chapter 27

 We did it .........we are not paying you a single penny for this land do you get that...Hearing this the first reaction from Mr Prasad was a view to look at ...he was nervous as hell and droplets of sweat was formed on his face he knew he is caught in his own trap but was shameless enough to still protest...he shouted Sir I respect you as you are Mr. Rakshit's son but your staff can't insult me like thiswhile he was standing there amazedHe glared Sukh with anger and shouted Apologise.....She snapped back 5 minutes Sir and I will prove the person standing here is a cheat ,He was still adamant for her to apologise when she appealed just give me a couple of minutes Sir, I beg you;she holded his hands and dragged him to the waterbody nearby ...Mr Prasad also followed them alongwith his secretary.....She said Sir look here...the water level here is almost near the shore well it's not monsoon yet and it was just drizzling here ;it is not much far from the land we are buying... so it stated the land is flood prone......Second thing Salt Test Report it is stated in the report that the land had normal salinity but actually it's not true,the water nearby is saline because of which it is saline and not suitable for farming... he counterfeited the reports too;When we came here I noticed the road conditions.....  every road around is under construction here, therefore getting the product delivered to the factory will be an issue later on.....and most important thing he just said the USP of the land is it's location and it was clearly mentioned to him we want a land suitable for Cultivationso either he is Cheating on us or either he is asked to cheat on us......Rishabh was stunned hearing all this, he looked back to Mr Prasad with blood shot red eyes.....He rebuked You just took the name of my father to convince me for the land deal , do you have anything to say now.....while he was stammering Sir I didn't wanted to .....Sir I didn't cheated....The.. the.. this girl is lying....he then said Mr Prasad I am giving you a final chance tell me who is there behind all this  else I will get you arrested the next moment in the fraud case and in the charges of Counterfeiting Governmental Documents; in a cold tone,hearing it from Rishabh he blurted everythinghe said actually Mr Kothari hired me for this, he wants the deal that you are working upon;he even tried to get to the investors but as they were more impressed by your idea, they declined his offer.He asked me to sell this land to you and till time when you will come across reality the deal will skip from your handsHe put his shades on and said you messed with a wrong person Prasad trust me you will pay for this....He then continued No Sir please forgive me Trust me please ....give me another chance I will show you the best land tomorrow.....While he didn't paid any heed to it and grabbed her hands, he dragged her along the way and they both were soon near their car.....Sukh then continued Sir wait a minute,I want to introduce you to someone, meet him; with a smile, he saw someone walking towards them,she then introduced Sir he is Raj a local here and I think he can help us he didn't looked at her and saw the guy.He introduced himself then asked them to accompany him to Khandelwal Villa..... He agreed and they went there....On the way to the journey they come across the fact that Mr Khandelwal is a retired Army Officer his kids are settled in Chicago and is here with his wife.....they are good people and as the land in their farm house is vacant they can help them, moreover this will give employment to the people at the village....They were warmly greeted by their servant who asked them to wait at the hall, Mr and Mrs Khandelwal arrived after 15 minutesThey asked them the reason for their arrival and Sukh narrated everything to them ..... she finally said we don't know how but someone suggested you can help us, do you want to sell your property .....Mr Khandelwal sarcastically laughed over it then replied No we don't want to sell our property; she was left dishearted when he continued but we can lease it to your company and smiled back .....He continued Maybe you both don't know me but everyone here adores Mr Rakshit Malhotra, he made a Super Specialist Hospital here couple of years back,it is still managed by Malhotras Pharmaceuticals... and you are his son we will never reject any proposal from your side ......she was happy hearing this .....they agreed on the contract and signed the deal, they were finally given the land on a contract of 5 years.....After the deal they asked for their permission to leave but the storm arrived and it started raining heavily.....they went out but couldn't cross the check point as there were chances of land slides .....  dejected they have to come back to Khandelwal Villa.....Mrs Khandelwal was though very happy seeing them ,she made arrangements for their staythey were alloted rooms and Mrs Khandelwal asked them to join them for lunch....he smiled to the sweet lady and went to his room while Sukh out of happiness hugged her .....she liked her proximity with Sukh and hugged her backshe tapped her cheeks and replied you are just like my daughter she is married and stays in New Zealand now while both my sons are in Chicago.....She smiled back and went to the room alloted to her.....He changed into a black a shirt with black blazer, while she wore something in light Persian green colour..  she also braided her hair as she is not much fond of letting her hair down....At lunch Mr and Mrs Khandelwal were very contented being with Sukh while she found someone like Mr and Mrs Khurrana ...she narrated them about Khurranas, they spoke about various things in life , some books and writers as Mr Khandelwal was fond of reading ...while she discussed some of her Mom's recipies with Mrs Khandelwal who was fond of Cooking .....all that while Rishabh was sitting quietly there, as nothing in the world exist for himhe silently ate his food and after sometime excused himself.....he went to his room and made some phone calls something was definately in his head which he didn't wanted to disclose to her.....Sukh was disturbed by his silence, it's been almost three hours they are together after the deal, but he didn't even looked at her;She thought to herself I must apologise about my behavior,  I am really guilty but what should I do he is not even glancing me....is he that angry on me.....She hesitantly went to his room and saw him working upon the laptop, she was hesitant to speak atfirst but she wanted to clear her point too...Collecting all the courage she had she went near his room...she knocked the door and asked for his permission to enter while he stood up but didn't even looked her, He reprimanded, please leave me alone for sometime I am not in the mood of talking to anyone.....She anxiously looked at other side then continued stammering Sir!!! P.....Ple.....please let me speak my point ;He slammed the table there and repeated I said I don't want anyone around me for now ... Leave me alone...why don't you get it.....Rishabh's Pov along the way till that time :I can't beleive it I repeated my mistake again and over it I shouted upon her infront of Mr.Prasad , I am really disappointed with myself; why is it everytime she who suffers ....and what has been into me,I was convinced to buy the land just seeing the figure and the reports which could be conceitedthe things which she depicted were there infront of my eyes, I too have noticed them, if I have been a bit carefulbut I was happy with the idea of getting deal cracked at the first visit, and hearing fake appreciation from him .....I guess I can't look into her eyes, despite I embarrassed her infront of 20 people there, she still had hearts on the deal,she made sure that the person we approached gets convinced by our proposal.....I am guilty on my deeds how will I ever face her, she for sure is having superiority Complex now,she made the deal finalised ; but can I trust them upon it,maybe I canMr Khandelwal is a retired army personnel and I don't know why but somewhere I beleive his words the warmth and the aura he had,I am really inspired,  and moreover it will give employment to many here,atleast the first consignment will be delivered on time much before the deadline,and if anything goes wrong, we can terminate the contract anytime which I am sure will be the worst case scenario..and will never occur;but first things first ,I want to make some phone calls;I will not spare the guy who tried to cheat me but I don't want her to know about it....I just don't want to show my ruthless side to her anymore .....she has some rare traits,  her beliefs, her ideology her persona... she for sure is changing me somewhere with a small smile;Realising what he just felt he shrugged his thoughts away and said what am I thinking she is just an employee to me and I should treat her like one.....It was then he saw her coming towards his room ......He quickly opened his laptop to show her that he is busy he thought she will not dare to come near me seeing me in this moodI can for sure terrify her with my looks and harsh words,it works almost on everyone....she will leave then, Yes this will be a good idea to practise....It was just the time when she knocked the door and asked for his permission to enter...Despite he asked her to leave she was standing there, she was admanant to speak so she said Ok Sir take your time....I will not bother you....He was irritated by the fact that none of his tricks work upon her...He angrily walked to the door and grabbed her hands he snapped I just said I don't want to be around anyone ....so stop bothering me...He was holding her wrists with a tight grip to shove her out of his sight .....which cause her wince in pain but she controlled her tears then said just 2 minutes Sir.....He left her wrists and turned around, he walked a few steps away then said continue.. your time starts now.....She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out seeing his rude behavior  she was nervous and hurt for sure ,she thought it's she because of whom he is stressed....He was on the other hand waiting for her to say something  he thought she wanted to shout upon him for his previous behavior but the next moment he heard someone sobbing....        He turned around and found Sukh crying and weeping like a kid she was mumbling Sorry between her sobs he was amazed by this......He walked to her then asked furiously why are you crying!!! what did I do now???but despite answering him she was weeping like a kid who just lost his favorite toy ..She continued between her sobs I am Sorry for addressing you by your first name and shouting upon you infront of everyone there...I know you are the boss and I must not have done that but you were not listening to me ... you even didn't bothered to hear my point......her face, earlobes and nose turned red .....I must never have done this if it was Mr. Khuranna or Rakshit Sir or Dhruv Sir or anyonetrust me I am not unethical but I can't see something wrong happening infront of my eyes and keep calm....See Sir if you want you can shout upon me but just don't close yourself I am guilty and I admit it...He was taken aback by this gesture he was thinking she will show him tantrums but here she was apologising..He was silent for some moments then handled her a tissue box....        despite taking that, she took a side of her veil and sneezed over it...while he was watching her moves in an awe!!!!He smiled to her then said consoling it's Ok Sukh..... trust me I am not mad on you ... ....I was just .. ....let it be  now stop weeping like a kid...But she was crying monotonously....he took fee steps towards her and was about to hug her in condolence when he stopped midway and said Stop crying Sukh!!!!in a soft tone....he was mere inches away from herShe gazed up hearing his words and found him smiling....She said stammering Aap gussa hai humse, Hume pata hai....  ( I know you are mad on me...)He replied shaking his head in No....She then asked again Aap Jhoot nahi keh rahe hai na!!!! Toh Kya Sach mein Aap gussa nahi thay humse.... (you are not lying right!!it means you were not angry on me..)He folded his hands infront of his chest then shook his head in a No..She then asked confused Pakka....(for sure...)He nodded his head in a Yes comforting her..She smiled back and said  Achaa phir theek hai, Humari baat Puri ho gayi, hum jaa rahe hain;(it's Ok then I am done saying my words ,I am leaving....)She walked passed him while he was standing there in amusement..... he saw her walking away and when she was gone he realised what just happened....He was contented seeing her mood swings .....sadness and then to happiness within snaps....he was reminiscing the way she cried then suddenly wiped her tears away....He smiled to himself and went back to his room.....Till evening the weather improved and they both were up to leave from the townwhile Mrs Khandelwal wanted them to stay at night, she wanted to spend some more time with Sukh... she convinced her by promising that she will visit her again when the venture they are working upon will be officially theirs........Bidding their Goodbye Rishabh and Sukh made their way to Delhi.....as usual local news was playing on Rishabh's car but Sukh didn't wanted to interfere...she was looking outside the window when a report about Mr Prasad dragged her attention.....it stated that he is accused of tormenting official documents and government reports...she wanted to hear more of it when Rishabh suddenly changed the channel to music ,she reprimanded wait a minute Sir, the news was about Mr Prasad ...while he smiled to her and said  Sukh you were so right, listening to music while Driving is a good thingShe smiled back to him and said wait a minute.... she took out her handbag and after searching for few seconds put out a pendrive from there ...she hanled it to him and said here you go this is a collection of all the best romantic songs ever, I hope you will like it too....He took it from her and smiled back, she then continued we must have listened to that report....it was about Mr Prasad, what if he has tried and done something wrong to someone else ....while he mumbled, he will never be able to do anything wrong to anyone now....She repeated Sir are you listening....He cited Sukh I don't want to hear his name again.....we untied all knots with him, that guy was a cheat;and once a cheater will always be a cheater there is no point in knowing anything about him....She gave him a assuring look and then said I am very happy today.... You did it.... we finally were able to finalise the land deal, we fulfilled our motive of coming here..he turned to look at her and the said We did it!!!!....with an assuring and comforting smile....His gesture touched her soul, and brought tears of joy in her eyes....it was the first time he genuinely complemented her .....she turned around looking outside the window  the view was breathtakingly beautiful.... it was turning dark and the sky was changing it's colours....She was enjoying the view and the music,  as most of them were her favorite, while he was driving silently....The pendrive she handled to him had a collection of most beautiful songs he ever heard ;minutes change into hours and none of the two spoke,Autonomously his heart beat raced when he heard the song Dil Janiye by Jubin Nautiyal ; with beautiful lyrics....Sachiyan Mohabatan nihbawanaga ranjheya main Tera kehlawangaIk bari Dil lag Jane de Dil da karar ban jawanga..... ilteja Dil di hai... Ik pahl Isha ki hone deDil janiye mainu jee Len de  do labje mohabbat keh Len de......Dil janiye mainu jee Len de  do labje mohabbat keh Len deThe soft music was playing in the background....He wanted to speak his heart out,to apologise but he couldn't  finally collecting all the courage he has  He said  Sukh I regret my behavior towards you today, I must not have shouted upon you, I know I am quite impulsive sometimes but I didn't wanted to embarass you......Gaining No heed from her side he looked at her through the corner of his eyes,        She was in a deep slumber wrapping her veil across her body,  looking as enchanting as she always does to him,her lips were curved up into a smile and were partially parted,, as if she is watching a sweet dreamfor moments time seemed to be paused, it never happened to him before ,it was not like, that she is the most beautiful girl he had ever seen  but unknowingly his breathing becomes heavy whenever she is around, he feels anxious, happy , and surprisingly jealous when she is around other boys,while sometimes he feels all the emotions at the same time,he wants to talk to her but can't speak anything infront of her ,he wanted to be furious infront of her but most of the time is stunned how she handled him,Her smile makes him feel happy and his heart ache seeing her sad....he doesn't like the taste of Cinnamon but happily drinks the Coffee in which she always add it ..**all this feelings were new to him he never thought he will admire someone like this at any point of time in life,  but now he is stuck up conflicting between his own emotions**he was busy admiring her when her veil dropped from her shoulders he shifted his gaze away to avoid looking at her,he knew she will be embarrassed if she finds out that....but then he noticed something suspicious he turned around and saw the bruises there.....they seemed fresh as if they were from recent inciedents..without looking to that direction again, he quickly holded the corner of the veil and putted it back to her shoulders...He reminded of the incident when he held her hands tightly, the tears which were there, the pain in her voice,... he was ashamed on his deeds ....He reminded all the incidents today as well, how he shouted upon her and how Mr Rathod accused her infront of him,**To get rid or we can think to run away from the memories of the incident he speed up the car ,**He was driving the car furiously, crossing the maximum speed limit when her words reverbates his coreI am Tachophobic it's inherited from my mother's side...he jerked the brakes of the car which made her body jerk,  he held her hands and comforted her in the seat......He looked again to her direction in a concerned manner he found her sleeping soundly....He thought to himself thank God she is not awake else she would have panicked the way she did today Morning....Smiling he said God she is such a deep sleeper....He ingnited the engine again thinking to himself...Yes it was me behind it !!! the news report which she partially heard was about Mr Prasad being in custody and inquiry upon him for frauds....If he is found guilty his license may be cancelled as well , but I didn't wanted her to hear that,she will think I have done it in a outrage but seriously I don't want person like him to be left away with all that he tried to do ....he may have cheated many people before as well...well all this matters will be taken care during inquiry session....I admit I was about to make a deal with him but somewhere I knew he is a greedy man who can do anything for money...but cheating that was beyond imagination....He looked towards her again and found her snoring in a low tone.... she was even drooling this time,just on time she suddenly woke up looking here and there, she was quite for few moments then asked how much time do we need more ...He replied around 1:00 hour ,  she murmed to herself it means I can sleep for some more time and then went to sleep again....He smiled thinking to himself, I am really confused ......for the first time in my life, I can't predict someone...why is she so uncertain ...one moment she is all sweet and the other so sensible...one moment she is the one who spill the beans and the other moment she is the savior....was I wrong about her....He was changing the gear when he held her hands by mistake.....        His heart started to race and he quickly withdrew his hands,she too was awake after this gesture as his mere touch was enough to give her electric jolts.....She comforted herself in the seat the smiled back to him,He persuaded her to go back to her home but she wanted to complete the pending work,  she was even eager to give the good news to everyone but didn't showed it to him...While he made his mind to drive back to Malhotra Mansion,....soon they were outside the office building...Bidding each other Good Bye they both parted their ways .....He saw her walking inside the huge building but didn't wanted her to go ... dejected he was returning to the driving seat when he heard someone calling him.... He turned around to find Sukh standing there...smiling to him....she uttered Good Night Sir Sweet dreams.... in a sweet voice        he nodded and went to the driving seat again, his smile was persistent on his face.....**This was the day after so long years he smiled all day long,That too just because of Sukh,her intelligence her innocence everything attracted him towards her....But he doesn't know how to deal with the new emotions he is feeling now...**While he was driving on his way home, his mind was occupied with her thoughts.....he was missing her presence ...That journey for him was the most momentous ever.....That night...We know ....It was a long day for the two, the sequence of events, the state of mind, the labour and the work; everything was so tiresome.....After having a long refreshing shower and changing into comfortable blue vests and track pants...Rishabh was in his room having Coffee this time he added Cinnamon to it,         all thanks to Sukh as he started to like it's taste .... though it was not like the one she makes it but was good enough to go withEverytime he thought of the day, her thoughts pass across his mindher sweet smile, her words everything....He enjoyed every moment he spent with her, every second of it but his love was unrevealed to himself... Sukh informed everyone in the office team about the land dealskipping the part where she introduced stranger to him for the deal and how she convinced Khandelwals....well no one bothered about it too, as none asked any questions everyone was busy celebrating the moment....surprisingly Dhruv was not there so she thought of calling him.....Dhruv on the other hand was in hospital with Abhimanyu ,after his college life inciedents he changed to a person who doesn't develop friendship bonds easily but all this hospital thing ,hardwork and courage shown by Abhimanyu, helped him to develop a good friendship bond with him ,he even can relate to him at some point.....he was there beside him when Doctors called for an operation, initially it was not a minor one but as she had Asthma issues it got a bit serious....he even developed a sweet relationship with his mother, she for sure was a loving lady ,her presence somewhat felt of a complementary relationship of a mother he enjoyed talking and being with her..So he too was very worried and anxious about her health...But more or less the conditions were in their favor .....he even thought of taking a day off to be there with Abhimanyu...It was the time when Aarav called Rishabh....         Aarav was sounding serious for the very first time, no greetings he directly came to the point and said  see brother I did as you said, but there is something fishy....I guess someone of your elder staff members is behind all these scamps,even your father's health was tampered ....though I don't have any proof now but I am working upon it and one more thing  beware with Mr Rathod his motives are not good I guess....But all this went in vain... his voice was not clearly heard due to the poor network conditions as an aftermath of bad weatherhe just could make some lines of his sentences which said check your mail inbox I sent you something there,        he knew he was even talking about someone else but couldn't hear it....It was almost midnight  and Sukh too was having coffee ...she was happy with the fact that everyone was contented about the land dealShe even came across the fact that Abhimanyu's mother is convinced for having the operation and it will be a major one....though he sounded worried but the doctor's says chances are good and conditions are in their favor....Dhruv too thought of being with him tomorrow as it will be a big day for him....But something was wrong in between all this worries Rishabh's words were reverbing her ears We did it.....she thought of informing him about Abhimanyu's condition thinking to herself I can trust him over it...  Maybe he will trust me after today's incident. ..She closed her eyes praying for a better tomorrow and resumed working again....Rishabh received a mail from Aarav which had the background check report of Abhimanyu ...it stated he had a degree in finance and accountancy and he even is an expert in ethical hacking....  It strived him hard somewhere ....He felt betrayed as Abhimanyu never spoke anything to him about his ethical hacking skills; not even at the interview... .He became agitated and thought of having a serious conversation with him.....         It's dreadful to be in misunderstandings sometimes....______________________________________Glimpse of the next chapter:Sukh:I hope God gives you strength when you come across reality....Rishabh: you always advice me something about life this time I would like to say something....Never trust anyone blindly....Dhruv : Trust me on it, this anger of yours will drown you in a pool of guilt one day .....______________________________________So guys we are at the end of the chapter....Hope you all enjoyed it....See you all in the next chapter update....This is me....**Signing outBye :-) :-).....