EPISODE 004
1160 Words
Aaradhya arrived early the next morning at a cozy café near her office with everything ready. She anticipated meeting someone from SR Enterprises.
She glanced down at her phone, checking the time. Her fingers gently tapped against the tabletop as they attempted to wake her from sleep.
A tall man in a black suit entered, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting light. After looking around, his gaze fell upon her but then stopped momentarily when they met eyes.
Karan Mehta had just met her; she seemed shocked and was startled when they first saw each other for the first time. "Who are you?" "Oh."
"Miss Rishi! "What have I got here?" the man whispered back.
"Long time," she answered softly.
Karan gave a quick nod and sat down. Although his face seemed to show attempts at keeping professional, even Karan couldn't hide the awkwardness in his expression.
Aaradhya presented them with her offer: seventy million. Once checked and accepted, sign it off.
"Seventy?" His voice trembled slightly as he read the amount. "Miss Rishi, unfortunately SR Enterprises can only offer forty million, and this amount seems a bit... high."
Aaradhya relaxed in her chair. No matter the difficulty, Aaradhya was not going to work for that man no matter what.
She stood slowly and responded, "Well, then we are done here; I won't reduce the price."
Karan stood there, appearing to panic. "Hold on! Let me call and check first—don't go yet!" he begged his companion.
She crossed her arms. "You have five minutes."
Karan turned away, his phone already to his ear.
Siddharth Rana sat at the head of a long boardroom table at SR Enterprises when his phone vibrated with numbers from the marketing team. He glanced briefly before dismissing it from further consideration.
Once again, it rang. Everyone became very still, one person even stopping breathing altogether.
Siddharth exhaled slowly. "What?" he demanded of Siddarth.
Karan gave an in-depth rundown, detailing price, company, and offer details, and then said her name out loud.
That was enough to cause Siddharth to pause.
He gently tapped his fingers against the glass table. A long moment passed.
At that point, he addressed me directly, calmly stating, "Fine. Let's go with seventy."
There was laughter in the room. There were gasps.
Siddharth continued. "Tell her I want her to come in and explain why it's worth seventy million."
No one spoke up until one guy finally whispered to another, "So he's signing this deal personally?"
One user commented, "Didn't think she was that important..."
Back at the café, Aaradhya caught a piece of Karan's call; her name was definitely mentioned.
He looked both nervous and excited.
"Miss Rishi! Good news from Mr. Rana is that we've agreed on seventy million. Let's sign now before anyone changes their minds!"
He quickly opened his folder, signed his papers quickly, and extended a pen toward her.
Aaradhya stared at it, surprised that this was happening. She expected them to leave soon enough after being firm with them; her hope had been for this to end quickly. It should have ended sooner.
Yet here they were again. Hadn't he once stated that his thoughts never changed for anyone? But here they were again, both parties in agreement with each other's decisions.
What has changed now?
Has he softened over time?
No, that couldn't be it. She signed nonetheless—not because it was something she desired but simply because it had to be done.
Karan grinned and extended his hand as though they were now friends.
"Miss Rishi, welcome to the team! We look forward to working together."
Aaradhya managed a forced smile, though her lips ached to say the opposite.
She wanted to scream. He added, "Mr. Rana wants you back at his office to explain the deal in person.
Her smile faltered. Obviously he did. Aaradhya sat back in the back seat of a black SUV, arms crossed, while her thoughts raced through her mind.
Why did he agree so quickly? It's he who should have declined.
She hadn't planned for it.
Lalitha, her assistant director, could hardly contain her excitement and was practically jumping for joy.
"You are truly incredible, Aaradhya! Just walking in, signing the contract, and leaving everyone speechless was incredible. Thank you so much!"
Lalitha spoke up. "You have no idea what has happened here. Mr. Prakash sent a list of high-level professionals before, and they never met Siddharth Rana; instead, he kept cutting their price."
Lalitha gave Laila a short side hug. "You're definitely our lucky charm!" she smiled warmly.
Aaradhya looked out the window.
Why am I feeling that everything's going downhill? If I am so fortunate, why am I suffering so?
"Well, you likely don't know much about Indrapur anymore, right?"
Aaradhya raised an eyebrow.
Lalitha approached them carefully, leaning closer and whispering, "You are about to meet one of the most handsome men in town—powerful, rich, and the heartbreaker of this decade.
Lalitha quietly said, 'Six years ago, he had an engagement. There's talk that he broke it off." Aaradhya rolled her eyes. Apparently he'd dumped the woman he'd had the connection to before now, according to Lalitha's account.
That made Aaradhya freeze.
"He didn't marry her sister?"
"Uh... Nope... That thing seems to have fizzled out... Though what exactly happened is unknown to me."
Aaradhya's stomach turned. Her thoughts began racing.
He gave me divorce papers to marry her... even though we're not even married?
Do all my losses count for nothing?
Lalitha put her hand up to shield her face. "Are you alright?" Lalitha asked incredulously.
"I'm fine," Aaradhya replied quietly.
She drove her car up to the building. As soon as she stepped out, an unfamiliar voice called out her name.
"Congratulations, Aaradhya! You truly made it."
Jack Patel came rushing over, all smiles.
"I knew you wouldn't let me down!" he exclaimed with pride. "Come, Mr. Rana will soon arrive—let's wait in the meeting room for him!"
She followed him, her hands clenched tightly at her sides.
"Your board's going to be amazed! We've been trying for months, and you did it in just one day!" Jack joked.
Aaradhya wasn't much for talking. They reached the meeting room, and she settled into her chair without further discussion.
Great! Now I get to face him.
She closed her eyes and thought,
Why am I here again? Is it to fulfill our agreement? Or just show him I didn't need him anymore?
No matter what it was intended to do, its effect has backfired.
He remains in control. Now, he plans on asking me why I am worth seventy million.
How can I begin answering that?
Perhaps I should give him a mirror?
That thought almost caused her to giggle.
Her laughter soon turned bitter.
At this point, there was no turning back.
No matter her reaction... This agreement had already been sealed.
Siddharth Rana was her immediate supervisor.
- Writer
