Hey guys, first of all I would like to apologize for the delay in the update. Secondly a BIIIGGG thank you to all you guys for appreciating my attempt and I sincerely hope you like the story as it progresses.
Note : I making an attempt to write this story in a bit more realistic background which might not make the story like a regular cute-meet love story. So, please bear with me and as always constructive criticism is welcome 🙂
PS : I really really hope you guys like this
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Link to the previous episode :Episode 1 here
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LAKSHYA
“Ragini” I whispered looking at her as she stood in front of me.
“You guys know each other?” he asked looking back and forth between us, as we were having our mini staring contest.
“We met once” she said in a clipped tone
“A couple of times more than once” I said with a grin “Good to see you after so long, Ragini”
“Wish I could say the same, Mr Maheshwari” she said and turned to Dhruv “I’m going in
That really made me laugh. Boy, this girl knew how to keep her feelings fresh as ever.
I have never met anyone who had consistency in their personality, but she was one person who had not changed even a single detail about herself. She still had the same fierce personality in that puny 5’4” body of hers; she still looked like that ambitious little girl, I met five years ago, who aimed for the stars and the best part was that she still reflected the same dislike for me, in her eyes, that she first had for me five years ago.
“Did you do something to her?” Dhruv asked me suspiciously
I didn’t want to be the one to tell him the connection between me and her. It was her story to tell, moreover I was actually the bad guy in her story and I did not want to get punched on my first night in this city.
“I guess she should be the one telling this to you. Anyway, it has been a while, how have you been little fella?”
“All good. I joined dad’s company after college and that’s my career story” he said
“Let’s have a drink and something to eat. I am starving; all this shifting stuff has drained me out completely”
“So, Delhi boy, what is your first impression about the city” he asked as we walked towards the bar.
Honestly, when I landed here, I didn’t know what to expect. It’s not that I came here for the first time. I’ve been here for work a lot of times, but completely shifting my base and moving here was a completely different ball game. But when I saw Ragini, Mumbai became a little more interesting and challenging.
And who doesn’t love a good challenge?
“Not too bad, still too early to form an opinion” I said as he poured a drink for both of us.
The dinner went on great, Ragini kept avoiding me and frankly I didn’t want to hold a conversation with her with an audience around me, because that was not going to be civil and that I was sure about. I noticed that Gadodia’s and Arora’s gelled with each other pretty well, they looked like one big happy family from a clichéd movie.
Even the whole dinner scene looked like a clichéd movie scene with the ladies chatting away happily, the men discussing their usual stuff. We even played some card games; I’ll admit that was fun. After a while we all said our goodbyes and I made plans with Dhruv for the next weekend.
As we sat in the car, I saw Dhruv driving Ragini and Mrs Gadodia to drop them off. Dad was in no mood to drive so I took over the driver’s seat and dad at behind to take a quick nap, mom sat beside me in the passenger’s seat.
“I noticed you staring at her today” she said
I knew Mom was hinting about Ragini, but I didn’t want to give in. She wouldn’t understand the situation and start imagining something completely different.
“Of course, Sheena aunty was looking beautiful, couldn’t take my off her” I said with a laugh
She hit me on the arm and said “You know who I am talking about, don’t try these dodging tricks with me”
“Oh, so you’re talking about Sumi aunty” I teased her further, which led to her pulling my ear
“OW, mom I’m driving”
“You very well know that I am talking about Ragini” she said “I like her”
I could feel her looking at me when she said that. Mom has been trying to set up for over 3 years now. But I have not been ready to settle down and it is difficult to make my mom understand that.
“I met Ragini few years ago. We don’t have a good equation with each other” I said with an expectation that she would stop imagining things.
“Why? What happened between you both?”
“Mom it was a long time ago and honestly I don’t even remember anything that well”
She gave a small laugh and said “You know it’s not very difficult for me to figure out when you’re lying. But I won’t prod in till you want to tell me about it”
“Yeah, sure. You’re very convincing when you say stuff like that Mom” I said sarcastically and she laughed.
We reached home got changed and went to our rooms. As much as I tried, I could not sleep at all. I had been trying to get in touch with Ragini for the past week; she kept ignoring and disconnecting my calls.
The dynamic between me and Ragini, the dislike that she has for me, is my fault. We met couple of times five years ago, when she was interning with a leading firm, that’s it. She was a 21 year old enthusiastic and ambitious girl looking forward for her career and I was the 25 year old corrupt demon who almost wrecked her career even before it started.
My conscience has been nagging me ever since. After she left her job there I could never trace her back. I did come close a few times over the years, but somehow missed her every time. Two years ago I saw her interview in the paper and that is how I found out that she was in Mumbai running her own successful law firm and that she was an award winning lawyer.
I had to get in touch with her; I tried sending her emails and letters to her, to no avail. All thanks to modern technology, she figured out my phone number and ever since then she has been avoiding my calls and I left all my hopes of getting in touch with her.
Life went on; about six months ago Dad and I decided to shift our business base from Delhi to Mumbai owing to better opportunities here. Honestly I did hope to bump into her someday, somewhere but this dinner meeting was completely unexpected.
I don’t blame her for not wanting to do anything with me, but at the same time I am a selfish person and I really want to get rid of this nagging feeling that I have.
“Fix an appointment for me with Ms Ragini Gadodia for tomorrow. Do not mention my name” I typed in an email to my associate and went to sleep.
Next morning I got ready and rushed to the office to check if Aman was successful in getting me an appointment. Aman has been with me for the past 3 years and there is not a day when I have delegated some work to him and he hasn’t been able to complete it. The boy was hard-working and I admired him for that.
I entered my cabin and saw my schedule for the day on my table. There it was a meeting with Ms Gadodia at 2 pm. I should give Aman a raise, I sent him a mail late at night and he finished it first thing in the morning.
As I was going through the schedule there was a knock on my door and Aman entered and said “I see you already checked your schedule”
“I knew I could count on you. I am curious though, how did you manage it?”
“I’ll tell you after your meeting” he said with a small laugh and then handed me some documents “Sir has asked you to sign these documents for the upcoming project”
“What is it that you can’t tell me now?” I asked him while signing the papers
“I wouldn’t even have to tell you after that”
“Now, you’re making me suspicious” I said handing all the papers to him. He gave a laugh and left my room.
I finished all my meetings and left for my meeting with Madame Gadodia.
God she was going to throw a tantrum, I could actually feel it even before we came in each other’s vicinity. I reached her address and entered the office where I was greeted by a girl.
“May I help you sir?” she asked
“Yes, but before that, may I ask your name?”
“I’m Tanya, and you are?”
“Hi Tanya, I have an appointment with Ms Gadodia, I’m here on behalf of ANP Enterprises”
“Oh yes, please come with me Sir”
She escorted me to a conference room and said “Sir, please have a seat, Mam is finishing up another meeting. She’ll be with you in a few minutes”
“In the meantime would you like to have something?”
“No thank you” I said as I sat down. She gave a smile and left the room
After 10 minutes I heard the door open, Ragini entered with her back pushing the door and she was giving some directions to Tanya “Please get me a cup of coffee with coconut milk and brown sugar. Thank you sweetheart”
She turned to face me and the smile that was on her face immediately disappeared.
“What the hell is this?” she seethed and I couldn’t help but smile at her.