The Silence Between Us

Ethics in the crossfire

"The game has just started," I think while smirking.

I have been waiting for this moment for a very long time and it is finally here. I got the deal, or I would say I have seized the deal, taking the first step towards dominating the industry and leaving my competitor, Mr. Aarush Singhania, in the dust. Now I just need to take that crucial step I have been planning for. Now I hope that everything will fall into place seamlessly.

--On the other hand--

~Female lead POV~

My Dad gets a call from the clients just 15 minutes ago. He tells him that they locked the deal with someone named Ayaan Malhotra. The news of the deal slipping away to Ayaan Malhotra cuts deep, especially considering the significance of the project.

I am just watching my Dad standing numb with the phone in his hand. I can't help but get infuriated because of those clients. How could they lock the deal with someone else just after telling us to wait? How could they dangle the promise of a partnership only to snatch it away in the blink of an eye?

I walk towards my dad and pat him on his shoulder. I say, "Dad, don't worry. I am with you and will support you in your dream." He nods. I hug him for a brief moment. A tender moment passes between us as I embrace him, my resolve unwavering.

After a while, I go to the clients. I race the car to their office and go to their cabin. I barge into their office cabin while pushing away the security.

As I storm into the clients' office, fury pulsates through my veins, and I can feel my composure slipping away. The audacity of their actions leaves me speechless, my righteous indignation demanding to be heard.

I shout at the client and say, "Excuse me, sir, what do you think you have done? Don't you have any ethics?"

He replies, "What are you saying? And how dare you barge into my cabin like that?"

Their dismissive response only fuels the flames of my outrage. "Wow, nice huh... Well, I thought if you have no ethics, then even I should not show some basic manners like knocking on the door."

He gets mad and says, "Okay. I got it. You are here because you didn't get the deal, right? Well, the deal goes to the deserving person and now I am sure that the deserving person for that deal is Mr. Ayaan Malhotra."

I reply, "Well, you know, at first, I was also furious about how Ayaan got behind our back and did all that, but now I feel sorry for him and thankful to God. At least we won't have to work with someone who has no ethics for his business, and I am glad now you did all that and saved us." I smirk.

"Just stop it now. I didn't do anything wrong. So shut up now," he says, unable to hold his anger.

I reply after folding my arms, "Just one more thing. I need to tell you what you did wrong, as I can see you don't have any sense of right and wrong. If you didn't want to lock the deal with us and thought we weren't deserving, then you should have refused to get into the contract in the first place. You should have followed the formal procedure rather than going to see someone else, locking the deal right away, and then just informing us on the call that you are sorry. Just build some foundational ethics for your business."

He can't say anything further. I walk out of the cabin and retreat to the solace of my car, the weight of the encounter heavy on my shoulders. But as I take a deep breath to steady my trembling resolve, a flicker of recognition ignites within me.

That man from the night entering the office-I just can't understand what he is doing here in the midst of turmoil. With each passing moment, the mystery deepens, leaving me grappling for answers in the shadows of uncertainty.

Is he related to that client in any way or something?

I just ignore it and go back to my dad. He is sitting in his cabin. I knock and go inside. He looks like he is in deep thoughts about something. He asks me to sit.

As I rest down on the chair, I ask him, "Well, Dad, do you know who Ayaan Malhotra is? I never heard this name before."

My father pauses, his brow furrowing in confusion as he grapples with the unfamiliar name echoing through the air: Ayaan Malhotra.

Who is he? Where has he emerged from? These questions swirl in the air. It is the first time his name has crossed our ears, a sudden intrusion into our world of familiarity.

Even though Ayaan Malhotra keeps to himself most of the time, he does something amazing. He somehow gets our clients to really like him and makes a deal that seems impossible. It is like magic!

The clients he has captivated are notorious for their discerning tastes. The clients he impressed are really picky. Everyone wants to get their approval because they are so hard to please. But he did it.

As we keep thinking about him more and more, I start to wonder what else he is hiding. There must be more surprises waiting for us in the complicated world of business secrets.