Leap of Faith

The Face off

"Vikram," I smiled. "What the hell you think are you doing here?" I took the seat opposite to him.

"You should always know where you stand, Miss Ray. A girl like you shouldn't use that kind of language with a man like me," he replied with flash of annoyance mixed with anger in his eyes. Then his expression changed, replaced by amusement. "I have ordered a red wine, if you are up for it," he suggested while pointing to the other glass.

"I very well know where I stand Vikram! So it is absolutely my wish how I want to speak with you," I said taking the glass in my hand. I had to play it nice and slowly that way he would not suspect anything.

"You really have a high regard for yourself, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes and puckered up serious line on my face. "So Mr. Vikram, what do you intend to do? We are here as you orchestrated. What's next?" I asked looking into his eyes, wanting to read through. He seemed to have mastery in concealing things; it would not be much of an effort for him

"Trisha, it is hard to get hold of you now-a-days," he said in business like tone. "I wanted to talk to you. And it has been over a month since we saw each other. So I decided to meet you."

I waited for him to say the next while taking the sip of the wine. It filled my senses. The aroma was enticing with lingering sweet taste. The wine was maybe as expensive as the person ordering it.

"I take you as a red wine kind of person. Who is strong, confident, and ambitious?" he said raising his brows.

"I don't know, you tell me," I replied in a riddled way.

"I am only trying to figure you out. But there is a lot of uncertainty I see in you. Sometimes you are really going ahead and trying to achieve your goals, the other times you are completely clueless especially with Aayan." He said studying my face.

"What is it to you? I am nobody."

"We all are a part of a big machine, Miss Ray. And for the machine to keep running smoothly, all parts must be in sync," he said calmly swirling his glass observing the wine.

"I don't like your riddles, Vikram. You can come straight to the point," I muttered with a bit of annoyance.

"Well, I can't explain it right. I find you intriguing. A girl coming from a penurious life to the circle of most influential men. Are you a threat or an incident? I could only wonder," his said, his eyes flashing a curious shade.

"I have got this job on my intellect Vikram. Whatever happened after was bound to happen some way or the other. Aayan and I meant to cross each other's path," I replied nastily. I thought, he had better not say about my family's poor financial condition, or I would have shown him the door.

"That's what makes you enigmatic. Somehow, I understand Aayan's fascination over you. Even I am captured by your persona. I see a lot of potential in you." He said keeping his glass back on the tabletop and reclined slightly on the seat. "There are very few people who have that spark, for achieving the greatness!"

The conversation had made me more puzzled. He did not choreographed this so he could praise me. What do you want Vikram?

Before I could formulate my response, the flight attendant was back informing that the flight was going to take off. We waited until the time the flight was in the air. I concealed my discomfort as the Plane was taking off. I hated the vibrations. We did not talk for a while. I tried to remember my conversation with Riya, the box, the contents, his room. I had to construct the conversation, which would eventually lead to finding some answers. This was my opportunity.