Zehreela Ishq
"Sometimes two people fall apart to realize how much they need to fall back together"
Chapter 1 :
Better than I know myself
Meher's POV:
There I was standing like a statue, not even blinking. Looking right at the man I once loved; the man I gave my everything to and in return received nothing but pain. Surprisingly he hadn't changed much in four years. His thick luscious hair and deep brown eyes were as I remembered them. We both were just staring at each other, still lost in the trance of bumping into each other in the elevator. He raised his eyebrows.
"My my who do we have here? Meher Malhotra? Oh sorry mera matlab Meher Purhoit" he says with a mischievous smirk. I roll my eyes in annoyance as he reminds the aching change of my maternal name to my married name back again to my maternal name.
"Abeer Malhotra" I say in a low tone. My heart shook when I uttered his name after so many years but I pretended as if I am stiff as a stone. He smirks as he presses the elevator button for the 5th floor. He gestures asking me which floor I am heading towards.
"Unfortunately same floor" I say and step back from him a little. He blankly nods his head. I quickly glance at him and notice his Marks & Spencer suit, I could tell the brand just by looking at the detailed seam. Abeer loved dressing business formal and I still remember how every morning I would tie his tie before he would leave for his endless interviews. Those days we both were struggling fresh out of college with a degree in finance.
"Good luck jaan" I said. He would smile as I would tie his tie and scuff off any dirt from his coat. "Bus aaj ager job mil jae gi toh humare sub struggles khatam" he said as he would pull me closer to him by my waist. "Job mile na mila mein ho tumhare sath, tumhara support kerti rahongi. Aj nahi toh kal hum dono bahot successful businessmen honge" I said. He smiled at me; gazing right into my eyes as he leans in for a kiss.
"We are here" Abeer says as I blankly stand in the elevator trying to brush off the flashback I had. I come out of my thoughts and notice that we are on the 5th floor. I immediately start walking towards my office and I couldn't help but notice that Abeer was right behind me, was he following me? Why was he here in the first place? What would he want from MANNAT headquarters?
I ignore him and continue walking towards my office. As I open the door I find my desk messy and nothing cleaned. Papers were scattered all over and even though I made the mess I expect everything to be cleaned up by the time I come back in the morning. I grunt in anger and walk towards my office phone and press 1.
"Rati, Domestic staff na mera office kyew clean nahi kiya?" I yell at my personal assistant in anger.
"Maam I am so sorry, app ka office lock hogaya tha or domestic staff chor ka chale ga". She says in her sweet girly tone
"Make sure this does not happen again" I say as I calm down a little.
"Maam, Chief financial officer ka position ka interviewees lounge main wait keraha ha." She says.
"Hmm tell Sani sir to meet me in the conference room and we shall start the interviews." I say and put down the receiver. I glance back at my messy office and just lightly arrange the papers and dash out with my purse.
Me and Mr. Saani help Rati set up in the conference room. Mr Sani was the Chief Executive Officer of MANNAT, a high end clothing brand. I still remember the day I first met him, I thought he was a complete idiot but overtime I learned how much potential he has. He recognized my talents and hired me as the Chief Operating Officer two years ago. Today we are in need of a new Chief Financial Officer since our old one was transferred to one of the smaller offices. I usually hated having meetings and interviews but today I was looking forward to it since it was for the 3rd highest position in the office.
We had multiple interviewees come in and they all were highly experienced and professional. It will be a tough choice.
"How many are left rati?" Mr saani asked rati and she checked her clipboard.
"One last person Sir" she said and marked the last name off. Finally last interview and I will probably be able to make up my mind right away. I started sipping water from the mini water bottle in front of me and as the door opened I couldn't help but open my eyes wide after who I saw walk in. Before I knew it I was choking on the water. My breathing stopped and I could barely sense my surrounding. I felt someone push my stomach trying to help me breathe. Everything was an illusion; I heard screams; was I dying?
All the water that was stuck in my throat gushed out of my mouth. I finally opened my eyes and found everything wet around me. I looked up at the man I was least expecting to see, my ex HUSBAND. His Mark and Spencer's suit was all wet with my saliva, how embarrassing!
"Tum theek ho Meher?" he asked me so casually making it obvious that we already know each other.
"Ya ya sorry about your suit, and your name is?" I ask and raise my hand for a hand shake. Abeer was a bit surprised by my behavior, maybe even a little hurt. He quietly sat back down on his chair without shaking my hand and wiped his coat with a napkin. I could see the ego in his eyes and I wanted to tell him to get the **ck out of here but I had to behave.
"Let's continue towards the interview" Mr. Sani said and he opened Abeers file. I really wasn't in the mood to joke around with Abeer and I knew this was all probably a scheme; Him showing up at MANNAT like this.
"Let's get straight to the point. Why should we hire you?" I ask without any hesitation. Mr Sani and Rati were kind of surprised by my direct and rude question.
"Don't hire me because of my education, resume or even experience. That all was in the past or past humesha kerwa hota ha. Hire me because of what I am today because this is as true as it can be." He says, fearlessly looking into my eyes. I squint my eyes in anger.
" Mr. Malhotra..." I say pretending to look at his file for his name.
"Your past is what built your present how can we not look into that?" I say
"Not everyone's past is good. Sometimes our past is surrounded by the wrong people" he says with a mischievous smile.
"Wrong or right that's how we learn and that is how we grow, sometimes even grow more than those wrong people" I say in response trying to highlight the fact that I was the COO and Abeer was my interviewee. Mr Sani and Ritu were just speechless by mine and Abeer's snapping at each other.
"That is what you think but that isn't always the case" Abeer says as he opens the first button of his coat. Mr Sani gestures me to stop before I could reply.
"Mr. Abeer it says you have been working for Pepsi co for the past 3 years. What would be the reason of leaving?" Sani Sir asks and Abeer finally makes a serious face.
"My experience at Pepsi Co was exquisite and I was the Marketing Manager for the Mumbai headquarters. I wanted to experience new things, the fashion industry always drew me close and I feel a special connection towards MANNAT." He says. I roll my eyes and mumble liar' under my breath. Everyone looks at me wondering what I said.
My blood was boiling. Abeer was such a liar, he came here just to make my life miserable he has no interest in our company.
"You know what Mr. Malhotra, you are hired but only if you can handle the finances for tomorrows modeling show. Rati will kindly give you the budget and the requirements for the show." I say and stand up and raise my hand to shake hands with Abeer one again. Everyone just looked at me in shock. Abeer was speechless and just shook my hand. I gave him an extremely fake smile and dashed out of the room.
I sensed Abeer running towards me and he even called out my name but I kept walking. He grabbed my arm and spun me. I gave him a small push,
"What?" I ask in anger.
" Woh kya tha Meher?" he asked me with anger in his eyes.
" Bahot interest ha na MANNAT mein? Fashion mein? Jhoote! Ub ker ka dikhao akele pura show ka budget handle!" I say with a stern voice.
"Meher? I am good at what I do and I am not here as a fashion designer anyways. Finance sambhalna ha? Wohi toh kerna ata ha mujhe! Why is it so hard for you to believe I am here for the company and not you?" He asks.
"Because I know you. Yaad nahi? Better than I know myself?" I say remembered a phrase we both used to say to each other all the time when we were married. He froze as I said that.
"No because I did not know that this is how low you think of me, I guess I don't know you better than I know myself. War is on Boss, See you at the fashion show!" He says and barges out of the hallway. I stay standing there watching him walk out.
😭
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Chapter 1 : page 1
Chapter 2 : page 2
Chapter 3: page 4
Chapter 4: page 6
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