room Prachi wrestled with the idea of whether she should let him know that Ayesha was staying at the Shah mansion. After all Milind and Ayesha had been neighbors before and presumably friends. But she decided against it thinking that if they were good friends then they were probably still in touch. And if they weren't, well the man was going to be a business associate, she could always pass on a phone number or something at a later time. Right now she really didn't feel like doing the man any favors.
When he reached the assistant's desk, Milind made sure to thank Ms.Reddy for her hospitality and walked towards the elevator. On the ride down he was almost relieved that Ms.Shah had neither put up a fight or had she resorted to hysterics. She seemed to realize that the company would be better off under the wing of Mishra Industries. They would have access to the funds they'd need to turn the company around and make a profit. Well Ms.Shah was definitely made from a different mould. That reminded him that there was very important call he had to make. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator doors he whipped out his personal cell phone and dialed the number. It rang for a couple of times before a tired voice answered "Hello". He had to smile; her voice just had that effect.
"Hey jaan. You sound tired. Want me to call you later?"
"I am very tired but the reason I can't talk to you right now is something totally different. Can I call you later? Oh I forgot Mr.Bigshot has his secretary screen his calls." Came the teasing reply.
"Now, now jaan you know that you can reach me night or day. You are one of the four people who have my personal cell phone number and even if you can't reach me here all my assistants have been instructed to patch you through to me no matter where I am or who I am with. So don't try to guilt me out young lady. If you haven't noticed you've been pretty busy yourself. But call me when you are done with your mystery errand ok? I miss talking to you." He said truthfully. He really did miss talking to her like the old days. But now both of them didn't seem to have the time. He hung up with the smile still on his face and got into the car his chauffeur had bought around.
Edited by critically-sane - 17 years ago
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