Welcome Back

"Riya's point of view,"
Upon exiting the airport, I noticed a driver was waiting with a sign that said, "Welcome to India, Riya Mittal."
I couldn't decide whether to be upset at my vendor's folly or to burst out laughing. What do they think? I've just arrived in India for the first time, and in the city where they're welcoming me, I'm familiar with every street.
"Welcome to India, madam; I, Dinesh, greet you on behalf of Allen Industries." A person came in front of me and said, Oh God, even after 4 years, there hasn't been a slight change in the working culture here; the same people's flattery, the same people's gossip.
But despite being the CEO of the company, I dislike flattery, and I have written in my company's policy that flattery is not allowed in Wings Industries. Before coming here, I should have emailed a copy of my company's policies to my vendor.
"Come from this way, madam." As if he were my tour guide, Dinesh walked in front of me. I followed him out of the airport in silence.
"Please hand over your luggage to me, and I will place it in the car's trunk." The driver of the car in front of me gave me a pleading look and said.
No way, I can carry my luggage.
"I'll take care of it. Dinesh, please instruct your driver to hand over the keys to the car to me, and I will proceed to the office rather than the hotel. Call your boss and inform him that our meeting will take place in one hour."
It took a back Dinesh when he heard me. As though I had just told him about some incredible incident.
"What did I say to make you stare at me like that?" With a shrug of my shoulders, I inquired.
"Madam, how can you have a meeting in an hour when it takes 1.30 hours to get to the office from the airport?"
"So that's why you were staring at me with such awe. Dinesh, don't be concerned. You just informed your boss to be ready for the meeting; okay, I'll be at the office on time." I snatched the car key from the driver's fingers and fastened the seat belt to start the car engine.
Both the driver and Dinesh, who was standing nearby, were staring at me in awe. Maybe those guys think I'm insane or metal case, but they do not know why I'm doing this. Rachit and I started dating under the pretext of offering a lift in the car, and we experienced our first passionate kiss in the car.
My life's blunders have taught me a great deal. The first lesson is to never put too much faith in people. And there is no one in my life for whom I should stand outside my office and wait for me to pick up when it comes to learning to drive a car. I prefer to drive my car because sitting in a car with a man makes me feel uneasy.
Even after so many years, the traffic in Gurgaon has remained unchanged. People's vehicles are parked in a lengthy line on the road, and people are still honking their obnoxious honking Hólar horns. Everything appears to be the same as before, including the route, the traffic congestion, and the reactions of those who are trapped in traffic. But there is one thing that has completely changed, and that is me.
I could get from the airport to my office in 45 minutes by just shifting gears on the steering wheel. Harsh taught me how to prevent getting stuck. When he dropped me off at the office, he would frequently take me down down side roads that diverged from the city's busy main street. What did he not do for my happiness, and what did I do to him in return? Whatever I've done since then, I've never wasted another moment of my life second-guessing that decision. But I thought about it several times a day, from breaking Harsh's heart to abandoning him.
"Humm..,Allen Industries Let's go inside and see what fresh surprises await us." I parked my car in the parking lot and walked over to the company's reception area.
The receptionist in the office was staring at me from top to bottom as if she'd seen an alien.
I said, "Excuse me, Miss Rita," as I read the nameplate on her desk.
"What can I do to assist you?"Rita said, her voice annoyed.
"I want to meet your boss, Mr. Joseph." She stared at me after listening to me as if I had ordered her to remove both of her kidneys from her body.
"Madam, he cannot meet you; he will start an urgent meeting shortly. Please complete this form by writing your name and purpose; I will speak with Mr. Joseph and schedule your appointment.In the meantime, you are welcome to sit on the couch."
When she was finished, I silently filled out the form and sent it back to her. She rose from her seat and vanished somewhere within the office. I'm not sure where. I was waiting at Alan Industrie's reception, watching people stroll into the office, with barely 10 minutes till the scheduled meeting began.
"Madam, you should have been in a meeting with Mr. Joseph inside, not here at the reception." Dinesh seemed perplexed by my presence at the front desk. When I saw him, I could tell it startled him to see me before the scheduled time. By his expression, he wants to know if I can fly here.
"They directed me to wait here by your office receptionist." I shrugged my shoulders as I looked at him.
"But why, exactly?" He looked at me, puzzled, and asked, "Have you given her your introduction?"
"I filled in all of my information on the form she gave me, and she must have arrived shortly after I made my appointment with Mr. Joseph." Picking up the business magazine from the table in front of me, I replied.
When Dinesh saw me seated at a reception like this, he was a little perplexed, but he didn't have the nerve to ask me anything.
"You don't need to go through the formalities in front of me, Dinesh; you can reserve them for your boss. If you have a question for me, you can ask it straight in words." He began looking at me with amazement after listening to me.
"Madam, I had my doubts that you had given me explicit instructions at the airport that the meeting would begin exactly one hour later, and yet you are sitting here reading a business magazine casually."
I closed the open magazine in front of me and placed it back on the table after listening to him.
"You asked a good question, but you probably didn't read the time correctly on the clock; the meeting was still 2 minutes away, so..," I took a deep breath and replied.
"2 minutes?" When he heard me again, he had a bewildered expression on his face.
"Miss Riya, I'm sorry you had to wait so long at the desk because of my bumbling receptionist." Mr. Joseph spoke from the front.
"Hello, Mr. Joseph, it's all right." I confidently reached out and extended my hand to him.
Mr. Joseph is a middle-aged man with a confident demeanor that reflects his knowledge and skills.
Mr. Joseph shook my hand and asked, "Why didn't you call me and inform me?"
"Would you come to see me here at the reception if I had called you?" With a smile, I answered him. He also smiled as he listened to me and invited me to sit in his office with him.
Before departing, I glanced at Dinesh and checked the time on my wristwatch; there were still 30 seconds remaining. I enjoyed seeing the perplexed look on his face when he saw me.
But I did everything for a reason, not for fun. I wanted to see if this company was serious about working with me. Will the people here be able to finish the work before the deadlines I've set for them? The office staff is a little sycophantic and annoying, but Mr. Joseph appears to be a calm and sympathetic person.
"If it's okay with you, Ms. Riya, my chief operating officer (COO), usually joins me in my business meetings." I understand why he is afraid to ask for permission from me because I had emailed him a long list of criteria before organizing the meeting, one of which was that our meeting would be strictly confidential.
"Okay, you may bring your COO to the meeting if you like." By granting my approval, I relieved his trepidation a little. But as soon as his COO walked into the office, everything changed. My eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"Rachit Khurana, what is he doing here?"