Aditi's POV:

I lay in bed, staring at the photos of Sahil and I, and thought back to what Jai had said in the train. He was right. As much as I hated to admit it, his advice was right. It would do me good to get rid of our photos..... the thing was, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I bit my lower lip, my thumb hovering over the delete button. Finally counting to three, I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed delete. Immediately, all the photos I had selected disappeared. I felt empty, relieved, but also exhausted. Locking my phone, I went to sleep, unable to handle thinking about what I had done.

~~

"Papa yaar, yaad karo ne aji konu business che... pleaseee." I whined. (Dad, try to remember who else has a business... pleaseee.)
He handed me his phone, irritated by my constant demands since this morning.

"Sawar thi mandi paid che, shanti thi Suva toh de. Le mara phone ma jeno number tano joy e lai le." He went to his room, swiftly locking the door.
(You've been at it since this morning. Let me sleep in peace, at least. Take my phone and just take whosoevers number you want.)

It was true, from the moment I had woken up, I had asked my parents to share every possible person's contact they could remember owned a business or worked in a renowned company. So far, I had managed to note down twenty numbers. I scrolled through his phone, trying to remember who else I had missed in noting down.

After noting five more numbers, I finally went to bed. Scrolling aimlessly through instagram, I stumbled across my story highlights with Sahil. I paused, stuck between wanting to leave it as it was and wanting to delete it. After deleting the photos last night, I hadn't had the urge to look at them.... it had certainly helped to an extent. Finally, I deleted all the highlights of us. Slowly, I was starting to accept our break up. It wasn't easy, but these small steps helped.

~~

Jai sat beside me , out of breath just as the train began moving. I rolled my eyes, wondering which diety had it out for me to have him sit beside me today.

"Hey," He panted.
Faking a smile, I greeted him.
"Hi.... do you need water?"
"Yes, please...."
I obliged, handing him my bottle. After quenching his thirst, he turned towards me, eyes bright.

"So.... how many contacts did you manage to collect?"
"More than you, I'm sure." I quipped.
"I don't think so.... my number is not so easy to beat."
"Yeah, right. How many did you collect?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
"I asked first, so you should answer first."
"Ugh... fine. I collected 25. Now, tell me your number."
"Hah... I collected 27. I knew I would beat you."
"Hmh, it's just two more. Besides, what matters is how many we'll convince to invest in the festival." I turned away with a frown.
"Sureee, just admit it. I've beat you in the first task." He elbowed me lightly.

Turning towards him, I blew a raspberry, imitating him in a childish manner.
"Smart-ass."

He burst into laughter, his eyes sparkling in amusement as he took in my actions. I don't know what it was about him, but he brought out my childish, competitive side. Crossing my arms, I looked out of the window, annoyed that he had already done better on the first task.

~~
6 boring lectures later, I was seated beside Aisha, as we all submitted our list of contacts to Vansh. He took his time, going through all of them while we chattered idly. Puneet entered, grinning wide as he told us to keep quiet for an announcement.

"So.... with the Ganpati festival coming up, we've decided to host an event. It will be called the Kshitij Carnival. We'll be having visits from celebrities, for the same. This will be your first experience in PR."

We all let out a thrilled cheer, excited to experience our first ever event.
He then told us about what all we would have to do and how he was going to divide the tasks among us.
"Aditi and Jai, come here for a second, please." Vansh called us.
Exchanging a look of confusion, we made our way next to Vansh.
"I see you both have contacts in Reliance. Can you tell me what relation you have with the contact?"
"He's my uncle." Jai provided.
"He's my father's friend." I replied.
"Hmmm.... Jai, can you contact him and pitch the festival to him. Since he's your uncle, there are higher chances of him agreeing. I'll help you out with what to say and how to negotiate."
"Of course, just tell me when." Vansh chuckled, slapping him on the back as he stood.
"Aditi, if Jai fails to convince his uncle, then we'll rely on you, okay?"
"Okay... but you know, my contact works in the marketing team, so it would make more sense to contact him first."
"Yes.... but Jai has a more personal connection. Let him try, and if it doesn't work out, we'll work on convincing your contact." With that, he walked away.

Silently fuming, I sat back down as Jai's smiled widened.
"Did you see that? Not only did I bring in more contacts than you, but I also received another task. "
"We'll see whether you can manage to convince your uncle or not because if you fail to, I will automatically receive the task." I said with a flip of my hair.
He narrowed his eyes, leaning in closer.
"Trust me, I won't let you have this task.... I'll succeed."
"Hmph," I scooted away from him.

Both Puneet and Vansh then shared a list of newspaper agencies. They divided those agencies amongst all of us and asked us to ring them up. They gave us a script that contained details of the Carnival we were going to host. They wanted us to ask whether these agencies would be interested in printing news articles of the same.

"Darna mat... ekdam simple hote he ye log. Bas izzat se baat karo, aur agar kisi ne gaali di toh kaat dena call. Jisne haa bola, usko green mark kardo, jisne na bola usko red, aur jisne nahi uthaya usko blue mark karo aur kal unhe firse call karna. Koi madat chaiye ho toh bol dena." Vansh instructed.
(Don't be scared.... these people are very simple. Just talk to them with respect, and if they curse or anything, just cut the call. Whoever says yes, mark them green, those who say no mark them red and those who don't pick up, mark them blue and call them again tomorrow. If you need any help, just let us know.)

They asked us to give them mocks of the callings, throwing curveball our way.
I was giving my mock to Puneet when he stopped me mid-way and said.
"Madam, I don't have this much time... just tell me in short."
I paused and let my instinct takeover.
"Sorry, sir. The point is that the Carnival will be visited by many celebrities, and we would appreciate it if you would release a press release of the same."
He looked proud, nodding his head as he patted me on the back.
"Good job. Always keep calm like this and don't get scared."

Breathing a sigh of relief, I went back to my seat. I noticed Jai taking out his phone at the same time I was.
"I bet I'll finish my calls before you do. I'll even manage to convince more people than you. " I said in a sing-song voice.
He smirked, ready to compete.
"I don't think so.... I bet I'll complete mine before you do, and I'll convince more people. After all, who could ever say no this face." He said, gesturing at himself.
I burst into laughter, processing his idiotic comment.
" You do know that they will be listening to your voice and not looking at your face? Anyways, since you're so confident, let's place the bet. If I win, you'll owe me a favor and vice versa if you win.... although, I doubt you'll win."
"Fine... 3, 2, 1... GO!"
We both hastily dialed the first number, anxiously waiting for the person on the other end to pick up.
"Hello sir, this is Jai, speaking from Mithibai College Kshitij...." He walked away with a smirk as he continued speaking.
My contact, however, did not pick up until the last ring. Sighing, I moved on to the next number.
30 painstaking calls later, I grinned as I watched Jai dial his last number.
"Looks like I wonnnn." I teased him.
"Let me finish this one, and then we'll see who convinced more people." He said with pure confidence.
I waited as he finished his call bouncing on my tiptoes, confident that I had won the bet.
"So how many greens do you have?" He asked.
"13" I said. It was a good number, considering the fact that many numbers were invalid, some did not cover celebrity news, and some were plain rude people.
He let out an impressed whistle as he tucked his phone into his pocket.
"Fine, you win..." He ceded.
"I knew it! How many did you convince, though?"
"10."
"Awww, it's okay... it happens. Better luck next time." I patted him on the back before walking away gleefully.

~~
"Okay, guys, good job with the task today. You are free to go home. Jai, wait back." Vansh dismissed us.
Jai smiled smugly as we all left.
"Smart-ass.... he thinks he's got it in the bag, just wait until they have to turn to me for help." I told Aisha as we walked towards the station.
"Adi chillll. Why get so angry? It's just the first task. I'm sure you'll win over the heads' trust with the next task." She consoled me.
"It's not about trust, Aisha.... it's about who has more useful contacts..."
"Well, we already know you have the most contacts out of everyone, except Jai.... still, I'm sure you'll be cracking more deals than him."
"I hope so..."

~~
"Aditi, can you come here for a second." Vansh requested. Exchanging a gleeful glance with Aisha, I hurried towards Vansh and Jai.
"Jai's uncle, unfortunately, does not have a say in the marketing aspect, so it looks like you'll have to get in touch with your contact. Let me brief you about it, okay?" I nodded enthusiastically, wiggling my eyebrows at Jai. He stuck his tongue out in retaliation before plastering his usual expression. Looks like he wasn't so successful after all.

"Okay, so you'll be pitching for top hierarchy.... this means that they'll get the title of Co sponsor. I've sent a document about Kshitij and about all the details about the sponsorship to you on whatsapp. Talk to your contact, ask him to go through the document and if you feel confused about anything you can share my number with him.... Don't feel nervous, and just believe in yourself. "
I nodded, going through the document.

"I have to go downstairs for a meeting, but Jai will keep you company since he already has experience. In case you're not sure about anything, just tell them that you'll let them know once you ask me." He said, patting Jai on the back.
"Okay, will do."

~~

"I'll meet you guys over there directly, and make sure you're at least 15 minutes early, okay?" Vansh instructed me as he looked at his watch.
My contact had finally agreed to a meeting, after days of persuasion and clearing his doubts.

Vansh, Jai, and I were going to meet him today. It only made sense for Vansh to come since he had experience and was more trustable, but Jai was coming along due to his relation with his uncle. Vansh hoped that would help us win a few brownie points.
We were dressed in formals, looking ready to go meet with real-world businessmen.
I let out an annoyed sigh, tapping my foot impatiently as I waited for Jai to show up.
"Sorry, I'm late. "

I turned around to look at him and froze mid-way, taking in his formal attire. A black shirt and gray trousers had never looked so good before. They fit his form perfectly with the top two buttons undone, revealing his chiseled chest . He looked like one of those sexy businessmen we read about in romance books.

"Done drinking in my appearance?" He smirked, hands in his pockets as he walked towards me.
"Yeah, right. Why would I drink in your appearance? I would rather much drink poison before doing that." I looked away with a scoff.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Ads.... " He leaned in closer, his lips almost grazing my earlobe, before rasping. "We both know the truth though, don't we?"
"I... you... let's go. We'll be late if we don't leave now." I walked away, ignoring his chuckle and the way my heart fluttered when he called me Ads.

It took as an hour to reach the office, and God knows how I managed not to choke Jai. The moment we began our journey, we started discussing how we would approach the contact and the points we would lay out. We disagreed on a lot of things, but eventually, we managed to make a solid plan. I sent up a prayer to the Gods, hoping everything would work out.

~~
"So this is the year during which reliance was our associate sponsor. As you can see, we had live interactive sessions with target audience, posts, and stories, as well as shout-outs in every event. The same deliverables will be provided this year, along with a few new deliverables." I said, politely smiling at the men in suits. I rubbed my palms on my pants, hoping they wouldn't notice the underlying nervousness.

"Well, young lady, you've certainly made great points.... and I think after further discussion, we might just take you up on your offer." A huge sigh of relief threatened to spill out of me, so I smiled brightly and bit my inner cheek instead.
"That is wonderful to hear, sir. Thank you so much ." I shook his hand.

"Well, I must say, I'm curious. Which year are you both in? Have you had any experience in such settings before?"
"We're in Fyjc currently, sir. And, no, we haven't had any prior experience. This was our first meeting as well." Jai said smoothly as he stepped closer. I inhaled an annoyed breath and maintained a polite expression.
"My, my. This is certainly surprising. The way you both efficiently handled everything and spoke with such conviction had me believing otherwise."
Jai let out a bashful laugh as he answered again. "Well... we knew what was on the line and definitely wanted to make a good impression. Even though we both had our ah... difference in opinions, it's true that we make a good team."
"Yes, I ah... agree with him. After all we both want the best for the festival, don't we?" I faked a smile, placing my hand on his arm.
"Of course, of course." The older man laughed, oblivious to the underlying tension between us.

"Is that my nephew, I see? Jai turned around with a bright smile that lit up his whole face as he greeted a man.
"Well, well, look at you all dressed up in formals.... so how was the meeting? You did well, I hope."
"Of course I did well, I am your nephew after all. They've agreed to the deal."
"Well, I must say, that's not unexpected, I expected nothing less from my nephew... considering what an overachiever you are."

I internally scoffed at their conversation. Considering the fact that I was the one who had made the presentation and done the majority of the speaking, it was awfully bold of him to take more credit than due.
"Uncle, this is Aditi. She's the one who set up the meeting and is the reason we have the deal..... her convincing power is truly on another level." Surprise filtered across my face before I schooled my expressions into a practiced smile.

"Hello sir, it is a pleasure to meet you." I greeted him with enthusiasm, shaking his hand.
"And she's well mannered. I like her already. Seems like she's more mannered than you." He taunted, clapping Jai on the back.
"Hey, come on. I know you're only saying this to taunt me. "
"Well, what he said is true to an extent." I said, batting my eyelashes innocently.
Jai narrowed his eyes as he tried to understand what I was playing at.
"You know uncle, the first time we ever talked, he hit me with a crumpled piece of paper." I pouted.
"Hey, come on! I was only passing the chit. How else was I supposed to talk to you at that time?"

"Tch tch. Ye sikhaya tha kya humne tujhe? Even though you wanted to talk to the girl this badly, you should've sat beside her and whispered instead of throwing a chit. God, you young kids in love." He shook his head as our eyes widened.
(Is this what we taught you?)
"Arre chachu... hum pyaar me nahi he. Kya kuch bhi ulta seedha samajh lete ho aap."
( Uncle... we are not in love. Why do you just assume anything?)
"Acha bachu? Ye wahi Aditi he na jo tere class me thi last year? Kya bolta tha tu? 'Uski aakhein-" Jai quickly pasted his hand over his uncle's mouth as he started walking him towards the door.
(Really, kiddo? Isn't this the same Aditi who was in your class last year? What did you use to say? 'Hey eyes-" )
"Don't pay any attention to his words, Aditi. He's saying anything because of his old age. Wait for me downstairs, I'll be right there."
"Why would I wait for you?" I mumbled under my breath as I started packing my stuff.

I couldn't help but wonder what his uncle meant when he said we were in love earlier. And what was he saying about eyes? The way Jai had reacted was suspicious.... was it possible that Jai had said something bad about me and was hiding it? I contemplated asking him about it but quickly dismissed the idea. It did not matter what he thought about me. All I had to do was stay focused and become the CM, effectively beating him.