Arnav struggled to pay attention to the presentation in front of him, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. For almost an hour now, all the important members of the Raizada Industries were locked in a board room, discussing a potential land for investment. The seller had put forth an iron-clad deal, that if signed, could begin a long and necessary journey towards recovering the losses the company had endured in the last couple of months.
But Arnav didn't have a good feeling about it in the slightest. It was as if someone was watching him from above, waiting for him to make one more bad decision, before swooping down and ending the company once and for all.
Of course, if he had dared to voice out his concern, it would have been squashed within no time. His father –who had returned a little over a month ago to the hustle and bustle of the company– believed in numbers. After merging their shares with Gupta & Sons –thanks to Arnav's marriage– their own shares had shot up quite a bit in value, although not to the same amount they were before the collapse. He wouldn't foresee a problem in investing in this deal with the little extra cash they had to spare.
His brother-in-law, Shyam, a corporate lawyer by profession and yet still well-versed in some of the management decisions, would simply say there was no legal cause to mistrust the seller. The land in question was well maintained, its surroundings have been tested by their own engineers, and if something were to go wrong, they would be able to get some form of compensation from the seller (thanks to Shyam's stellar negotiating abilities).
And yet, those two opinions, the ones that Arnav held in very high regard ever since he stepped into the role of a leader, were not comforting. Something didn't feel right.
Or was it paranoia?
He heard only too many times, in very sweet musical tones of a life bygone, how careless he could be. It used to not bother him, but today, after making so many rash decisions, he couldn't just give into the flow of things and make one more uninformed decision.
But who could he ask? Stepping in as the interim CEO had not been easy. Most of the board, very old friends of his father, did not believe he was experienced enough to handle the mantle. They were probably right. What did he know of companies and shares and decisions? He had been just a boy for so long.
The meeting wrapped up at this point and Arnav quietly excused himself, making his way back to his office from some peace. He needed to think, although, would his decision really matter? His father mostly called the shots anyway, now that he was back in full form.
"Chote?"
Speak of the devil! Arnav turned around, trying to rearrange the concern on his face. "Yes, Papa?"
Shankar glanced at the seat in front of his desk. "May I?" he asked.
"Of course," Arnav answered, striding away from the gigantic windows to sit beside him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong... You just seemed... off... at the meeting?"
Arnav shrugged. "It's nothing. Just thinking about the contract, don't worry too much."
Shankar smiled. "It's bad enough that your mother treats me like I am about to drop dead, don't you start too."
His lips pressed into a hard line. "That's not funny. How did the check-up go yesterday?"
His father waved off his concern. "Same old... but Basu told me something interesting."
Arnav didn't answer, knowing very well what was coming next.
"I heard you got Khushi an appointment at the hospital?"
"Yes," he said, unapologetic. He had planned on telling his mother soon enough, along with a well-versed story of why not to reprimand Khushi for hiding the whole ordeal. But it seems, his father had beaten him to it.
"Good," Shankar replied. "She probably must get bored sitting at home all day."
"She... she is working as a doctor there," Arnav said, making sure the point was clear. His father did not look surprised by the news in the slightest.
"An intern, right?"
Arnav nodded.
Shankar, however, did not elaborate. He simply sat on the chair, deep in thought. Finally, after what felt like years, his father stood up to leave.
"Is everything okay?" Arnav asked, not really understanding the point of this conversation.
"I came here to ask you that, but it seems that everything already is... unless, you wanted to tell me something?"
Arnav bit his lip, unsure. His father had a habit of talking him into things, so he didn't really put it past him to just wave off all his concerns about the land they were about to invest in. Besides, what proof did he have that they were making a wrong step? Everything had been checked out already, all the loopholes were closed. So why raise unnecessary concerns, especially when his father had barely recovered from his stroke?
"Arnav?" Shankar said, touching his shoulder. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"
He took a deep breath. "No," he muttered. "Nothing at all."
Shankar smiled. "Good... this land is very promising. I have already spoken to the builders about the factory construction and they have cleared their schedule for us."
"They did?" Arnav asked, surprised. No such favours were given to him when he was running around trying to make things function while Shankar was admitted in the hospital.
"Yes, quite generous... but it's all in the negotiating Chote. They just needed a gentle reminder of what I did for them when they were the ones going through a rough time."
Arnav simply nodded.
"Anyway, once this contract is signed next week, I think we can allow ourselves a bit of breathing space. With the holidays coming up, you know you are going to need it... your mother, of course, has everything planned out already."
Another nod.
Shankar sighed, perhaps catching on to Arnav's lack of response, even at the mention of his mother's often hilarious antics.
Taking a deep breath, Shankar said softly, "I am proud of you Chote."
"Er... what?"
"I am proud of what you have done... it's not always easy running things, especially when everyone seems to be constantly criticizing you. I am guilty of that too."
"Why are you saying this?" Arnav asked skeptically. His father, although kind-hearted, had always treated him with extra seriousness – holding him to faults more quickly than his sisters, scolding him for carelessness for the smallest of mistakes and mostly, endlessly reminding him of the responsibilities that came with being his son.
It was expected of Arnav to be perfect, there was no alternative there.
"My age is catching up to me Chote... I would be a fool not to reconsider my life when I have seen death so close."
"It's over now," Arnav reminded him gently. "You are almost recovered."
"Perhaps. But that doesn't change that I may have been a little unfair to you over the years. And despite that, you did your part as best as you could. You came running back when I had the stroke, you held your ground when the shares were dropping and most of all, you listened when I said Khushi is a good match for you."
"You are my father, of course I am not going to leave you stranded-"
"Yes, I understand. But I am still grateful, nonetheless. And what makes me even more proud is to see you do the same for Khushi."
Arnav disagreed with that, for what he did for Khushi was not his responsibility; she had already earned everything, he was merely the messenger. However, his father didn't need to know all the gory details of his marriage.
"I hope both of you will soon find the companionship you deserve in each other."
Then patting his cheek, Shankar left him alone once more.
Arnav sighed and went back to the window, his head buzzing with new concerns. While at least, there was one less thing to do – he didn't have to tell his mother about Khushi's new job anymore. By the end of the day, the entire Raizada family would know and hopefully, they would not be too nosy about it.
But there was still the land problem.
Arnav wished he could put a finger on why he was feeling so anxious. Perhaps the musical voice he kept hearing since that morning was correct after all.
"Why are you getting so angry for something so stupid Arnav?! This is not the first I am going to stay with my parents for a few days!"
"And yet you always come back a whole new person, fighting about the silliest of things!"
"Oh please, don't blame them for what you screw up!"
"Everything I do is a screw up according to them isn't it, Myra? And the funny thing is, you agree with them!"
"Forget them, can you keep your hand across your heart and say without any guilt whatsoever that you have not been delaying our wedding on purpose?"
"I told you a million times! I love you-"
"Well sometimes love is not enough!"
A lump had formed in his throat. "How can you even say that? All... all these years meant nothing? Everything I have done for you is nothing?"
"And what exactly have you done Arnav? We have been together since college and what have you done for me? Everything has to be running according to how you like it, not once did you bother to find out what I want!"
"If that's what you think, then fine, let's go get married now-"
"You see?! THIS is exactly your problem! You never think things through! When the situation starts becoming difficult, because of your incapability, you just jump the gun and make a stupid decision! And unfortunately, I am the one who gets the brunt of it!"
"So what would you like me to do Myra? Forget what my heart says and just listen to whatever you say? Is that what will make you happy?"
"YES! For once in your life, listen to what other people are saying Arnav! This whole, I-am-going-to-do-whatever-the-hell-I-want-just-because-I-can, is getting very old!"
Arnav closed his eyes, trying to block out the memory from existence. As much as he hated to accept it, she had a point. So much of his life had happened without planning, without considering the rights and wrongs, that he had no one to blame except himself for the situation now. Had he paid more attention, had he bothered to consider what was going wrong, he could have saved himself a lifetime of agony.
After all, isn't that what Khushi had done? Only twenty-five years old and she knew exactly what she wanted, and here he was, trying to keep cool while his father's lifetime of work sunk lower and lower into the ground.
Perhaps, it's best if he stopped thinking so much and just listened. If everyone thought this deal was a good thing, then it probably was.
Who was he to question it?
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A/N: I know this is a change from Arnav-Khushi's budding friendship, but Arnav hasn't forgotten about Myra. His wounds are still very much raw...
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