Special Guests?
2144 Words
Ishanvi reached the venue where her company was holding its first anniversary. One of the most luxurious hotels in the heart of the capital city was chosen for the occasion.
Écrits was the dream of its owner— Onir Pennac, a Business Management graduate from the Harvard Business School. It was his first and most special project and he wanted to give his best to this venture.
Écrits was the daughter company of Pennac Publishing House —one of the best publishing houses in the whole Europe— and although started as a risk-involved experiment in the South Asian region, it had managed to impress not only its parent company but had also caught the eyes of the publishing world around the globe. And the credit for its success goes to its employees— the young graduates with no prior experience yet passionate enough to prove their calibre and show the world that despite being relatively new in this world of publishing, they didn’t lack ideas or talents and had in them to deliver what the readers wanted.
Almost all of the employees —except Anna, who being one of the best editors in the Pennac was transferred here from the head office in London to help Onir accomplish his dream— were Indians and fresh graduates from college and it was the first job for most of them, hence they were all filled with enthusiasm to celebrate their first anniversary.
And what made the celebrations more special, was the latest achievement of the company— four of their best selling novels were acquired for their Film/TV adaptations recently. And all the employees were thrilled about it, after all it was the result of their hard work. They felt their hard work had finally begun to pay off.
Taking a deep breath, Ishanvi entered the hotel premises, and made her way straight to the roof terrace of the hotel where the party was being held.
The sun wasn’t too bright today and a cool breeze was billowing, making the weather perfect for the outdoor party. Ishanvi was thankful for the pleasant weather, after all it was her idea to organise the party in the open instead of the Ballroom of the hotel.
Reaching the entrance, Ishanvi halted abruptly in her tracks. The whole area was perfumed
with the sweet fragrance of fresh lilies and roses and it made Ishanvi’s lips turn upwards.
Relishing the intoxicating fragrance for a few seconds, Ishanvi walked to the roof terrace to supervise the arrangements.
Small floral canopies were scattered across the whole area and were glowing in the mellow sunlight. Mounds of food were being piled up on the food counters around the canopies. There was a bar setup in the farthest corner of the terrace and on its opposite side was placed a small dance floor where a DJ was busy setting things up.
A podium was raised in the center where Onir was going to announce the Film/TV adaptations as well as talk about the other accomplishments of the company.
Not only the writers associated with Écrits but some famous figures from the publishing and literary world were also invited to join in the celebrations.
They couldn't take any chances, so Ishanvi and Anna were making sure everything was perfect.
Ishanvi was overseeing the dessert counter as the servers placed the macaroon mound in the centre when a voice spoke beside her.
"Oh my my! Someone is going to steal all the limelight today!"
Ishanvi turned sideways and found Anna standing there, her hands on her hips and a smirk was plastered on her face.
"Look who's talking!" Ishanvi rolled her eyes before saying "You look bomb, Anna. I'm sure Dan is going to fall in love with you all over again," she finished with a wink. Dan or Daniel was Anna's boyfriend for five years, who worked as a CFA in an organisation in Germany.
Indeed Anna was looking stunning in her sea green bodycon satin gown; it has a plunging neckline with noodle straps and a knee length slit on the left leg to enable mobility. The body-hugging gown perfectly enhanced her curves at the right places and her subtle makeup gave her an additional glow, making her all the more gorgeous.
"He better do," Anna joked before giving Ishanvi a side hug.
"I've checked the music and drinks, and the sitting arrangements as well," Anna said, breaking the hug.
"And I've checked the food and the guestlist. Everything seems perfect so far."
"I hope it remains perfect till the end," Anna whispered, sounding slightly stressed out.
"Don't worry, Anna. Everything will be perfect. We have made sure of it," Ishanvi assured her. "Let's go and get you a chilly drink before you go crazy with stress."
With that, she started dragging Anna towards the drinks counter.
They both grabbed a glass of virgin mojito each and went to one of the canopies to sit down, watching the guests as they started to pour in.
"By the way, did you find out anything about Onir's 'secret' guests?" Anna asked Ishanvi as they watched a couple walk in.
Yesterday Onir had told them that there were going to be some 'special' guests as well but he hadn't disclosed any details about them. Even Anna —who knew almost everything about the company and was looking after all the details of the party— had no idea about them. They were completely clueless about them and it didn't help that Onir was being quite mysterious and kept everyone in the dark about his 'special' guests.
“It must be some famous authors or publishers, who else could it be?" Ishanvi answered nonchalantly.
Ishanvi didn’t like how Onir was being so secretive about his special guests but didn’t say anything and focused on her work instead.
The other employees were curious to know about them but they had no luck so far, so they decided to wait. It's not like they had any other option than waiting.
But Anna, she couldn't stop worrying about his 'secret' guests ever since he broke the news to them yesterday.
Hence, Anna wasn't satisfied with Ishanvi's answer. “No, if it’s some renowned author or publisher, I’d have known. After all, I sent out all the invites, remember?”
"Not this one though," Ishanvi replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Yeah, except 'this' one," Anna said begrudgingly, emphasising on 'this'.
“But I think you’re right! It can't be an author because if it was the case, he would have told us,” Ishanvi agreed with her. “Maybe it's some celebrity? Whoever it is, we are going to meet them soon anyway!"
“You don’t understand! What if he’s bringing his secret girlfriend?” Anna sounded almost panicked.
“Rest your worries at ease, Anna. You and I, we both know that Onir isn’t dating anyone currently,” Ishanvi assured her, taking a sip of the chilled liquid.
“Let’s pray that’s the case. Because if he’s dating someone secretly and messes up things at the company, Mr Pennac won’t think twice before calling him back and will immediately shut this company down,” Anna said in a frantic voice. “And I can't see my friend go through another heartbreak because this company has been his dream ever since he was in college. And now it is my dream too!”
Ishanvi turned to look at Anna. “You really care about him and this company, no?”
“Being someone who can totally understand why this company is so important to him, how can't I?" Anna replied. "He wants to give a chance to every budding, novice writer who faces rejections at the outset of their journeys because traditional publishers won’t give them a chance to prove that they’re worth it. He would often say ‘Anna, I don’t want people to get despirited or demotivated at the beginning. I want them to showcase their talent to the world, I want to give them a chance —a chance which was denied to Adam—, a platform to rise and shine. And most importantly, I want the world to read and hear thousands of stories that are buried in these young, amateur minds because the world needs those stories— to heal, to smile, to fight, and to keep going!’
“He had heard about me breaking down and almost giving up on my dream of becoming one of the best editors out there. He says my struggle motivated him to work hard on his dream. In fact, he gives the credit for the genesis of Écrites to me and Adam,” Anna finished with a small smile and moist eyes.
“Adam?”
“One of the most important people in Onir's life. But that’s the story for another time. Let’s enjoy this beautiful day for now!”
Although questions swirled in Ishanvi's head about Adam and 'Onir's second heartbreak', Ishanvi knew now wasn't the time to voice them out.
“Riiight! Here,” Ishanvi offered a tissue to Anna, “wipe those tears away before they ruin your makeup. We don’t want you to look like a raccoon on such an important day, do we?” Ishanvi joked, making Anna laugh as she took the tissue from her and carefully wiped the tears away.
“That’s better,” Ishanvi said. “And you don’t have to worry about Mr Pennac’s wrath anymore,” she added, signalling towards the entrance.
There stood Onir Pennac, clad in an Armani suit which enhanced his strong build and enchanting features, carrying his charming smile —which instantly melts hearts— like always. His curly, long hair was pulled back in a small ponytail at the crown of his head.
“How does he manage to look debonair all the time?” Ishanvi whispered dreamily.
“Stop it! You ain’t fooling anyone here,” Anna laughed at her.
Ishanvi chortled in response. “What can I do? These are the words I get to hear whenever I accompany him anywhere. Girls literally drool at his sight!”
“It's not my fault that girls find me so handsome,” a smug voice spoke behind them.
Anna and Ishanvi didn’t have to turn to know who was the owner of that silky voice.
“Don’t you ever get tired of hearing the same words again and again?” Ishanvi raised her eyebrows without turning towards him.
“No!” he replied, taking a seat on the chair beside them.
Both Anna and Ishanvi looked at him incredulously.
“What?? I don’t even hear them half the time as I don’t pay them any attention. And besides, you guys keep telling me about these things all the time. So, no I don’t get tired of hearing them because I rarely hear them myself,” he shrugged his shoulders.
A server walked up to them and Onir picked a juice glass from the tray. Contrary to the tradition of having alcohol at business gatherings, Onir preferred non-alcoholic beverages ever since he was a teenager. He could never understand people’s love for consuming poisons.
“You guys have done a brilliant job here. I’m impressed,” he complimented them as he looked around.
“What can we say? We guys are a bunch of best people,” Anna replied with a sass and winked at Ishanvi.
“That you guys are!” Onir agreed. “But don’t expect a pay raise anytime soon.”
“Who’s expecting a pay raise from a miser,” Ishanvi muttered, giving Onir a stink eye.
Anna gave her a high five while Onir narrowed his eyes on her.
Ishanvi then moved on to talk about his speech that he was going to deliver later that day. They were still talking when Onir’s phone rang and he excused himself.
He stood at some distance from them and talked in hushed voices over the phone.
“Must be his ‘secret’ girlfriend,” Ishanvi joked while Anna glared at her playfully.
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If you're enjoying the story, do let me know in the comments. And if you're finding it boring in the beginning, trust me it's going to get better sooner than you'll realise. Till then, hold on and you'll be surprised at how things will take a turn for good or bad.
- Writer
