CHAPTER SIX

After entering the house, Ishika angrily flung her jacket on the chair before turning to her grandfather who has lowered himself on the chair. The old man didn’t even look like he was in the least worried about how angry she looked, he was just glad to have had a good outing.

“You must be proud of yourself” she half yelled, “how could you switch off your mobile phone like that, father?”

“I knew you were going to come disturb me, my dear” Elder Bharat answered sincerely, “and you still did”

“Don’t you even worry about your own health?” Ishika was genuinely angry, “do you know how worried I was?”

“I just went out for some fresh air, Ishika,” she told him, “and as you can see, I am fine. I even had a drink with that young man. I can imagine what he is passing through”

“I don’t think that is our business, father” she replied, “you just need to take care of yourself and your health, that is all i expect from you”

“Of course my dear” he flashed her a smile, “this old bag of bones will listen to you”

“Good, I will ask one of the workers to make some hangover soup for you”

With that, she grabbed her jacket and made for the stairs. It was at this point that her mobile began to ring and when she saw the caller ID,  she clicked on the receive button and pressed the phone against her ear.

“Tell me”

“Ma’am” her assistant’s voice reached her ear, “a mail from Avanti just arrived ma’am and they are willing to close the deal if you agree to meet with them once”

Ishika rolled her eyes as she threw her door open,

“Tell them I am very busy and I won’t be available for a meeting, they can go ahead and close the deal, they are on the receiving end anyways.

“I have spoken to them and they won’t listen ma’am” her assistant said, as if this was her last resort.

“How much is the compensation fee?”

“Forty million dollars”

“Good, prepare a document '' Ishika was not going to give them the satisfaction of meeting her as they pleased. She was not some roadside company owner, she was Ishika Bharat.  The CEO of Bharat group of companies.

“Tell them we will pay the compensation since they are not willing to close the deal since they won’t be able to meet me”

“But ma'am” her assistant was skeptical about it, “that would be a lot of money from our end”

“Once you have your business, Laila. You will know why you shouldn’t be available to all the business owners who want to meet you. Draft the contract and email them to mw, I will have to check it before you send it to them”

“Sure ma’am”

After ending the call, she flung the phone on the bed and made for the bathroom to have a shower. Somewhere in her head, the blue eyes of that divorcée kept lingering.

*******

Kiel kept staring at into nothingness as the thought of Roslyn filed his mind. He couldn’t just wrap his head around the fact that she had the nerves to get pregnant for another man even when she was married.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt like a fool. How didn’t he notice it from the very beginning? He actually thought Roslyn was into him but he was just a pawn that she used to get her way to the top of the food chain. Kiel felt hopeless and wished it was all a dream.

His mobile began to ring, jolting him out of his musing and when he saw the caller ID, he rolled his eyes to the back of his head. This lady had been calling him since this morning but he was too tired to even answer his phone.

How could he? He was sure to be a laughing stock in society now.

The mobile rang again and when he saw it was a different number, he let out a sigh before pressing the receive button.

“Hello” his deep husky voice resonated in the whole room as he raked his hand through his hair.

“Is this Mr Kiel Anderson?” The lady from the other end inquired.

“You can just send the annulled marriage certificate to the Campbell mansion and stop calling me”

He was visibly frustrated.

“I am sorry” the lady from the other end sounded a bit confused, “someone sent my boss your number and she asked me to call you”

“What do you mean?”

“Someone suggested your name to my madam and even gave her your  number. I will send the address, please come to the location”

“What is this about?” Kiel was sure skeptical about it, he didn’t want this to be one of Roselyn’s plans again.

“I think you should meet my madam yourself sir, I will send the address now”

As the line went dead, Kiel slumped back on the bed and closed his eyes. He was feeling a little sick but maybe going out of the room would help him clear his head.

After a while, his phone beeped with a message and when he saw it was the address, he slowly made his way into the washroom.

******

The moment Kiel sauntered into the building, he could feel all eyes on him. Well, he definitely knew why. His news was all over the media  and there was nothing he could do about it. Roselyn decided to humiliate him in the worst ways possible.

“Mr Kiel?” A lady walked up to him with a smile on her face.

“Yes”

“Nice to meet you” the lady said again, “my boss is in a meeting but she will be out in ten minutes, you can wait in her office”

“Of course”

With a nod, she led him towards the private elevator and led him into the office.

“Make yourself comfortable, I will bring you some coffee”

“Hmmm”

As she walked out of the office, Kiel used this opportunity to look around and he was impressed. The decorations and everything was top notch. Whoever owned the company was good.

His eyes unknowingly flew to the name tag on the table and for a moment a look of surprise flashed across his face.

“Ishika Bharat” the name rolled out of his lips, he wasn’t sure if it was the same Bharat or just a coincidence.

“Sorry for keeping you” a voice said from the door and Kiel turned to see her walking into the office and for a moment, he was actually stunned.

Dressed in a pair of white skirt that stopped at her thighs and a crisps black shirt which was neatly tucked into her skirt making her look professional and elegant at the same time. Her makeup was mild and her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, she was actually much prettier than most of the Indian women he had come across, Kiel couldn’t lie.

“Mr Anderson?” She stretched her hand towards him with a smile on her lips, “I was in a meeting”

He gently took the hand and flashed her a smile too,

“I just got here by the way,” Kiel told her. 

she was the same lady he met that day, he couldn’t be mistaken but it seems she had forgotten about him. Kiel didn’t care though, he wasn’t looking for favors.

“Sorry I should have invited you to the headquarters but I was around the area and decided to meet you here”

“No problem” he lowered himself gently on the chair, “this 

is less of a hassle for me” he further added.

“Well” Ishika also perched on the chair opposite him and crossed one leg over another. Compared to Roselyn, she was just too elegant and dignified. 

Being able to take over the Bharat empire at such a young age, Kiel was sure she must have put in a lot of work in order to reach where she was today.

“How is your divorce coming along?” She asked him after a while and she was surprised, he thought she didn’t remember.

“Well” he shrugged, “I will get past it”

“Hmmm” she nodded, “well, someone recommended you to me, his father worked with you like two years ago and he said you are good”

“Well” Kiel leaned forward, “that depends on the work you have for me”

The door opened after a while and Laila entered with a tray containing some coffee for them, she set it down on the table and bowed before walking out of the office again.

“Thank you Laila” she called after her assistant before returning her focus to Kiel again, 

“Well, I hope you are as good as he claimed you to be, Mr Anderson”

“Try me,” he suggested.

“Hmmm”

Ishika picked up the document that was on the table and handed it over to him.

“I had my assistant draft this contract yesterday night, apparently the said company said they would not close the deal if I do not attend a personal meeting with them. And like I am, I shouldn’t be everywhere or I will lose my value as the representative of Bharat group of companies” she paused for a while to make sure he was listening and she continued when she discovered he was.

“I have already decided to pull out my partnership with them and pay them the compensation fee of forty million dollars. What do you suggest?”

“Hmmm”

Kiel gently opened the document and skimmed through it slowly, he nodded as he read ahead.

Her eyes continued to linger on him as he read while a small smile was gracing her lips.

“Well, you made the right choice” Kiel said as he looked up from the papers 

“What do you mean?”

“Well in such a case, showing your dominance is paramount. They will come running back when they see the compensation fee”

“What do you mean?” Ishika was really curious, Kiel sounded intelligent and she loved it.

“Forty million dollars is such a huge amount of money but it is less than what they will be getting when they seal the deal. I am certain the director of the company will be calling you when you send this to him”

“So should I go along with my plan?”

“Of course” he flashed her a little smile, “go ahead with the plan.