Chapter 8- PROBLEMS AWAIT FOR ARYAN AND IMLIE IN DELHI
Both Imlie and Aryan woke up early the next morning as the flight was at 8:30 am and they had to reach the airport by 7 am. When Imlie checked her phone after bath, Aryan had already texted her.
â I am ready⌠waiting downstairsâŚletâs try to leave in next 20 minsâ.
â Sure, I will meet you near reception in 10 minsâ she replied.
She reached the reception and tried to clear the bill when the desk attendant told her payment was already done by Mr. Aryan Singh Rathore. She didnât like to take favors but she didnât want to argue early in the morning so she saved this discussion for later.
Aryan waved at Imlie and they walked towards the exit. Before sitting in the car, a journalist wanted to take Aryanâs picture which he respectfully agreed to. He took a couple of quick shots and they left.
In the car, Aryan turned to tell the flight details to Imlie and was smitten by her looks. Her innocent face, wet hair, the fragrance, the kohl and everything about her was so simple yet so attractive.
â What happened? What are you looking at? Do I have something on my face? Sorry I just got ready in a hurryâ
â No,nothing. Itâs perfectâ
â Sorry?â
â I wanted to tell you that our flight departs at 8:30 and we are well on time. We will reach Delhi before noonâ
â Ok, thanks. I havenât informed Rohan sir that I will be late to office todayâ
â Take my phone and call him. I have his number saved. We talk oftenâ
Imlie looked at him and then looked outside the window. She was confused- she had to inform her manager that she will be late but at the same time she canât call him from Aryanâs mobile as it may be awkward. He wouldnât have reached office yet so canât call on landline number either.
â Thatâs okay. I will call him from the airport. They sometimes allow it from the airline's deskâ
â I donât understand you Imlie, not calling from a mobile and waiting for airlines landline to callâ
â Office starts at 9 and I will be well on time to inform him, shouldnât be a problemâ
â Alright, if you insistâ Aryan didnât want to force her.
They reached the airport and walked towards the airline desk. The airline staff greeted them and handed them their boarding passes.
â Can I please make a phone call? My mobile is deadâ
â Sure Maâamâ
Imlie informed Rohan that she will reach office by noon today as she is taking a flight to Delhi this morning. Rohan was aware that she had missed the flight yesterday and Arya had informed him that Imlie had left for some urgent personal work so he didnât ask many questions. He liked to give some space to his subordinates on a personal front.
They passed the security check and walked towards their boarding gate. Boarding started in some time and the airlines called their priority customers to board first. Aryan got up and looked at Imlie. She got up and started walking with him. The staff greeted them and directed them to business class.
It was Imlieâs first time in business class and second time in a flight, first being the journey to Mumbai for the event. She was amazed at the luxury and staff attention for the business class passengers.
âMoney canât buy everything but still a lot of things. This is just so beautiful and magical to be over the clouds. I will also get my Amma-Dadda with me sometime. They will be so happy to be on the top of the clouds. I will be able to save some money after college is over and when I get a full time job. We will travel together as family to some places if possible. They may be the first ones from Pandandiya to board a flight. After all that her family has gone through in their difficult days, they surely deserved the fruit of their hard work and dedication. She was smiling and lost in her own dreams.
â Are you comfortable?â Aryan checked.
â I am more than comfortableâ Imlie smiled like a toddler all excited.
After around half hour, Aryan felt Imlieâs head on his shoulder while he was reading his book. He looked at her and kept looking. She looked very beautiful in her sleep. She had a flick disturbing her which Aryan lifted and put it behind her ear. Without much starring, he got back to his book and let Imlie sleep the way she was.
When the flight landed, Aryan woke up Imlie and they walked their way out of the airport. Aryan had already told his secretary to send two of his drivers at the airport. One was to drop Imlie and another for him.
â Thank you so much Aryan. I can take a cab, donât worryâ
â Itâs okay Imlie, I already called two of them. Ravi can drop you wherever you want and the other one can take me home. I will work from home todayâ
âThanks so muchâ
â Youâre are very welcomeâ
â Before I forget, can you please tell me how much I owe you Aryan? For the hotel and flight. I donât think company will reimburse for the missed flightâ
â Donât bother Imlie. You have a good dayâ
â No, I have to pay you. I canât do thisâ
â Imlie relax, weâll talk later about this. I have a meeting in an hour so letâs leave for nowâ
â Ok, I wonât forget. I owe you. You have a good day tooâ
â Donât worry, I will take it somedayâ Aryan smiled and left.
Imlie went directly to the office and worked until late evening to complete her work.
Around 7 pm, she got a call from Aryan.
â Imlie, where are you?"
" I am in office"
" My driver will pick you up in 15 mins, please come with him to my place. Sorry but its urgent or I wouldn't have called you like this"
" Is everything alright?"
" Please come and we will talk. Try not to talk to anyone until you meet me apart from your parents"
"Ok" Imlie was confused but trusted Aryan and winded up her work and went downstairs.
" Imlie Ma'am"
Aryan's driver from the morning had already reached and was waiting for Imlie.
Imlie sat in the car and texted Arya that she will be late to come back to the hostel today. Arya had left at 5 pm along with other interns. Imlie wanted to complete her hours and work so worked late hours.
She texted her Dadda that she will be late to go back to her hostel today as she has to urgently meet a friend. She liked to inform her parents every time she would be late than 8 pm to reach her hostel. It was her family rule.
Imlie reached Aryan's home - âThe Rathore Mansionâ. The place was no less than a palace. She had never seen such a beautiful house before.
The doorman opened the door and she entered. It was even more beautiful from the inside. The chandeliers, the walls, the furniture, the architecture, everything was very beautiful.
" Imlie" She turned around, it was Aryan. He had a troubled look on his face.
" Come, let's go to the conference room"
"Office, again?"
" No, I have one in my house too"
" Ok, sure" Imlie was confused and amazed. She never knew people had conference rooms in their houses also.
She entered the room with Aryan and saw 8-10 people already seated there.
" Imlie, this is my mom, my sister, my manager, my PR, my lawyer Mr. Arun Mansukhani and his team and Anand- you know him already" Aryan introduced all of the people seated in the room.
Imlie couldn't understand one bit why she was here but still smiled and greeted everyone.
"So Imlie, we have an issue here. Don't panic, there's nothing that can't be taken care of. My team is already on it"
" What? What issue?"
" Apparently, the local news has made a headline that we are together"
" We? Together?"
" We mean you and me. I believe someone followed us from the hotel in Mumbai to Delhi and clicked our pictures together and now is a local news breaking story for today"
Imlie was still confused and couldn't understand why anyone would be interested to click her pictures.
Arpita could understand Imlie's confusion and added " So Imlie, the thing is the local media has shown a story that you and Aryan are dating each other. You were together in Mumbai and were spotted at Delhi airport together. They don't know many details about you and are calling you a mystery girl. You know how media can sometimes be, right?"
" We are not" Imlie tried to clear up.
" We know dear, don't worry. Some news channels just need some news- fake or real doesn't matter to them" Narmanda tried to calm Imlie.
" Miss Imlie, we will have to sort this out. I would suggest that we mutually arrive at a statement about this. You can call your lawyers to contribute if you wish to" Lawyer Arun said.
Imlie looked at Aryan and he understood.
" No need for another set of lawyers, we will come up with a statement which works for both of us. You will represent both of us"
"Sure, Mr. Aryan"
" Miss Imlie, this meeting may take a few hours and my team will draft a professional response to the situation. We are targeting to issue our statement by tomorrow morning. I will suggest please don't attend any calls or messages in the meantime. People may try to reach you for more information on your relationship with Mr. Rathore" Arun was one of the best lawyers in town and was working with Rathore group for a long time.
" Imlie while the professional discussions about Rathore group and legalities are going on, why don't you come with me for half an hour? Arun beta can I take Imlie for half an hour? She should be back by 9pm, okay?"
" No problem, Ma'am. She can actually join us back at 11 when we start discussing the responses to the pictures released by the news. They both need to be available for that discussion"
" 11 pm? My hostel?"
" Imlie, will it be possible to call the warden and inform her that you will be staying at a local guardian's house tonight? The news team may chase you anywhere and trouble you. Once the statement is released, you can get back to the routine. I am sorry but does that sound horrible?" Arpita was concerned about Imlie now.
" No, itâs okay. I will do that"
Before exiting the conference room, Imlie looked at Aryan who was already looking at her. He didn't say a word but Imlie understood he would take care of this situation.
" Come dear. You came directly from the office, you didn't get time to freshen up and have dinner. I will take you to the guest room. Go freshen up and come for dinner. I will wait for you here while Sunaina will help you with what you need" Narmada could see the tiredness on Imlie's face, mother's eyes after all.
Imlie kept thinking why would people relate him and Aryan? and what worse can happen? It is because Aryan is famous, he is clicked anywhere?
She was too tired to think. It had been a long day and now she had to attend this conference in two hours. What's happening? Why is this happening?
She freshened up and had dinner with Narmada. They spoke about her family, office and her interests. Nothing related to the news at all.
CHAPTER 9- RATHORE GROUP ISSUES A
STATEMENT
Edited by Fantasylover1 - 2 years ago
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