The Underestimated Genius

Chapter 4

“The company is all yours,” Rohan replied after a long moment of silence as Arjun's lips

curved into a smile.

“If you say it like that, you would make it sound as if you are giving me something. But that’s

not the case, Rohan…” Arjun stood up, tucked his hands into his pocket, and walked slowly

towards Rohan.

“Maratha Industries has always been mine, Rohan. I am only taking back

what is mine.” He glared at him and cleaned an invisible dust off his shoulders.

“My identity as the new chairman shouldn’t be revealed. You might be the chairman to everyone, but

legally and on paper, I own Maratha Industries. You got it?” He asked with an intimidating

look.

Rohan nodded his head as if it were stiff. Arjun hadn't imagined in his wildest dreams that he

could intimidate people. His phobia for crowds had made him cool-headed and reserved. But

people change, right?

The next day, Arjun had thought of going on a secret tour of Maratha company and use the

opportunity to sign the document of transition of properties from him to Rohan. He had

informed Rohan to tell them a certain Mr. Vee would be coming, so the receptionist would let

him in without much questioning.

Immediately after Arjun and Rohan’s meeting, Arjun had asked Rohan to evacuate the

Maratha House as he now owned every asset under the Maratha name. Rohan had done as

Arjun had commanded. In this situation, he didn’t have many choices.

So the next day, Arjun donned himself in a normal suit and casual shoes which could be

gotten in thrift stores. Since he lived with Meera in the past, wearing expensive clothing

wasn’t a thing for him. To him, they were irrelevant as he didn’t go out much.

When he got off the cab that drove him there, he stood in front of the towering building and

stared at the inscription. ‘Maratha Industries.’ He smiled to himself. Maratha Industries had

become what it was through his mother’s dream. If his mother hadn’t had an obsession to

create an AI like Nexumcore, he wouldn’t have attempted it. And Maratha Robotics wouldn’t

have made Maratha Industries the stronghold it was today.

He brushed off the thought and walked into the building, heading straight to the receptionist,

who had a welcoming smile on her face.

“Hi,” Arjun greeted with a warm smile.

“Hi, what can I do for you?” The receptionist with a lanky ponytail and piercing gaze with

sharp eyes asked Arjun enthusiastically.

“I am here to see Rohan Maratha. I am Mr. Vee. I am sure he must have told you he was

expecting me,” Arjun said as he watched the smile fade slowly from the receptionist's face.

“Mr. Vee?” A tight smile appeared on her face as she gave Arjun a quick survey.

“Yes, he must have informed you,” Arjun repeated, still with a smile on his face. He was the

boss. He knew he could just walk into the company without anyone asking him questions,

but he didn’t want to reveal his identity. He needed to stay low, so pretending to be a normal

man had been the ideal choice.

“I think you must have lost your way, Mr.,” she stressed the ‘Mr.’ as if mocking him.

“What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes as a sign of impatience started to show on her face; the tight smile had

now disappeared as she gave Arjun a stern look.

“Why the hell would you, a nobody who is looking for ways to see the chairman in order to

beg for favor, claim to be an esteemed guest like Mr. Vee?” She asked, her question taking

Arjun aback.

“Miss, I…”

“You should leave before I call security,” she snapped while eyeing Arjun with a warning

look.

“You don’t even know me before. I mean, do you even know what this Mr. Vee looks like?”

Arjun tried to make the receptionist come to her senses as she scoffed.

“Do I need to know you before I could recognize you as a fraud?” She asked with a sarcastic

tone. “I mean, look at you. Your suit looks like something that was picked from the trash.”

Arjun looked down as if he just wanted to find out what he had worn. “And your shoes…”

She scoffed. “Could you do better if you wanted to lie? Ugh! I hate pathetic people like you

the most.”

“Isn’t that a harsh word to say to someone you don’t even know?” Arjun was too stunned to

know the right words to reply to the receptionist.

“The more I speak to you, the more I feel disgusted,” she scorned as she left her locker and

walked towards him. By now, they were already drawing attention to themselves.

“Now leave!” She pointed at the exit as Arjun noticed the eyes that focused on him. “Isn’t he

the husband of Meera of Astra Robotics?” Someone asked from the crowd, loud enough for

him to hear.

“He is so pathetic. What the hell is he doing in Maratha Industries?” Another spoke as

Arjun’s phobia immediately kicked in. The insistent stares he got from them made his whole

body shock. He felt a tightness in his chest and was starting to find it hard to breathe.

“Didn’t you hear me?!” The receptionist's voice thundered; by now, Arjun seemed to be in a

world of his own, trying to cope with his phobia attack. Moving was almost impossible, as he

felt his legs stuck to the ground. His phobia hadn’t happened for a while and now that it

happened after a long time, it felt like hell.

The insistent voice of people from the crowd started to make Arjun dizzy with the receptionist

insisting he left. Arjun was left in a bind.

“What is happening here?!” An authoritative voice broke through the chaos as Arjun turned

slightly to find Vinod, glaring blazing at everyone except Arjun.

Before the whole chaos and the crowd gathering, Arjun had sent a text to Rohan, telling him

he was in the company. So the sudden appearance of Vinod wasn’t a surprise to him.

“Mr. Vee, are you okay?” Vinod immediately rushed to him as Arjun nodded, looking up to

meet the frightened look on the receptionist's face.

“Mr. Vee?” She repeated in terror as if she already knew what would happen to her next.