When Raghav looked out the front window of his shop after a grueling overview from his employees about the presentation they were about to show Rathore, he was shocked to see Pallavi and Rathore sitting together, talking, laughing, in the coffee shop across the street.
Raghav had had enough, he didn't know what spell Pallavi had put on Vikram, but he wasn't going to wait until it had taken full effect. He crossed the street and marched into the coffee shop.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your sari shop?" Raghav walked straight up to Pallavi and almost startled her out of her seat.
"Raghav, I was just—"
Vikram's brows furrowed witnessing Raghav's behavior and Pallavi's reaction, and without thinking he interrupted, partly out of curiosity, but mostly out of an inexplicable concern for Pallavi. "Actually, Raghav, it seemed that Pallavi and her father had a bit of a disagreement, so I suggested to Pallavi that we meet here before my meeting with you."
Instead of calming down, Raghav clenched both his fists, "Saanki Baba, you" he started to mutter curses in Telugu. Then with a forced smile, "Vikram, do you mind giving me a quick moment with my wife?"
"Of course not, I need another coffee anyway." Vikram left the table and walked to the counter.
"What did that Rambo Wannabe do now?" Raghav asked Pallavi.
Pallavi stood up, "What do you care?"
"Dear god, the whole Deshmukh clan is the definition of ehsaan faramosh. I give your Saanki Baap the shop, and all I tell him is that you have to keep working there, and instead he throws my favor back in my face."
Pallavi looked at Raghav, "Wait, what? You gave him the shop? Why? Why did you ask him to keep me working there?"
Raghav stammered and then found his excuse, "Because the more you work in the saree ka dukaan, Saree ka Dukaan, the less you can bother me. Why else? Let's go back to the store right now, I need a word with your precious pitashri." Raghav grabbed her wrist and made to leave the café.
"Raghav, no." Pallavi held Raghav back, "I don't think he'll listen, why should he? He thinks I betrayed him and his family, and on top of that, like an idiot you turned a small request into a massive threat." Pallavi glared at Raghav, but at the same time she was oddly touched by his gesture.
"Like I said, your whole family is ehsaan faramosh, with you as the queen." Raghav retorted.
Pallavi rolled her eyes and grinned, "Sorry. Thank you for threatening my father with bankruptcy in exchange for me keeping my job. How can I ever repay you?"
Raghav laughed, "Finally, Saree ka Dukaan, you're recognizing my talents."
The both of them were laughing, for the first time ever, and Raghav was quietly happy to see her dazzling smile again, the smile he saw for the first time at Mansi's sangeet ages ago.
Vikram walked back to the table with three coffees in his hands, "Well I'm happy to see you were able to lift Mrs. Rao's spirits again. I was just mentioning to her that I needed a new designer for my Hyderabad boutique, but even that offer didn't get such a great smile."
Raghav's laugh turned to a stoic smile in a split second, "You want to hire Pallavi?"
"I don't just want to, I have to," Vikram laughed, "Ok, Pallavi, I think we've kept your husband waiting long enough. How about I call you sometime this week to iron out some of the details about the boutique, you can show me some more designs and we can start talking to vendors?"
Pallavi hesitated, she looked at Raghav who didn't react, "Sure, why not?"
"Great, Raghav you really have got yourself a keeper here. Very few people can talk with as much passion about sarees as Pallavi can."
Raghav eyes narrowed, "Yes, sure, Pallavi's on her way to be Businesswoman of the Year."
Vikram caught his sarcasm, "I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you."
Raghav nodded and brought back his fake smile. Then he noticed Pallavi's slight smile. He knew everything about Vikram's businesses and how successful he was, but there was something bothering him.
"I'll let you two get to your meeting, I should get home." Pallavi said. Raghav watched her leave the café and catch an auto.
"Shall we?" Vikram led Raghav out of the shop.
