Chapter 9
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[MEMBERSONLY]
*Italicized parts are flashbacks. Bold ones are thoughts*
Kindly ignore typos and such.
Chapter 8: Tales and Parables
Walking past the various shops and restaurants dotting the walkway in the lounge, Arnav cast his eye about, looking for a place where he could get decent coffee. He let his nose lead him to a place that had subdued charm- a simple Cafe, with obvious tasteful decor.
Cafe Nero.
This would be it. He had two hours to dawdle before he would proceed for boarding. He ordered an Americano coffee, and waited patiently for it to be served.
Looking around himself, he could sense a stare boring on to his back. He tried to catch the reflection of the person in a mirror opposite to himself, but by then, they had turned away.
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His coffee was perfect. He had never known he would favor coffee over tea, having been brought up with his daily dose of two cups of chai back home. It was Manish's obsession with coffee makers that lead him to develop a taste for the bitter caffeinated drink. He was hooked for life.
All these thoughts helped him keep his memories at bay for a short time, before the inevitable happened.
He had tried contacting Sheetal for a long tme. She didn't return any of his calls, didn't respond to messages or mails. He had found out that she had emptied her apartment and moved elsewhere, already. He felt guilty- he felt that he was no better than some philandering jerk who used his bestfriend/girlfriend for his own pleasure.
It took the joint efforts of Keon and Manish to drag him back to reality. All they told him was that she was a willing participant. She knew that there was no depth to the relationship. But the blow came when they found his drink had been drugged.
Arnav had been having body aches for a couple of days after the party. And then in the morning, he noticed he was sweating differently- his sweat was smellier than usual. At first, he had attributed the aches to unaccustomed exercise, but this new thing worried him. He went to his GP and got his blood work done. It turned out that they found traces of a banned drug in his body- a drug that could leave the consumer in a stupor, that could lower inhibitions. Arnav was told about the drug, but he assumed that he took the wrong drink at the party. His friends, however, connected the dots.
Unbeknownst to Arnav, they somehow tracked down Sheetal and threatened her with the consequences of her action. They didn't have proof, of course. But they had a strong hunch. It turned out to be true. Sheetal told them of her one-sided feelings and frustrations, wanting to get closer to Arnav and wanting to be with him. This had been the last trick up her sleeve, despite giving him all she had, despite tempting him completely, he had remained detached. He was emotionally unavailable. To save face, she didn't see him again and made it appear that he had 'used' her.
Manish and Keon knew better than to tell Arnav the truth. He would destroy this woman, for sure. But they did tell him enough to ease his guilt.
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Arnav took a leisurely sip of his coffee. Leaning to one side, he took out his laptop and turned it on. It booted fast, and a logo appeared..
AR Companies
Arnav had designed the logo himself. During the last two years, he had tracked the various business trends. His summer internship had taught him how to run a business long before he earned his MBA, summa cum laude, and he had coached Akash via the internet and phone on how to turn their boutique into a full fledged company.
Arnav would be supplying many designs via the internet. They had decided to start naming their collections and create a designer-label-feel to them before they actually 'launched' their collection. Marketing and promotion- two valuable lessons Arnav had learnt early on.
They had put their heads together, coming up with various ideas. Kailash's old contacts had come in handy and they had offered to lend them their first raw material at a lower price than usual, agreeing to claim the full cost once the designs were sold.
Raw materials were taken care of. Now they needed a good place to set up a temporary office and boutique, and another warehouse where the actual work would take place. The money required stretched beyond the savings Arnav and Akash had gathered over the years. Arnav's pay during internship had helped him cover his stay in the US along with the travel expenses, he had sent the rest back to India to support the family. Akash worked a full time job with a business house in Delhi. Even so, they couldn't cover the start up cost for such a major venture.
Kailash and Akash had applied for a loan from their bank, but due to insufficient guarantee, only 25% was covered by it.
That was when Manorama decided to sell her only personal possessions- her family's jewellery. She had been opposed, but stood firm. Her argument was that they could buy better stuff once they were successful, but till then, this was necessary.
And so it happened, that a family of 5, with their closest friends around them and Arnav on the phone line, cut the proverbial ribbon and stepped inside their first 'AR Company' boutique.
They never looked back.
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Arnav felt that spine tingling feeling again. This time around, he quickly glanced in the direction he felt the gaze from and saw a beautiful woman looking at him. She didn't turn away this time, and gave him a seductive smile. Tall, dusky, long haired.. she had the looks of a model. She came over to where he was sitting and thrust out her hand.
"Hi, my name is Lavanya Kashyap. I am sorry for staring previously, but I couldn't help but notice you."
Arnav smirked. "Arnav Singh Raizada. And don't worry, I wasn't bothered. In fact, I was going to ask you if you would like to have coffee with me while we wait for our respective flights." Arnav turned on the charm. Even though it was half-hearted, it worked.
"Of course! Can I call you ASR, though? Arnav Singh Raizada is a mouthful!" She laughed.
Arnav bypassed the question with one of his own, "What'll you have?"
"A cappuccino will do. But no sugar. I need to count the calories, being a model and all, you know?"
Oh, so that's how it is. Arnav knew she was trying to impress him with her job-title, but he was not one to be swayed so easily.
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"So, wait. You are the ASR of AR Companies I've been hearing about?" Lavanya was shocked.
Arnav was mildly surprised. He hadn't known he had gained fame!
Arnav smirked and replied, "Well, I don't know how you know about me, but yes I am the one. And just to be sure, my brother's initials are ASR too!" He almost laughed at her expression.
"No, no! Of course I've heard of you! Who in the Indian fashion circuit hasn't heard of the extremely talented designer who popped out of nowhere two years back!! And to top it, you were a mystery. No one had seen you. In fact, I had assumed you would either be a man in his 30's or 40's, mostly gay."
Arnav laughed at her prejudiced description. He was enjoying his time with her so far.
"Well, I am glad I am none of those. But tell me, how is it that you heard of me in London?"
Lavanya, who had a dazed look on her face while she saw him laugh, came to her senses. "Actually, I am only a part time model. but my friends who are models have heard a lot about you from their colleagues in India. And I am an Indian, I had come to London for a short trip to meet my parents. I am going to Delhi to be with my friends. I prefer living with them than with my parents in London," she confessed.
Arnav mulled over the fact that hard work DID pay. He did not bother telling Lavanya of his hardships nor of the troubles they had faced in the past two years. Somehow, despite the easy back-and-forth they were having, he knew that she wouldn't understand that part.
Akash had told him more than once how people assumed they already belonged to a rich family. They had tried putting those rumors to rest but in the end, they decided it was for the best.
People saw what they wished to, anyway. They saw the success that came to the Raizadas. They didn't see the enormous work and patience and love they had poured into it.
Arnav saw a hand being waved in front of him. "Hello? Earth to ASR!" Lavanya giggled some more.
Whatever. She seems good. Despite her obvious flirting, I think we can be friends, if not more.
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"Welcome to the Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi. We apologize for the delayed arrival. The local time is eight fifteen P.M. The temperature is 34 degree celsius with a 60% humidity in the air, visibility is 3 kilometers and winds are low. We hope you have a nice stay at Delhi. Thank you for travelling British Airways and give us the pleasure of serving you again."
Arnav took hold of his baggage cart containing his share of 2 big bags and pushed it towards the exit. He heard someone running up to him.
"ASR! Wait!" He saw Lavanya coming closer, panting all the while. "This is my number. Please contact me if you wish to. I will be waiting!" She left him with a kiss on his cheek.
Arnav shook his head and exited the airport, only to find a group of people standing in front of him. Kailash suddenly stepped to one side and gesture- "Arre chalu karo! Beta ghar aa gaya!!"
To his surprise, a band comprising of a drummer, a trumpeter and another horn-blower started playing some random tune while Akash brought out some marigold garlands.
Arnav didn't know whether he should be embarrassed or laugh outright as he saw his mama dancing with a garland in his hand for the first time in his life. He looked towards his nani and mami, they had huge smiles on their faces and bigger garlands in their hands.
Before he could look for Anjali, Akash had come up to him and put the garland around his neck. "Welcome bhai!!! Welcome back!!!!"
Kailsh lifted him off his feet for a few seconds before putting him down and grabbing his own back. "Arre beta! You've put on weight! Your old mama can barely lift you!"
Arnav hugged him tight and let him put another garland around his neck.
"Nani! Mami!" Arnav exclaimed as they both blessed him and hugged him. With tears in their eyes they caressed his cheeks lovingly. "Where's Di?"
"She's waiting for you at the house. She insisted that she'll stay back to cook each of your favorite dishes and welcome you home. Although I suspect she didn't want to be seen crying in public." Akash whispered conspiratorially.
Arnav laughed a jovial laugh, and together they set out for home.
They had shifted to a modest bungalow in Vasant Vihar. Arnav would make sure that they built a bigger and better home soon.
With a slight spring in his step, Arnav stepped out from their Hyundai Accent. Their first luxury car.
He made his way to the door and rang the bell. It was opened by a teary eyed Anjali with a pooja-thali in her hand. She welcomed him traditionally, despite his protests, and turned to keep the thali somewhere before hugging her brother tight.
She finally gave way to her tears as she cried her heart out- she had missed her brother much more than she had let on.
In the background, someone cleared their throat. Arnav glanced at the man with surprise. He looked at his di who was still snuggled up in his arms, and then looked at his family members with the obvious question in his eyes.
Nani stepped forward, "Beta, meet the man who had saved your sister's life a few weeks back."
Arnav was shocked for a moment while his nani explained the incident- his di had almost slipped on the pavement beside the road and would have fallen in the path of an oncoming truck, had a gentle man not grabbed her and pulled her away in time. Since then, they had become friends with him and now, he was almost family.
Arnav looked at him with a grateful smile, taking in his appearance. He waited for Anjali's sobs to subside before he gently extracted himself from the embrace of his sister, and walked to the man in question.
Arnav waited for the man to make the first move, and he wasn't disappointed.
"Hi Arnav. its nice to finally meet you. I am Shyam Jha."
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That's it for today! Hope you liked it.
A few things: Lavanya, in my story, starts out as a normal but ambitious girl. She's just another woman who loves attention from the opposite sex. I would like to believe that her behavior changed only after she got used to the attention and started believing it was her right. I do think she is a good person at heart!
Arnav being drugged- well, honestly, it was a compromise. I could have kept it away from the story, but then I thought I would add it anyhow. I had written that part as a part of a one-shot (which I scrapped) and thought of using it here. Hope it fits well.
Hope you liked it!
-Chibi
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