The Confidant

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

He is balancing at the peak of an immensely tall building. He is waving his hand to the world with a wide smile on his face. He is overwhelmed at the screaming and shouting he hears from the people standing at the foot of the 200 floors building trying to catch a glimpse of their successful role model. He sees banners of his face, as tall as the building, shooting up all over the city, all at the same time. A rhythmic tune of his name engulfs the surroundings and entertains his ear. A steady appreciative pat is gifted on his back which takes him to heights of pride. Suddenly he senses the pat getting stronger turning into a shove. The melodious tune is intercepted by a loud voice, a sweet one though. Furrowing his brow in concentration to hear what is spoken, he realises it is his name. Someone is shouting his name, close- into his ears and trying to push him off the building. Panic strikes him as he turns to look at the face.

'Gagan! Wake up!' screamed a voice in his ears. 'It's easier to wake a rock! Get up Gagan!'

He opened his eyes to look at the beautiful woman looking over him with impatience and frustration.

'It's your stupid phone. Just pick it up and get out of the room- please,' she said, not so rudely. Bundling her hair, she turned to the other side of the bed with a huff. Gagan, in a sudden, realised the source of the interrupting voice in his brain. His wife. His hands stuttered over the bedside table to hunt for his phone whose ringing had gradually increased. With his 5th successful attempt, he picked up the phone and squinted his eyes to look at his unwelcome caller. He sat upright immediately. A dreadful thought emerged. Something must be wrong else the caller wouldn't have disturbed him at this hour of the night. He looked at his wife who was already fast asleep. The ringing stopped. He walked out of the room to talk to the caller.

"Sam!" said Gagan returning the call. He heard intently to the voice on the other side. "Will be there right away".

It was 2 am and it was the third straight night Gagan was going without a proper sleep. He crept silently into his room and picked up his yesterday's clothes, a deo and his specs and left without waking up his wife. He sighed in relief at his first mission being accomplished. Slipping into his greasy clothes, he grabbed a chocolate bar from the refrigerator for the road, wrote a note for his wife to be found in the morning and stuck it on the refrigerator's door. He ruffled his pockets to check for his car keys, closed the main door behind him silently and jumped into his Mercedes to reach his destination. Things weren't looking good.

Gagan Aryan was an average looking man. Round face, average height and above average weight, he was that sort of a man who was usually connected to the words 'smart' and 'wise'. His always furrowed eyebrows and his rimless spectacles added to his image. Coming from a simple upbringing, Gagan had always been a man of dreams and ambitions. He wanted to break the chains of his modest family and create a place for his own, do something which no one ever dreamt he could do. He was someone who had gradually climbed up the ladders of his life- his career, one rung after the other, meeting every challenge with respect and endurance, learning from every fall and accepting his every success. He was not behind money. Money had never given him happiness. Success and name gave him the happiness and satisfaction in life. He wanted to be an inspiration to everyone. He wanted to be a highly respected figure in the society. He was now the COO of the nation's largest automobile manufacturing company. Has he achieved what he wanted in his life? Yes. He was extremely content with his life. At 51, looking at his future, looking at the ladder he had been climbing, he felt he had reached the top. He might not be the owner of the company, but he held more power than the owner. He was known for his shrewd strategies. He was considered to be someone responsible for the turnaround of the company. Apart from being the COO, he also sat on numerous advisory committees for several organisations- both government and private. He had no step to take further. Perhaps he could get a new ladder. But he didn't want to. He wanted to lead his life now, spend time with his family. His current position still offered him with innumerable challenges. He wasn't someone to turn his back. He wasn't someone to run away from a problem just because it wasn't his own. His company was like a family to him. He wouldn't let anything tatter his company's name. He would go to any lengths to make sure his company's name is always on the good records- to any length. Even now, he was driving towards a threat which has been menacing to ruin everything that he had built over the years.