Story of Our Life

Chapter 7

"Ye kya bol rahe ho Moloy?" Rajesh Sharma frowned as he sipped tea with his boss and best friend, Moloy Basu. "Are you being serious?"

"I am very serious Rajesh." Moloy nodded. "If your Prerna marries my Anurag, I will be the happiest!"

"Where did this sudden thought come from?" Rajesh asked as Moloy laughed.

"I have had this thought in my head for years! Sharing it today." Moloy chuckled. "What do you think?"

"I think...before taking any decision, we should talk to our kids. Maybe...Anurag has someone in his life?"

"You are right. And maybe Prerna likes someone else-

"No, no...Prerna ki zindagi mein koi nahin hai...if that was the case, she would have told me." Rajesh said. "But still, we don't know if they are even ready for marriage, they are quite young."

"Of course. I am not saying they should get married tomorrow, let them take their time. All I want is to ask them." Moloy said and Rajesh nodded, going back to their tea in silence.

--

"You cannot be serious!" The young Malhotra shouted as the Bajaj Infragiant team sat in their conference room. "How can you go down to just 100 crores when you know my price is 250 crores!"

"I think you mean your company's price is 250 crores." Mr Mehra said as he closed a file. "And why we changed the price is our company's internal decision. You tell us yours."

"My decision is no! I will not sell my company at a mere 100 crores and lose 150 crores." Mr Malhotra shook his head.

"Fine." Rishabh Bajaj nodded and stood up, buttoning his coat. "We respect your decision. Good day."

"Wait a minute!" Mr Malhotra squeaked as he saw Mr Bajaj go for the exit. "Let's...let's negotiate."

"Bajaj does not negotiate, Malhotra." Mr Bajaj said and Mr Mehra went to open the door.

"But I do." Mr Malhotra said and gulped. "I am ready to sell at 150 crores."

"You missed your opportunity five minutes ago, Malhotra. As I said, good day." Rishabh said and left, leaving everyone surprised and Prerna amused.

Half an hour later, he entered the hotel's lounge room where his team sat, talking and discussing about the development.

"That was an amazing move by Sir. Why didn't we think of that!" Aditi exclaimed. "There's a reason he's called a genius."

"I am not the one who takes credit for someone else's ideas Ms Iyer." Rishabh said and took a seat. "This was Ms Sharma's idea."

Prerna felt red faced as everyone looked at her with surprise and started clapping as if they were in second standard and she had given the right answer to a difficult question. She chuckled and felt a strange pride run in her veins as Rishabh Bajaj gave her her rightful credit. She was not expecting that.

"Thank you Sir." She smiled and he nodded, before looking away. Her toes curled inside her shoes as their eyes met for a second and she remembered what she had done last night. She looked away as memories from ten hours ago came rushing into her head.

Lying in the luxurious bathtub, she had touched herself whilst thinking about him for God's sake! She had reached to the heights of passion with his gorgeous face, his stunning smile and his steely, grey eyes peeping from his lock of grey hair behind her closed eyes. She had never felt so attracted to someone before, there was a strange physical pull her body felt whenever this man was in her vicinity and she was scared. This would end horribly if she didn't control herself.

"I'll excuse myself, I have a call to make." She suddenly said and got up, leaving hurriedly from the lounge as everyone looked upon.

Rishabh Bajaj knew how to read faces and he knew something was bothering his favorite employee. He had seen the shift of expressions on her dainty face in the last five minutes, the way her brown eyes had shifted out of focus and the way she had bit her upper lip as she gulped away. For a strange reason, the need to get up and go to her was strong and he restrained himself from going behind her. The physical attraction between them was not something he could miss; there was a strange expression in Ms Sharma's eyes and the way her face had turned scarlet when he had looked at her. Was she drawn to him too, just like he was? Or was it his imagination that was forcing him to think like that?

--

"Tu thik hai Prerna?" Aditi asked her colleague an hour later as they ate.

"Hmm." Prerna nodded in between of her cream of onion soup. "Kyu? Kya hua?"

"Nahin tu achanak chali gayi thi na, that's why I am asking." Aditi said and Prerna nodded, scratching her ear.

"Haan wo...I had to call...someone." She said and continued eating as Aditi smirked.

"Ohh...boyfriend?" She asked and Prerna chuckled.

"No yaar, Mom ko call karna tha." Prerna shook her head.

"Oh so no boyfriend? You're single?" Aditi asked and Prerna nodded.

"As single as the sun." Prerna laughed as Aditi snickered.

"Toh koi crush? You like anyone?" Aditi asked again and Prerna almost choked, shaking her head.

"No...not at all. I don't have time for...relationships and all that." She said and sighed. "Anyways, I don't believe in love."

"What the hell, why! Did someone break your heart?" Aditi asked and Prerna shook her head.

"No. All I know is that I am not waiting for someone to do it." She said and Aditi frowned.

"That's not a very positive outlook. How do you know that some one is definitely going to break your heart?" Aditi asked and Prerna shrugged.

"All I am saying is I am not risking it-

"Honey, risking is everything. Life is all about taking risks." Aditi said with a smile. "Try it."

"Hmm maybe I will maybe I won't. Let's see." Prerna said and smiled.

"Maybe your love will be the biggest risk you'll ever take but dekhna, it'll be worth it." Aditi smiled. "Being in love is always worth it."

--

"Aapko lagta hai, Priyu maan jayegi?" Veena asked her husband as they had their lunch. "Abhi uski umar hi kya hai-

"Oho Veena, konsa main kal uski shaadi kar raha hoon? Abhi toh maine usse baat bhi nahi kari hai!" Rajesh laughed. "Pehle baat karunga, phir puchunga ki usey ye rishta manzoor hai bhi ya nahi. Agar usne haan bola, toh shaadi kam se kam, teen saal baad hogi. Aur agar na bola toh baat wahin khatam!"

"Aur agar Di ko koi aur pasand ho toh?" Shivi chuckled as her parents shook their head.

"Aisa ho hi nahi sakta ki Priyu ko koi acha lage aur wo humein na bataye." Veena shrugged.

"Chalo maan lia ki usey koi pasand hai, toh dekh kar, jaan kar, uski shaadi wahin karwayenge." Rajesh said and sighed. "Humari beti kabhi bhi apni khushi ki kurbaani nahin degi."

"Aapko pata hai na Papa, Priyu aapki khushi ke liye jaan bhi de degi." Shekhar said as his father smiled warmly.

"Jaanta hoon. Bhale hi Priyu, meri khushi ke liye, apne muh se haan bolde, par main tabhi haan bolunga jab uski aankhein haan bole." Rajesh said and looked at his wife, who nodded at him with support. "Itna toh uska chehra padh sakta hoon."