Chapter 14

Khushi waved good bye to Akash and made her way inside the house. She found Arnavji sitting in the living room so thought to ask him about the party now itself.

'I was so surprised to see Akash here today. I did not know he worked with you'  she started.

Arnav looked at her but did not respond. Well, she couldn't have chosen worse subject than this to open the conversation.

When no answer came her way she came to the point  'Arnavji, you did not tell me about any party'.

'You know now, don't you?'  came the reply.

'Yes, but why do I have to go?'  she asked genuinely.

Aloud he questioned  'Why? You don't want to go? Or you don't want to go with ME?'  laced with jealous undertones.

'When did I say that? I was just saying that I did not know about this party and when you said to Akash that I am going with you I got confused so just asking'  replied an exasperated Khushi.

'Well then, my secretary will get in touch with you regarding attire and stuff for the party. Expect her call around noon tomorrow' he got up to leave.

'I did not say yes either'  she exclaimed.

'Are you saying no?'  he looked at her intently.

'Not really. But I want to buy my own dress'  she said, but the very next second felt stupid for being stubborn at such a thing.

And the offended look on Arnavji's face at hearing this, confirmed her doubts. Her intentions of a few minutes back evaporated into the thin air. 'Its just a dress. Me and my big mouth' she cursed herself mentally.

'No...What I mean... you know... I mean... I have my salary lying around uselessly...I just wanted to use it'  she stammered the most appeasing reason that she could think of for Arnavji, trying to salvage the situation.

'I invited you. The dress and the rest, is on me. Get that clear and get that straight'  that tone did not leave room for any argument anyways.

Khushi nodded vigourously in affirmative and Arnav left after that.

'What happened to him? Why is he in such a grumpy mood? Did I say something wrong in front of Akash?'  she tried to recollect her conversation of past hour. Nope. Nothing she could put her finger on. 

Khushi had instantly made place in his heart when he had met her. Her smiles and her beauty were difficult to forget. And today he has found her again. He could not be more happy with life. He was so disheartened when she lost contact with him a year back, but he did not loose hope. And just like that, out of no where she comes in front of him. Now that's called luck. Same warmth and same happiness around her, justifying her name, she did not change a bit. Always smiling. Only thing a little odd was that she was living in the same house as ASR, the most eligible bachelor around according to at least ten magazines. But Khushi is not even ASR's type, his heart consoled. And with ASR's romantic history, Khushi will never want him in her life either, right? She is a very simple girl and is just helping him with Shyam sir's kids. Anyways, he will not think about all this. And he will not waste time. 'I shall tell her soon about my feelings'  Akash smiled while driving.

Arnav cancelled their chit chat session that night on the pretext of a very urgent work. But in reality, he was fuming sitting in front of his laptop, thinking of ways to handle this unexpected situation. Also he did not want her in his close proximity lest he looses his head with her because of 'her very dear friend' or because she still has issues accepting even small gifts from him. 'How will things progress if she behaves like this and then this Akash Roy. DAMN!' he needs to calm down and THINK.  'This I'll-stay-oblivious-to-everything-around-me girl will drive me mad one day for sure'  he thought running his hands through his hair in frustration.

Khushi on the other hand was sitting with her books in her room, thinking about Arnavji's behaviour. He had been too aloof with her today, just like old times. And she hated it, a lot. Could it be because of that party dress issue? But she did agree on him buying her a dress in no time, did she not? Something else must be troubling him. Yeah. Why doesn't he share it with her? His silence by the dinner time had made Khushi so restless that she went in early for their chit chat session, only to be told that he is busy. Disappointment dawned on her pretty face and she left his green tea there and came back to her room with her milk.  'Maybe he is really busy with those court documents regarding Shyam bhai's will. Yeah, that's it. Akash was here for that only and he must have said that there is some problem. Of course. Since then only Arnavji is very upset and busy'  her mind conjured up the best possible excuse itself. He'll be in a good mood tomorrow after those papers are submitted in court and all will be fine, she smiled.

 Idea of Arnavji being happy has started putting her oblivious heart at peace nowadays.

Then her mind wandered to next topic at hand. The Party. She did not know much about such parties. She had attended a few parties thrown by Shyam bhai and Anjali bhabhi. But there she was kind of a host and had responsibilities. How does one behave as a guest in such parties? She does not know anyone one else other than Arnavji and Akash there, who will be no doubt busy. Now that she thinks of it, what will she do there? 'Why do Akash or Arnavji even want me there at that business party'  she nervously mused. And if she be truthful to herself, going to the party with Arnavji was unnerving her a little. The amiability attained in this house is a different  thing , and going out in public with him is altogether different. He is The ASR of Raizada Empire. A very important person whom everyone wants to meet and greet. She will not let him down, she decided. Dress etc will be taken care of by Arnavji's secretary. On her part, she will behave properly and with as much sophistication as possible. And will not bug him by clinging to him all the time. She has Akash for company there, she can hopefully stick by his side if he is not too busy. And if that does not work out, she will sit in a corner and look pretty like she has seen many women do at these parties.  'Good plan Khushi'  she patted her back mentally. 

Next day, breakfast was quite uneventful. Arnavji was in a hurry and left after a quick bite, and when she wished him luck for the court issue, he looked weirdly at her as if she was talking gibberish. But she did not take any offence considering how upset he was about this problem yesterday.

At exact 12 noon, phone in Raizada Mansion rang and as decided earlier it was Mrs. D'souza, Arnavji's secretary on the line asking for Khushi. She asked if Khushi is free at around 2 pm, so that she brings outfits and make-ups for her to try on. 'Arnavji's staff is too prompt. No waste of time'  mumbled Khushi as she opened the door at exactly 2 pm to find 3 people standing in front of her. The lady in her 40's introduced herself as Mrs. D'souza and the other two girl's were the assistant to some dress designer and grooming artist respectively. And four hours later Khushi was ready to vouch that modelling is not an easy job. In fact anything that involves makeup and dressing up should be respected as a career choice, in her latest opinion. After parading in 20 outfits, trying different 'looks' including hairstyles, she was exhausted.

Finally they decided on a royal off-white elaborate anarkali dress with intricate work on it. It fit Khushi like a second skin at the bust area and flared off from there beautifully. But it took the ladies some time to sell Khushi on the plunging neckline of the dress, both at the front and the back, but more so at the back . She finally gave in but not before getting her way, at least half a way, by making the stylist select a hairdo which involved keeping her hair down, effectively covering her back. Matching accessories, footwear and make-up were decided, and the team took its leave. They were supposed to come back in two days and help Khushi get ready for the party at Raizada Mansion itself.

While driving back, Mrs. D'souza recalled the clear and concise instructions of her boss in the morning  'Nothing outrageous and Nothing RED'. Anyone who knows ASR would have to be blind to not notice that red was his most favorite color.  At that time she thought that the girl would be dusky in complexion and that's why this special color exclusion. But after meeting Miss Jha, she could bet her life on the fact that she would have sizzled in red. She would have set a thousand hearts on fire adorned in the color of passion. Strange, ASR does not want his date to wear his favorite color. Color in which she could look incredibly hot.

If only she knew that Miss Jha was not just a date. She has unknowingly crossed the intricate maze leading to mighty ASR's heart. His COVETOUS heart.