Chapter 15

She walked nervously up the steps to Henry Grey's, one of London's best head-hunters. The wedding in Lucknow seemed to have happened ages ago.

After the wedding, she had stayed back with the family at their house for another couple of days. She had been able to patch up with Anji, but that had cost her a lunch with Shyaam, as well as a long sermon about her expenses. When she had been away, Anji had suddenly decided to clean up her friend's room, only to find the gigantic pile of bills and reminders Khushi had hidden under her bed.

Khushi Kumaari Gupta was chin deep in debt. So, they had figured out she needed a new job, which paid more, then she could repay all of it. The two had started their search immediately and Shyaam had joined in, suggesting to fix an appointment with Henry Grey's. That was three days ago.

Now, Khushi stood in front of the large black-tinted glass doors of the building, breathing hard. She took a few steps forward and checked her reflection. She had worn her best black Prada suit, the pencil trousers stopping slightly above her ankles and the jacket's sleeves at her mid-forearms. Underneath was a brand new pearl grey silk shirt, along with plain grey velvety Dior pumps, and her copper-framed Serengeti Medium Aviator sunglasses sat on her dark hair, today curled into large soft waves.

Could she looked any better for such an occasion? Nah! Anji had advised her to wear the sunglasses. They gave her a sophisticated-meets-intellectual look. She smiled at herself confidently. She would definitely bag the best job here. The only odd-one-out here was the black leather briefcase she was carrying. It had been a gift from her Amma years ago but Khushi had never quite used it. partly because it was too heavy, and partly because she had forgotten the combination, so she could not really open it.

"Hello!" she said confidently to the blonde receptionist. "I'm here to meet Annabelle Legrenier. My name's Khushi Gupta."

"Fine. Have a seat. I'll call you."

Khushi sat in the waiting area. Her eyes settled on the low table before her, hoping to find something interesting to read but there were only finance magazine there. She looked at the foyer instead, sighing. It was a great place, impressive. There was this marble fountain in the middle, this expanse of cream-coloured floor... it was huge. Blimey!

"Khushi?" A tall red-headed girl stood before her in a powder blue suit. Nice outfit, Khushi thought.

"Annabelle? Hi!"

The girl smiled. "No, I'm Anastasia, Annabelle's assistant. Are you ready?"

"Of course," Khushi followed Anastasia as the girl strode across the glossy floor to the varnished wooden staircase. This was really cool, sending your assistant to fetch your appointment because you are too important to do it. Her eyes casually fell on the label on Anastasia's suit and they widened in astonishment. Giorgio Armani! Theassistant wore Giorgio Armani! He devi Maiyya! She was loving this place already!

***

"Good morning, Khushi. Please be seated," Annabelle gestured, speaking with a French accent. "I should say, your CV impressed me. Would you like tea or coffee?"

"Coffee, please."

"Anastasia, un cafe pour la demoiselle," the woman nodded once at her assistant who skittered off at once. "Oh, did I tell you I was extremely impressed by you CV, Khushi?"

"Yes, thank you," Khushi blushed. Extremely impressed. That was a good start.

"Especially, by your languages. You seem to be an all-rounder. You do English, French and Hindi very well."

"Oh, my French is not that good but it comes in handy in conversations," Khushi said modestly, beaming as Annabelle gave her an appreciative chuckle.

"German, surprised me, though."

Khushi kept smiling but her heart was beating fast enough. Honestly, the 'fluent in German' bit was a fib she had added just to get the additional points. She did not know a single German word. Annabelle asked her a few more questions about her career in financial journalism and her future projects. Anastasia came to give Khushi and Annabelle their coffee in between.

"Khushi, there's a position in banking that we have. I was think you might be suitable for it. If you agree, we could negotiate this vacancy for you. It is a very attractive offer, trust me."

Khushi suddenly felt as if she could not breath. Annabelle was talking of negotiating a post for her? God, was this her lucky day or what? "Absolutely," she replied, nearly choking.

"So, shall we move to meet your new employer?"

Wait, what? Khushi looked stunned while Annabelle got up from her chair.

"Did I not tell you, dear? The recruitment manager of the Bank of Berlin is here for a meeting with our CEO. I'm sure he'll love you!"

A large smile spread on Khushi's face and she followed Annabelle. She was going to be a banker! It was only halfway down the corridor that it hit her. Bank of Berlin. Berlin. That could not mean... Annabelle did not think...

"I'm so eager to hear you converse in German, you know! I don't know that language myself!"

He Devi Maiyya! No! This cannot be happening!

***

"Fynn Kaufmann, I would like you to meet Khushi Gupta."

"Guten Morgen, Khushi. Wie gehts?"

Khushi stood in front of the room with Annabelle and this bearded guy, Fayn-something. She stared at the man wordlessly, a large but fake smile pasted on her face as if she was brimming with happiness. Other people in the room had their eyes fixed on her waiting for her response. She had to say something, but what? He Devi Maiyya!

"Ermm... Hi..." she lifted her hand and waves at every one, but there was not a single smile back. "Ermm... I've just got to..." she started backing away to the door, not daring to look at Annabelle. "I... I..."

All of a sudden, Khushi turned. And ran for her life.

***

She reached the foyer, panting heavily. It was like she had just run a marathon. Her heart was pounding and she felt slightly dizzy. Quickly she straightened skirt, transferred her briefcase from one clammy hand to the other and checked her surroundings. Thankfully, the receptionist had gone off.

Khushi started walking again, all she could think of was getting out of this place. Her career? It was in shambles even before she had come here. Maybe since she had sent Annabelle that stupid CV full of lies.

Walk straight to the door, Khushi. Stop thinking about all this and walk out of here. Get out of this mess. Just-

"Khushi?"

Crap! They've got you! She froze right where she was standing. She turned around, her mouth open but her brain empty of excuses, just to find Arnav Singh Raizada walk towards her...

***

Was this set of somersaults his heart was performing justified? He frowned, doing his best to ignore it.

"This is not a place where I had expected to find you," he said when he reached her.

She looked deliciously flushed, a bit out of breath, her hair beautifully messed. He hid his smile. This girl was getting herself in trouble again? Silly thing! He had been right to nickname her his eighth wonder of the world. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were wide. She was shocked?

Arnav had lost count of the number of days since he had last seen her. His last night at Sheesh Mahal was when he had caught sight of her playing with the kids outside. He was going to talk to her before he left early the next morning but his phone had rung. It had been his assistant who had informed him that one of their Canadian clients was urging for an immediate video-conference and he had had to drop the idea of a conversation with her.

"What are you doing here, Khushi?"