(Monday, July 24)
Payal had left for Lucknow the following Monday evening. Khushi was in office when she received her cousin's text that she was on board the flight.
Keeping her cellphone aside, Khushi studied the table in front of her. It was bereft of files, or papers or any work. This past week, to keep her mind occupied, Khushi had dived into work and labored like never before. Now, she had tackled almost everything that she had to and was left with no urgent pending task.
Maybe it was time she took that vacation she had been putting off for years, she mused.
She sighed and pushed the sleeve of her shirt back to view the wristwatch- 8:30pm. It was too soon to sleep and she didn't want to spend any free minute in her house. The void that she still felt, despite of doing everything, would drive her crazy. Her mind would recall her past memories of him and she feared, once she went down that path, she wouldn't recover.
The past week Khushi had tried to avoid him as much as she could. She changed the timing of her office hours just to avoid meeting him in the elevator or lobby. She stopped hanging out at the office café.
The only times she couldn't avoid him were the meetings that they had. But he had made the task easier. He behaved as if she were invisible.
Khushi laughed bitterly at the turn of events. Weeks back, in these similar meetings, he would be staring at her, grabbing her hand when he thought no one was noticing and now, he didn't even so much as give her a side glance.
Going against her better judgement, she leant back in her chair, allowing past memories to consume her. A knock on the door woke her up. It couldn't be Lavanya since she had already packed up and left for the day.
Khushi rubbed her eyes and muttered wearily, "Come in," before turning her gaze to meet the person. "What is-."
The words were left hanging in the air when she saw who the person was. Sheetal.
She was the last person Khushi wanted to interact with at this time. Nonetheless, she knew she had to.
"Please have a seat," she gestured at the chair. Sheetal, who had her trademark sneer on her face, obliged.
3 visits in 3 months. Khushi pondered as Sheetal sat on the chair across from her.
For the first 5 months after Sunil Sir had passed away, Sheetal didn't even spare Magnolia a look. But in these past few months, Sheetal had begun to involve herself with Magnolia's affair- like getting a new company MD- Arnav, when the company was doing quite fine without him. She was so cautious of Arnav the first few weeks but then they started bonding, unknowingly over texts and later, in person. She thought of the text-chatting, of their dates, of-
The snap of Sheetal's fingers brought Khushi to the present and she realized her train of thoughts had ventured to Arnav. Again. She had to get a grip on herself.
"What can I do for you?" Khushi asked, clearing her throat.
Sheetal scoffed, "I don't need anything. On the contrary, I am here to tell you something."
Khushi's interest was piqued. "What?"
Before Sheetal could answer, Khushi's laptop pinged indicating the arrival of an email. Khushi glanced at the screen and narrowed her eyes, confused. "I've an email from you."
"My PA must have emailed it now," Sheetal commented. "Don't bother reading it. Let me personally brief you what it's about." The smirk on her face had gotten wider, like she would enjoy what was coming next.
Khushi felt a hollow in her gut. Sheetal's presence this late in her office and the email did mean something ominous. "What is it?" Khushi tried to cover up the dread in her voice.
Sheetal rolled her eyes, "As per the directive of my late father, God rest his soul, if any major decision regarding Magnolia is up for vote, all the right-holders need to be given a minimum of 1 week notice."
Khushi's forehead wrinkled in puzzlement. "Major decision for voting?"
"Haven't you read my late father's directive with regards to Magnolia?" Sheetal questioned her coolly.
"I have," Khushi answered. Sunil Sir had given Sheetal full control over all companies except for Magnolia where the voting rights were divided between the CEO and the MD. Any major decision needed to be Okayed by both of them. In case they didn't vote for the same option, the decision would then go to the board of directors.
"As per that same clause," Sheetal continued, "I have to tell you a week in advance. If I don't then we can't have the vote. My lawyers told me this a couple of months back. "
"A vote for what?" Khushi asked, perplexed.
Sheetal snickered, "To sell Magnolia."
It felt like someone had yanked the rug underneath Khushi's feet. "WHAT!" Khushi yelled, forgetting all professional decorum. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
Sheetal sneered, "It's my company after all. I can do what I want with it."
"Why would you want to sell a company that is doing so well?" Khushi was dumbfounded, "Do you hate me so much that you'd risk taking stupid decisions?"
"Yes," Sheetal replied icily, "This is rightfully mine. I should have bequeathed the entire company not shared it with you."
"You have the entire group!" Khushi exclaimed.
"Magnolia should be mine too and if it can't be mine, I'll sure as hell won't let it be yours," Sheetal sneered, her plastic smile was gone.
"You are crazy," Khushi gritted her teeth. "You are petty and crazy and you have no business acumen."
"Say whatever you'll," Sheetal said, "but this vote will happen. I will sell Magnolia- one way or another."
Khushi shook her head, "I will never let that happen. If you read Sunil Sir's directive, you'll know that if we don't vote for the same option, the decision will go to the board. I'll never," she emphasized on the word, "never vote to sell. It'll be a draw and the board will never back your stupidity. No person with even little insight will sell off Magnolia at this point of its growth."
Sheetal's laugh surprised Khushi. Reigning in her amusement, Sheetal responded, "The board of directors are a whole nother level of jerks. I know they'll not back me. But they will be involved only if the vote's a tie."
"The vote will be a tie. There is no way in hell I'll support selling the company," Khushi huffed. Sheetal's irrationality had crossed all bounds.
Sheetal let out a derisive laugh again. "Oh honey. You think the vote will be a tie? It would have been if it were between you and me. But now, we have someone else too. Another MD."
The phrase gave her goosebumps- another MD... Khushi's jaw dropped open when she realized what Sheetal was implying. Vote had to be among the CEO and MD. 3 months back, there were only 2 of them but now, Arnav was the company MD and his vote would also be counted... So the voting would be among the 3 of them...
Sheetal's face broke into a wide smirk, "Ah! Judging by your face I can tell you've made the connection." There was a triumph in her voice. "Yeah, that's why I brought Arnav in as the company MD. Exactly 1 week later when the vote happens, it'll be 2 vs 1. Arnav and I vs you. You'll lose, Khushi. I will sell this company."
Khushi found it hard to breathe. O my God! She had been so silly. How could she have not seen through this game? She was so cautious of Arnav at the start. Why did she ever lower her guard later?
"Aww... Poor you," Sheetal sneered, "You thought he genuinely liked you. He was just playing you. What is it that they say?" She feigned ignorance, "Something about keeping your enemies closer."
Khushi raised her eyes to look at Sheetal. She tried hard to maintain a straight face. She would not give Sheetal the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
"You thought no one would know about your secret office romance?" Sheetal went on, the venom in her voice increasing, "I have eyes and ears everywhere. I knew you two were getting it on. And for a moment I did doubt Arnav- that he might actually like you," she frowned.
Sheetal took out a page from her handbag, "This is a photocopy of an agreement that Arnav signed stating he'll support me. And he signed this just few weeks back while you guys were together."
Khushi took the page from Sheetal's hand and read it. The words had started to blur and she had to blink her eyes to focus.
"See," Sheetal commented, "He played you like a fiddle. And you let him. If I didn't hate you, I'd feel bad for you." Sheetal pushed back the chair and stood up, "Any way, remember, a week from now, on 31st July the vote will happen. Be there on time."
Sheetal was about to exit the cabin, when Khushi abruptly stood up and called out, "Wait."
Sheetal slowly swiveled on her heel. "Yes?"
"If you want to sell Magnolia, sell it to me!" Khushi knew she sounded desperate but she couldn't care less. If pleading was what it would take to convince Sheetal, at that moment, she would.
When it seemed like Sheetal was contemplating, Khushi added, "Magnolia's approximate current valuation is at 400 crores. I'll pay it." She paused before quickly adding, "More if you want."
"Where will you even get that kind of money?" Sheetal asked. "A bank loan won't cover it."
Sheetal asking questions about the feasibility of her suggestion, was a good sign. It gave Khushi hope. "Not only a bank loan. I'll... I have some Private Equity investors in mind. They have approached me in the past. If you give me a little time, I can get you your money."
Khushi had brushed aside the PE investors who met with her, some months back- not thinking then that she would ever need their finance. They wouldn't invest the entire amount that Khushi would need to buy Magnolia but it was a start. She swiftly thought of all the option she could use to cover the amount.
Sheetal pressed her hand on her chin, "Hmmm..." she let out a sound. "Magnolia's current valuation is..."
"400 crores, approximately" Khushi answered immediately.
"And you can give me more?" Sheetal asked.
Khushi nodded enthusiastically. She would worry about the specifications later.
Sheetal slowly nodded her head. "Okay, I'll sell Magnolia to you."
Sudden relief washed over Khushi's body. For a moment she couldn't believe her ears. She sighed in relief, "Thank you."
"At 1000 crores," Sheetal announced.
"What?" Khushi asked, confused.
"Oh wait, no," Sheetal mockingly shook her head. "2000 crores. No, scratch that. 5000."
"Is this a joke to you?" Khushi asked, anger replacing the confusion.
"It's a joke if you think I'll ever sell Magnolia to you. Not even if you pay me triple," Sheetal commented snarly. "But it was fun watching you be hopeful, even if for a minute."
"Why do you hate me so much?" Khushi exclaimed. "What have I ever done to you?"
Sheetal narrowed her eyes, "You took my father away from me. You took this company from me."
"I built this company," Khushi asserted. "And your father simply mentored me."
"He shouldn't have!" Sheetal yelled, for the first time. "I am his daughter, his blood. Yet he mentored you. You." She looked at Khushi with disdain, "A f*cking nobody!"
"So you envy me? Is that it? Sheetal Kapoor is jealous of a nobody?" Khushi countered her.
Sheetal fumed at her words. "I am going to have so much fun destroying you." She turned around and left the cabin.
Once Sheetal exited, Khushi fell on her chair. Her pleas were all in vain.
Khushi's eyes fell on the agreement lying on the table. She read and re-read it. Arnav had signed it- Some two weeks back when they were dating. If he had signed this before she wouldn't have felt so bad but now... Khushi felt like someone had plunged a dagger on her back.
She expected Sheetal to be this sneaky but Arnav... Despite of everything, she considered him to be a good person. Yet the paper in her hand told a different story.
How could she be such a lovesick fool? He had lied to her about his intentions since day 1. He had cancelled the land deal for expansion because he knew there was no point since Magnolia would be sold off soon.
For 2 months they'd texted one another. The subsequent 1-month, they had dated in person yet Arnav never even let her get a whiff of what he was up to. All this time when she was thinking that she was falling in love, he was blatantly lying to her, manipulating her.
"F*ck!" Khushi swore loudly in the empty office. She banged her fist on the table. How could she be so naïve! And now, in 1 week Magnolia would be sold off.
She wiped her face with her palms and took a deep breath. No! She couldn't let that happen. Everything in her life was falling apart and she had to stop it. The vote was in 1 week and she had 6 days to come up with a solution.
Picking her handbag and the agreement copy that Sheetal had given her, Khushi walked out of the cabin. She rode the elevator down to the parking and got in her car. Taking one deep breath, she turned on the engine.
She had 6 days to tackle the biggest problem of her life... But before that, she had to talk to him.
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