Aman timidly entered AK's Seams of Style, clutching the file he was to deliever. "Hello?" he called in a quiet voice, upon finding the boutique empty.
Maybe I should just leave, he thought to himself when there was no response.
Don't be stupid, his mind reasoned. If you leave empty handed, you will be fired! Besides, she is a lot more easier to convince than him!
"Amanji?"
Aman turned around to see Khushi emerging from what he assumed to be the designing room. He involuntarily smiled. Being used to Arnav's strict and often bitter demeanour, he was pleased to welcome the more joyful and docile Khushi, whom he dearly missed in the last two years. He alone of the entire AR Designs, understood the reason behind their boss's sudden change in moods, varying from unreasonable anger to just plain grief, which he unsuccessfully tried to bury in his work.
"Good morning Khushi Bhabhi," he greeted, pushing the thoughts of the Arnav from his head. He didn't want to be reminded of the task at hand and the consequences, if he didn't succeed.
"Good morning," Khushi replied, a wide smile on her face. Aman's familiar face somehow brought many happy things to mind. "How come you are here so early in the morning?"
Aman quietly snorted to himself. When Arnav Singh Raizada orders you to do something, he thought, then you really don't have a choice but make sure you do it. Even if it is a suicide mission.
"I came to drop off the designs Arnav Sir suggested for the upcoming fashion show," he replied, handing her the file in his hand. He didn't fail to notice the resentment that came over her expression at the mention of Arnav.
Oh lord, he thought to himself. She doesn't even like the sound of his name. How the hell am I supposed to convince her to let the rest of him come?
"I made it perfectly clear," Khushi answered, trying to keep her voice civilized. She knew Aman was not responsible for the suggestion. "that we don't need Mr. Raizada's interference in our designs."
"I know," he said quickly. "But you know him as well as I do! He does what he wants!"
"Take this back to your boss and tell him I don't need his advice," Khushi said in a clipped voice. She couldn't tell if she was angry or irritated or both!
Aman flinched at her tone. "But... but," he spluttered.
"Please Amanji," Khushi said, a bit guilty for her tone. "I don't want to hear anything!"
"Please be reasonable Bhabhi," he begged. "What's the harm in looking?"
"Looking at what?" Ayesha emerged from the designing room, with one of her eyebrow's raised.
"This," Khushi answered, thrusting the file to her best-friend. "Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada feels its important we follow his not-needed advice."
Ayesha was outraged. "What the hell?"
Aman smiled at that comment, for it was Arnav's trade mark statement. Khushi too seemed to remember it for her expression suddenly became blank.
Oblivious to this, Ayesha on the other hand, began to flip through the file. "He calls this designs?" she asked, not knowing whether she should laugh or yell.
Khushi pushed away the memories shoving against the cages they were locked in. "Why? What happened?"
Ayesha didn't have to respond, for Khushi's eyes fell on the designs themselves, or more accurately - scribbles on a piece of paper. The two girls looked wordlessly at Aman, demanding for an explanation.
"Well," he replied, with a shrug. "You know Mr. Raizada's writing better than me."
"No we don't," Ayesha objected.
But Aman didn't mean her. He was looking straight at Khushi. "Right, Bhabhi?" he asked.
Khushi pursed her lips in answer and began to rearrange the clothes on the mannequins displayed in the boutique.
"Next time," Ayesha said, handing the file back to Aman. "tell Mr. Raizada to atleast make his point clear, before imposing it on others!"
"But ma'am," he protested. "please understand…"
"Understand what exactly? We need a translator to understand these scribbles!"
Aman looked through the file. "I guess we have no choice then," he concluded. "We have to call him here then, to translate these designs!"
"What?!" Khushi stopped in the middle of arranging a lengha on the model and looked at Aman.
"Yes Bhabhi," he continued. "He is the only one who can explain to you both what he has in mind."
"Hell no," Khushi answered, shaking her head. "He is not coming here."
"Then how else are you going to understand these… these," Aman struggled to find an appropriate word to describe the designs.
"Garbage?" Ayesha offered.
The corners of Aman's lips pulled into a smile.
"I don't want to understand them," Khushi said. "I don't need his advice and neither do I need him!"
Aman inwardly cursed his luck. Why the hell am I stuck between these two?He asked himself. If one is stubborn, than the other is beyond stubborn. Urghh! Okay, time for some emotions.
"Please Bhabhi," he begged. "Try to understand. If you don't even attempt to look at the designs, then I will for sure be fired. And you know, a man who is kicked out of AR Designs, will never find a job anywhere else!"
Khushi sighed. She hated emotional blackmail. "Fine," she grumbled. "He can come. But for an hour at max. I cannot tolerate him for longer than that!"
* * *
Arnav paced his hotel room, looking at his phone for the umpteenth time.
Stupid Aman, he thought. He can't do a single thing properly. How long does it take him to find an excuse to get me there? Doesn't he realize how important this is?
And to his utter relief, Arnav's phone finally rang.
"Aman?" he said, picking up on the first ring. "Why the hell does it take you so long to do one simple thing? Is this what you call efficiency?"
Aman let out a nervous laugh. "Umm… Sir," he said. "We were actually wondering if you had time today to come down to the boutique?"
"No, I have zero time," Arnav answered sarcastically. "That's why I sent you to convince Khushi!"
"You don't?" Aman continued, in the same tone. "We only need fifteen minutes of your time. Its just we need some clarification on the designs you sent."
"What designs?"
"You know… the designs!"
"Aman," Arnav said, irritated. "What the hell is going on? What designs are you talking about? I sent you there-"
And to Arnav's outrage, Aman cut him off. "Okay Sir," he said. "I will see you here in fifteen minutes. Take care!"
With that he hung up!
Did he just put down the phone on me? Arnav thought angrily. He is so fired today!
However, the trusted's employee's last remark did catch Arnav's attention.Fifteen minutes? He thought. So, did he manage to convice Khushi to let me into the boutique?
Deciding that there was no point waiting for another phone call from Aman, Arnav picked up his car keys and left the hotel in a hurry.
* * *
"So," Ayesha inquired, as Aman wiped the sweat off his eyebrow. "When is your boss coming?"
"In fifteen minutes," he answered, praying to the heavens that Arnav got the hint.
Ayesha nodded, finding nothing amiss in the latter's nervous voice and resumed her work.
And as promised, the three of them heard a car pull into the driveway exactly fifteen minutes later. Aman ran to the door to receive his boss.
"What the hell is going on Aman?" Arnav asked as soon as he entered the boutique.
Aman quickly handed the file over to Arnav. "Shh Sir," he whispered, looking around to make sure Ayesha and Khushi were not within earshot. "Here is your excuse."
"What excuse?" Arnav asked, flipping through the hideous drawings. "And what crap is this?"
"I told them you advised-"
However, Aman's explanation was interrupted. "Finally," said Ayesha, walking towards the two men. "I don't have all day to wait for you Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada."
"Then don't," Arnav answered. "No one forced you to."
"Wow, with that attitude," she retorted. "You could take your contract back. We don't work with rude people like you."
Aman decided to interfere before things got out of hand. "Ma'am," he said quickly. "Why don't we go through the designs?"
"You mean those chicken scrathes he is holding?" Ayesha said, nodding to the file in question.
Aman let out another nervous laugh. This is not what he wanted to do on his first day back from a forced vacation. It was high time he found a new job!
"So," Ayesha said, sitting down on the sofa in the middle of the boutique. "What exactly are we discussing here? I made it super clear that we don't need your advice in designs. And looks like, I made the right decision. Tell me Mr. Raizada, how the hell did you manage to build a huge empire withthose drawing skills?"
Arnav raised an eyebrow. "What skills?"
"And now you feign memory loss," she answered sarcastically. However, when Arnav continued to be oblivious, she said, "those horrible scribbles that you are holding. Did you really expect us to understand them and more than that, follow it?"
It all clicked into place at that moment. Arnav stared wordlessly at the file in his hand and then turned to Aman with a questioning look.
The poor employee shrugged, as if saying "what else was I supposed to do?"
"You told them I made these designs," Arnav clarified under his breath.
Aman nodded, not daring to look up.
"I thought I made it clear," Arnav continued to mutter. "That I don't know athing about designing!"
"What happened?" Ayesha asked, noticing the murmur between the two men. "Have you finally realized how stupid those scribbles are and ashamed of your terrible skills, you are leaving, so that I can finally work in peace?"
Arnav was forced to look at Ayesha and take care of the situation at hand. He would deal with Aman, (who let out a sigh of relief upon being spared) later!
"No," he said, walking forward and taking a seat across Ayesha.
"Of course not," she muttered. "When have I been so lucky?"
Arnav pretended not to hear that comment. "So," he said. "What is that you don't understand?"
"Everything," she answered. "Besides, what is there to understand in this?"
Aman interrupted the duo, noticing that Arnav's irritation was peaking to a dangerous point. "Oh look," he said. "Here comes Khushi Babhi!"
Arnav looked up to see Khushi making her way out of the designing room. She determinedly kept her eyes straight ahead, once again pretending he was not there. He didn't let himself be too disappointed, however; atleast he was seeing her!
"Okay, I had enough," Ayesha said, oblivious to the appearance of sudden joy on Arnav's face. "What is it with this bhabhi business? Can't you see she is nothing like a bhabhi?"
Aman spluttered in response. "Oh… Sorry… I didn't…"
"Its okay," Khushi assured him with a smile. "You can call me 'bhabhi'. I have no problems!"
"But I do!" Ayesha protested. "You are no way related to this bh-"
Khushi cut her off. "Ayesh! Its fine! Don't stress!"
"Ayesha is right," Arnav said, recovering from his momentary silence. "Its 'ma'am' for you Aman!"
"Its Ms. Kapoor for you," Ayesha said, glaring at Arnav; she did not approve of him calling her by her first name. "No need to get friendly!"
Arnav let out a sigh. He was dealing with too many people at once! "Can we get to business now?" he asked.
"Of course," Ayesha said. "And how about we start by you explaining what these scribbles actually mean?"
Arnav looked at the first page of the file, trying to decode the design. Really, it was a very pathetic sketch! "Ummm…" he said, trying to come up with an answer. "So, this is supposed to be a lengha I think…"
"You think?" Ayesha interrupted. "Meaning you cannot understand your own designs?"
Arnav threw a look to Aman before saying, "I can change my mind as I please. I feel this will look better."
"What will look better? A bunch of lines criss-crossing eachother?"
If Ayesha was anyone, but Khushi's best-friend, Arnav would have for sure strangled her. Her sarcastic comments irked him to no bounds!
On the other hand, Ayesha was having the time of her life, irritating the great Arnav Singh Raizada. She hoped she was easing away some of Khushi's pain upon seeing him!
"I am serious Ms. Kapoor," Arnav answered, trying to be professional, even though he was completely confused. "This show is very important to me!"
"And it is to us too. However, I fail see to your point… still."
"Then let me finish! So, as I was saying," Arnav continued. "This is supposed to be a lengha."
Ayesha then decided to grill him. No one dared to advise her! "What colour?"
"Red."
"What should be the neckline?"
"Halter?" Arnav was sure he heard his Mami talk about this neckline to one of the many designers she got her clothes stitched from!
"What type of work should it have?"
"Ummm… thread?"
"Thread?" Ayesha asked, raising her eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
Arnav turned to Aman for a confirmation. "Yeah… thread work is a type of embroidery, right?" He received a quick nod in return.
And after watching the small exchange between the two, the truth suddenly dawned to Khushi. "Don't you think zari work would look better Mr. Raizada?" she asked in serious tone.
Arnav was almost shocked to hear Khushi address him. "Z-zari work?"
"Yes," Khushi continued, looking straight into his eyes with a steely gaze. "Or maybe you should pair beadwork with the threads you suggested. I believe that with this colour and the current styles, this combination will do the trick."
Ayesha crunched up her eyebrows in confusion. Beads with threadwork? What the hell is she talking about?!
"And I agree with the colour scheme you have in mind Mr. Raizada," Khushi continued, ignoring the questioning looks she was recieveing from her best friend. "But I think we should pair a bright yellow blouse and a lime green duppatta with it? And as for the blouse, I think a boat neck line would work much better than a plain halter. Don't you agree?"
Arnav was utterly lost. He didn't understand a thing Khushi was saying. "Umm… yeah," he said slowly. "Yeah sure. As you wish! Either way I think your taste is much better than mine."
Aman shook his head, trying to grab his boss's attention. Having dealt with designers in the past, his knowledge about clothes was little more insightful. And right now, Khushi was just stringing words together; an outfit like the one she was describing would be hideous if ever made in reality!
"Khushi," Ayesha said, not understanding what was going on. "What are you saying? Lime green duppatta?"
"One sec Ayesh," Khushi answered, still looking at Arnav. "Why don't we let Mr. Raizada here make the decision. After all, its his show, so we have to follow his advice, right?"
"No, of course not," Arnav said quickly. He found it very odd that Khushi was talking to him so calmly.
"Then tell me," she said shrewdly. "What specifications do you have for our designing?"
"What you just said," he said slowly. "You know… something lime green… boat…"
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I-"
Aman decided to interfere. "No," he interrupted. "No, he doesn't mean that."
"No?" Khushi said, feigning surprise. "Then what do you mean Mr. Raizada?"
Arnav was silent. How was he supposed to explain the designs, when he didn't even know the 'F' in fashion designing? He only did the business part of it all!
"Why are you quiet?" Ayesha asked him, still confused with the direction the conversation was heading. "Why don't you tell us what you want and leave?"
Arnav opened his mouth to answer – he was good at making excuses and bluffing his way through a situation, only, he couldn't.
"I will tell you," Khushi informed, narrowing her eyes. "Its because he doesn't know himself. These designs," she said picking up the file on the table in-between them. "are not made by him. They are just an excuse for his entrance here."
"Excuse?" Ayesha asked, not grasping the point as easily. "But… what excuse does he need?"
"He needs an excuse to come here and apologise once again," Khushi clarified. She turned to Arnav and said, "Right? That's why you are here? To tell me how sorry you are that you married me for a six month contract? To tell me how regretful you are that you didn't find it important to trust me?"
"Khushi, I just wanted to-"
"I don't care what you wanted to do," she said, cutting him off. "And I don't care how sorry you feel, because it will never be enough! But I would have thought, that atleast you would have had the shame to try and earn your forgiveness, instead of ordering others to do it for you."
"I didn't order anyone to do anything!"
Khushi snorted. "Oh really?" she said sarcastically. "Then why did Amanji make up these designs and lie that they were from you?"
Arnav was quiet.
"It's disgusting," she said angrily. "That after all this, someone's emotions are still a joke to you!"
"You are getting me wrong, I-"
He stopped, not having words to explain. So, she spat, "What? I am still listening. I want to know how you expect me to forgive you when you ask others to work on your sorry!"
Small beads of guilt began to course through Aman. It was partly his fault too, that Khushi was angry. However, just as he was a about to apologize, she began speaking once again.
"Try Mr. Raizada," she said, her voice reflecting the bitterness inside her. "Try for some remorse, even though it has been absent from your dictionary for too long now. And trust me, it's not as easy as ordering your employee to convince me to see your face!"
And with that she stormed off into the designing room without another glance.
comment:
p_commentcount