Sorry again guys, for the late update, but i guess i just cant do with regular updates, however hard i try, and am really sorry for that. Hope you like this one.
Part 2 (AR)
"So, the case is sumthing like, Mallik Empire is the biggest name in the industrial world to a large extent, you might already know..."
"I dont know anything Mallik, remember. That's what you are here for, to tell me each and everything", she raised and rolled her eyes from behind the specks, and looked down back again. Armaan couldnt resist this time, and muttered,
"Cute"
"What?", she immediately looked up in surprise, "Did you just say sumthing?"
"Did you hear sumthing?", he asked nervously,
"Umm No!"
"No? I mean yeah, i also didnt say anything"
He saw her ahrug her shoulder, and felt relieved, as his face warmed due to blood rushing to the face when he thought about what had just happened.
"Mallik, my eyes deceive me. Like, am i hallucinating, or you really are blushing?"
Armaan was caught off-guard by her question, and saw her looking at him intently, as he coughed away slightly.
"Umm, wo i guess, its just the effect of the cold you see. I dont blush, no no, not at all"
"Yeah, maybe, its freezing here. And anyways, its none of my business. You continue with your story, saying this, her eyes went back to her notebook.
"So ours is the biggest industry of this region around these days, but we have a good competition from the Dhanraj's. I'm sure you know... (she cocked her eyebrows again) I mean i'm sure you dont know. Actually apart from being rivals, Mahesh Dhanraj was dad's very good friend, and both of them were considering of merging the companies, umm, by getting Mallika, Dhanraj's only daughter, and me, by getting us married"
Armaan saw Riddhima shiver suddenly, and immediately reached out to her, removed her glove, and rubbing her hands, placed them in his.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm ok, sorry! Its just that the cold is getting over me, next time we'll decide a better place", she did not look at him even once, but he realised that she spoke very softly. At the mention of meeting her next time, his heart did flip flops, and he was worried that if he didnt control himself, his heart would pop out right the next moment. She slowly took back her hands from his, and he took it as a cue to continue his story.
"Dad put this idea to me, but i refused. I didnt get along with Mallika...", he hesitated,
"Did you never get along with her?", she questioned,
"No! Yes! I mean, i dated her sumtime back, but then i dumped her...", he was cut off,
"Continue the story about the case", she suddenly said sternly,
"But you should know why we broke off", he pleaded,
"You mean why you dumped her, no thank you. I am interested in knowing about your dad, rather than you", she said sarcastically,
Armaan didnt know why, but he had wanted to share everything with her, had wanted her to know his heart out. He wanted to tell what he hadnt told a single soul, of why he had broken up with Mallika. But her denial to know about him, and her ignorance, it hurt him. He thought that maybe it was just that she'd hurt his ego, as no one ever ignored him, or talked to him like this, so he continued.
"My refusal was not taken well by either of the Dhanraj's. So Mahesh Dhanraj decided to take revenge from my dad, and hence framed him in a false bribery case. The Chairman of the Atlantis Group who was about to give out his contract to one of the companies, has filed a complaint against dad for bribing him with a sum of 10 crore"
"Cheque or cash?"
"Cheque"
"So it should be an open and shut case Mallik. You can prove that the signatures dont belong to your dad, by a simple verification test"
"If it was that simple, do you really think i would've approached you? The problem here is that, the signatures do belong to dad. Dhanraj used Mr Mehra to get the signatures done. Mr Mehra is a very old employee in our company. It was Mr Mehra who went and presented the cheque to the Chairman of Atlantis Group, saying that it was from our side. And now, dad is stuck in the jail. Help me Malhotra, i cant see my dad suffer like this in jail", saying this, a lone tear escaped his eye, but he immediately wiped it away.
Riddhima was shocked to see this side of Armaan, but she had known it from before that when it came to his family, Armaan could go to extremes.
"This isnt a criminal case Mallik, you can hire any good lawyer, n you would win the case. Problem solved, then why me???"
By this time, both of them were standing next to each other, and Riddhima had kept away her notebook too. Listening to Riddhima, Armaan moved forward, and held both her hands tightly in his.
"I have talked to a few lawyers, they are ready to take the case, but their behaviour has been quite negative. I dont trust any of them, i feel they've already been bought by Dhanraj, and i cant take any risks where dad is concerned"
"I could be the same Mallik, i could've been bought too, or thats possible in future. After all everything has a price, you just need to name the right one. Do you think my friendship with Anjali is enough to stop me from betraying you guys"
At this, Armaan looked into her eyes, and an unknown force in him did not let Riddhima move her eyes away.
"This is the reason, your eyes, i trust you because your eyes dont lie to me, they just cant. I know whatever may happen, you'll be there by my side, and i am even more confident that you will win the case"
Whatever he'd said, had effected her. He knew it, as he could see the flood of emotions in her eyes. He really thanked his stars that she had such expressive eyes. He could see doubt in her eyes previously, which was now replaced by a different set of emotions. He still couldnt make out what it was, but he knew he was gonna learn reading her in the coming days.
"Moreover, Anjie has told me about you, I trust Anjie's judgement, and after meeting you, i am sure she wasnt wrong. I'm very sure Anjie was right Riddhima, my family needs you right now, I need you, dont disappoint me, please", he added softly. She was taken back by the intensity with which his eyes bore into hers, it was as if he looked through her soul. She took back her hands with a jerk, and said,
"I'll fight your case Mallik, n i promise to do my best"
"Thank you so much, I cant tell you how much it means to me..."
"I'm doing it only for and Anjali no one else, please keep this in mind. I've written and recorded what all you've said...'
"Recorded?"
"My Notebook Mallik, its capable of video recording too. I have the basic key points, and the main file, you send it through to my office. No, wait, actually, how about you send it over to my home, asap, so that i can start off soon. Till then, i'll finish up with the legal formalities, and for anything else, i'll need your number. Here, punch in your number", she gave her cell to him. He took it, and saw that she'd already added the contact with the name "Mallik", he put in his number and as he was about to save it, his hands moved automatically, n he saved the contact as, *Armaan Mallik*, and smiled at it. He didnt know why, but he loved the presence of his name in her cell. He switched off the contacts, and this brought him to her wallpaper. He was pleasantly surprised to see an image of Anjie making an oddly cute face on the screen, and this gave him an idea,
"How about i add my pic also, so that it is easy for you to remember?", he said hopefully with a sparkle in his eye. Immediately, she snatched away her cell.
"I'm not a kid Mallik, that i wont remember whose who"
"Oh! But i need pics to remember people, so say cheese", saying this, he pulled up his cell, and clicked her image asap, giving her no time to respond.
"Stop acting kiddish Mallik, now make sure you send over the file soon, i dont want any further delays. Bye, for now"
Saying this, she sat in her car, and he saw her speed off, while the wind continued playing with his hair.
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luv
pooja
Edited by kweetrockstar - 12 years ago
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