Poolside - where it all started

ILU ILU

After 1 year

Dubai World Trade Centre was abuzz with the trade show dedicated to the travel and tourism industry. As many as 150 companies - both local and global, were participating in it. The BIG 5 Gulf was set to unveil its trade booth and Ishqi was busy checking up on the last minute preparations to ensure everything was right. She had settled into her new job pretty well and has climbed the ladder pretty fast – transitioning from an intern to the second-in-command of her department. That she was articulate and a good listener helped.

BIG 5 Gulf planned to find some partners for its hotel construction projects in the UAE and India and was set to talk with some potential candidates, one of which was the Malhotra Enterprises. The meetings were set later for the day and BIG 5 Gulf had arranged the delegates' stay at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, which was close to the Dubai World Trade Centre. Ahaan had arrived the earlier night and hoped to seal the deal for his company. But since morning, he had nothing to do and was bored to death. He decided to visit the trade show and took a leisurely stroll to reach his destination, which was just 690 meters away.

Since BIG 5 Gulf had already sent him the invitation to attend the trade show and he had his e-pass, his entry into the buzzing premises was quick and hassle-free. He needed some help to find the company's booth though as the place was pretty crowded. He reached the company's booth and called out to a lady dressed in a white-and-black corporate attire, with her back to him, busy animatedly discussing something with a man, who appeared to be her colleague.

Excuse me maa'm, could you.....

And he forgot to complete his sentence because the lady turned and his heart skipped a beat seeing a familiar face.

Ishqi!

AVM!

But they both were quick to put on their game faces.

Ishqi said – Hello Sir! How can I help?

I am here for the delegates' meeting scheduled this afternoon. I just wanted to check out the trade fair. Could you ask someone to accompany me as I take a quick tour of the booths here? I would also like to get some quick answers to some of my generic questions about BIG 5 Gulf.

Let me see what I can do. She called the man she was talking to earlier – Imran!

Once Imran came, she asked if he could show Ahaan around and Imran was happy to do it.

But Ahaan just wanted it to be Ishqi.

Damn! I have so much to ask her, so much to get answers to. – He said to himself in silence.

And then he remembered his manners.

Thanks maa'm for your help – he said curtly and left, accompanied by Imran.

Ishqi's mind and heart were racing too. She hadn't checked the full list of the delegates (as she didn't need to, since someone else was in charge of the delegates). She didn't know AVM would be here. But now that he was, shouldn't she talk to him? Wasn't it time to come clean? Wasn't a year too long a wait to clear the misunderstandings, anger, guilt, and then make some confessions? But what if he wasn't at all interested?

Her thoughts were intercepted once again.

Ishqi! Can I talk to you for 2 minutes, please? AVM was standing right in front.

Just a sec....she had a quick chat with another lady in the booth and came out.

After they walked a few steps away from the booth and came to a relatively less crowded area, he stopped and faced her.