Episode 02 : They Met at an Reception

Aarya inhaled her lavender cologne before she sighed heavily. Her driver Mohan drove them past the grand ornated entrance to a wonderfully decorated auditorium which at present seemed no less than a LA shopping mall. With media frantically clicking pictures and interviewing a few renowned celebrities and business tycoons, the whole atmosphere seemed colourful and chaotic. Aarya scrutinized herself for the last time in the mirror as she felt a tang of nervousness. Even though Aarya has attended hundreds of similar weddings down south, this was a new region. After all, it is the family function of Nagekkar's; definitely, it will be grand and opulent. And, today, Aarya hoped to impress Jagdeesh, the famous and old industrialist, for the sake of her business.

The driver smiled to himself, and before he could stop himself, the complement slipped from his lips, "You look beautiful, Ma'am."

Aarya smiled at her driver and said, "Thank you, Mohan." Mohan was one among few men whom she trusted. And, thus a smile broke on Aarya's face, which illuminated her beautiful vintage couture. The beige coloured crop top with beautiful intricate sequins and stone works and the contrasting symmetrical designed matching foot-length overcoat and high pointed heels made her short frame tall and elegant. But her personal favourite was the cat-eyed framed glasses which complemented her sleek black hair swept to her left side. Aarya felt happy (and hard to admit to herself, sexy) as she stared at herself. Aarya stepped out of the car to the bustling evening. And, she knew that until her formally introverted friend Surbhi Shukla did not join her, Aarya will be an alien dangling in the grandeur, except for a few small talks and a tad-bit of introductions here and there.

Don't be aloof. Don't be aloof Aarya mouthed to herself as photographers and media temporarily blinded her.

"Go Indie!" Surbhi hugged Aarya as they both embraced each other and posed for the cameras. Before they climbed the steps and entered the party hall, Aarya and Surbhi were busy in small talks as they admired the enormous ballroom decorated splendidly with chandeliers, white roses, lilacs, and water-lilies. The room was so annoyingly astonishing that Aarya had to remind herself not to gape too much. Because in the next day, South Indian Tabloids would be filled with her awkward gaping face.

"Aarya!" Jagdeesh called out happily as he walked through the crowd. They shared pleasantries for a second before he enquired about her last meeting. Aarya promptly started with her proud narration about the meeting when she realized Jagdeesh was not listening to her at all.

You boring doof. I said, impress him, not bore him. Stop bragging about yourself. Cut him aslack. He is in the middle of a function. He does not have that much time in his hand. He might have thought you are intelligent, Aarya her inner- voices continued to argue with each other.

"Ah! Anuragh. There you are- Come here," Jagdeesh called out to a person in the distance while an evident gleam spread on his face. Slightly startled by Jagdeesh, Aarya turned to her right to see a dark silhouette emerging through the dancing disco lights. As silhouette inched closer through the aroma of delicious dinner, his expensive cologne made its way to Aarya. The bright orange light under which Aarya stood revealed an equally vibrant young gentleman with beautiful eyebrows. The eyebrows were perfect that Aarya felt an impulse to cringe away and hide her painted eyebrows as she heard her inner voice- He has better eyebrows than yours. Shut UP! As Anuragh's smile caught her eye, Aarya felt herself wiping the sweat forming on her upper lip as his eyes trailed on her for a second before he turned towards his uncle.

"Anuragh, meet Ms. Aarya Sudhakar from Kerala. She is one of the leading entrepreneurs of South Indian Market, famous for her restaurant chain BTF. And Aarya, meet my nephew Anuragh Nagekkar. The vibrant CEO and the head chef of Nagekkar Food Industries." Jagdeesh patted Anuragh's broad shoulder proudly as he introduced the younger one.

"Hello." Anuragh and Aarya shook their hands and smiled at each other while Aarya's mind did little twerk of joy- Same Industry, Woohoo! Cool. As Aunragh began to talk, Jagdeesh excused himself to meet other guests.

"So we are in the same industry, I guess, but never have I come across your name," Aarya spoke frankly but soon masked enough not to sound rude to her host of the evening. After all, he is her golden duck, "maybe waiting for good timing, I guess."

"Ahh, I don't live here. I am an Indian-based London Head chef. I handle Nagekkar Food Industries from there. So, I am hardly here," Anuragh explained his absence in India to Aarya.

"So, Which market are you currently concentrating on, any international space which might strike a fire for us?"

"Haha... Mine are basically established in South India, while we do have chains in Thailand and Malaysia. But for the records, for the past few months, North Indian markets have caught my eye. I find plenty of delicious food here, especially during the festive time."

Anuragh nodded in agreement. But before they could discuss more on the topic, Anuragh excused himself as far more guests caught his attention. Aarya smiled and understood the situation yet could not help getting irritated watching Anuragh walk away. She rolled her eyes disappointedly as she joined Surbhi for dinner. They ate dinner, went up to wish the newly-weds, and continued doing their pre-requisites like the typical Indian guests at wedding receptions - dancing, drinking, clicking pictures, meeting new people, and gossiping.

"Oh. There, she is Anitta Sharma. I was wondering where she was. Come, let's escape from here before the London imported Indian catch us with her fake accent." Surbhi winced at a tall woman in a pink backless glimmering evening gown, which fit her perfect chiselled tall body. "Come naaa.. before she waves and brags about something her boyfriend bought her recently. Aaru, come."

"I just sat now. My heels are killing me from dancing. Are you talking about that tall woman? She has a nice body." Aarya stared at the woman in a pink-glimmering gown. Before Surbhi dragged her out of the chair, making her stumble over her dress.

"Oh, here she comes."Surbhi winced while Aarya rolled her eyes at the alter-ego of the rich while she adjusted her dress.

"Longtime Surbhi, how have you been?" Anitta and Surbhi kissed their cheeks cordially.

"I am great. How are you?" Surbhi asked in a sing-song tone.

"Good... Good. Great actually, I recently got into another great project on Greenwich. Bless me. It's so hard, but I love what I do, but I am always tired from working hard, hehe. And this is kind of irritates A and makes him complain, in his cute little way. Why do you have to push yourself like this? You are already working hard."

"It seems you are the only one working so hard there, pour soul." Surbhi made a puppy face while Anitta turned a bit pale.

"Areeh No, Surbhi. Come on, it is a huge company, and the workload is high too, but I think it will be like this for a couple of months. And, I had to take a break before the hectic schedule, plus A insisted on me attending this function a lot- a lot. So I couldn't say no."

"Ahh, Great. Anitta, please meet my dear friend from Kerala, Aarya Sudhakar. She is a famous entrepreneur down south and the owner of the famous restaurant chain Bhojanam the Food - BTF." Surbhi animatedly introduced Aarya, who shook Anitta's hand cordially while feeling a bit awkward at Surbhi's new introduction of hers.

"Hi! I am Anitta Sharma and the Senior Executive Architect of Relegate Inc. Builders."

"Great. Isn't that an American Company?" Aarya enquired.

"It is. But I head the London branch of Relegates," Anitta explained haughtily. "We have branched out in many parts of the world that it is impossible not to spot a famous Relegate Building in the town."

"Hmm. If I am right, one of my friends' family recently relocated to a new home in Hyderabad. And, I think the interiors were done by Relegates." Aarya continued her small talk with Anitta but soon met with the hot glare of Surbhi.

"But I have to say, the food that we had on our trip to Chennai in BTF was mindblowing. Oh, they were so yummy. And just imagining them is making me hungry. I need food right now. Haha...," Anitta laughed while Aarya beamed like a new bulb. "Anitta!" The young women turned around to some unknown sound coming through the crowd before Anitta excused herself and moved away.

"I just LOVE HER!" Aarya turned around while beaming at Surbhi, who stood sulking, "Could you be less enthused? Ah! Anyway, I am so happy. But wait, who is this A she was mentioning? Her boyfriend?"

"It is A for Anuragh... Anuragh Nagekkar, the chef. The guy you met before." Surbhi said as they started walking.

"Is she engaged to him? It is uncanny of her not to mention anything he has recently bought her. But she awful lot was using her hands, and there was the ring. Hmm..., the ring. I think they are engaged. That's why she was shoving that hand at my face. She wanted me to ask her, but she got side-tracked because of you. Hmm..., that explains everything, doesn't it?"

Surbhi turned towards Aarya, who just stared at her blabbering friend before thumping her right hand thrice while a big smile spread on her face.

"You are a genius, and a what a brilliant timing," Aarya beamed.

"Why are you happy for them?" Surbhi questioned.

"Not for them, me. I mean, it is good both of them are getting engaged, but see the beautiful chain," Aarya beamed at an expressionless Surbhi. "I will explain. Anitta loves my food, and she is engaged to Anuragh. And Anuragh is the CEO and Head Chef of Nagekkar Food Industries. And if everything goes well, Nagekkar and BTF's collaboration can easily help me establish an empire here. Oh! They are going to be my gems," Aarya said while tucking at her friend's hand.

The evening went away smoothly with more joy and laughter. Aarya met Anitta again at the water table before they walked towards the dance floor together. Anitta crossed and moved away from Aarya to meet her other friends while Aarya walked forward through the disco lights when she found herself thrashed into someone strong behind the pillars. She felt her glasses poke her eyes as they fell, and she let out a small cry of pain. Soon, she felt the person hug her and dig his face into her neck. Aarya was petrified and in pain when the hands around her waist relaxed and moved away when she saw an apologizing Anuragh before her.

"OH! I am sorry... so... sorry. I thought you were someone else. I am sorry. I am really sorry." Anuragh continued to apologize as he bent down and retrieved the glasses, and handed them to Aarya.

"Oh, you blinded me, Tiger!" Aarya blinked as she took the glasses from Anuragh while he was busy pointing numbers with his fingers. "Oh, that's four, and I am not blind. I don't need glasses to read. It is just an ornament for tonight. And you are Anuragh," Aarya answered as she massaged her ribs. Anuragh lowered his fingers awkwardly while staring at Aarya with concern.

"I am sorry. I thought you were my girlfriend. She was walking with you... I just... I... I am sorry."

"She crossed me and went over to meet her friends. And, by the way, you should be sorry and never- ever hug her like this, Tiger. You might crush her bones. Valuable things might get broken, you know!"

"Hmm..., I am so sorry. Are you okay?" Anuragh half laughed and stranded away, feeling awkward and embarrassed. Aarya decided to exit the party for the day. She spent few minutes wandering through the guest until she found Jagdeesh and made her note of exit. But Jagdeesh had a different agenda altogether in his mind.

"Yes, you can. But you have to take a picture along with my family," Jagdeesh insisted.

"Sir, It is a family picture. How can I stand in that? Plus, I already took a picture with the newlyweds along with you and Surbhi's family. I don't think it is necessary."

"No. Aarya, you should take it with my family." Jagdeesh sounded calm and composed while he partially dragged her to the podium and made her stand in-between him and Anuragh, along with the family.

"I will meet you the day after then. And will make sure I will be a good host for our lunch.

Jagdeesh smiled and squeezed her hand in a formal handshake as they bid farewells.

"No, you already are a good host, sir. But yeah, I am looking forward to the meeting."

"You should. You might discover something utterly bewildering and fascinating. I can't wait for the collaboration." Jagdeesh's smile and words lingered in Aarya's mind for soo long that evening that she thought about it while she stared at the night before drifting off to sleep.