Journey Of Strokes

CHAPTER 9

Aarohi POV

I wake up at 4:30 a.m., dragging myself out of bed, and freshen up quickly before checking the remaining drafts and packing my bag, driving to the office. By 9:00 a.m., I'm in the office. I go into my cabin, place my bag on the chair,  take out the things, put them on the table, and get to work.

At 10:00 am, Avika comes and knocks on my door, "Come in." I smile at her. I notice she is looking a bit different today. "Avika, any special? You look really good today." I compliment her, and she gives me a shy smile, then keeping a stern face says " Ms. Roy you mean to say that I don't look good every day. I would like to complain to my boss". I burst out laughing " That's not what I meant". She stays silent for a few seconds before saying "Hmmm...... Just a date in the evening." I give her a teasing look," Soulmate? " I ask out of curiosity and she nods. The mischievous smile appearing on my face made her blush, turning into a tomato after one minute. 

After a few minutes, she clams down, and we get right into work mode. "Mam, you have a meeting with the artist and also the director in the morning and a meeting with the senior designer in the afternoon, and then you are done for the day" Avika informs. I just sigh, thinking about how I have to survive with the director. Before Avika leaves, I inform her, "Just let the senior designer know that I have checked the drafts and mailed her the corrections. The rest of them we can discuss in the meeting." She nods before she leaves.

At 11:00 am, I pick up all the materials for the meeting and walk out of the cabin. As I walk towards the meeting room, I see Mr. Mehta also coming from the other side. As we make eye contact, I smile at him. He waits for me to reach him and opens the meeting room door for me. I take a few steps inside when... I stop in my tracks and quickly cover my face with my hand. 

At the same time, I see Mr. Mehta walking past me and taking the bouquet from the director, who was walking up to me with a smile, before quickly going outside. I quickly compose myself and give them a tight smile. "Excuse me for a few minutes. I'm sorry I will be back. "I inform before quickening my steps towards the washroom, splashing my face with water, and trying to take a deep breath while coughing. After a few seconds, I checked if any rashes appeared on my skin. I come out of the washroom to see Avika handing me a water bottle. I thank her before going to the meeting room. "I'm sorry everyone for the inconvenience, "I say, looking at the artist and not thinking about the director who was the cause of this.

I look around the room to see if I can find Mr. Mehta. When I realized he was not back yet, I sighed and sat in one of the chairs, leaving a chair beside me for Mr. Mehta. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the director coming and taking a seat on the other side of me. As the table is round, I have no say in it, and before I can think of another way, Mr. Mehta also comes and takes a seat beside me. I give him a grateful smile as we make eye contact. I hear the director clear his throat. "Shall we start?" he asks. We proceeded with the meeting, discussing the potential project and also the contracts,  with all the artists, as I think that the director might not have informed them about anything.

In the middle of a serious discussion, I suddenly feel the director's leg rub against mine, making me jump a little and adjust my seat towards Mr. Mehta. Throughout the meeting, I could feel the director's legs inching closer to mine and occasionally rubbing against mine. As time passes by, I get more and more fed up with that behavior , and I'm about to blast him any moment. As I plan in my head ways to put the director in his place, I'm brought back from my dreamland with Mr. Mehta's voice addressing the director, "I have some documents for which you have to approve." Mr. Mehta looks at me and slightly leans, but keeps his distance, and says, "Change seats with me." I nod at him, get up, and exchange seats. He just looks at me with a smile. I smile back, giving him a grateful look, and the meeting carries on.