Chapter 63
Part 62 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]
Riya was at the window seat again. Arjun’s arms went around her and they dozed off to catch up on a little sleep till they reached Mumbai……………………….
It was 4:30 when they stepped out of Mumbai airport. Shree stretched in the early evening sun.
Shree: ab bas ghar jaakar bed per padna hai mujhe
Chotu: itna khush mat ho, Vikram sir ko briefing deni hogi, haina sir?
Rathore checked his phone: ha deni toh
He stopped abruptly seeing the message. He stares at his screen in disbelief.
Ayesha: kya hua sir?
He looked up angrily: kisne panoti lagayi?
Riya(tensed): koi bomb fata kya?
Rathore: fatne waala hai
Arjun(tensed): matlab? Unhe saare mile nahi?
Rathore sighed: woh sab toh mil gaye lekin
Arjun(irritated): bako Rathore!
Rathore: remember that necklace? Jo exhibition se chori hua tha?
Chotu: firse chori ho gaya?
Rathore: nahi, hua toh nahi hai lekin aaj Taj mein business conclave hai
Shree: Ha humari event list mein woh tha, in fact waha teen bomb bhi the woh bhi bhaari. Kafi international companies aur foreigners bhi aaye hue hai. Bahot bada conclave hai 4 din ka
Ayesha: lekin uska aur necklace ka kya lena dena?
Rathore: well, since us exhibition mein woh chori ho gaya tha. Mehta ne use aaj raat display par rakhne ka faisla kiya hai aur kyunki humne woh necklace dhundha tha, unhone Vikram sir se hume V.I.P security mein lagane ko kaha hai
Arjun: What nonsense!? Aur sir ne ha kar di?
Rathore: yup
Liza: what the hell? aisa thodi hota hai?
Rathore: raat ko 8 se 2 baje tak woh display par hoga.
Riya: lekin sir agar itna bada conclave hai toh waha already bahot saari security hogi toh fir hume kyun ghasit rahe hai?
Rathore: woh pressure daal rahe hai and I guess Vikram sir doesn’t want to deal with it right now, so unhone ha kar di
Ayesha: its 4:45, abhi peak hours mein South Mumbai pahunchte hi hume 6-630 baj jaayenge aur upar se waha se Colaba, sir this is nonsense! Humare paas chain se baithna ka bhi time nahi hoga
Rathore: I know guys tum sab thak gaye ho but abhi orders hai, jaana toh padega hi. Itne din saha hai, ek raat aur. And jo bhi ho, I don’t think hume waha zyaada kuch mehnat karne ki zaroorat padegi, Security already tight hai, hum bas do shifts mein watch rakhenge and there’s a bright side
Shree: what bright side? Bhook se mar jaana?
Rathore: are Taj ke suite mein muft mein rehne ko mil raha hai ek raat, reh lo
Riya snapped: Mera ghar Taj ke suite se bahot zyaada behtar hai!
Arjun went into a trance, remembering her lovely home.
Arjun(dreamily): Ha aur sabse best toh tumhara room, uff! Woh hammock, main toh kabhi niklu hi na
Riya blushed at the sudden mention while the girls suppressed their giggles. She slapped his arm making him realise what he said. Arjun shrugged apologetically.
Shree(offended): What the hell?! aap iske ghar gaye hai? Ri! Tu hume toh kabhi apne ghar nahi le gayi
Riya: Are woh…
Chotu: Aur nahi toh kya? Hum bhi tere dost hai
Riya: Guys…
Liza: Are tum dono friend ho, Arjun sir boyfriend hai, samjha karo
Riya glared at her, controlling her blush: Lizaaa!!
She laughs.
Rathore: team focus!
Arjun: kis par? teri sadi hui shakal par?
That led to another round of suppressed giggles and glaring.
Rathore: Shree taxi kaha hai!?
Shree whined: Sir book ki hai sir. Aa rahi hai sir. Main kya karu usme sir?
Rathore: kuch mat karo! ek portable printer bhi nahi lekar ghum sakte!
Shree stared at him in disbelief while the others laughed.
Braving through all the peak hour traffic, the ETF reached the Taj at 7:15. The hotel was abuzz with excitement but they did not bother. Picking up keys from the reception, they headed straight to freshen up.
Arjun being Arjun decided to check out the place for display first. He made his way to the huge conference rooms where all the dignitaries were roaming about. Numerous tables were arranged with chairs around them where informal meetings were happening. Arjun headed straight to the empty glass case where the necklace would be put up.
As he examined the CCTV camera positions, distance from the exit points of the particular courtyard a familiar voice fell on his ears.
He called out enthusiastically: Arjun!!!
He turned in the direction to see his Raghu sir with a couple of shadows. His face lit up and he sprinted over to him.
Arjun: Raghu sir!!
He hugged Arjun: Kaise ho beta? Aur tum yaha kya kar rahe ho?
Arjun made a face: Mehta jewellers ke gehno ki security
Raghu chuckled: oh God! Kyun? tum log thake nahi kya?
Arjun: aapko kya lagta hai? Mumbai land hue nahi ki Vikram sir ka message already humara wait kar raha tha
The shadows were watching curiously and half-shocked.
The man spoke up: Tum log ek dusre ko jaante ho?
Arjun’s eyes widened hearing his father’s voice. He turned to see his parents.
Raghu: of course jaanta hun! Arjun, ye Y. R Industries ke maalik, Mr. Suryakant. Hum logon ne kuch din pehle hi ek bahot badi deal sign ki hai
Arjun: oh… congratulations sir
Raghu: thank you beta aur Suryakant, ye ACP Arjun…
A female voice interrupted them: Arjun sir! mujhe pata tha aap yahi honge!
Arjun cursed his fate recognizing the annoyed voice of Riya.
Riya: kya kar rahe hai aap yaha?
He tries to stop her: Ri…
Riya: what is wrong with you? aaye nahi ki seedhe duty par lag gaye? Kal raat se kisine kuch khaaya nahi hai, 4 din se soye nahi aur aap hai ki ek necklace ke liye apni sehat bigad rahe hai? Design bhi bekar hai uski. Pata nahi kis gadhe ne us par 2 crore kharch kiye. Bhook nahi lagi? Abhi aadhe ghante mein shifts shuru ho jaayegi, 8 baje necklace lagega fir bhi yaha baithe time waste kar rahe hai, aap insaan hai ya machine?
Raghu giggled: ye toh machine hi hai
Startled, she turned to see their audience. She froze seeing his parents and who was this new guy joking on Arjun?
Arjun fumbled for words as he saw Raghu looking at him in amusement.
Arjun (clearing his throat): woh uh, sir ye… uh ye (proudly) ETF ki SI hai, Riya Mukherjee aur Riya, ye Raghu sir hai
Riya: oh the uh, woh Pathan waala case?
Raghu: ha wahi (he put his arm around Arjun’s shoulder) aur Suryakant, ye ACP Arjun Rawte. Waise toh mera student tha lekin asal mein toh mera beta hai
Riya’s vocals threatened to laugh but she immediately covered it with a cough while Suryakant and Raima stared at the two of them in shock. Arjun looked at the ground praying for it to swallow him up and save him from the embarrassment.
Raghu: anyway, baatein toh hoti rahengi. Arjun tum jao, thoda aaram kar lo aur jab duty par lago toh mujhse milna. Mujhe zara baat karni hai tumse 10 minute.
Arjun: but sir agar main duty par…
Raghu: oh come on, ye koi duty nahi hai, aur bahot log hai safety ke liye, (sternly) chup-chap mujhse mil lena warna
Arjun lowered his gaze: theek hai sir
Riya looked at them in amusement. She had never seen Arjun cower like this.
Arjun: waise sir Sheen dikhayi nahi de rahi?
Raghu: are woh ghar par hai, tumhe toh pata hai use disco pasand hai, ye sab shaanti waale mahol use bore kar dete hai
Arjun smiled: ha, padhayi kaise chal rahi hai uski?
Raghu: bas abhi masters ke liye confused hai madam, architecture toh ho gaya ab keh rahi interior designing ke liye course karu ya MBA karu, thodi business knowledge hogi toh mujhe bhi help ho jaayegi. Anyway, uska toh chalta rahega, ek din kuch kahegi, dusre din kuch aur. Jab admission legi tabhi pata chalega (Arjun chuckled) ab tum woh sab chodo aur jao jaa kar khaana kha lo warna sach ke machine ban gaye toh tel pila na padega socho tum pav bhaji ke bagair kaise jiyoge ?
Arjun turns red: sirrr!
Riya cleared her throat: chale sir?
Arjun almost glared at her: ha, chalo!
She exchanged a cordial glance with Raghu as goodbye. Hiding her smile, she turned to leave. Arjun took a deep breath and followed her, not wanting to stay a second longer in the weird mix-up of his estranged parents, mentor and the love of his life.
Here, Suryakant was staring at Raghu in disbelief.
Suryakant: tumhara student matlab? Woh toh policewaala hai
Raghu: main bhi police force mein tha lekin fir spinal cord mein goli gayi thi toh doctor ne mere aadhe kaam band kar diye, ab jawani mein kaun desk par jaa kar baithe? (chuckling) toh voluntary retirement lekar career change
He put up a fake smile: oh
Raghu: ha aur Arjun toh mera prodigy hai (smiling sadly) bichare ne bahot kuch saha hai choti umar mein lekin at the end of the day, he’s one of the best officers that the department has. Chahe kaise bhi situation kyun na ho, woh humesha apna 100% deta hai, in fact usse zyaada
Raima silently glared at Suryakant as if she were asking why they were hearing about their son from a random person?
On the other hand-
Riya burst into laughter as soon as they got into the elevator.
Arjun: Riya!!!
Riya: That Was Amazing!
Arjun: tumhe andaaza bhi hai mera dil kitna zor se dhadka raha tha? pehle Raghu sir aur dad aur fir tum aa gayi
She laughed: aapke mentor ne, aapke papa ke saamne, aapko unka beta bola!!!
Arjun hid his face in his hands.
Riya: oh god! Aapki mom ki shakal dekhne jaise thi, mujhe lagta hai aaj toh aapke papa ki khair nahi
Arjun: aur tumne kaunsa kam raita failaya? Sabko bol diya ki maine khaaya nahi aur Raghu sir? unke saamne mujhe aise daant rahi thi
She pulled his cheeks: are mere pyaare se Arjun sir, mukhota utar gaya?
Arjun whined: Riyaaaa!!!
She only laughed harder in response. She walked out, still laughing as the elevator dinged at their destination. Arjun made a face.
Riya: oh god! This is too good. Sabko pata chalega toh koi yakeen hi nahi karega
Arjun’s eyes widened. He grabbed her hand and pinned her to the wall of the corridor.
Riya(shocked): sirrr!
Arjun leaned in: bahot hasi aa rahi tumhe?
Riya: are main toh… main toh bas..
Arjun: ha bolo-bolo, shayad tumhe yaad nahi madam lekin mere paas bhi tumhari bahot saari secrets hai
Riya raised her eyebrow: aap mujhe blackmail kar rahe hai?
Arjun smirked: shayad
Riya: acha? Kya main jaan sakti hun aisi kaunsi kahani hai aapke paas? Kyunki mere saare secrets toh emotional hai aur woh toh aap kisi ki kehne se rahe
Arjun opened his mouth to answer but did not have any. Smirking, she tried to leave. He twisted her hand and pulled her, crashing her back against him, making her gasp. He tilted his head to whisper in her ear.
Arjun: kahaniyaan banayi bhi jaa sakti hai SI Mukherjee aur (twisting her hand further) koi tumhari baat par yakeen nahi karega
Riya gulped: sir… mera haath
Arjun: nah! That’s not your threshold (he twisted it more making her wince) this is, samjhi ya samjhau?
He loosened his grip back to the previous level.
Riya: aapko ye bhi pata hai?
His lips brushed against her neck: ab itni toh khabar rakhni padegi
He pushed her against the wall, caging her in his hold. She closed her eyes feeling him kiss her cheek. Touching his forehead to hers, he leaned forward.
She turned her head: hum lobby mein hai
Riya gave him a push and ran off to their suite, turning only from the door to see him smiling at her. She blushed red and went inside………………………...
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