Chapter 7

All day, Aryan was besieged with sympathetic enquiries from his female colleagues as to why he left office so suddenly the previous day.

Chandni had already been given choicest nicknames for taunting and insulting their "dear Aryan".

He tried his best to put everyone at ease, and warned them not to speak about their new CEO in such a belittling way. Much as his heart felt amused at the ingenuous and funny nicknames, he also felt bad for Chandni to be the butt of their jokes for no fault of hers.

She didn't direct her anger towards anyone but him, that too after considerable provocation from his end, he admitted inwardly with a pang of guilt.

But she was equally mean in taunting him back and even insulted his talent as nothing more than a heart throb of female employees.

His blood boiled at the very thought, but he controlled himself, as he remembered the promise he made to Raj Singh. He must keep his head down and deal with this situation, somehow or other.

What happened yesterday must not happen again.

Not just him, but they both must deal with it, in privacy and not become part of office gossip.

His reputation outside of office would only add fuel to fire.

Once he got over this initial meeting with the famous Vikram Mathur, he knew what to do.

He decided not to involve himself in any dealing with Chandni unless absolutely necessary, which itself will act as deterrent to further conflicts, along with subduing any unwanted attention from the rest of the staff.

Vikram Mathur arrived at the office sharp at Four O' clock and was warmly received by Raj Singh and Namrata.

Aryan didn't even bother to come anywhere near him, with a welcome excuse that he was working on the urgent project model that needed to be submitted for approval.

Once the initial talk of company portfolio, current P&L balance sheet and other business matters were discussed, Vikram and Raj Singh relaxed together and had a quite drink, in spite of protests from Vikram.

"Raj Singh Ji, where is that Protégé of yours, Aryan? I was very keen to meet him since I have heard so much about him from you. Is he not in today?" Vikram enquired casually.

"No Vikramji, he is very much here, it's just that he is working on an urgent project at the moment. I will call him now."

Raj Singh's flustered behaviour reinforced Vikram's doubts that Aryan was avoiding him, and Raj Singh too was probably aware of Aryan and Chandni's past relationship.

Soon after, Aryan was duly summoned and Vikram rose from his chair to greet the talented young man.

"So, I finally get to meet the elusive Mr Kapoor or do you prefer if I call you Aryan?" Vikram asked with a smile.

"Erm… Yeah Aryan would be fine Sir." Aryan looked around, trying to avert his gaze from the man, who evoked a sudden and deep sense of jealousy inside him.

"Come on, have a seat here, I have to talk to you about so many things." Vikram pointed to a chair at the table next to him, but Aryan chose to sit as far away as possible, on the other side, nearer to Raj Singh.

Vikram smiled inwardly.

"Raj Singh ji, is our privacy guaranteed here? I would prefer if we are not disturbed by any of the staff for the next half an hour or so. Is that possible?" He asked in a low voice.

"Of course, it is." Raj Singh left a Do not Disturb sign outside the board room door, and also texted Namrata to make sure they were not disturbed.

"Hmm… I am sorry if my behaviour is causing any alarm for you both, but I just wanted to discuss a slightly delicate matter, which is outside the preview of a strict employer employee relationship. That is why I was keen to meet you both outside the office, but anyway that doesn't matter now." Vikram began and looked straight at Aryan.

Aryan had a shrewd guess what this was about.

But he was in no mood to discuss this with anyone, especially " her" precious husband, and so, he swiftly rose to leave.

"Aryan, please, sit down. I know you may not want to talk to me, but let me assure you straight away that I am not a judgemental, inquisitive or narrow-minded person who enjoys digging into other's personal problems. I am here purely to clear misunderstandings, if any. Please sit down and listen me out." Vikram requested.

Aryan sat down slowly, against his better judgement, still unsure as to why he hadn't left the room just a few moments ago.

Vikram Mathur continued as if there was no interruption.

"I am a very straightforward person and never believed in beating around the bush. You and my wife Chandni were in a relationship, a long time ago. Am I right?" He asked bluntly.

Raj Singh felt stunned at this sudden question from Vikram.

Aryan's eyes bore into Vikram's face, as he tried to assess what was behind that calm veneer. How could he talk so casually about all these things? Was Vikram really here to talk to him out of genuine concern, or was he just being a forceful employer, trying to dictate even his personal life. Aryan took a deep breath and tried to look at his current position more objectively. Why was he feeling such a surge of anger in front of this guy?? Was it pure jealousy that Vikram was living a blissful married life with the very person, he always thought of as his soulmate??

Perhaps his natural animosity towards him was forcing him to prejudge his behaviour.

Aryan finally decided that come what may, it was best to be open and frank with Vikram, and see for himself if Vikram was really as disaffected as he seemed to be, or if it was just a façade.

He felt cheap and distasteful that he would have to talk about his personal life with a complete stranger, but realised that he had no choice, as the stranger also happened to be his ex-girlfriend's husband and his current boss.

"Yes Sir, we were. But as you said, it was a long time ago, and I have never seen her or talked to her again till yesterday." He hastened to clarify.

"Thanks for that candid answer Aryan, I really appreciate it. Now, you might be thinking why and how I know all this. I believe yesterday there was some kind of verbal to and fro between you two initially, before things got a bit settled down. That was perfectly understandable. Chandni was very upset when she came home yesterday and she finally told me everything."

Aryan smirked and tried to hide his cynical smile.

Of course, she would have blurted out everything to him, now that she had no choice.

She probably made it sound as if everything was his fault and she was the angel of innocence.

He wondered what she might have said, perhaps pictured him to her husband as this monster, who took her to Goa...

Vikram observed Aryan and hastened to clear his misunderstanding.

"Oh Aryan!! I meant she told me everything about what happened here yesterday. But she explained about her relationship with you much before our marriage."

Aryan's eyes turned blood red as he tried to control his emotions, and maintain a calm profile in front of Vikram.

He sincerely didn't know how to react. He was lost in his own turmoil.

Should he be happy that Chandni found such an understanding husband who didn't let her past affect their current relationship, or should he feel even worse, to know that Chandni had no qualms to put all their precious memories behind her, to start a happy life with Vikram!

Frankly speaking, he didn't give a damn what Vikram thought of him. His equation was with Chandni and no one else. And his life was already ruined because of her. He had no intention to seek redemption for his past, or good impression from Vikram who was no way involved in what happened between him and Chandni....

Aryan couldn't help but smile to himself as he wondered what a fool he was, to fall in love with such a woman, who has effectively fooled and managed to sway, not just one, but three men with her charms.

But the very next moment, as Vikram began to speak, every opinion that he had about Vikram turned upside down and caused a Volte-Face. All his animosity towards Vikram lay forgotten, which was soon replaced by respect and gratitude.

His brow suddenly cleared as he finally understood the missing puzzle of Chandni's wedding with Rahul Ahluwalia seven years ago, and her current husband who sat across the table, explained calmly.

"I am sure no matter how hard you both try to behave like mature adults, there is bound to be some lingering animosity towards each other, but I want you both to overcome it. I have said almost the same words to Chandni too this morning. I want you to respect her and vice versa. She has been through a lot already and she has finally ventured out to establish herself in the business world. Trust me when I say this, she has a lot of business acumen which was just rotting behind the demands of motherhood and household management. She has completed her studies in Business Administration and has been preparing herself for this role for quite some time, and I haven't appointed her just because she's my wife." Vikram paused briefly, clearly trying to put aside any assumptions that Chandni was here purely because of Nepotism.

"You see Aryan, when I first met Chandni, she was already a married woman and pregnant with Atharv. But I never let her past interfere our lives, and had always looked upon Atharv as my own son. You might wonder why I am telling you all this, but I just want to explain what a tough woman Chandni is, and I want you both to have a healthy, non-confrontational relationship in the office. "

Vikram let out a deep sigh, as if opening up to Aryan like this took a toll on him as well.

Aryan began to believe that Vikram was also quite an emotional person, but just better at concealing himself, behind the aura of military upbringing and the tough business tycoon image.

No matter what happened between him and Chandni, he could never wish ill things for her.

Aryan shuddered to think what difficulties Chandni must have been through, or how compelling her circumstances were, as it looked like her marriage with Rahul failed and she was pregnant before Vikram came to her rescue.

He could feel nothing less than deep gratitude towards Vikram for that.

Aryan's mind was whirling with contrasting thoughts as he tried to digest what Vikram just shared with him, in good confidence.

What had happened in Chandni's life after Goa?