The Silence Between Us

CHAPTER - 9

The only thing left was that some dots were not connecting. Why did he refuse to recognize me? Why did he take the deal like that? What exactly happened in those 2 months?

I could not help but think about this again and again. Just then Naina interrupted my flow of consciousness and said "Heyyy bro... Don't worry at all. I am here and will help you with anything you need."

"I know Naina, you are always here. I think it's high time now." I said taking a deep breath.

"I think we should meet this Ayaan Malhotra," Naina said firmly.

I nodded. We both went down to our car and searched for the location of his company. After a while, we reached there.
As soon as we stood in front of his company I said to Naina - "I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about it. I think something terrible is waiting for us. Who could have imagined the guy I was falling for at first sight would be the competitor of our own company"

"I know Ayesha, it must have felt like someone betrayed but you should stay firm. We still don't know what is he up to so be aware. " Naina said while looking at me.

I took a deep breath and went inside the building. As we both entered the architecture and interior design of the building was so captivating that we couldn't take our eyes off it. The building was very well-designed and spacious. We walked up to the reception and asked for an appointment with Ayaan Malhotra.

The receptionist asked us to wait and called him - "Sir, two women want to meet you. Their names are Ayesha Singhania and Naina Arora. "
"Okay, sir. "
She hung up the phone and said - "Ma'am you can go from way to the 5th floor. His cabin is there only"

We both nodded and went inside the lift. We got up on the 5th floor and stepped outside the lift. As we started moving forward I saw him standing at the door of the cabin.

Our eyes met. He asked - "You wanted to meet me? For what? "

"If you don't mind can we talk inside the cabin" I said firmly.

"Sure, I don't mind. Come! " He said while gesturing towards his cabin.

We went inside and I asked him - "Why did you do that? "

"Do what? Can you be a little clear please"

"Huh! I can see why that client locked the deal with you. You went to the client with whom we were about to lock the deal behind our back and convinced him to do the project with you" I said with a smirk. "

"Are you offended that such an important project just slipped away from your hands or are you jealous that you couldn't convince them? " He said while folding his arms and leaning down towards me.

"Offended? Jealous? Because you took that unethical client. No way... My standards aren't that low to feel jealous or offended by these things. But you should know there are some ethics and values that one should run a business and I can see you don't have any. " I said while taking a step towards him.

"I have my values and ethics. I don't need to learn from just anyone. And you are just afraid that someone will take over the position that your dad has right now in this industry. So let me tell you that it will be me THE AYAAN MALHOTRA. And you should just stay away from all this" He said with frustration in his eyes and took a step closer.

Now both of us were in close proximity. I could feel him breathing and our intimate eye contact could tell we were never gonna agree on one topic.
"You should be prepared now as you are going to compete with THE AYESHA SINGHANIA."
After a brief intimate eye contact, we distanced ourselves.

"Let's see who will win" He smirked.

"Yeah sure, let's see. But remember one thing - just one step towards my father and you are done" I stated firmly and walked out of the cabin.

"What the fuck was that? Damn! You both were so close it felt like you were almost gonna kiss each other." Naina said

"Now I don't know anything. Just one goal of my life - I am not gonna let him win or do any harm to my father. " I said furiously.

"So, are you gonna take over the company now? " Naina asked with curiosity.

I took a step forward and folded my arms "Yeah, I am. I never knew I would do it like this but I think it's the time now."

"I wish you good luck and I know you are deserving and capable of it," Naina said while putting her hand on my shoulder.

--AYAAN MALHOTRA POV--

I could sense the anger in her eyes but the sense of protection towards her father overshadowed all the emotions. I think I just overestimated her.
I feel like she is going to do anything for her father and the company. I should be well prepared and for that, I will have to research each and everything about her. It's not the fear I was feeling at this point but the anger of the daughter.

I sat down and started reading all the articles about her. After almost two hours I couldn't find any special Information as she isn't very active on any social media platforms and didn't do much interviews. But I could tell that she is qualified to be an amazing architect.

Someone once said - "The first step on the way to victory is to recognize the enemy."

So I will do anything to learn about her to know what harm she can do to me and my business. That's what preparing well means.