Picture Perfect

Picture Perfect

Shakti smiled as he went through the pictures of his photo shoot. As soon as they got back they were heaped with a load of work. The Historic Tourist Destination Project’s final presentation was to take place soon and so Pratap had distributed work amongst the team. Shakti had completed the financial aspect of the presentation while his Dadabhai was working on the prospects as well as the ideas for the project. Everyone in the office had been working relentlessly in the hope they win the project. Even Heer’s father Raja Hemant Solankhini had been proud of them when he found out about the Songara group being in the final contenders list. The Solankhini group did not participate in the project due to the final board decision; as the Solankhini group was partners with the Sisodias it was decided that only Sisodias would precede with the project as contender while the others would be given part in it. Raja Hemant Solankhini had kept his silence and broken his partnership with the Sisodias the very next day after the meetings. The Solankhini group was now a single entity and as far as Shakti knew his Dadabhai had already requested Raja ji to become a part of the Songara establishment and also continue his role as the head of the Solankhini group. 

He had been working on internal report for an upcoming meeting when Jalal’s email arrived. He opened the attachments to see the most amazing pictures of his and Heer but it was the secondary attachment that read Praja that piqued his interest more. Jalal had captured his Dadabhai-Ajabde in various moods and settings- Dadabhai petting Chetak, Ajabde riding, Ajabde sitting near the window ledge staring outside, Pratap in his study, both of them smiling during the photoshoot with Heer in the background on the jhula, Ajabde wearing Pratap’s shades and then came the one that blew his mind- the one in which they were dancing. They both looked so comfortable and happy

Picture perfect couple he muttered as he typed a message to Jalal,

Coffee at 5pm? The response was instant, See you at 5 J

Shakti smiled as hope ignited in his heart maybe what he had observed was the truth. He could not involve Heer into this matter not because she wouldn’t understand it or help him rather he wanted to get some leeway in this matter.

At the coffee shop Jalal sipped on his Americano as Shakti inspected him

“Bhaijaan rishta pretend ka tha but kuch badal gaya hai dono ke beech.” He cleared his throat as Jalal stared at him with a smile lingering in his lips. “I can sense it farmhouse par bhi I observed, that dance, unka banter and then the pics.”

He looked at Jalal who himself was recalling everything he had observed about the two. Ajabde had changed quite a bit and her behaviour had also taken a 180 degree turn post the dance performance which was still that talk of the town. 

“I saw it too Shakti” He kept down his cup as Shakti smiled hopeful. “ kuch toh hai dono ke beech but am not sure if it’s...” he stopped not sure if love was the right word at the moment but seeing Shakti’s eyes he knew that the feeling between Pratap and Ajabde was as strong as love and both of them were either unaware of it or not accepting it.

Pratap stood stunned to see Ajabde working on his Mac Book in the study. She was biting her lower lip, with her brows narrowed as she typed something- perhaps an email he thought. She clearly did not acknowledge his presence when the printer made a noise but no paper came out of it.

“Kunwarsa I’m unable to print my papers can you help?” she looked at him once,  her eyes still not looking into his rather her gaze was focused on the screen in front of her. 

He walked towards her, his heart beating way too loudly for his liking as he knelt by her side and pressed the print key. Nothing seemed to happen then he realised why.

“The printer was not connected to the system” he spoke near her ear, his voice making shivers run down her spine. As he pressed the enter key the printer came to life as papers came out of it.

“Thank….uhh….Thank you Kunwarsa” she managed to utter the words without a shake of her voice, as she slowly stood up to gather all the papers. She walked out of the study unable to bear the closeness amongst the two of them. The kiss had changed everything between them. Every time she was close to him she would feel her body tingle and render her useless while he sat still lost in her fragrance. Her smell was his poison and no matter how hard he tried he failed at staying away from her so when Manjhli Maa told him she was working in the study he had found himself standing in front of the study door. He had stared at the door for at least 15mins before he entered and now he sat in the same place she had been sitting his body still reacting to her presence as it had been when he had knelt beside her. He knew it would be useless to work as he won’t be able to concentrate so he decided to surf through the gossip websites. He liked to go through the sites once every while so that he had knowledge of the stuff being written about his family. As soon as he clicked on the website he was bombarded with images of him and Musibat- dancing back at Chak's place. The guys had even managed to get a video- some guest had taken it while they were dancing but it was the tagline that made his heart flutter

Picture Perfect couple it read underneath one of their images from the business gala award nights. As he looked at the picture he realised that they did look good together but were they the picture perfect couple?

Ramrakh Punwar smiled as he went through the email his daughter had sent him. She had gone through the first draft presentations for the contenders and selected the final three that included the Songara group, Rathores but the third one had him surprised because she had gone for the Solankhini clan instead of the Sisodias. Her reason was simple- the Solankhini clan’s presentation was better than Sisodias. He had to agree to it as the presentation sent by Jagmal Sisodia was a pure horror to go through. He looked at the email he had requested his PA to prepare for the finalists- they were being invited to the Punwars in a week’s time to make their final presentations. He had already informed his daughter about the same and she had told him she would return soon, to be with him for this big decision.

Raja Hemant Solankhini was a proud man today as he read the email he had received a few minutes ago. He had been hounded with questions and doubts when the partnership between Solankhini and Sisodia group took place but as he read the email again he knew he had taken the right decision. Heer had done a brilliant job on the presentation and it was her hard work that had paid off. He couldn’t be more proud of her. The real challenge begins now he thought because not only would Heer face the Rathores but also the Songara’s. He knew he didn’t need to worry on that account because Pratap loved Heer and he would be the first one celebrating her victory.

Raja Hemant was spot on as he later found out that Pratap had been ecstatic upon hearing about the final contenders for the project. He had thrown a celebratory lunch for everyone in his office celebrating Heer’s success.

Dheer Bhatiyani was not a happy woman as she found out about the final contenders of the Historical Tourist Destination project. The Sisodias had lost to the Solankhini as well as the Songara group. Once again Pratap Songara had snatched away something that belonged rightfully to her son. She needed to get Jagmal and Phool married soon because after the marriage her son would be the rightful heir to the Sisodias and also officially on board the Historical Tourist Development project because no one in their right mind would deny the project to the Rathore group and then she’ll have the picture perfect family.