The Uninterrupted Suitor

Chapter 1

What Aditya lacked in looks he covered with daily workouts in his gymn. Plus careful grooming made him shades better.
His steps which should have taken him to the shower took a detour to the kitchen.
"Sooooo predictable. " his mother muttered.
He helped himself with hot puris and a big bowl of paneer masala. He headed straight to the dining table.
"I thought you would wash your stink off first! " his father looked up from the papers and at Aditya's sweaty arms spread on the table.
"Why weren't you sweating on the treadmill today father? "
"A little workout on these papers are more urgent. "
"You sure you are not coming? "
"Can't avoid attending this marriage son. Now..... " Anant leaned forward and pointed out the non negotiable parts of the contract. He watched his wife bringing helping over helping of puris to her son. The puris kept on disappearing.
"I hope the girl you are gunning for can cope with your appetite." Anant remarked.
"Well she has two hulk sized cousins. Maybe she has a little idea of the time she has to sweat in the kitchen." Amrutha quipped.
"You two really want her as your daughter in law don't you?! "
" She is with her father out of the city. Plenty of opportunities for you unravelling and me not there to contain you. "
"Like her father will allow her to appear in front of my eyes at all?! "
Anant raised his eyebrows.
"Fine! I will be careful."
He then added mischievously.
"And if I can, I will seat her in my car and bring her home just like we buy vegetables from the market. Plain easy!"
The three laughed.
"Careful what you wish for son. " Amrutha smiled.

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"You need a lot of practice in cooking daughter! " Vikram eyed at the mishaped pancakes.
"Cooking is 90% the cook and only 10% the recipe. And the inexperienced cook is showing through." he added another pancake in his plate.
The heap of pancakes kept on dwindling as he kept on complaining. Maithri continued smiling.
"Well your chutney and coffee saved you for now. You preparing lunch too? "
She nodded.
"You should! You need loads of practice."
Maithri chuckled.

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Aditya climbed in his car and put his belongings on the passenger seat. He looked at himself in the rear view mirror and assured that he looked his best.
He hoped he would see his girl today. He was her facebook friend but her updates were never personal. Even her profile picture was unchanged since months.
He knew his hopes were wasted because of her father. Vikram was known to keep a tight circle around his daughter. He rarely brought her in social circles. If he did, he let her loose amongst a select few. She was not known to be rebellious either. Absolutely no stories of her breaking out of her guard.
Still Vikram almost everytime brought the contract signing in his house. Very uncharacteristic of him. And sometimes they would meet Maithri. Anant and Aditya found her sweet and polite.
It was a long drive from Pune to Mumbai a good two and half hours drive. It was luckily cut a little short this time because Vikram was out of the mega city for a short vacation.

..................................................................

Vikram was sitting beneath a shady tree in an elegant chair. His eyes were fixated on his laptop.
"Good morning Mr Shanbaug." Aditya greeted.
"Good morning young man. " Vikram lookedup with warm inviting eyes. He was in his usual home attire. Traditional white lungi with a narrow gold border. And a matching simple white shirt.
"Please sit down. Your father? "
"He has to attend a marriage and has sent me alone. He said he sent u the paper work already and u have gone through it. He is confident we can close the contract this time. "
Aditya still handed his copy of papers to Vikram. He looked around. It was a two storyed building. A well kept flower garden lead to its simple doors. There were some people moving around. Maithri was nowhere to be seen. He did not expect to see her.
Vikram quikly came down to business. A short snack and hot coffee sailed through their propsals and counter proposals. After a good part of an hour Vikram sat back on his chair thinking almost ready to give in. But there was some hesitation. He asked Aditya to stay for a couple of hours before he could finalise. He picked his mobile. He would ask Maithri to give Aditya company till then.
Aditya nodded slowly. His heart was thumping wildly if he he had heard Vikram right. There was this excitement of meeting Maithri but also the anxiety of how the very ferocious Vikram Shanbaug was trusting his stunningly beautiful daughter with him!?
"I don't think you will find anything rejectable in the new contract sir. " Aditya somehow grasped his swirling head.
"I will get the whole deal if I like it." Vikram spoke with cold observing eyes. And Aditya realized he had to anchor his head before she came.
"Hello Aditya. " he knew her sweet voice.
"A.... er... um hello Maithri. " he was still undecided what Vikram was upto. But Vikram was smiling at his daughter. Confusion was written all over her.
"Why did you call me father? "
"Child this boy is giving me a tough time. I need some assistance from my people to finalize. That will take some time. So will you look after him till then?"
"Sure dad. " she barely squeaked. She was not good at hiding her shock. Her father was trusting her with a totally eligible bachelor! Her father!!!
"What do you want me to do? " she asked slowly gathering her courage to look at Aditya. He was still staring at Vikram.
"Show him around. House. Courts. Fields. Everything." he said with wide gestures. And he dismissed the whole idea with a flick of his hand. The two watched in stunned silence as he called the butler on his mobile. The butler appeared at the house door.
"So I will see you later. "
And Vikram just left the two there. He met the butler at the house door talked to him briefly and went inside. The butler came to the two dazed young lot still staring at the door through which Vikram had gone in. Their eyes now fixated on the butler. He in turn gave a head to toe stare at Aditya then smiled.
"Please come in the house Mr Aditya. "