chapter 27

SerendipityEpisode-27Megha's eyebrows shot up, and her eyes widened in surprise.‘He wants to talk about something important... and to me?’ the thought crossed her mind.She glanced at her watch again, her expression clearly saying, ‘Don't waste my time.’"Would you like to sit in my cabin and talk?" he asked, pointing to the cabin on the left side of the floor.But her patience had run out."I know, SWC won't get this project. There's no need to sit in the cabin and talk," she snapped."What? What did you say, Miss Joshi?" he still couldn't grasp what she was saying."Mr. Mehra! I want to tell you that the Technosys takeover will not be awarded to our firm, SWC & Co. I know you came 29 minutes late to the meeting. That shows how important this meeting is to you.And if the decision has already been made, why are we wasting our time here?" she added sharply."Miss Joshi... but—""Mr. Mehra! For the past five years, my company SWC has come to Supreme House for presentations for various projects. Yet, we haven’t won a single project. Probably because it was always decided in advance that the project would go to JPM. Isn’t that right?"Rajeev let out a sigh, his eyes fixed on her."Mr. Mehra, I believe in fair competition. SWC is the second-largest firm in M&A consultancy. But you had already made up your mind before even attending our presentation.Maybe you don’t see beyond JPM. And that’s why, no matter how well we perform, our efforts mean nothing to you."As soon as she mentioned JPM, Rajeev’s expression darkened. Megha noticed the shift immediately.‘Yes, the decision is definitely made; otherwise, there would’ve been a straightforward denial,’ she thought."No... it’s not about your presentation..." Rajeev tried to clarify, but she cut him off."Yes, my presentation is exactly what I’m talking about. Or maybe you think SWC is some inferior organization. You can call us anytime, and we’ll just say yes to any meeting without question.I almost sacrificed the Sehegal project to attend this meeting," she paused, taking a deep breath."I canceled that meeting for yours. And after giving a perfect presentation, we find out the project has already been awarded to JPM....So, why am I standing here? Am I just wasting time?Monday morning, I rushed from BKC to Cuffe Parade, two hours of travel, one hour of presentation—all wasted." She paused again, her throat dry."I prioritized Supreme over the Sehegal project, a deal I would have easily won. Now I’m not even sure if the Sehegals will call for a follow-up meeting."This is all happening because of you."But, of course, it won’t matter to you. You’ll go back to your cabin, comfortably sign the JPM contract, and move on, won’t you?My time might not be important to you, but it’s precious to me. I don’t like to waste it.""Miss Joshi! There seems to be some confusion," Rajeev tried to interrupt."Mr. Mehra! There’s no confusion. I’ve made my views clear. If only you had been as straightforward with Sanyal Sir as you are with me, this entire discussion could’ve been avoided.""But anyway... thanks. Thank you for taking 31 minutes of your precious time to listen to my presentation. And sorry, but I have to leave now."With that, she gave him one last look, turned on her heels, and started walking away.Suddenly, she stopped and looked back."And yes, the answer to the question you asked earlier is in the fifth slide of my presentation. I’ll mail it to you—feel free to check.Goodbye, Mr. Mehra!" she said, giving him one final, piercing glance before hurrying out.He stood there, stunned, trying to process what had just happened. They were the only two left standing in the lobby; everyone else had already returned to their cabins.He sighed. "She’s just impossible," he muttered, as he headed toward his cabin.To be continued....© ®️ Meghna_Yadav 2021Special Thanks to friend Gayatri and my loving daughter, my buddy.Hello Readers,Illuminate the five stars of ratings with your gentle touch. Do let me know your thoughts via comments..Thanks and Regards,Meghana Yadav...