Chapter 69
Hardikar sat at her desk with her usual no-nonsense air. Prem wondered whether he had chosen the wrong time to come into the inner sanctum. There was the large semi 'circular desk where Hardikar sat and ran her minions to the ground. It wasn't quite as feudal as that, Prem knew, but those early days last November had been cut-throat and brutal. He hadn't cared then. He was immune to office atmosphere and business rivalries. It wasn't his thing. But now things had changed. The company had changed. And he had changed.
Fari, on the other hand behaved as if nothing had changed in the world since she married Biru. There was before Biru and there was after Biru. She looked expectantly at Prem, waiting for him to show her his ideas.
"Go on then, show us your latest and greatest plans. You don't have to hide it from me. We all work on the same side of fashion now."
Prem didn't move a muscle. Hardikar cleared her throat. There was a speech coming.
"Everything has changed as far as the company is concerned. A year ago, I couldn't have foreseen that we would all be sitting here working together."
Fari chipped in,
"Very true."
"Then you came along...."
"And Heer came along too!"
Hardikar glared at Fari,
"As I was saying, you came and you brought your special blend of fashion and beauty. I have never seen that kind of synergy. I don't know how or why, maybe it was Heer, but it was certainly magic."
"I know for a fact it was Heer. You agree with me Prem yes?"
Fari grabbed Prem's arm. Prem nodded and smiled.
"Fari and I have decided that you should run Vanilla."
Prem's jaw dropped. Fari patted his arm reassuringly.
"Yes Prem, Hardy Girl has been burning the midnight oil, figuring out how to hand over to you and Heer."
Prem shook his head in slow motion and finally found his voice,
"I don't think you have thought this through...."
Fari giggled,
"I don't think you can say that about Hardy Girl. You know she thinks a hundred times before smiling, how can she not think this through?"
"I'm an ideas man, not a boss. I can't do it."
Hardikar smiled. Fari smiled. Prem blinked.
"Oh you can be bossy when you need to. We saw what happened in Scotland. You got Heeriye to run after you more than once and she did the shoot too!"
"I can't handle the hundred and fifty problems, the schmoozing...."
"We'll be here to help. Well not here literally, but a phone call away. We'll stay on as partners, advisers, counsellors, agony aunts...."
Hardikar made a face,
"No, not agony aunts."
"Ok fine, let Hardy Girl sit near the water cooler there in the corner. Whenever you need her wisdom, go over there and have a chat."
"I'm not planning to be here everyday!"
"Why? What else do you have to do? Did you get married while I wasn't looking?"
Prem was now looking out through the glass trying to catch Heer's attention. For the first time, Prem looked completely lost. It wasn't long before Heer looked up and caught his eye. She knew something was up and made her way to the office.
Ten minutes later, Heer was seated with her mouth open. Prem was looking at his hands, trying to focus on something other than this surprise. He generally liked surprises, but this was huge. The terrible twins looked at Prem and Heer. They knew it was a lot to digest. But they also knew that it was the most rational thing to do. The heart and soul of Vanilla were Prem and Heer. Hardikar and Fari had realised that at different times. They had accidentally hired two halves of talent. They had fought over them, spied on them and finally admitted that they were one. All that had remained was for Heer to admit it as well. Because even hardnosed Hardikar knew that they would not be at their best unless they were together in every way. So Fari and Hardikar had waited. And the final nudge was the merger. Yes, it was the right thing to do.
*************************************************************
Chapter 70 (Epilogue)
It was November. A full year since Prem and Heer had met at FarOut. Vanilla was buzzing with a larger staff and a less strict work regime, now that Hardikar wasn't around much. Fari had vowed never to return unless Prem and Heer promised to have a big wedding. So the wedding was planned for April.
Hardikar took to travelling the world, and avoided bumping into Fari as much as possible. Still, it seemed they did meet quite often. Several times at parties, once at a fashion show, seated close to the ramp. But neither could believe it when they both found themselves guests at Glen Findle Castle just before Christmas.
Prem and Heer were still finding their feet at Vanilla. They had both moved into the glass walled office. They interviewed a steady stream of people and collected a team that they thought would work, for now. Every day they wondered how Fari and Hardikar had done this for twelve years. They knew that they in turn would pass Vanilla on to somebody else, just as Fari and Hardikar had done. Somebody who understood, who cared, who would have a particular way of looking at fashion. Someone with the same genes perhaps.
"Prem, I think we should have twins."
Prem was skimming through look books,
"Where's the time?"
"We'll make time. Twin girls would be nice."
Prem looked up. Heer laughed.
*************THE END****************
Finally friends, finally! I would like to thank you all for your patience and your encouragement. It's been a blast writing this. Special thanks to Amu and Fari. As I've always said, they gave this story it's backbone. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Anu.
Edited by locman - 15 years ago
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