Orderly Chaos

The Industrialist from Bandra

"So, what kind of bees make milk?"

"Humour me."

"Boobies."

Adi glanced at his best friend with extreme disapproval. Ram's jokes were as old as his father's pyjamas, and those were a good fifty years old now. Ram grinned at Adi's reaction, almost satisfied to have annoyed him.

"Where did you learn these jokes? From the Ram Kapoor Institute of Lameness and Idiocy?" Adi teased. Ram stuck out his tongue at him. "No. If I remember correctly, it was the Aditya Shekhawat's Academy of Misfits," Ram retorted.

A sudden knock interrupted their banter, causing them to glance at the door.

"Tarun! I have a joke to share with you. I assure you, you will find it humorous," Ram exclaimed. Tarun had been his personal assistant for as long as he could remember. Ram had been nothing short of a messiah for him. He had funded his daughter's entire education and provided suitable accommodation for his family. Although Ram did it out of nothing but goodwill, Tarun felt he owed him.

Well, for starters, he had to put up with Ram's embarrassing jokes, which didn't even warrant a smile, let alone a giggle or a laugh. But Tarun had always laughed at his jokes, not out of a sense of duty but rather because it brought a smile to his employer's face and he was content with it.

Ram recited the same joke to Tarun, who burst into fits of laughter. Adi narrowed his eyes at Tarun suspiciously, wondering how on earth had he found the joke funny. It was anything but. Seeing Adi's gaze upon him, Tarun's laughter died down in his throat, which caused a coughing fit.

"See Adi, only Tarun appreciates my sense of humour," Ram boasted. "I assure you Ram, no individual in the right frame of mind would consider your jokes as humour. You're the only one delusional enough to believe it," Adi remarked.

Ram crossed his arms and looked disapprovingly at his friend. "Well then, looks like I might have to inform Brinda of your last weekend shenanigans," Ram smirked while the colour drained from Adi's face. "Don't be such a spoilsport Ram. Bri would skin me alive if she found out I'm planning a surprise party for her birthday. You know she abhors surprises."

Ram knew how much Brinda hated surprises. She'd gone a whole month ignoring him just because he had planned a surprise vacation for Adi and her on their third wedding anniversary. Numerous apologies and a great deal of pampering later, Brinda broke her vow of silence against him.

"Fine. But you better laugh at my jokes in the future," Ram teasingly threatened. Adi rolled his eyes at him. Ram could be such a drama queen if an occasion presented itself.

"Sir, the CEO of Singhania Industries is about to arrive soon," Tarun announced. "Oh damn! I'd promised to receive him at the airport but it completely slipped my mind." Ram rushed to the entrance to greet his potential collaborator although the chances that Rishabh Singhania aka Rishi would agree to his proposal seemed pretty slim. Especially after the recent blunder of not receiving him at the airport.

Ram and Rishi were childhood friends. They'd encountered each other at school and from then on, they were thick as thieves. They'd decided on a monthly tradition of playing a prank on any of their classmates. Although most of their pranks failed, a few bore fruit. They enrolled for the same subjects just so they could hang out together.

But fate had different plans altogether. Ram's father passed away in a tragic accident, leaving to him the entire business and the responsibility of his step-family. At the tender age of 18, Ram was thrown into the business world, which he knew nothing about. His step-family was of no assistance since neither his stepmother nor his step-siblings had any experience managing a business. Moreover, Vedika had dumped him to marry their mutual friend Shashi. Although Ram didn't harbour any ill feelings for the couple, he envied them. He didn't think it was possible for him to fall in love again. But life happened and he had to move on although his heart never did. It took him a rough two years to take his father's business to new heights. Obviously, Ram and Rishi had drifted apart. The latter moved to the United States for his MBA. Ram worked day and night and it finally paid off. His father's business was booming and his step-family seemed satisfied.

But he was lonely. So very lonely. His step-family only approached him when they required funds. Ram would do anything to keep them satisfied and happy, so he obliged.

He'd met Aditya when the latter was interning as a personal assistant. It was unusual for the CEO to interact with the employees, let alone interns. But Ram and Adi had bonded well. They barely had anything in common, yet they could rant on the most random of topics. Shortly after, Aditya and Brinda began dating after they matched on a dating app. Ram and Brinda disliked each other initially but they eventually warmed up to each other.

Ram sighed. Even his friends couldn't fill the void inside him. He was well and truly alone. Not that he minded it. He was used to the ignorance by now. But that didn't mean it hurt any less.

He unbuttoned his blazer and adjusted the collar. Rishi would be due any time now. He would be seeing him after a good ten years. He wasn't nervous though. He was meeting his childhood friend after 10 years. What could go wrong?

The screeching of tires broke his chain of thoughts. A sleek, black Mercedes Benz halted in front of him. The chauffeur exited the car and rushed forward to open the door for his employer. A man in his early thirties stepped out of the vehicle. He had donned sunglasses and his hair had been styled well. He wore a brown, three-piece suit, with a blazer hanging on his arm. A pair of classy brown boots adorned his feet, which Ram found pretty odd. No one wore boots over three-piece suits. At least not in India. But Ram chose to keep silent. The last thing he wanted was to upset Rishi over his choice of footwear. He looked pretty much the same except for the full beard and the increase in height.

Rishi sized Ram up and lowered his sunglasses. Ram raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well. Well. Well. Look what the cat dragged in. Or should I say what the blue-eyed cat dragged in?" Rishi commented whilst winking at Ram. A grin made its way onto Ram's face. "It's good to see you too Rishi. Or do you prefer Rishabh?" Toddler Ram had always referred to him by his nickname - Rishi. Safe to say, it stuck around.

"Rishi will do," he replied. "We aren't complete strangers after all." "That's true," Ram smiled. "It does have a nice ring to it." A brief pause later, Ram grinned at him. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr Singhania."