Soft Pillows | ✓

Chapter 6

Since this was the work she'd been doing for as long as she remembered, she was finished within a few hours and she felt proud of herself. She called Pranav and handed him the report. She was tempted to go and see Atharva herself, but again, he wouldn't like the gesture as much as she did.

Coming to think of her idea, she sent a short email to Maria and within seconds, her ringtone buzzed.

"You want to hire female candidates?"

"Yeah. Can you please send me the list of vacant positions?"

"Are you sure? What about Atharva-"

"I don't think Atharva will mind," she said reassuringly to ease Maria's panic, very well knowing Atharva would explode in fury if he got a whiff of her idea. But she didn't care. She needed proof and this was the perfect shot. "Women have potential too, so I don't see why not."

"Alright, dear. I'll publish a recruitment ad in a few hours."

"Thank you, Maria."

Aahana set the phone on the table and checked her watch. It was time for lunch, so she decided to grab a cheese corn sandwich from the nearby cafe. She collected her bag and keys but before she could leave, there was another knock and Pranav dashed inside.

He looked like he'd ran a marathon, and she was sure he'd taken the staircase and not the elevator which didn't surprise her. Pranav seemed to do such things when he was nervous and right now was no different.

"Ma'am, your presence has been requested by sir." He sounded scared as if he'd witnessed a crime.

Her eyebrows shot up. Atharva wanting to see her was unthinkable. "Why?"

"Sir had some argument with sir. They are waiting for you."

His words made no sense to her.

"Who is the other sir?" she asked as they stepped into the private elevator.

"Harshvardhan sir."

"Oh." Aahana was sure they argued because of her and that made her feel awful. She did not want the father-son duo to ever have any problem.

Knocking softly, she nudged the door open. Atharva was glaring at his laptop screen, and in turn, his father was glaring at him. Aahana wasn't sure what to say, so she stood quietly, not wanting to be the one to break the silence.

"Come in, Aahana dear." Harshvardhan got up from his seat and smiled at her. "How are you?"

She bent down and touched his feet to show her respect. He placed his hand on top of her head to give her blessings. "I'm good, Dad." She smiled back and straightened up, peeking over his shoulder at Atharva who looked ready to murder.

"I am sorry about my son's behaviour," he said, following her gaze. "You don't have to worry anymore. This is your cabin too, so if he says anything, ignore him or give me a call, alright?"

Aahana nodded dumbly, her eyes wide. She watched Atharva's jaw clench, his face as hard as a stone while he listened to their conversation. She knew he didn't favour her presence near him and that broke her heart a little more. If they couldn't be lovers, they could at least be friends?

"I have to go now. Take care, dear." He left, leaving Aahana alone to face the wrath of Atharva.

She swallowed, hesitantly shuffling in the direction of her desk. She plopped down in the chair, her eyes never leaving him, following his moves with sheer concentration.

Blast.

Blast in 3...2...1...

Okay, now?

She waited for him to erupt like a volcano and scorch her with his angry words. But it never came. He made some phone calls and walked out, not even bothering to glance at her.

She blinked, stupefied by his actions. He was so unpredictable, she felt like banging her head against the wall. He went on like nothing happened and that irked her. She wanted him to react in some manner, be it anger.

A knock reverberated in the room, waking her up from what just happened. Pranav made his way towards Atharva's table and gathered the files along with the car keys.

"Sir is leaving for a three days business trip to Bangalore to check on the construction progress, till then, you are in charge of everything here."

"Great, he couldn't inform himself," she muttered under her breath, then narrowed her eyes at Pranav when a thought struck her mind. "Is he going alone?"

"No, I'm travelling with him."

She nodded and waved at him in dismissal. She knew it. PA or not, she did not want him to go with Atharva. But it was always Pranav. Everywhere.

Her throat constricted and tears welled up in her eyes. She pushed them away and angrily stormed out of the building. Once inside the cocoon of her car, she couldn't control herself any longer. Tears flowed freely as she sat there, all confused and helpless. She wanted to call her mother, the woman who had a solution for all her problems but she couldn't confide in her. It would only cause more tension, and she didn't want her family to regret their decision like she did.

For the first time, she felt lonely in a world full of people. Wiping her cheeks with the back of her hands, she started the car and drove off.

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