Note - Wish you a very happy new year everyone.

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Arshad was informed of Rahman's current health developments and also Arya Awasti taking over Rahman Syed's responsibilities and position in the board.

So, Arshad decided to use the power Rahman gave them too... The board opposed his entry but Rahman's legally prepared documents clearly stating what right the community had on his wealth and shares in Vetrix left them no choice but to accept AWS there since he heads the community.

Arya avoided encounters with Arshad. Both of them barely came to office, they mostly came for board meetings and when he attended, she mostly connected from home. She didn't want to see or interact with him, not after how he caused distress to her father and snatched the peace away, Prateek who was already shattered at Rahman's health condition, was now completely broken down after AWS entry to the board. He could easily see the potential and the confidence in his eyes. As if he knew something they weren't aware of that could become the reason for their destruction in the near future. He tried to convey his doubts to Ashish who dismissed his fears as paranoia. According to Ashish, AWS wasn't that capable to run a company and he definitely wasn't at an edge as he wasn't aware of the will Rahman prepared.

Prateek knew his daughter would take his fears and concerns seriously but he didn't want to trouble her, she is already doing a lot, she is working on knowing about their company like their services, major projects they have handled uptill now, their clientele etc, attending board meetings, simultaneously handling her responsibilities as a daughter, granddaughter, and sister.

"Arya... You have to come to office today, looks like AWS will propose the new hiring pattern to the board", Ashish said

"Uncle, I'll join online, and don't worry, he won't be able to convince the board", Arya said handing him his coffee.

"Arya... Go to office... You both are making a mistake in taking him lightly... There are chances he propose the plan in such a way that the board wouldn't even have a reason to reject his plan, you know no one has the audacity to deny AWS without a proper reason, don't forget, he is also the chairman of investment giant PSL", Prateek said

"Don't worry about that, board members will instantly reject his plan to hire from community based universities, we need diversity in our hiring, that is what our company culture promotes", Ashish said

"No uncle, dad is right... What if he wouldn't use 'community or religion based institutions' in the plan he proposes? What if he used the word underprivileged or proposed to pick colleges which have lower selection rates? Would these institutions he wanted to include come under any generalized category?", Arya asked

"I am not sure", Ashish said

"Chachu... Get all the details of institutions we do hiring from... And also those potential institutions we want to start hiring from, and mix them up with similar category institutions based on their ranking", Arya instructed Saket, who quickly got to work. "Now pick all the colleges, universities and educational institutions that he (AWS) wants to include and add them to this list", she gave further instructions.
"Now categorize these using pivot", she said and instantly Arya got her answer.
"Got it... Don't worry dad, I won't let him succeed in his plan", Arya said and walked to her grandfather's room as it's time for his medicine.

"I am confident, Arya won't let his plan succeed, she will fail him this time too, just like she is failing him for the past few months", Ashish said and Prateek gave a faint smile.

"Bhai... At first you said it's a temporary arrangement, but don't you think you are getting her involved too much? I am worried for her, this is not going right", Saket flagged his concerns.

"Saket... Don't worry, I am there with her, I won't let her get into this, I am trying for other options, but unfortunately Rahman's power distribution has left no option to explore without involving Arya", Prateek said and Saket sighed.

"I don't know bhai... But please find a way out, I don't want her to involve in all this, especially when AWS is involved", Saket said and left from there... Ashish and Prateek discussed a few openers for the next day's board meeting. Ashish left to his home while Prateek retired to his room after the talk.

---------------------------

The board meeting commenced, Arshad looked at Arya with a call face, he even greeted her to which she responded with a nod, but Ali's fury skyrocketed looking at Arya, why wouldn't he be mad, she foiled their every plan to make reforms in the organization that could benefit their community, at one point they succeeded to convince everyone but she made it impossible for them to move forward.

"Bhai... If the board meeting doesn't go in our favor, you won't stop me from handling her my way", Ali said and Arshad glared at him sternly.

"No... You will stay away from this Ali... You will do only what I say", Arshad warned Ali strongly before sending him out as the board meeting is about to start.

Prateek opened with a few policies they have implemented for employees, their recent projects and their decrease in attrition rates from the high attrition percentage.

After the discussions about company's quarterly performance, the effect Rahman's accident had on their company stock, the revival techniques, some creative ideas to increase the trust among share holders and clients etc.

After that Arshad proposed a hiring plan that could further reduce employee attrition. He proposed to do the hiring from underprivileged colleges belonging to the same field they do the hiring from as students from those colleges don't leave the job that easily. He mentioned the rankings range based on NAARC and other institutions and Arya smirked at Arshad's cleverness. He presented his point in such a way that no board member would suspect that he is promoting only their community colleges, as there are many other institutions that come under the same bracket he mentioned, but what they didn't know is they are already hiring from those colleges and that leaves them with only those institutions which Arshad wanted them to on board from.

He played very well but unfortunately for him, Arya did her ground work, she also assessed the possible ways he would opt to convince the board and that came in handy now.

"This seems to be a good idea, we can work on it", a board member responded followed by another...
Many people expressed optimism over this and before they vote for the implementation of this, Arya had to speak up.

"Yeah good plan but there's a problem... The colleges that fall under these ranges also include those which are a single community based, and if we go with this, we have to include them but that's against our policy", Arya said

"But this is the best range of colleges to hire from, Ms. Awasti... Just because you have to include a few particular colleges, rejecting the whole range is not profitable, colleges that come under this range offer skilled & talented workforce at low cost", Arshad defended. Seeing Arya's confident aura he is sure she already got a solution to this but he still wanted to try.

"True that... But except for these single community based colleges, we are already hiring students from all other colleges falling in this range", Arya said,
"In fact, I have the list with me... I would request Mr. Siddiqui to correct me if I miss any college that's not in this range and doesn't belong to a single sect...", Arya added and started reading the college names.
The board members remained stunned at Arya's clarity and Arshad was impressed with her cleverness but this isn't a good news for his ambition.

Arya looked at Arshad waiting for him to respond but he just stared at her straight in the eye without reacting. She didn't see the rage, anger or disappointment she expected in his eyes. Instead he is very calm. The board meeting ended, Arshad accepted the board's decision and calmly went away greeting everyone with a peaceful smile just like every other time. Within just the past few months, almost all board members became a fan of him, the way he speaks, his calm demeanor, his clever mind, and especially his mysterious aura. He seemed a very simple man but if you deeply observe him, you will feel he is hiding lots of things, as if he is capable of shaking the world but he doesn't like to show it. He takes set backs very positively and builds his strength silently.

Except for Arya, Prateek and Ashish everyone in the board were now giving him undivided attention whenever he speaks, this is complete contrast on how it used to be when he attended his first board meeting where people weren't even giving a chance to him to put his point, let alone hearing him.

Even Prateek and Ashish slightly became fond of him but didn't dare to express it fearing Arya.

"Dad... He will plan something... Definitely...", Arya said as soon as the three entered Prateek's cabin.

"Then I am sure you'll flop it like always", Ashish replied confidently but Prateek seemed deep in thoughts.

"Dad... What are you thinking?", Arya asked looking at her father.

"What's going on AWS's mind? He is oddly confident, I thought after today's setback, he will at least be taken by surprise but he is still calm", Prateek said

"As if he already expected this", Arya completed

"And as if he has already planned his come back, that too an unexpected one for us", Prateek added

"But we know all the cards he has, and to say, he had played all his cards and Arya won over him, so why are you both worried about? In fact we have a secret weapon, we know about Rahman's will, while he doesn't, so we are at an advantage here, I don't understand your father-daughter paranoia", Ashish said

"Uncle, the confidence in his eyes is saying something else... Are you sure he has no other way to find out about the will?", Arya asked

"No beta, it's just the 3 of us who knew about it", Ashish said

"Are there anyone else who knew about this will? Like the notary officer, any other lawyer who might have helped him draft the will other than you... Any probable person that could have known about this, please think", Arya pushed

"No Arya, it's only me who has done everything. There's no chance of leakage from anywhere", Ashish replied confidently but Arya and Prateek couldn't get worry free despite Ashish's assurance. The confidence and calmness in Arshad Siddiqui's eyes has disturbed the father-daughter a lot.

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"Bhai... She did it again...", Ali fumed... "Looks like until and unless she is there, we can't get what we want, even if you claim your rightful share in the company, Arya Awasti will still has a say in the company, she will still be in the board and she wouldn't let any of our ideas get implemented", Ali said

"Ali... To claim my rightful share, we need the share transfer papers first, instead of concentrating on eliminating Arya Awasti's existence, concentrate on finding the papers...", Arshad said sternly...

"B... Bhai... I wasn't thinking of ha.. harming her", Ali fumbled

"Find the papers Ali... And I have already found a solution to this problem", Arshad said looking afar, as if something is seriously troubling him.

"Bhai... You don't seem okay", Ali asked worried for Arshad as he hardly got this troubled expression on his face.

"I am not okay Ali... But I am left with much choice, I had to do it", Arshad said and walked away leaving Ali in puzzle.

Ali gave his all in finding the papers and it took him 2 whole months to find them.

------------------------

"Bhai... Where are we going?", Ali asked when Arshad asked him to join in his car, but said nothing about where they are headed to.

"To meet Prateek Awasti", Arshad said

"Now that we have the share transfer papers, we can directly claim our rights, why to him?", Ali questioned but got no answer.

They reached Vetrix and knowing AWS is here, Prateek quickly cleared his schedule and met him.

"I have something very important to talk  Mr. Awasti... But I want this conversation to stay just between us", Arshad said looking him in the eye.

Prateek frowned at the unsual demand.

"I can't promise any such thing Mr. Siddiqui, I am sorry", Prateek said

"Well... After knowing it, you wouldn't have the courage to share it anyway", Ali said and Prateek's frown deepened.

"Ali...", Arshad reprimanded... "I don't beat around the bush Mr. Awasti, the point is I have a rightful share on Veteix Technologies Inc. and if I am gonna claim them, it's gonna impact the organization in many ways...", Arshad said putting the papers in front of Prateek.

Prateek took a look at the documents and his eyes widened at the contents. Rahman sold a fraction of his shares to Arshad's father years ago? And if Arshad claims them and then God forbid if something were to happen to Rahman, Arshad will get half his shares, that would make him the largest shareholder of Vetrix. It will impact the organization in multiple ways, mostly negative because sudden change in leadership would indicate instability, already Rahman's accident had done enough damage to the company, at this time, Arshad's claim on the company would worsen the situation irrevocably.

"W... What do you want?", Prateek asked wiping his sweat.

"Ali... Go out", Arshad said shocking Ali.

"Bhai...", Ali looked taken aback but obeyed Arshad.

"Arya Awasti", Arshad spoke after Ali left.

"Arshad Siddiqui... Get out", Prateek screamed at Arshad, getting up from his chair but Arshad sat there with his usual calm face.

"I want to marry her, and please take your seat, your anger will only worsen the situation... I'm not done talking, Sir", Arshad spoke calm tone but it held a lot of power hidden.

Prateek knew this isn't gonna go well, he had got this feeling... Something is terribly wrong. He can feel it. He took his seat.

"If not, give away your shares in Vetrix, I want to buy them... Quote the price", Arshad said

"I will not sell it even if you offer your whole wealth", Prateek spat, Arshad smirked.

"I knew it, this is the company you made with your blood and sweat, you wouldn't want to loosen up your hold on it, I know... That's why I proposed this marriage, because I don't want to loosen up my hold on this either, not after this company is made of my father's blood and sweat as well", Arshad said, it took a few minutes for Prateek to get to open his mouth.

"Look Mr. Siddiqui, I understand your father gave the money and Rahman wrote some of his shares to him in return, it's business... That doesn't mean your father...", Prateek started but is cut off my Arshad.

"Do you have IP registered for all your products Mr. Awasti?", Arshad asked, Prateek's heartbeat rose... 7 out of the 15 top products they have do not have ip but no one till now succeeded in making those technologies especially at low cost and all the other advatages they offer, so they are having a monopoly in it but how did AWS know about it is the real question, only Rahman, he and Ashish were aware of it. They didn't register IP because those were developed by Rahman and he told them he had already gotten it done but they never had it with them. Prateek trusted Rahman.

"Yes, most of them are developed by me, and I have the IP", Prateek said confidently.

"Every product of Vetrix?", Arshad asked

"Rahman has some of them", Prateek said but his heartbeat rose when Arshad took out a file.

"Lesser known facts about Wasim Siddiqui: he is a technology enthusiast, even lesser known fact is he is a computer science majors, passed out from university of Manchester, an extraordinary student... He dreamt of developing affordable software products, especially OS and development tools... And he fulfilled his dream through Vetrix", Arshad said

"No... That can't be possible...", Prateek said, internally knowing Arshad might be saying the truth.

"7 out of the 15 top products offered by Vetrix are developed my father... Wasim Siddiqui... Here is the IP protection related documents for them", Arshad said, Prateek took the file with shivering hands.
"This is enough evidence to prove you a culprit Mr. Awasti... You have no legal rights to use them, Rahman sahab didn't have any signed agreement with my father either, this could collapse Vetrix, cease all your wealth. You'll go bankrupt, and will be jailed, trust me when I say, I don't want any of this to happen...", Arshad trailed, sweat beads formed on his face.
"I know you love your daughter Mr. Awasti... Trust me, I may not love her, but I'll be loyal to her, and she may not be happy with me but yes she won't lack anything at my place", Arshad said, Prateek glared at him...

"She wouldn't agree to marry you ever... She hates you", Prateek said

"Convincing her is your job, and do you think I don't know she hates me?", Arshad asked softly

"Why do you want to marry Arya? With the shares, you will have a favorable position in the board as well", Prateek asked, helpless.

"But I won't be the majority shareholder", Arshad said
'Until Arya Awasti is standing against me, I cannot achieve my goals, I want her to stand with me at any cost' Arshad thought but didn't say anything.

"If you want, I can sell... sell you s.. some of my shares, you'll be a majority shareholder...", Prateek said but Arshad shook his head.

"Get your daughter married to me, that's the only way out to this problem Mr. Awasti... I know it's a tough decision but I'm sure you'll think through it... You don't want your family to face the same situations where they have to borrow money from here and there to get your father's treatment done, huh?", Arshad said, Prateek's eyes widened at how much he knew about them.

Prateek's mother died due to lack of money to fund her medical treatment, he and his father borrowed money from relatives, friends but that wasn't enough. After a while, even they stopped loaning them realizing they wouldn't get back their money as they were bankrupt.

During the partition, they shifted to India, and their properties, businesses and everything was left behind. But Narayan started a small business selling his mother's jewelry, they tried to get their money by selling their properties there but due to continuous wars between the countries it became a distant dream. Slowly, Narayan made enough money to feed the family and give his children a good education. They were living a comfortable life when Prateek's mother fell ill, and all their money went to her treatment, but still they couldn't save her.

Prateek was shattered with the loss, he wanted to create wealth so that his family never had to face that situation again. He with the help of Rahman got their properties in now Pakistan sold and started Vetrix.

What would happen to his family if he goes to jail, their wealth lost? Can Saket and Sharmila handle all the expenses of his father's treatment, Karan and Kiara's education and Arya? Will he have to lose his father the same way he lost his mother...

Arshad's heart clenched looking at the horror in Prateek's face. He didn't like doing this to him at all but he wasn't left with much choice either.

"Mr. Awasti... Think about this proposition, you can put your conditions forward as well... I'll fulfill if I am able to... But please think about my proposal, this deal would benefit both of us... I don't want Vetrix to collapse, and I want your expertise to run this firm... With this marriage, we both will have an equal say in this... There will be no change in your family's life style... Everyone is happy that way", Arshad spoke

"What about my daughter's life?", Prateek asked

"Some sacrifices are to be made for the benefit of the community, and it's not just your daughter's life, it's mine as well, marriage has two people in it Mr. Awasti", Arshad said

"Just two people? What's the guarantee you won't marry again after my daughter and you'll have a happy life but what about Arya? Why should she sacrifice for the betterment of your community?", Prateek asked

"I will not marry again, I will have only wife, I give you my word, I don't support polygamy anyway", Arshad said, Prateek held his head.

"Does your family know this Mr. Siddiqui? You head your community, will they support inter-religion marriage?", Prateek asked, he wanted to do anything and everything to avoid this marriage from taking place.

"You don't have to worry about it Mr. Awasti, I'll take care of it", Arshad said

"I... Why should Arya agree? There should be some benefit for her as well ftom this deal, no?", Prateek spoke

"What do you suggest?", Arshad asked

"You shouldn't go forward with your idea of hiring from single community based institutions", Prateek suggested

Arshad sighed deeply... He wouldn't be here talking to Prateek about his marriage to a hindu woman if not for his father's letter.

Vetrix will offer a future to our youth

It will create so many jobs that has the power to vanish the unemployment in graduate students belonging to our com.

Vetrix is my life, I gave it my all Arshad so that it can be helpful to our community... Please fulfil my dream son.

Prateek Awasti is a very capable individual, he is the best person to lead Vetrix but it should be on our terms.

His father's words rang in Arshad's head. He want Prateek to keep leading Vetrix. He doesn't want to snatch Prateek's hardwork, his hold on Vetrix. He just wanted to make Vetrix help his community like his father dreamt of. But Arya Awasti is coming in between his dream and she is the only one who holds the potential to stand against him and stop him from fulfilling that dream, so he wants her to get on his side.

"I said I would definitely fulfil if I could, but you are asking something which I couldn't...", Arshad said
"Don't forget, I have the upper hand Mr. Awasti... And I have nothing to lose if we don't secure this deal... Vetrix will collapse but I'll revive it again with investments, and make it in a way I want it to be, but on the other hand, you will lose everything", Arshad said

"I... I need some time to think", Prateek said

"One week is all I can give you, think about this marriage proposal", Arshad said

"You proposed a deal now Mr. Siddiqui, if you want me to think it like a marriage proposal, you need to make it sound like one", Prateek said sternly

"What do you want me to do?", Arshad asked respectfully

"Bring your elders. If they will be here with a marriage proposal then I will definitely think about it, you said you will fulfill if you could and I don't think I am asking for too much", Prateek said making Arshad sigh but nod.

Prateek knew no way in the hell would Arshad's family agree to this insanity. Or at least he hoped they wouldn't. At this time he didn't have much choice but he would fight till the end to protect his daughter's life. He had no choice.

"Let me know your demands when I come with my elders to ask for your daughter's hand", Arshad said and walked away leaving Prateek stumbled. Arshad's confidence shattered his hope little by little.

Precap - Arshad comes to Prateek's place with 'elders'. Arya's reaction to this proposal.