Making a Deal with the Devil(NOTE p.27) Mar.17

A few weeks ago:

Prachi signed as she looked over the figures for the 10^th time. A mix of fatigue and boredom were causing her vision to blur. She leaned back into her office chair. Today had been particularly exhausting, thanks to an unpleasantly hostile board meeting. Prachi was intimidated by confrontations and avoided them at all costs, but this was a matter of her family's company, his legacy. She was aware that after her father's death, his hotels were down in the dumps. Cut costs. Seemed like everyone only had one answer to their woes. Prachi refused to cut costs if it meant putting quality at stake. Her father has spent years building Shah Hotels' reputation and she'd be damned if she let anything happen to it.

Every week she spent hours arguing with the remaining board members about the importance of maintaining their reputation. She said remaining because of their original twenty board members, nine had been bought out by her bane of Prachi's existence: Milind Mishra. Even the thought of his name made her groan inwardly.

Prachi and Milind had known each other since childhood. His father used to be the company's accountant, and a man close to Inder Shah's heart. The difference in their social standing made little to Inder Shah or his family. In fact, Milind's little sister Sukriti was only good friends with the Shah children. Milind, however, was a different sort of a child. He never mixed in with them, and seemed perpetually pissed off at the world.

She had seen him fight once, when he was 14, and she 11. In that moment, she promised herself never, ever to cross Milind Mishra. And here she was today, married to him, his wife, and his supposed better half.