Chapter 5
Sheesh Mahal was getting ready for the biggest fashion show that Lucknow had ever seen. All of AR's designers, stylists, event managers and publicists were working round the clock to make sure the show went off without any glitch. They definitely didn't want a repeat of what happened two weeks ago.
Arnav Singh Raizada on the other hand was bored. Bored of winning all the time. He was craving some sort of challenge in his life. When he had started his business, his competitors had scoffed at his audacity. They soon learnt that ASR never took "No" for an answer. And he had a unique ability to think in a logical and calculative manner in the most stressful of circumstances.
It was not for the wont of trying of his competitors but ASR thrived in a challenging environment. Everytime someone threw a challenge at him that seemed seemingly impossible, ASR would work out something and make it possible. That's what gave him the adrenaline rush. That's why he was the number 1 in the game.
Soon people figured out that ASR was the best. His sheer name would send tremors across the entire business world and things started coming easy to him. He didn't have to struggle much. If someone knew that ASR wanted a deal, they would gracefully bow out. Who would want to incur the enmity of such a business tycoon?
ASR was tired. Tired of getting things in life very easily. He wanted a challenge. He wanted to feel the thrill of fighting to win something. Crushing his opponent after a fight gave him a high that nothing else could. He had to find another sport.
******
Lavanya Kashyap was ASR's current mistress. And at this juncture, both of them knew her days were numbered. ASR didn't believe in marriage. He had a string of mistresses and treated them very well. He provided for them and their family and in return expected their presence whenever he required it. For him it was just about his physical need. There was no emotional aspect attached to it. He had two apartments, one for him and one for his mistress. She usually held a position of a Business Developer with AR Industries and travelled around with ASR to all his business meetings and conferences.
His Business Developer often knew a few details about AR but beyond that her job was to look pretty and please him. He took his work very seriously and he expected his employees to take their work seriously too. Especially his personal employees.
Over the years ASR had different types of Business Developers. Some were feisty, some were meek. ASR made no bones about it. He liked variety. However, one thing common with all of them was that they were all experienced. Experienced in the one art that ASR wanted them to be in.
********
Lavanya Kashyap had an A+ on her employee record. Not only was she great in bed but ASR also managed to have a halfway decent conversation with her. His previous partners usually just turned out to be dolls who couldn't string five sensible words together. Lavanya was different. She anticipated his needs before he said anything. He liked that. But Lavanya was predictable. He didn't like that. He knew her moves, her tone. There was no variety as far as Lavanya Kashyap was concerned. Initially he had found her small qualities interesting but now even they were beginning to bore him. He needed to find someone else. Someone else to replace Lavanya.
He thought hard about it. He had tried many willing partners. Now he wanted a challenge. He wanted someone who would be unwilling, who would bend to his will because of sheer force of his persona. He needed...Khushi Kumari Gupta.
The driver honked the car. ASR came out of his reverie. The girl's tear stained face had not left his mind. He knew she was a middle class girl who wore her virtue on her head like a tiara. He would crush that. That would give him satisfaction. That would be challenging. He would make her come to him. And suddenly there was a gleam in his eyes. He had a mission, albeit something inconsequential as far as his success was concerned, but it was sure to add enough spice to his mundane existence. Yes, he would force Khushi Kumari Gupta to become his mistress.
*****
Khushi Gupta woke up with a start, beads of sweat decorating her brow. She had another one of those nightmares, she realized. These nightmares had become a common recurrence since her encounter with Arnav Singh Raizada.
Her hand involuntarily reached out to the glass of water on her bedstand, hoping the cool liquid would soothe the parched throat. Her mind was trying to decipher the nightmare she had just had. What had she seen this time? She didn't remember. But she knew what she felt every time she had one of these. She felt suffocated, as if someone was forcing her to breathe through a giant plastic bag and try as she might to scream, no sound would come out.
She took another sip of the soothing liquid, a few deep breaths and looked around. She was home, in Gomti Nagar with her Mom and Dad. They would take care of her just as they had done before. She had nothing to worry.
Closing her eyes, she tried to sleep. She couldn't. And so she began to chant Devi Maiyya's name to ward off evil. After all, Arnav Singh Raizada was no less than any demon she had ever heard of!
Chapter 6: http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4343261&TPN=4
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