"Good morning, Sheikh Ahmed al Zidra. Please make yourself comfortable" Shravan said with a polite smile.
"Just call me Basim," the young Sheikh said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Sure. Tea or coffee?" Mithran asked
"Neither. I have heard that there's something called lassi available here. Haven't tried one yet. Didn't know where to get the best one. I would prefer that" Basim said cheerfully
"Sure. We will arrange for the best lassi to be served" Shravan said and informed his assistant to make the necessary arrangements.
"We were informed that Sheikh Zayed Ahmed would be attending the meeting" Mithran asked curiously.
Basim paused for a moment and then raised his eyebrow in query.
"Any problem in discussing the deal with me?" Basim asked
"Of course no. I was just curious" Mithran said with a shrug
"There was some emergency political issue which needed immediate attention from both my brothers. So they send me here for business" Basim said vaguely, without revealing much detail.
Once the refreshments were served and polite conversations were made, they stepped into discussing the deal.
"So? Is your presentation ready?" Basim asked, leaning back in his chair.
Shravan stood up and connected the pendrive to the laptop and the presentation appeared on the projector screen.
"Mr Ahmed, we have opted for an Arabian Nights theme. Here are some graphic designs showing what the resort interiors would look like after the construction" Shravan said, pointing at the images on the screen.
"Arabian Nights? Why? We are an Arabian nation. Don't you think the Arabian Nights theme would be boring for our people?" Basim asked
"On the contrary, Mr Ahmed, we were informed that the new resort is a part of the tourism project of Zidra. So, the main focus must be the interest of the tourist rather than the natives." Shravan said
"And for the foreigners, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about an Arabian nation would be Aladdin and his magic lamp." Mithran added
Basim nodded impressed
"Also, we did a little research on the history of your nation. We would like to include paintings and murals of historic events of the nation, if that's okay with you" Shravan said
"That's a wonderful idea. We have a rich history. It would be an honor to have them on the walls of our first resort" Basim said
"Great. Also, we think you are aware of our gaming section in some of the resorts we built across our country?" Mithran asked
"Yeah. I read about it when we did research on your company. It's quite fascinating" Basim said
"We can include live Arabian Night games in the resort premises. Like treasure hunts and other stuff." Mithran said
Basim was quite impressed by the creative ideas of these young men.
"I liked your proposal. But, still I would like to discuss with my brothers before signing the deal" Basim said
"Sure. We will wait" Shravan said
"I will be here in India for a couple of days. I will discuss with my brothers, and if they are happy with your proposal, we can sign the deal before I fly back to Zidra" Basim said
Basim left shortly after that.
"So? What do you think?" Mithran asked
"We will crack this. I am confident" Shravan said
"Me too. He is quite impressed" Mithran said with a proud chuckle.
"That he is"
"So what do you think about us taking the rest of the day off?" Mithran asked
"Great idea," Shravan agreed.
He is quite worried about how Drishti is managing Dhruv alone. He just hopes that the little one isn't giving his mother a hard time.
"Okay then. See you in the evening" Mithran said, eager to get back to his wife.
****
Shravan dialed Drishti's number when he reached the food court of the mall. He saw her waving her hand instead of attending the call.
He walked towards her table and saw that only one other girl was there.
"Hey!" Shravan greeted the other woman with a polite smile
"Oh my! You are Prince Maheswari?" The other woman asked
Shravan frowned at Drishti, who shot a sheepish smile at him.
His wife quite loves to show off their title to anybody and everybody.
"Uh! Shravan Maheswari" Shravan introduced himself.
"I have been waiting to see the poor unlucky chap who got trapped by Drishti." The other woman said with mock pity, earning a wack from Drishti
Shravan laughed softly.
"I am Ava"
"Nice to meet you, Ava. All others left?" Shravan asked
"It was just the two of us" Drishti said with a shrug
"Oh okay"
"How did the presentation go?" Drishti asked
"It went well, Drishti" Shravan said with a smile and peeped into the baby bassinet to see little Dhruv sleeping peacefully.
"He hasn't woken up yet?" Shravan asked with a frown
"He woke up. Played with us. Drank his milk and just now went back to sleep" Drishti said, proud of herself for handling Dhruv alone, without the help of Shravan.
"Anyways, it's time for me to leave. We will meet again, Drishti. Call me when you are in Delhi" Ava said with a smile.
They hugged each other and bid a bye, promising to stay in touch.
"Let's go home?" Shravan asked
"Aren't you hungry?" Drishti asked
"Not really. But I can eat." Shravan said
"Then order something and have your lunch. Let's go to the park after that. Dhruv might wake up by then and I have been thinking of taking him to the park for a while now." Drishti said
"Good idea." Shravan said
Once the ordered food arrived, they left for a park near their house.
"It's quite sunny now. Maybe we should come in the evening" Shravan said, looking at the empty park.
"Oh! But I don't want to go home yet" Drishti said with a pout and Shravan rolled his eyes.
"What would you like to do then?" Shravan asked
"It's been so long since I watched a movie in the theatre" Drishti said sadly
"Do you think he will let us watch a movie peacefully?" Shravan asked
"Huh. Never! He is a little attention seeker. He always wants our attention on him" Drishti said dryly
"Reminds me of someone I know" Shravan said playfully
"Shut up. Let's drop him with Paa and Maa. After the movie, we can take him to the park and the go back there for dinner" Drishti said happily.
"Okay. Anyways he loves both sets of grandparents more than us"