They both arrived at the museum in silence, for some reason he seemed very withdrawn. She felt a little irked by his behaviour. Why invite me to ride with you if you aren't even going to speak to me she thought. What a pesky girl he is she thought.
As she was about to get off from her side and before she could open her door. She found it already opened,
' I guess chivalry isn't dead after all, ' she exclaimed looking over at him.
He stood tall waiting for her to step out but his face looked stone cold as if he was pissed about something. Zara was utterly confused and the aura he was exhibiting made her a little scared of him. She figured it would be better not to speak to him for a while.
They entered the the gallery and found Ms. Ivana, her assistant Tija, Ash and another person standing at the center of the hall. The stranger standing next to Ash was probably the the client and so she felt a little embarrassed to greet him. This was her chance to make it up for puking over him. The group looked at them, 'Mr. Colton ,'
Ms. Ivana called out smilingly.
'and Zara.'
As she neared them, she got a better view the client. He looked over at them with a big charming smile; flashing his teeth. He was good looking despite having green hair and skinny pants which somehow suited his physique. He was dressed quite fashionably. He was strangely attractive.
' Mr Leo, it seems you both came together,' asked Ms. Ivana.
' We both came from Selena's,' replied Zara.
' Oh, yes, i heard about the little get together,' stated Ms. Ivana as a matter of fact.
How does she know about everything thought Zara, there is nothing hidden from her.
'This is Kanji Dias.'
'and this is Zara, she is an artists just like you and will be working with us on our new project.'
'Zara, i was looking forward to meeting you,' he took out his hand to greet her.
Zara too meet him in between, ' It a pleasure to meet you and i am looking forward to working with you as well,' she said trying her best to hold her ground.
'Call me Aaji.'
'We were in the same school, i was your junior. I wonder if you remember me, as you see this beautiful face is hard to miss,' he said with an air of acknowledged vanity which suited his playfulness.
Zara was a little taken back by his mannerism and the fact he did not seem angry with her for last night. Though she remembered nothing. She quickly recollected herself.
'Oh Yes,Off course! You were very popular with the ladies,' she replied with a quick smile.
Some flattery was needed indeed! She saw a flash of reckoning on his face.
As they shook their hands he looked straight into her eyes,
' This isn't the first time we are meeting but hopefully we will make better memories together this time.'
Zara blushed in embarrassment thinking he must be talking about yesterday. She noticed that there was a strange glint in his light grey eyes which disappeared as quickly as it came and then she saw him exchange a look with Leo who's jaw tightened.
'You were a beautiful disaster yesterday,' he said again cooly.
' Beautiful disaster was it,' asked Ms. Ivana curiously as her eyes sparkled to know about a new piece of gossip.
Zara was about to apologise for yesterday but they were interrupted by Leo, 'Shall we get started with our meeting.'
They were all led into the meeting room by Tija.'
As they went in, Zara was about to sit when she found Aaji hovering next to her and as she was about to pull her chair, she felt a slight tug and found Leo pulling out a chair for her next to Ash as he took her spot on the round table.
No one noticed anything as everyone's attention was on Ms. Ivana who was telling Aaji about Traverista and how they start first meetings with Rakija for good luck. She spoke about its health benefits it had as Leo seated himself next to Aaji, trying his beat at controlling his temper.
Zara thought it wasn't just for good luck but it sure was the fastest way to get drunk or addled, something Ms. Ivana preferred in order to break the ice and have a more comfortable interactions. Something the tribes of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan did, except they drank opium.
She was the smartest woman Zara knew and there was a reason she was the best in her field. But in all her time she knew Ms. Ivana, she had never seen the woman get drunk. Always so poised and knew what to say when and how to handle a situation despite being sometimes intrusive.
But she was always so polite that it was difficult to ignore her or go against her. The only person she had witnessed tackle her proficiently was Aly and it seemed Leo wasn't far behind either.
Zara thought nothing much of how Leo directed her to sit next to Ash, probably he wanted to sit next to the client to represent him better. She found herself confused in describing the inertia with which her life was propelling, she felt sorted and a little confused at the opportunities she was finding as she had moved to Zagreb and the people she was meeting. Even the excitement she was experiencing.
Without thinking much she took a whole shot of Rakija to calm her nerves and found everyone looking at her as they were still holding their glasses.
'Sorry, i miscalculated' , she said apologetically and looked down.
She saw Leo looking at her expressionlessly and then found Aaji looking at her with a smile.
'Seeing your eagerness, i supposed it's something which is going to become my favourite.'
They all clinked their glasses and had a shot.
Everyone gulped and the next moment their expressions changed to one of disgust. As if they had tasted poison and come back from the dead
'That wasn't what i was expecting ,' said an utterly shocked Ash.
'This is worse than Pelen,' she stated flatly not caring how Ms. Ivana would feel.
But then Ms. Ivana was a force to reckon with as well.
' If i knew this was going to burn my throat, i would have opted for Pelen. '
' What are you saying Ash!' said Aaji excitedly who was on his feet jumping and shaking his head in pleasure. He looked like as if he drank an ambrosia.
'This is awesome, can i have one more please, ' he asked holding out his glass.
'Off course came Ms. Ivana's reply.'
' Another round every one, ' she asked happily.
'NO,' came the quick conclusive reply form all except Aaji.
She poured two more shots for both of them
They both clinked their shot glasses and drank in a go. It seemed like they were old buddies. They were both smiling and chattering about how much they loved Rakija. Then were abruptly stopped.
'Let's start shall we,' said Leo a little loudly as his thread of patience had finally snapped.
As the meeting commenced it seemed to Zara that Aaji was a genius. There was no one like him. His ideas were riveting and so exclusive. No wonder he was asking for so much money. She realised her work was not enough and she needed to put in more effort.
This was a great opportunity for her to learn from him. Thought he seemed very careless, he was actually smart. He worked with great proficiency and ease. He was very knowledgeable and his drafts were so dark but beautiful. His NFT's took everyone by surprise and Zara was impressed by Leo's foresight in finding him and bringing him to Zagreb.
She realised that there was a reason everyone tolerated him, though she liked his personality but she could see Leo and Ash getting impatient with him. It seemed they knew each other, they all were from the same school. It seemed that even Aaji might have known her or maybe they crossed paths briefly. But that was her old, some of which was taken away for her; not by choice.
More than that, she was shocked when Ash caught him by his ear and dragged him to his seat when he had started singing in the middle of his presentation.
Aaji was a complete enigma and she had never met someone like him. But then again she knew there was something going on and Aaji seemed a bit familiar to her. And people around her seemed hesitant and knew they were trying to keep her far from some truths.
Little did they know she was dead set on finding things out on her own. She was getting restless and she never believed in coincidences, destiny yes.