AR: Love Is... #2[NewThreadLink: Page 1 & 150] - Page 32

"Hey! Good morning!" she said, smiling at him.

"Good Morning!"

He hugged Ashley and Nick, welcoming them back to the office. A while later everyone started filing in and soon the conference room was full. Armaan took a look around the room making sure that everyone was there. Clearing his throat, he said, "Good Morning everyone! I'm sorry for calling you all at a short notice, but this is important. First off, Ashley and Nick are back with us." He paused while a few pleasantries were exchanged.

Everyone looked at him expectantly, waiting for what he was going to announce.

"I have two announcements to make, the latter being the reason for the meeting. They both are good news so stop looking so tense people. I'm not sacking you guys!"

A few laughs were heard and people loosened up.

"Firstly, I'd like to announce that Riddhima gupta has been nominated in the "Young Architect" category for this year's LEAF awards, which luckily are taking place in New York this year."

Riddhima smiled widely and said thank you to everyone while people hugged her and congratulated her for the phenomenal achievement.

Once they'd settled down, Armaan continued, "Next, I'd like to reveal the reason for this meeting today. The reason is, that we're having "Footprints" in 2 months!"

A huge cheer was heard from the employees and there were murmurs of excitement from everyone.

Riddhima looked around, wondering what the hell was "Footprints".

She looked at Armaan. He was staring into the distance a rueful smile playing on his face. She was about to ask something and opened her mouth but she stopped when she saw the unshed tears in his eyes. There was a strange expression of satisfaction on his face, as if he'd finally done it. Whatever "it" may be. Just as she was about to look away, she heard him whisper, "I did it dad." It was almost inaudible and she could tell that no one else had heard it. They were all still talking amongst themselves. But she was sitting right next to him and she had. Her lips curved into a smile. He was seriously amazing. Her respect for him had just multiplied.

Armaan thought about how it'd have been if dad had been here. He could picture him laughing that booming laugh of his and cracking jokes with everyone. He was always so lively! So vital. His death had come as a shock to everyone. Especially to Armaan. He'd been close to his dad. They were alike in their beliefs and their temperament. And then there were the memories. Scores of them. Ice-creams, baseball games, dad watching him play football, movies, playing video games together. The sudden rush of memories had made him nostalgic and he realized his eyes had filled up. He blinked back his tears. Billy Malik's presence would always be felt.

Riddhima saw him blink back his tears and without knowing what she was doing she took his hand and squeezed it once. He didn't notice. She could tell he was feeling sad. Nostalgic. Missing his dad. The look on his face took her back in time. Back when she was her daddy's princess. The memories danced in front of her eyes, mocking her.

*flashback*

Riddhima came back from her dance class carrying her backpack and wiping her face with the napkin. It was about to be monsoon and Mumbai was more humid than usual. She couldn't wait to go back to her room, have a shower and then switch on the air conditioner. She was excited today. It was her 13^th birthday the next day and there was a big party at her house. She couldn't be happier. She had a family.

She rang the doorbell and Sania opened the door. "Riddhima baby, madam ne kaha hai ki aap shower kar lo phir unke room mein jaana. Aaj sahab bhi jaldi aa gaye hain. Woh log aapse kuch baat karna chahte hai!"

"Haan main chali jaaungi! Sania di, maine kitni baar kaha hai, mujhe "aap' mat kaho! In fact aap mujhse badi hai, toh "Aap" toh mujhe kehna chahiye!"

Sania looked fondly at the young girl in front of him. She adored Riddhima. They were only a few years apart and although Sania was the maid's daughter, she was Riddhima's playmate.

"Theek hai! Ab jaao aur naahlo!"

A while later Riddhima knocked on the door. "Mom? Main andar aaun?"

A woman in her early thirties opened the door with a smiling face. She embraced Riddhima into a hug and brought her in, talking to her about her day. Riddhima told her how she'd stood first place in her class, again. She told her what she'd learnt in dance class that day. They were talking when the bathroom door opened and her father came out. Riddhima ran up to him and gave him a hug. He ruffled her hair affectionately. "Papa!!! Not the hair! Abhi comb kar ke aayi thi!"

"Girls these days! Sorry baba!"

"Papa, aap party ki decorations le aaye? Aur cake ka order? And mom, we're still supposed to shop for the dress! That pink one! My favorite color!"

She said all this in one breath, excitedly. Her parents looked at each other and smiled. They weren't too wealthy and Riddhima hardly demanded anything, but they'd wanted to make her 13^th birthday special.

Riddhima looked at her parents expectantly, waiting for the answers.

"Riddhima, close your eyes!"

"Papa, I-"

"Sshh. Pehle aankhein bandh karo!"

She shut her eyes tightly wondering what he wanted to show her. When she heard him telling her to open her eyes she opened them and squealed in delight.

The pink dress she'd wanted so badly was lying right in front of her and she picked it up excitedly. Gushing with happiness, she hugged her parents enthusiastically.

As she went to her room, she sighed with happiness. The perfect friends. The perfect parents. She had the perfect life. Nothing could ever go wrong now.

*Present*

"-ddhima?"

She blinked, startled. She saw Armaan and the rest of the room looking at her. She blinked back a few tears and smiled sheepishly. "I guess I zoned out, huh?"

Trying to change the topic, she said, "Umm Armaan? I kind of...uh don't know what Footprints is..."

Armaan smiled apologetically. "Sorry! I forgot you were new!" Smiling he continued, "Footprints is our firm's annual charity event. We do a two or two and a half hour programme every year and half the ticket money goes to charity. It's like a cultural event sort of thing. We do different stuff each year. This year's event will be even more special because it's the 10^th one!"

Riddhima smiled in glee. It all sounded so exciting! She couldn't wait.

"It sounds great!"

Armaan nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately, I have a few appointments lined up and so this meeting will have to be continued at 4 pm. Is that fine with everyone?"

Although the excitement was palpable, they agreed to continue the meeting at 4 pm. Riddhima couldn't wait.

Armaan made his way back to his cabin. He remembered the look on her face. It was emotionless. There wasn't an ounce of feeling in her eyes. They were dull. Empty. And that had scared him more than he'd admit. He was used to seeing her as the bright eyed, happy woman. The way her eyes were empty terrified him. It was something he never wished to see again. He wondered what or who had caused that. She's one hell of a complicated person man...

Shaking his head, he sat down and waited for his clients to come, with Riddhima at the back of his mind.

Riddhima made her way towards the cafeteria. She grabbed a cup of coffee and made her way towards the terrace. It was three in the afternoon, an hour before the meeting would begin. The atmosphere was pleasant, there was no sun and a cool breeze fluttered through the leaves making them rustle and dance to the whispered words of the breeze.

She sat on the parapet, her legs dangling. There was another parapet below her feet and so she wasn't scared of falling. She sat there, quietly letting her thoughts flow freely as she absorbed the surroundings around her. The sudden rush of memories had shaken her up more than she'd like to admit. She hadn't thought about those days since years. They were a part of her life that she preferred to keep locked up. It was too painful to remember. She forced herself to focus on her surrounding rather than dwelling on useless thoughts. But her mind wasn't ready to listen to her today.

All her memories came back to her, each one of them playing in front of her like a movie. She could see herself and grimaced at the changes in her. She'd forgotten how to love. How to trust. There was no innocence left in her. Or maybe there was, somewhere deep inside, locked away from the harsh realities of the world, afraid to come out lest it should be snatched away from her, once again.

The crash brought her back to earth. The coffee mug was lying on the parapet below, shattered while her hand bled. She gave out a few expletives. She didn't remember crushing the glass. It was almost four now and the cool breeze had picked up a little, making her shiver. Her face felt wet when the wind blew on it and Riddhima realized that she'd cried involuntarily. She wiped her face with the tissue paper she'd brought with the coffee. Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed herself down, blocking those memories again. Having emptied her mind off them went downstairs. She was back to normal.

She reached downstairs, her hand wrapped in a tissue. She rushed to the caferia to wash her hands and then ask for a bandage from the first aid box there. Just as she was about to enter the cafeteria, she bumped into him. She winced in pain as her hand hurt. Looking up she saw Armaan.

Armaan held her by the shoulders to steady her and his eyes fell on her tissue-wrapped hand. He looked at her, questioningly.

Her lips curved into a smile as she met his worried gaze. He cared about her. The thought made her happy, although she had no idea why.

"I dropped the coffee mug and then...umm...the glass hurt me." She said, a little sheepishly.

He shook his head smiling slightly. Taking her injured hand into his, he led her to the sink, while looking at it as if a doctor might. She giggled a little at his face. He was pouting adorably and looking for any glass pieces stuck in her hand. Still giggling, she asked, "Do you have a medical degree you haven't told me about?"

He looked at her and smiled dryly. "Haha. I was just looking for glass pieces, smartass."

"There aren't any, I already checked!"

"You could have told me this you know. Five minutes ago when I was scrutinizing your hand, you could've mentioned it!"

She just laughed.

He started the tap and put her hand underneath it. She told him she could do it, and that it was only a minor scratch, but he wouldn't listen.

He gently cleaned all the blood from her hand and then turned the tap off. He took out some cotton from the first aid box and dabbed her hand dry. Riddhima sighed. "Armaan! Main yeh kar sakti hoon! Trust me, it doesn't even hurt now!"

"Riddhima! Shut up!" Putting a little antiseptic on the cotton he said, "This might hurt." before slowly applying the antiseptic on her hand. Riddhima shut her eyes tightly as it burned a little. He noticed this and blew air on the spot to soothe her. Just as he finished applying, he accidentally rubbed a little hard and she hissed in pain. They both bent down to blow air on it and their heads bumped. They looked up, the pain forgotten. Her eyes locked into his and they stared. He looked into her green eyes and her eyes widened. She looked at the blue eyes, trying to read her. Unable to look away, she looked right back.

The ointment fell down, making both of them startle and look away.

A slow blush crept up her cheeks as she silently wondered what on earth was it that made her stare at him like that.

Just then Armaan's phone rang. He looked at the caller id and it was Nick. He cursed under his breath. It was over four. They were late for the meeting.

Sighing he picked up the phone.

"Armaan! Dude the meeting was supposed to start 15 minutes ago!"

"I'm coming ..."

"And get Riddhima too...what the hell are you two doing the cafeteria...sitting so close?"

Armaan turned red with embarrassment. He could hear Nick's barely muffled laughter.

"Nothing! She umm got hurt and I was ...uh bandaging her hand. Nothing else!"

"Oh and bandaging involves staring at each other till you get a call and come back to earth?"

"Shut up."

"Oooh...wait till Joe hears about this and Trac-"

"If you breathe a word about this to anyone, you're fired."

"Nooo...you can't do that!"

"I'm your boss. I can do damn well anything I want!" he said, chuckling and keeping his phone in the pocket.

Telling Riddhima to come along, he headed for the meeting.