Chapter 3 - Forced Apology
"Who the hell does he think he is?" I angrily said as Piyali and I took a cab.
"Rahul Khurana," Piyali said flatly.
"He is an--ugh!" I couldn't even think of a term to call him.
"He is quite...stubborn and conceited," Piya said, "and very hot, yaar (dude)." I rolled my eyes, still angry. "Preet, chill. Let's go eat some breakfast."
The guys agreed with her.
I didn't say anything as Piyali asked the cab driver about the nearest restaurants.
She acted as if Rahul Khurana had been the least of our worries.
Hello, the man was our priority!
He was our golden goose.
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Rahul Khurana's POV
"Who the hell does she think she is?!" I muttered. My meeting with the clients had gone decently, but my mind still remained on the girl who hadn't been cooperating.
"Rahul, what happened now?" Someone said from the doorway of my cabin. I looked up to find my friend, Samrat "Sam" Malhotra, make his way towards my desk.
I sighed and said, "The Delhi supplier team came this morning to see me about the Delhi deal. Remember the Mehra company?" He nodded and took the seat across mine. "They want us to start getting our supplies from them," I told him.
"What's the problem, then?" Sam asked in confusion.
"Mehra's are going to be bankrupt," I said flatly and leaned back in my chair. "Their fabrics are outsourced from China. Why shouldn't we directly buy from a Chinese supplier than put a middleman through?"
"Oh. Then, why did they even bother sending anyone to persuade us?" he asked.
"Because bankruptcy is a rumor," I shrugged.
Sam gave me a flat look. "Really, Rahul? You don't even know for sure whether Mehra's are going to be bankrupt. And you just got pissed off at their employees for no reason!"
"Sam, rumors have some truth behind them. As for those employees of theirs, they can go back to their company and never show me their goddamn faces again, especially the tall girl," I said, getting agitated even by the thought of her. Her defiant face flashed in front of my eyes and it pissed me off.
"Tall girl?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.
I looked at him, and his playful expression. "Don't even. The tall girl--I don't even know her name--wouldn't leave. She was so stubborn about getting through the deal!" I told him outraged.
"Interesting. Was she hot?" Sam asked with a small grin.
I threw the pencil in front of me at him. It missed, but got Sam to chill. "This is serious!" I flipped open my MacBook and started checking my email.
"Rahul!"
"What?" I asked frustrated.
"You took Radhika di's (di term for older sister) anger out on those people this morning, didn't you?"
I glanced at him, knowing full well he was right. Before I came to office, I had a talk with Mom. I wanted to talk to my older sister, but she refused. Even Mom scolded me when I lost my temper regarding di's immaturity. It wasn't my fault they went to India. Radhika di shouldn't blame me for her dispute with dad.
It wasn't my fault dad handed me the company!
"Whatever," I mumbled.
"Rahul?!"
"What?!" I snapped.
"That wasn't me," Sam said. I looked to find him pointing behind him.
My father, Randhir Khurana, stood in the doorway with his cane. "I am appalled by what you did this morning!" Dad said angrily. "Caroline told me about your unprofessional behavior. Do you want me to appoint Abhik to teach you some manners?"
Oh man. This wasn't going to work out well. Abhik was my idiot cousin who was a people's person.
Sam immediately stood and shifted away, leaving Dad and I staring at each other.
"Dad, I can explain," I started.
I did not want Abhi anywhere here.
"You will explain to the Delhi team."
"Huh?"
"Beta (Son)," he began, as if I was slow, "you're going to apologize." Sam snickered near my bookshelf but immediately recomposed himself. "Sam, you're going to make sure Rahul apologizes and schedules a meeting with the whole team."
I was beyond stunned by my father's words. "Dad, I don't think that will be necessary--"
"I can't believe you've learned nothing about professionalism and building relationships," dad said dramatically.
"I don't trust them," I argued.
"According to my sources, you didn't even hear what they had to say. You will apologize and give them another chance to hear their deal," he said sternly. "I have known the Mehra's for a long while. They used to be one of our early suppliers before their warehouse burned down and got destroyed in 1984. They build themselves up again. Now, history again brings us at the point where we can--"
"But Dad--"
"Get moving."
Dad strolled out of there with his cane. I turned to Samrat who burst out laughing.
Idiot.
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Preet's POV
"We should just have a movie marathon for the rest of the day," Piyali suggested once we were back in our hotel.
We had gotten in touch with the elderly Mr. Khurana and he assured us they'll schedule another meeting with us soon.
"Sure," I sighed. "We can watch Karan Johar's movies." He was one of our favorite Bollywood directors.
"Yes! I want to watch 'My Name is Khan,' first!" she said excitedly.
Grinning and trying to forget about what had happened this morning, Piyali and I changed into our pajamas and t-shirts. We sat on my bed with tons of food from room service.
The movie marathon began.
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We had just put on Kal Ho Na Ho when Piya's phone rang. Piyali and I stared at each other in confusion.
She showed me how it was an unknown number.
Reluctantly, she picked up and put it on speaker.
"Hi, it's Rahul Khurana's secretary, Amanda, speaking," said the person on the other end.
Why was she calling us?
"Mr. Khurana asked to meet you today."
Piya and I exchanged a confused look. "Why?" Piya asked.
"To discuss business matters." She waited a moment before adding, "He asked for only the two girls in the team."
Was she serious? Did that jalad (devil) really change his mind so quickly?
Why did he only want the girls?
I shook my head free of all the wrong thoughts.
Piya and I quickly agreed to meet. It was four in the evening. We hurried and dressed up without telling the guys who were busy doing their work in their hotel rooms.
The ride to the Khurana company was nerve wrecking. We didn't know what to expect after this morning's incident.
When we reached the office, we were sent to his office. Rahul Khurana was already there, but this time, he had another guy with him. The guy was about six feet tall with jet black hair and coffee brown eyes. He was well dressed in a white coat-pant suit, black button down and a tie. Totally and madly attractive.
"Samrat Malhotra," he introduced, before stepping forward and shaking hands with me and then Piya. "You can call me Sam. I'm the Marketing manager."
My friend and I took our seats.
"Alright, I won't take a lot of your time," Mr. Khurana said. He better not! Piya and I left Kal Ho Na Ho halfway for this. "What happened this morning--it was misplaced anger. I'm sorry."
He doesn't look sorry.
"I'm sorry for my behavior as well," I said when Piya nudged me.
"No hard feelings, right?" Samrat asked me and Rahul. He was trying to force a peace settlement. Mr. Khurana shrugged. He didn't look like he wanted to be here.
There were definitely hard feelings after such an humiliating experience this morning.
"What's your decision about our company's proposal?" Piya asked.
"We'll schedule an appointment within the next couple of days and get it over with," said Rahul Khurana.
"We'd like an experienced panel to be present during our proposal with our prices and offers. Is that okay?" I asked.
Piya gave me a sideways look as if I treading on thin ice. Since it was our only opportunity, we might as well make good use of it.
Sam softly smiled and waited his friend's response.
Rahul Khurana's lips fidgeted. "Of course. However, the final decision is mine. Even if ten out of ten board members agree doing business with your company, I have the right to say no."
"We appreciate the opportunity," Piya replied.
"We hope you come with an open mind to the meeting," I dared to say despite Piya kicking my foot under the table. "Time is money."
He only nodded studying me.
"I guess we'll see you ladies in a few days then," Sam said wrapping it up.
Piya and I decided that was it for today and got up to leave. Per formality, we had to shake hands with him.
"I realized we never had a proper introduction," he said. "Rahul Khurana."
"Piyali Dev," Piya said shaking his hand.
"Preet Saini." I took my turn. His hand was burning hot compared to my icy one.
I felt slightly embarrassed for no reason.
We bid goodbyes.
"Come on, Preet." Piya grabbed my elbow and pulled me out of there.
We hurried of the building, almost freaking out at the turn of events. Rahul Khurana had apologized and even said he was going to hear our side. The jerk wasn't that bad. His friend, however was much nicer.
Now, Piya and I just had to hope everything went well.
We couldn't wait to break the good news to our team!
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A/N
Did you like the chapter? Anyone like Sam?
By the way, what has been your worst injury yet? Mine was fa.ling on the road from my scooter (American scooter). I still have scars on both of my elbows. It was pretty nasty.
Please vote, comment, and share if you like the story so far! <3
--K-K-Kiran