Shape of the Sun

Pressures of that side

"Haha. Mr. Malholtra, you know how difficult this business can be. It's not so simple, you know?"

"Yes, yes Mr. Rajeev."

Prithvi was smiling on the surface but in his heart, he was scolding the old geezers for being so slippery. Did they think he was that easy to fool? He wasn't! Here he was, talking for hours and they were all being careful around him and not engaging with his business pitch for a fish farm. And it all went down to two words - illegitimate and Reddy.

Prithvi was an illegitimate child and so, they didn't want to fish too much in these troubled waters, but at the same time, his father was Bhairav Singh Reddy, so they didn't dare to show their eagerness to avoid him. Hey, who knew if his old man had something wrong and invited them for a cup of tea to discuss whether his child, illegitimate or not, is someone they can ignore? It wasn't certain if the cunning thief would let them go without extorting some company shares as compensation and by that time, it would be too late to regret it. 

In the business world, they all abided by one code - don't mess with Bhairav Singh Reddy. They were so pitiful. Damn, could someone come and take away this hot potato? In their eyes, Prithvi Malhotra might as well have been the plague.

If Prithvi knew what they were thinking, he'd have scolded them even harder. Did they think he wanted to be here, with a bunch of old men, instead of in the arms of a beautiful woman? All he could say was that his old man forced him! He had suddenly called him the previous evening and told him that his startup budget was too high after his review and he would only provide eighty percent of the funds. He would need to pitch to other investors for the remaining twenty percent. If not, why would he be here now? Prithvi complained in his heart about his father that was just getting stingier with age. He also didn't forget to extend his negative feelings to his half-siblings. They were also doing the same to him, he was sure. At the point they had all reached, the three of them were aware that there was no need to be hypocritical with each other.

What an honest sibling bond that they shared.

Frustrated with his futile efforts to get investors, he excused himself and went to sit by the bar from where he could see people walking in the main hall below. He was really tired and felt that there was no need to waste any more time here. Prithvi pulled out his phone to call his assistant to drive the car out front when he noticed the people sitting around him were all looking at a woman downstairs. And it wasn't only them as even those in the hall had their eyes stuck on that particular person as she walked behind a server.

And as he watched from the gallery, Prithvi had only one thing to say about her movements. Graceful. She had graceful steps, each one filled with momentum, her lime green dress accentuating that face so beautiful that Prithvi thought it was a crime he had never met her before.

"Who is that?" he couldn't help whispering, a hand trailing the length of his phone. Barely a second had passed when he felt eyes on him, looking at him like he was a lunatic. Prithvi frowned, uncomfortable with being stared at like that.

"What is it?"

The guy next to him felt he had to save this weirdo.

"What do you mean that you don't know her? That's Manmeet Chatterjee, Arora's chief Architect and she is so well-known in the business world." he looked him up and down, frowning, "Are you sure you are in the right place?" How could a businessman not know Manmeet Chatterjee? She was one of the best architects in India!

However, Prithvi could not answer his question because his mind was in so much turmoil. That was Manmeet Chatterjee? That Manmeet his father wanted his brother to marry? Damn, it was so unfair!

There was no way that Prithvi could have known who she was before today. He tended to stay away from major events that his father was privy to attend, which were also the ones he was sure Manmeet Chatterjee also attended. He was illegitimate, and there were some unspoken rules concerning them. If Bhairav had carried Prithvi to any of them, it would be the same as releasing a statement against the position of Choti and Rajkumar. And to his credit, Prithvi was only too happy to oblige, not ready to go to those events and have so many eyes on him that it was suffocating. He had only heard about Manmeet Chatterjee when Bhairav spoke about her and it wasn't really interesting to him. Why should anyone who could stand as a support to Rajkumar be on his mind?

It was only today that he realized how wrong he was. A woman like that was bound to be on everybody's mind. Prithvi wanted to follow her. He wanted to speak to her for a while, possibly get her number...

No, no. He firmly suppressed those thoughts in his heart. Prithvi was not an idiot and knew that this was not the time or the place to impulsive and fumble the bag. If his old man heard of it, he'd flip and Prithvi didn't want that. Anything that stood any chance of threatening Rajkumar's marriage shouldn't come from him. But he had heard that his brother seemed to be returning abroad and Prithvi couldn't help but sneer.

There was no way that a woman like Manmeet Chatterjee would give up all her hard work for a man and that could only mean one thing - the marriage was not happening. Prithvi was in a good mood and he ordered a cosmopolitan, downing it one go once he had it in his hands. His good brother had finally done something right. Prithvi wanted to thank him for this gift called Manmeet Chatterjee. He would wait until he stood a chance to approach her. He was already so used to waiting for others, he thought as a hand gripped the glass so hard that it whitened.

The man that had told him about Manmeet Chatterjee had just turned to ask if he had a lighter when he saw this, matched to boot with a very hideous expression. He shuddered and decided to get the hell out of there, muttering 'crazy' under his breath. Of course, there had to be something wrong with the brain if a person did not know who Manmeet Chatterjee was. Damn, why did no one tell him?

Prithvi took all these in and his hideous expression worsened. It wouldn't be for so much longer anymore. Prithvi swore with all that he had that he would one day, put to shame all these people that treated him badly today. He would never again make himself uncomfortable anymore.

What he didn't know was that someone else watching all that he was doing, and also felt uncomfortable too, but for all different reasons.