LOVE, LIFE, SECRETS: Answers lie within – CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 8: You have to trust me

Shivaay and Anika were sitting in Shivaay’s cabin in the Oberoi Industries Office…. She looked around the room…. There were simple shades of blue, grey and some white that lit up the interiors…. Two walls had glass panels giving an overview to the great city of Mumbai…. He had a photo frame kept on the table, it had him with his brothers and sister…. She could see a slight smile on his face which she had witnessed only in that photo and never ever in their few meetings…. Maybe because he was with the people he loved the most…. The people who meant the world to him…. She looked more around the cabin…. She had learnt over the past years that a person’s working environment tells a lot about the person and their thinking, their behavior…. The colours around suggested that he did not like bright colours in his office interiors…. But he did like bright colours when he had to choose his attires…. She thought looking at his red suit…. She saw a painting at the wall behind his chair, a masterpiece by his brother Omkara she concluded seeing Om’s signature…. She was keenly observing the room…. The room had simple yet elegant interiors perfectly matching the man that ruled not only this office but most of the business world…. Shivaay Singh Oberoi is a man with great taste she thought…. Working with him was going to be something different….

Shivaay was reading a file in his hand while Anika waited for him to finish his work and they could start their research on the case…. Shivaay’s attention was hardly on the file as he noticed how she was looking around the room keenly observing her surroundings…. His attention had been diverted to her from his file…. He saw how she was changing her expressions as she looked around the room…. Was she analyzing his taste in colours and interiors…. He could see a slight smile on her face when she looked out from the glass panels…. So she did like the view from his cabin…. He immediately stopped his mind from processing unnecessary details and looked back at the file…. He was not supposed to be doing all this with the mess his life had become in the last two days….

There was silence in the cabin as none of them spoke…. There was a knock and they looked at the door…. A man around Rudra’s age entered and looked at Shivaay…. Anika looked at him confused not recognizing him….

Shivaay: Anika, he is Ranbir, my personal assistant and my most trusted employee, he would help us in the works related to the case.

Ranbir looked at Anika and passed a smile, she smiled back,

Ranbir: Hello ma’am, you can give me any work you want, I’ll handle everything.

Shivaay was about to say something when there was another knock…. Shivaay signed Ranbir and he opened the door…. A girl in her twenties entered and looked at Anika…. Anika smiled seeing her…. Shivaay and Ranbir looked on….

Girl: Sorry yaar, I got late, actually I got lost in this huge building.

Anika: It is okay Prachi and Shivaay, she is my assistant cum best friend, she will assist us.

Prachi looked at Shivaay and Ranbir and smiled…. Ranbir smiled back while Shivaay just nodded at her…. She looked back at Anika and Anika gave her an understanding nod…. Shivaay saw their little eye conversation but remained quiet…. Ranbir broke the silence as he handed some files to Shivaay….

Ranbir: Sir, this is all the information you wanted, it has everything about Tia ma’am.

Shivaay passed the files to Anika and Prachi and they started going through the files…. The girls settled on the couch…. Shivaay sat back in his chair while he signed

Ranbir to settle down…. Ranbir sat on the seat opposite Prachi…. The two of them waited for the girls to finish reading….

Anika: This is very basic information about her.

Prachi: We need more information about her personal life. She had been murdered and any murder requires a strong motive.

Anika: Why would someone want to kill her? Did she have any kind of enmity with someone?

Ranbir: Or maybe someone wants to take it back from Shivaay Sir or the Oberois? I mean the person may not have direct enmity with Tia ma’am.

Anika: You are right Ranbir, this can be the case. So Shivaay, do you have anyone in mind, I mean who can go to this level of murdering your fiancée to get back at you.

Shivaay: I have many enemies but someone killing Tia to get back at me, I don’t know if anyone can do that. I mean they would have targeted my family, or kidnap Tia but why kill her?

Prachi: This is also a valid point; it can be both ways, enmity with Tia or enmity with Oberois?

Anika: Or what about enmity with the Kapoors? Even they can have enemies who would want to get revenge.

Ranbir: The Kapoor family, I do not think so they would have enmity with anyone.

Shivaay: Yeah, I agree with Ranbir, the Kapoor family cannot have enmity with anyone who would do this to Tia.

Prachi: Then we have to find out more about Tia’s personal life, maybe we get some clues.

Ranbir: I’ll get our sources to find the required information.

Prachi: Even we’ll get our sources to get any other information.

Anika: Okay then, you both go and gather the required information. We’ll think of the other aspects till then.

Prachi and Ranbir nodded and left the room…. Anika turned to Shivaay and saw him lost somewhere….

Anika: So Shivaay, will you tell me what are you hiding?

Shivaay looked at her surprised…. Could she read his mind…. How did she know that he was hiding something….

Shivaay: I am not hiding anything, why will I hide anything?

Anika: Please Shivaay, I have been a lawyer for years and I know when my client hides something from me. I could see it Shivaay, the change in your expressions when we talked about the enemies of Kapoors. What is it Shivaay?

Shivaay: There is nothing like what you are thinking Anika.

Anika: Shivaay, if you only will hide matters from me, how will I help you. You have to trust me Shivaay, only then we can get through this.

Shivaay looked at her as she spoke the last sentence…. Anika also realized that she said a little too much…. She wanted Shivaay to trust her but maybe she could have said it in a different way…. Shivaay looked at her while Anika looked the other side….

Anika: I mean if my client doesn’t trust me, how will I solve the case?

Shivaay: I have an important meeting now. You wait here till Ranbir and Prachi come back.

Anika: Shivaay….

Shivaay: I am busy, we’ll talk later.

He did not wait for Anika to say anything and left the room…. Anika called his name but he had already left the room…. Why was he doing this…. If he did not tell her everything then how will she help him…. She was right that he definitely needed to learn a few things…. And she would teach him that…. But first she had to find out what he was hiding…. It was definitely something to do with the Kapoors…. She took out her phone and dialed a number…. She instructed the person to find some information and give it to her as soon as possible….

Anika: What do you think Shivaay, if you don’t tell me I’ll not know? I have my own ways.

First day at work and she was already irritated by his behavior…. How was she going to survive till the case was solved…. She prayed to her Shiv Ji to give some brains to Shivaay and make her work easier…. If this continued like this, either of them was going to go mad…. She sighed and sat back on the sofa reading the other files promising herself to never ever take up another high profile case…. She can never handle another rich, rude and arrogant man ever….

*****

Ranbir finished his call to the man to find about Tia and her personal life…. He looked around and saw Prachi looking outside…. He walked to her…. She felt someone near her and looked to her side…. She saw Ranbir….

Ranbir: I hope we can find more detailed information about Tia ma’am.

Prachi: Hopefully, that happens, the information is really important for the case.

Ranbir: I do not understand why someone would want to kill her. Whatever I have known about her, she did not seem like someone who would have enemies wanting to kill her.
She was irritating at times but she was not that bad to be killed like this.

Prachi: Well I do not know much about her, but even I feel that she was not the one to have enemies. Whatever I have known about her she seemed to be away from controversies.

Ranbir: Whatever happens I do not want Shivaay Sir or the family to face any problem. I know how much stressed they would be after all this.

Prachi: Do not worry, we all will work together and get through this. Trust me Anika is a very good lawyer and I have seen her working, she will definitely get Shivaay Sir out of this mess.

Prachi smiled at Ranbir assuring him that everything would be fine…. Ranbir smiled back at her something in her smile did assure him…. They both talked as they walked back to the cabin….

*****

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Sorry for a short update, my college has started and I have lots of assignments and projects lining up so couldn’t write much. All I can say is that I will post regularly but sometimes the updates will be short. I hope you all will understand.

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