chapter 1

Mr. Patel, an aged Business Tycoon, reached to his office at Navi Mumbai in the morning. The memo of his meetings for the day and a cup of hot piping coffee with no sugar were kept on his table. He sat in his black leatherette padding chair, reading the headline from 'Business Standard' and dialed a number in his office intercom to call his secretary in. 'I want to purchase "Hotel Aroma" near Juhu beach. Make the deal happen,' stated Mr. Patel as Rohan stepped in. Rohan, Mr. Patel's personal secretary's job profile includes anything asked by Mr. Patel. It could be just as trouble-free as brewing a cup of coffee for Mr. Patel or as intricate as settling a deal worth crores of rupees which could put his ass on fire. Rohan nodded and continued to take verbal notes in his mind given by his boss. 'Call the hotel owner and bid him any amount he wishes for. Bring the cheque book. I will sign it,' ordered Mr. Patel. 'Okay, sir, I will take care of it,' said Rohan with all due respect and left. It isn't tough to buy anything if you have all the money in the world, thought Rohan. 'Hi Sir, I am Rohan calling from Patel group of Industries. Patel sir asked me to talk to you.' Rohan searched the owner's number from the internet and dialed.'Yes, tell me, how can I help you?' The owner of the hotel said politely. It must be regarding any booking in his hotel, he thought. 'Sir, actually Mr. Patel is interested in buying your hotel,' said Rohan in a perky voice. 'I am sorry. There must be some confusion young man. The hotel is not for sale.' 'Yes, I know, but I am here to make you an offer. Mr. Patel lives overseas most of the time and when he comes to India, he makes big investments. He can offer you any amount you quote. You can even open two new hotels with the money you will get.' 'Money doesn't matter to me. I don't want to sell it at all,' Mr. Joshi whimpered and disconnected the call. That's the irony; money doesn't matter to only those who already have lots of it. Rohan got petrified after the rejection. He will have to face the wrath of his boss when he will reveal his failure to him. He, anyhow, gathered some valor and entered Mr. Patel's office keeping his head down. Mr. Patel was occupied in a telephonic conference with a European client. He looked at Rohan and took a pen in his hand and directed him to keep the cheque book on the table. He was confident that Rohan must have cracked the deal. Isn't it easy to buy something with someone else's money? Rohan was standing there, keeping a hush, staring at the ground.Where the hell is the cheque book?' Hollered Mr. Patel, after he ended the call. 'Sir, he is not ready to sell his hotel.' Rohan knew the rage of Mr. Patel, but he had to utter out the truth anyway. 'What?' Mr. Patel asked incredulously. 'You bloody fool. You are good for nothing. Have you offered him twice the market price? Have you offered him ten times the market price? He must be an idiot if he doesn't accept that,' mumbled Mr. Patel and snorted with laughter. Rich people laugh when they are angry. 'Call him. I will talk to him.' Rohan dialed the number from desk phone kept on Mr. Patel's table. 'Hello! I am Rajendra Patel, the chairman of Patel group of industries.' 'Hi, Mr. Patel, it's a pleasure talking to you, sir. How are you?' 'I am fine Joshi, let's cut the crap and come to the point. I want your hotel at any cost. I want to gift it to someone. I have already committed it. Why don't you understand?' Pitch of Mr. Patel's voice rose when he uttered the last line. Mr. Joshi clearly knew his position as compared to Mr. Patel. He knew Mr. Patel was one of the richest men in the Nation, and he can actually grant him a very handsome amount for the hotel. He still denied selling his father's only reminiscence. 'But I can't sell it Patel Sahab. This is all I have. This is our old and reputed business which we are running now for ages. I can't sell it toyou just because you want to gift it to someone,' replied Mr. Joshi in a courteous way, trying not to offend him. Mr. Patel got offended, nevertheless. 'Please don't mortify me; everything has its price, you just quote yours and you will get it.' 'You are wrong Mr. Patel. Everything doesn't come with a price tag. There are few things in life that are invaluable. My answer is still 'no.' Joshi said hoisting his tone and cutting off the call. It was like a tight slap across Mr. Patel's face. He was not accustomed to listening 'no' for an answer and that too from a usual bistro possessor. Being in the top fifty rich people in the world, he had a habit of getting everything done whenever he wanted. 'Sir, there is one guy who can help us settle the deal,' Rohan said. A flickering panic passed over his brain. 'Who?' Asked Mr. Patel perplexed by the unforeseen suggestion by his secretary. 'Siddhartha Roy,' said the secretary keeping his head grounded. 'I can't put any political pressure or send any goons to Mr. Joshi's place. He himself has very good contacts with the Ministers,' stated Mr. Patel, ignoring his secretary. 'Sir, Siddhartha is neither a politician nor a goon, he is a lawyer,' said Rohan picking up the most recent issue of "India Today" kept on the bookshelf installed on one of the office walls. "Siddhartha Roy. The Most Influential Indian of the year," read the cover page of the magazine.'He is just a lawyer. How could he help us? Do you think we have legal rights to acquire someone else's property?' Mr. Patel said and raised his eyebrows. 'Sir, he… he can do anything for money. Legal or illegal,' said Rohan, stammering a bit, not making eye contact with his boss. 'Okay, call him to our office tomorrow,' said Mr. Patel thinking of giving it a shot as it doesn't cost him anything. 'Sorry sir, he does not walk off to anybody's office. We have to go to his office to meet him.' Mr. Patel cocked an eyebrow. 'Sir, you don't worry, I will go and talk to him.' Rohan continued in order to save his boss from the awkwardness of going to someone else's office. 'No. I will come along. I also want to meet this remarkable fellow,' said Mr. Patel with a grin on his face.

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Mr. Patel, along with Rohan, entered Siddhartha's office at the Nariman Point, Mumbai. The office was so well ornamented that the country's affluent one got spellbound. An oil painting of seven white horses running with jam packed power was decorating the wall as they entered the office.It was an exquisite museum-quality handmade painting, not just a print or canvas transfer. Created by the most experienced artist M.F. Hussain, and completed to perfection. The artist had paid special attention to the detailing, which was evident by every brush stroke of the painting. The horses symbolizing power, a power to do anything. Siddhartha was technically alone in his office, no security guards, no private secretary to remind him of his meetings. He doesn't need anyone to tell him what to do. He was accompanied by just an intern of his profession. It was not that he couldn't afford to keep staff, but for the fact, he couldn't trust people easily. There was only one chair placed opposite to him for the visitors which is pretty bizarre as compared to other offices, but Sid's intern told Rohan that Sid talks to only one person at a time. 'Tell me, Mr. Patel. What can I do for you?' Said Sid as Mr. Patel entered his office. 'Ah, nothing much. There is just a small hotel called "Hotel Aroma." I want to procure it,' said Mr. Patel in his all time arrogant voice. For him, Sid was just a small lawyer who could convince people for money, but Sid was clearly more than that. 'Go to any property dealer, what is my take on this?' Asked Sid little miffed by Mr. Patel's behavior. 'I can pay any amount for it but he isn't ready to sell it.' 'So, this is the problem,' Sid's brain started working instantly. 'Don't worry, he will sell it to you and also say sorry to you,' stated Siddhartha in a confident tone as ever.'Is it possible?' It surprised Mr. Patel. 'This is what I do here, make things possible.' 'By the way, what is the approximate cost of the restaurant?' Asked Sid. 'It is worth rupees ten crores. It is all right, money is not the matter.' 'My fees will be fifty percent of the deal,' Sid was frank in his terms. Mr. Patel nodded, didn't say anything, mentally calculating how much the fifty percent is. 'Let's go out and have lunch. Aren't you famished?'

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Siddhartha and Mr. Patel got into the back seat of a top model BMW. It was Mr. Patel's car. Rohan also tried to fit in, but Siddhartha stopped him saying, 'we two are fine.' 'Hotel Aroma,' Siddhartha told the driver as he enters the car. The restaurant was jam-packed with customers as it was the peak time. The duo took a table at the center of poised and air-conditioned hall of the sprawling 10,000 sq. ft. restaurant. The sophistication of decor set the tone for the food. The high ceilinged restaurant was structured on international standards by a renowned Japanese architect. A wood-fired oven took pride of place and classy piano tunes filled the air. The place deserved to be liked by Mr. Patel in the first look.They asked the waiter to bring the menu. It had the choicest cuisines of almost all the countries: French, Italian, Mediterranean, Tex-Mex and of course Indian. They went for Italian and ordered Charcoal grilled chicken marinated with herbs and served with olive tapenade mash, caramelized onion and Barolo Jus for the main course. Tiramisu - Traditional mascarpone cream and coffee cake for dessert. 'Your order will be ready in twenty minutes, sir,' informed the waiter and passed an extra-large smile. They expect extra tip with an extra smile. 'Anything else you want, sir?' Asked the waiter before leaving. 'Yes, I also want this restaurant,' said Mr. Patel. 'Excuse me, sir,' the waiter just got nervous. 'Nothing, you may go now,' Sid completed. After chatting for a while Mr. Patel went to the loo. The food he ordered had arrived before he came back. The waiter served the foodstuff on imported Italian crockery. Sid and Mr. Patel started eating the food, conversing business and politics matching the mood of the ambiance. All the other people dining there were big corporate tycoons too. A few of them already knew Mr. Patel in person and can't resist exchanging formal pleasantries with him. After a few bites, Mr. Patel hollered all of a sudden in agony. There was a bit of blood oozing out of his mouth. All the hotel staff came out running there.There were tiny pieces of glass in the food which came out of Mr. Patel's mouth, which was the reason for the blood. Mr. Patel was shouting which invited enough audience and almost all the hotel staff at the scene. 'I will sue this place. It has to shut down today. I will sue this shit right now. How you guys can be so sloppy? Mr. Patel is the top businessman in the country, and you cut his mouth. I am calling the police to seal this restaurant right now,' shouted Siddhartha. Hotel owner, Mr. Joshi came out from his air-conditioned office to handle the situation as the manager informed him about it. Few media persons were already waiting for the signal of Siddhartha to storm there and to intensify the situation. Within fifteen minutes Siddhartha created enough mayhem as if it was a murder scene. 'It is a clear case of negligence. You don't know how to run a restaurant,' stated Siddhartha. Mr. Joshi apologized to Mr. Patel for the gaffe with folded hands. Siddhartha got up and whispered in his ears. 'You remember the deal Mr. Patel offered you yesterday. The deal is open for next 10 minutes. Either sell it or I will make sure that court will shut it down. The choice is yours. You are going to lose it either way.' Sweat appeared on Mr. Joshi's forehead was the evidence that he would settle for the deal. He made a wise decision. After all, it is better to have money than to have a restaurant with no customers.

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'What was the need to set me up for this?' Mr. Patel asked Siddhartha as they came out of the restaurant. 'If it was your plan then, I could have asked any of my men to cut their mouth for me?' He was still in a little agony. 'You are a celeb. The impact of blood oozing out of your mouth is very much higher than any other men of yours. And it was obligatory to put him down. The wound will heal in less than a week. And you only said you were ready to pay any amount for the hotel. See, this is what it takes when you really want something.' Mr. Patel sat in the back seat of the car and closed the window. He was upset with Sid. Sid was relishing his distress. 'Would you mind giving me a ride back to my office Mr. Patel?' Sid knocked on the window and said with a grin on his face. 'Please don't forget to send my payment. It was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Patel.' Sid said smiling condescendingly before stepping out of the car as they reached Sid's office. Mr. Patel avoided replying, partly because of his fury and partly because of the cut in his mouth. 'Sir, you are a genius. You closed the deal and also cut the mouth of Mr. Patel only because he was rude to you. You killed two birds with one stone,' said Sid's intern cum secretary, Akash.