Raman kept staring at the glass pen holder on his desk,deep in thought. His MD's words "May be you need to sit out on this project" kept echoing in his head. In all his years of service this is the first time he felt so humiliated.
He recalled all the struggle he went through to get to this position. From being an employee in Ashok's company to being the CEO of the year,he virtually traced his journey.
At the same moment a text popped up on his phone.It's a message from Ishita,"How did the meeting go? Come home soon, need to talk about Rinki's marriage".
He ignored it & put the phone on silent mode. His thoughts took him back to the problem.
He knew, he couldn't completely blame his boss. The recent occurrences,the contracts he handed over to Ashok plus Romi's behavior,all made his boss sway against him & today his messing up of the presentation was a major blow.
He knew he couldn't afford one false step anymore.With his childrens future & his family's happiness on his shoulders he felt even more troubled.With Rinki's marriage around the corner, the timing couldn't have been worse.
His thoughts lead him to Shagun, the way she left him as he couldn't offer her any luxuries and his lonely years in Mumbai when he was struggling to make his place in the industry.He knew Ishita is no Shagun but he vowed to himself long back that he would never be in that position again.
In the house , Ishita convinced Rinki to give a chance to the groom.She asked Rinki to grill him and if he accepts all her conditions then she can proceed with the match , or else they will drop it.Rinki reluctantly agreed to it. Ishita even convinced Toshiji for the midway deal.
Everyone finished dinner and retired to their rooms.Toshiji asked Ishita to join them for dinner,but she wanted to wait for Raman so she declined.
She again checked her phone to see whether Raman replied to any of her messages.She left many messages to him and even called him to find out his whereabouts.But his phone remained unreachable. She sat at the dinning table and kept looking at her phone and the clock.
Raman reached home around midnight.When he entered the hall he found Ishtia dozing with her head on the dinning table.He knew she was waiting for him and he felt guilty about not returning her messages.
He might have made some sound with the keys,because she woke up suddenly.On seeing him she smiled,rubbed her eyes and started asking questions."How did the meeting go? Why are you late? Are you hungry?"
Without looking at her face he simply nodded for everything and informed her that he was not hungry.He said that he was feeling sleepy and left to their room.
She immediately sensed that something was wrong but she was not sure how to approach him.She sighed and went after him.
In the room he removed his coat and took out his night clothes from the cupboard. She came up with water jug and placed it on table. She lingered around him, waiting for him to talk and not knowing how to broach the topic.
Observing it, he threw the clothes away and pulled her into his arms and embraced her in a tight hug .He closed his eyes and nuzzled her neck,sending shivers down her spine.Her arms automatically reached around him and held him closer.She rubbed the lower back of his head , easing his tension away.
They stayed that way for some time swaying with the wind and seeking comfort from each other with neither of them saying anything.
After a few mins,he began to speak.He explained the situation and informed her how his job was at stake. She listened to everything patiently and pulling out from his embrace made him sit on the bed.She reached for water ,poured it in a glass and handed it over to him.
He took a sip and left it on the table.She kneeled down infront of him and asked,"Since you love cars and you always wanted to open a garage, I think you should do it now. To see my sexy husband with grease and dust all over him, I will bring lunch daily in the afternoon.And in the evening I will bring Ruhi & Adi so that they can play with the spare tires there.How cool is that!!!"
For a sec, he looked bewildered like she lost it and started laughing, imagining the picture she painted. "You are mad, Do you know that?" He asked.
"No, you are mad.I get why you are upset.But see, You are CEO of the year, Head of Delhi Entrepreneur Association & also the Chief of Asia Business Guild and look how sad you are."
"This is just one bad day at work.Tomorrow with a fresh mind you can make your MD understand that it's not entirely your fault, it's human error and you can assure him that it won't happen again. If he listens well and good, If not then you can always resign."
"You became a CEO with your hard work not by luck, I have confidence in you,Infact we all have confidence in you.If not this company then some other company will be lucky to have you. In the mean time we are not completely broke,we can use our savings and I still have a job you know.." She replied.
All the tension left him and he laughed outright. "No, You are going to work and Iam planning to chill out and enjoy life" He winked. She nudged his shoulder playfully and replied "The mechanic idea is more romantic."
" Thank you , I guess I needed to hear that from you...even though I knew all those things" He replied and took her face in his hands and kissed her on the fore head.
"No problem.You see, that's the deal with marriage,If you are down I get to kick you and If Iam down you can do the honors."She replied with a smile.
She stood up still smiling and asked him again "Are you hungry?" and this time he nodded. She pulled him up and with their joined hands,they entered the dining room for a late dinner.
Edited by Anuhyaa - 10 years ago
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