ArHi FF: If I were you-link to Ch20 pg 145 - Page 24

nice update.
waiting for the next update eagerly.

Chapter 4: A Tale of 2 Immovable Objects

Arnav Singh Raizada fidgeted with the tie JayP and Shyam had insisted he wear. He felt like a trussed chicken in formal wear. And to protest he's worn a red tie with yellow Tweety birds on it. He'd sneakily emerged dressed in the only suit he possessed, carrying a red silk tie in his hand. And he'd only worn the tie in the car, when it was too late for them to do anything about it. JayP was not happy with his sartorial preference. Shyam was resigned to his brother-in-law's eccentricities and said nothing. They sat in a glass windowed conference room on the 12^th Floor of the Gupta Labs Office. The view on offer was gloomy, with the Arabian Sea in full Monsoon mode. The ocean was grey and the cloudy sky hung low over it. Foam from the rough waves rose high when the waves struck the sandbars meant to contain them. "The mood matches the weather," Arnav grimaced. He'd been dragged to this meeting with Khushi Gupta and her lawyer with instructions to apologize profusely for his behavior, especially the furniture breaking part. His Jijaji was representing him for the Lawsuit she'd thrust on him personally for trespassing and damage of property. JayP was representing the Organization. She hadn't filed a lawsuit against them. It was too much of a minefield, that. But he was hoping to get her to tone down the media blitzkrieg a little. SETA had been painted a group of immature vigilantes who didn't understand the issues. It looked bad. They'd been badly discredited and JayP was here to do damage control.

Khushi Gupta had dressed extra carefully for today's meeting. She wore an Armani Collezioni suit in black wool with a white scooped neck jersey Tee inside. She wore no jewelry at all, and her make up was light. She'd pinned her hair back into her usual tight bun. She wore Black Louboutins on her feet. She looked what Payal called "scary efficient", and her Mother lamented was her "You'll never get married if you dress like that" look. She walked fast, and even though she was a good head shorter than Mr.Roy, he had to trot to keep up with her as they walked to the conference room. Sally had informed her that they were here, and she had given them coffee and left them to cool their heels while "Ma'am" wrapped up another meeting. "Ma'am" of course had no other meeting except the one with the mirror in her bathroom where she fixed her hair and lips.

They'd been waiting 10 minutes and Arnav had succeeded in loosening the knot around his neck while Shyam frowned at him, when the door flew open. Everyone rose to their feet, except Arnav, who got up when Shyam glared at him.

"Miss Gupta! Nice to meet you, I'm Jaivant Pendse", said JayP, holding out a hand.

"Mr.Pendse", Khushi nodded, smiling. She shook hands with Shyam as well, and then turned to Arnav. "Mr.Raizada and I have met, of course," she said coolly. Arnav inclined his head to acknowledge her, but didn't offer to shake hands. To his surprise, she held out her hand to him. "Mr.Raizada, we meet again!" she said lightly.

"So we do, Miss. Gupta," said Arnav surprised. They shook hands, eyes meeting steadily. Neither looked away, unwilling to give up what seemed to be a silly 7^th Grade level battle here. Who would blink first? After a few seconds, decided not to play this game. She introduced Mr.Roy to the rest and they sat down to talk business.

Mr.Roy's voice sounded like one of those annoying voices on a GPS. Steely, electronic, and monotonous. Arnav wished he could turn him off like he could mute his GPS. JayP and Shyam seemed to be listening sincerely. Khushi played with her pen, looking down at her legal pad for most part. She looked up every so often at Arnav. He didn't seem to be paying the slightest attention. He was drawing earnestly on his legal pad. He put the finishing touches on the palm tree he had drawn, and looked up only when Shyam kicked him under the table. Under the quelling glance Shyam shot him, he stopped drawing and sat up straight. Mr.Roy had finished his spiel on Arnav's wrongdoings and was claiming a large sum of money as compensation in exchange for dropping the charges. Shyam looked at Arnav and sighed. His 23-year old Saale Saab looked about 17. His Tweety bird tie didn't help. His hair was tousled and hung over his forehead in a way completely unlike the way his sister had combed it for him this morning. He made a mental note to tell Anjali to stop combing her brother's hair for him. His white formal shirt was half out and half in of the grey trousers he wore. He'd shrugged his blazer off a while ago and it hung on the back of the chair he sat. He looked like an overgrown teenager not an adult.

Mr.Roy and Shyam sparred for a bit on the compensation amount. Before they could get too far, Khushi intervened. "I'm willing to forgo the compensation amount," she declared quietly. Shyam looked at her warily. "In return for?" he asked.

"A written apology from Mr.Raizada and his services for 2 months," she said.

"Services?" asked Shyam wonderingly.

"I want him to intern with us for 2 months," she smiled tightly.

"Work for you corporate asswipes! Never!" said Arnav hotly.

"OK. Go to jail then. Your family can never afford the compensation anyway," she said evenly.

"He accepts! And thank you Miss Gupta!" said Shyam smoothly.

"He most certainly does not accept! Jijaji, I am not working for Gupta Labs! I'm not selling out. It's against everything I stand for and believe in!" said Arnav angrily.

"Jijaji?" asked Khushi.

"I am married to his sister," said Shyam, by way of explanation.

"I see. I am sorry your Brother-in-law ruined your anniversary Mr.Jha," said Khushi smiling lightly.

"I didn't ruin it. You did, you'you'murderer!" spluttered Arnav.

"Shut up Arnav!" said JayP. "He'll be here 9am tomorrow morning Miss Gupta!" said JayP. "He will swab floors if that's what he needs to do, isn't that right Shyam?" asked JayP.

"Indeed it is. He's yours for 2 months, Miss Gupta!" said Shyam, his voice final in its tone.

"Wonderful! See you tomorrow Mr.Raizada. See Sally on the way out, she will tell you where to come in tomorrow. And Mr.Pendse, you can rest easy about the media coverage. That is what you are worried about, right?"

"Let us discuss this Miss Gupta", said JayP, not wanting to commit himself so easily.

The end of the discussion resulted in JayP agreeing to make sure SETA did not target Gupta Labs in the future in return for Khushi calling off the bad press.

At the end of the meeting Shyam and JayP were left thoroughly impressed by Miss Khushi Gupta, CEO of Gupta Labs. She was only 26, but she was a very astute businesswoman who drove a hard bargain. "Not bad looking either," mused JayP, wondering if she was single or attached. They all rose to leave, when Khushi asked for 5 minutes with Arnav.

"I'd like to have a few words with him please," she said. It was a command, couched as a request, and they trooped out, leaving Arnav to face her.

"What is it?" he asked sulkily.

"Lose the tie," she said. "Nobody in my office dresses like that."

"Like they're having fun, you mean?" he asked.

"Exactly. This is a workplace. You're not here to have fun."

"My work IS fun. But of course, this is not MY workplace!"

"You have a job?" she gasped in mock horror.

"I am a Team Leader at SETA," he said proudly.

"So you plan acts of vandalism on a daily basis. Wonderful career that must be."

"I do a lot more than that. But why am I bothering to explain that to you?" he sneered.

"And how much do your efforts pay? Enough to pay your way? Enough to help your family?" she asked quietly. He turned red. His work paid a pittance. His family never said anything, because his Di never let them say a word to her Chotey.

She opened a file in front of her. "Arnav Singh Raizada. Age 23. Has a Masters in Environmental Safety. Gold Medalist. Loves animals. No parents. One elder sister who needs corrective surgery on her left leg that would help her walk without a limp. One Grandmother with a heart conditon. One brother-in-law who runs the family on his rather meager salary. And one, arrogant 23 year old who does nothing to help his family," she looked up at him, her gaze dripping disdain.

"How dare you? You know nothing about me. About our family. Who the hell are you to judge me?" he asked angrily, stepping towards her menacingly.

She held her ground and his gaze. "No one. Same way you are nobody to judge my company and the way we work without knowing anything of the realities. How many labs have you worked in?" she asked. He said nothing, his face red with rage.

"Work in my company for a few months. Learn what we do. Understand what we are trying to do. Then judge our motives and methods, OK?" she said steadily.

"You are a business. Your goal is to make money, one way or the other. You don't care what needs to be done to make that happen!" he said.

"True. We are a business. The goal is to make a profit. And we do. I am not apologizing for that. See you tomorrow at 9!" she said.

"See YOU? Do interns on probation work under the CEO at Gupta Labs?" he asked sneeringly.

"Not all interns. Only special cases. And you are a very special case. Remember, I like my coffee hot and my bagels toasted, but not buttered!" she smiled.

"And I like my Martinis shaken, but not stirred!" he muttered under his breath.

"Delusions of grandeur Arnav Singh Raizada? That's James Bond, not you!"

He smiled at her, unable to help it. In that moment, his face transformed from sulky little boy to a very good-looking, young man. She stared at him for a second, quelled her beating heart, and said, "Tomorrow morning Mr.Raizada. And don't be late!" She walked out of the room, head held high and heels tapping on the floor as she rushed to her next meeting, for which she was in fact late. She wondered for a fleetng second why she'd let the boy hold her up. There had been no real reason to stay back and spar with him. Then she went to her next meeting and forgot all about him.

"What did she have to say to you that she wanted to talk with you alone?" asked Shyam as they drove back home.

"She told me I was an irresponsible and arrogant guy who does nothing for his family," said Arnav.

"Really? I am beginning to like this Khushi Gupta", said Shyam, smiling as Arnav punched his hand lightly.

"She's hot!" said JayP. "I wonder if I should ask her out?" he wondered aloud.

"Conflict of interest!" said Shyam. "Are you f**king nuts?" said Arnav simultaneously. The three of them burst out laughing and went home to report the results of their meeting.

A pooja was immediately organized by Anjali to propitiate the Gods for preventing her Chotey's escape from a fate worse than death. Lavanya planned a party to celebrate as well. Only her party involved Spiked punch, not prayers. And she was quite put out when she heard he had to work at Gupta Labs for 2 months. Shyam put in a token appearance at the Pooja, but really wanted it to end so he could go to the party. The stress of hypothetically trying to come up with immense sums of money had put a few grey hairs in his head and he needed a few stiff drinks. JayP spent the party wondering if he should ask Khushi out in spite of every single person laughing in his face when he asked their opinion. Arnav nursed one beer all evening. He didn't dance. Not even to "Pappu can't dance Saala," his favorite number, since he really couldn't dance very well. Khushi Gupta's words about him being irresponsible and not taking care of his family had hit home. As for Khushi Gupta. She didn't sleep very well that night. She kept dreaming of Tweety birds. Lots and lots of Tweety birds.

Read and review lovely people!

Cheers!

Maxine

PM: Kostin for readers: Would you guys be willing to move to a easier platform wrt pming? I mean maybe gmail or something? I pm more than 350 people, and I have several buddy requests I am not accepting because I cannot handle pming more people (it's boooring!). Do let me know if that would work for you guys and we can work something out.

Chapter 5

I believe I am going to dream about tweety birds too tonight. Lots and lots!

TWEETY BIRDS, POOJAS AND A HOT KKG

Nice Vidhya ji!. Arnav is educated and does not support family .

LOL.! they all are nuts...😆

Loved the update dear !! I just now read the other 3 chapters in the FF at one go and i'm loving it totally !!😃It is really different too !! Thanks for the PM dear 🤗

Me too reswa.

LOL that was hilarious...

Very very interesting!!!! Loved it😃!!!!!