Pride vs Prejudice

Chapter 4

As Ria entered the presentation room, at Rahejas's office, with Lav, she realised that Shiv was already there with a few people. A well-dressed man, almost the same age as her brother, was talking to him about something. She guessed he must be Shiv's elder brother Arun. She had heard his name being mentioned by some people at the office.

As they entered the room, temperature seemed to have dropped a few degrees. She felt, as much as saw, her brother clench his fist, and his jaw, when he looked at Arun Kapoor. Arun Kapoor, for his part, shot a condescending side glance towards her brother, before turning back to Shiv.

The only one in the room, who seemed to be enjoying it, was Shiv. He threw her a lopsided grin, which she returned with a firm rise of her eyebrow. It made him smile more before he turned back to his brother. Arrogant idiot! Ria thought to herself, as she headed towards the chairs right opposite them.

Shiv was confident in presenting his proposal to the Rahejas. She had to give it to him. Rahejas seemed impressed. Of course, they hadn't seen her yet. She wasn't one to underestimate the enemy, but then again, neither was she one to put herself down or get scared by a challenge. Especially not when it concerned him!

Midway through the presentations, as she put up a slide on the project profitability, Shiv cut in.

"I didn't realize we were going to see our proposal all over again" he said with a raised eyebrow and an almost victorious grin "I can, of course, understand that it was the best proposal, but I would have loved to something different"

Ria smiled at him "I am glad you brought this up" she told him, before turning to the Rahejas "That was exactly what I was going to say. Most of the competitors on the street will present you these numbers" she explained before adding "Of course, we aren't every other player on the street. We are different. Which is why we are not proposing this."

She moved to the next slide "This is our proposal" she told them "On first glance, the profitability numbers might seem similar. But there are some big difference" she explained "We all know the new regulation that is likely to come in next year. Though nothing is confirmed yet, the possibility of that coming in, are increasing. Our numbers give you the 15% profit margins after accounting for this. In short, what it means is that if the regulation doesn't go through, the profits will shoot up by 5%, in addition to this"

She shot Shiv a smile, with a tilt of her head. His face had gone serious by then. She looked at the Rahejas. They seemed to be warming up to the proposal.

"We have made some changes, of course" she told them, before slide a sheet of paper "Some, though not all, of them are here. As you can see, this are very realistic"

"Interesting" admitted the eldest of the Rahejas brothers, Vikas, as he glanced over the sheet

"We don't want to sell you something Mr Raheja. We are here as your partner" Ria told him confidently "And that means providing you with sustainable solution that is profitable. We are not trying to push short term covers-up, that will cause you more harm than good"

There was a look that passed between the Raheja brothers and their father.

"Normally we love to analyze the proposal, in more detail, before we announce our decision, but I think in this case, it is quiet obvious" Vikas Raheja said "Congratulations Mr Khanna, Miss Khanna. Let's work out the details of the deal" he added with a smile as he extended his hand towards them.

After the handshake, Rahejas got up to leave the office. That was when Ria looked at Shiv again. His jaw was clenched. Your fault for underestimating me! Ria thought to herself as she shot him a prim look.