By the time they got back to the hotel it was already way past nine in the night but thankfully the hotel had a twenty four seven hotel and bar which the crew were quick to rush into as the whole trip had tired them down more than they had imagined. Everyone of them complained about the quality of road but there was not much Arjun could do regarding this and they too did not put blame on him instead blaming the Third world government.
It was past one in the morning by the time they were done with the drinking session, due to the good sound proofing system in the bar no resident were disturbed due to all the hollering once everyone was drunk. Arjun wanted to get away from them as soon as they started screaming but Vladimir held him down wanting to speak more to him about various world politics while being drunk. Helpless Arjun had no choice but to stay on, after all it was quite impossible for him to get away from this guy's bear grip with his small stature.
Thankfully Vladimir paid for all the expenses for this session as Arjun was sure all of his money would not be enough to keep sponsoring their drinking sessions as they did not really like the local liquor and most of them opted for imported stuff which costed some pretty penny compared to the local ones.
When Arjun woke up in the morning it was already around ten in the morning and the free breakfast was already over making him settle with a cup of coffee for both him and Balram who was slowly getting used to the espresso but he still mentioned he would rather prefer the normal milk coffee they could buy on the outside which was ten times cheaper than this.
As they were enjoying their coffee Arjun was informed by the reception that there was a call for him which got him a bit curios as well as a bit skeptical, the only people who knew he was here and the hotel telephone number were his parents and Bhargav and they had never contacted him on their own till now so the issue should be of some importance he reasoned.
When he picked the call it was Bhargav's voice on the other end.
Hello?
Hello Arjun?
Yes Anna, what is it?
Well Arjun....
Hearing the hesitation a bad feeling arouse in Arjun's heart still he enquired without planting any black flags
Is there any issue Anna?
Well it could be an issue or perhaps not Bhargav was still immersed in his thoughts.
What is it Anna? You're keeping me in too much suspense.
Well the district collector is going to be attending the opening ceremony tomorrow.
Arjun's brain froze for a moment, Wait what? The district collector?
Yes Arjun.
Why would he come to a small factory opening like ours? Arjun had his own theory by now but he still wanted to confirm.
Well Madan had invited him to come since this would guarantee a news article in the district edition which he mentioned was perfect for both the factory and him.
Arjun was fuming by now, he knew what Madan was doing. This was not beneficial to him at all and would put him in the spotlight. He was sure his father would refuse to cover up for him and his name would be mentioned in the article for sure. He wanted to spend some more peaceful time without not much recognition but was no longer sure if it was possible any longer. Still this would mean Madan would owe him a small favor as he had never informed him about this and directly did it on his own like every other politician out there.
And with his upcoming plans for the local distribution Arjun was sure Madan was going to owe him big time which meant perhaps he could secure the factory land for free if he pulled strings at the right time so this was not entirely a losing deal for him.
What did dad say?
What would he say? he just mentioned it was your responsibility Bhargav replied.
Alright can you handle the event procedures Anna? Throw the hosting and bill to Madan since he wants to make it such a big deal Arjun said angrily.
Bhargav knew why Arjun was speaking in such a way but was once again struck in a hard place between his previous employer and his current one still the task at hand took precedence and he promised Arjun he would do his best.
Keep it simple Anna, no need for all the extravagant banners and all. Just hoist one at the factory entrance and that would be enough.
Would that really be enough Arjun?
What else can we do if we were informed one day ahead of the event.
Alright Arjun have you contacted the distributors?
That's what i am about to do after this call.
Okay Arjun. Bhargav cut the call after saying his piece since he was going to have to run around today thanks to the unexpected news.
Vladimir who had just come down from his room to lobby seeing Arjun not angry but not so relaxed either questioned him and Arjun explained what had happened which made Vladimir break into laughter for a minute.
Don't you get it Arjun? Both the Collector and Madan want to bask in the limelight thanks to the foreign investment your company is getting, i don't think there are many firms in this entire state who have such qualifications do they?
Arjun suddenly had a bulb light up in his head after Vladimir had mentioned this, with Vladimir, Madan and the collector if Arjun could minimize the amount of times he showed his face he was sure the article would not mention him at all.
He asked Vladimir to handle the greeting and other stuff while he would only participate in the ritual which Vladimir was happy to help out Arjun with but he made Arjun promise him to take him along in his next venture too.