Zoya took in her beautiful surroundings and smiled. She had arrived at the party alone since Noor had to go to work. Noor's internship at the radio station was keeping her quite busy these days she thought. Her boss kept calling her at all times of the day to summon her to the office. So they had decided to meet at the party.
The reception was being held outdoors with makeshift tents made of gauzy white fabric and rows and rows of lilies and roses. The darkness of the night and the beautiful lanterns and fairy lights used for lighting had created a beautiful romantic effect. She felt a pang in her heart when she took in people walking around mingling and laughing. She couldn't remember the last time she had been out with friends and family, happy and carefree.
For Zoya, the hardest part about her life these days was being alone. She was still getting used to living for herself. She had the spent the last five years living and breathing for someone else. She had gotten used to having someone to share her life with, someone she could call her own, someone she could go to bed with and wake up next to.
Still, she was trying every day to not think about what that had transpired in the last few months, she spent every waking moment working or thinking of ways to make Zosh Events better. Years of mismanagement and the recent scandal had given the company a bad reputation. But things were beginning to look up for them now that there was nobody sabotaging or conspiring against them. They were doing well enough to rehire all their old staff back.
Zoya had been lucky that they were so loyal to her and she intended to reward their loyalty twofold by making Zosh a phenomenal success. Her thoughts shifted to the day Aditya had shown up at her house with Arjun in tow shoving a file into her hands informing her that he had sorted out the loan issue with the bank and that Zosh was now hers.
She hadn't believed him at first and looked at him dumbfounded and asked him why he would do such a thing, he had simply looked into her eyes and said "Because I can and walked out the door leaving her confused.
She remembered turning to Arjun for answers saying "What was that about? What does he mean Zosh is mine?
Arjun had then explained to her that "Bhai felt responsible for the company being seized so he asked Dad if he could do something about it and it turns out he could
He hesitated before continuing "Bhai paid the one crore due to the bank but he doesn't want you to worry about paying him back. Bhai felt that since he had already bought some shares when he first came to Zosh, it was his duty to make this investment in the company.
Aditya had shown up at the office two weeks later informing her that he had spoken to their old employees and they were willing to come back to work. Since then they had come a long way.
Aditya had become an anchor of sorts in her life now. His sense of humor had resulted in many hilarious incidents at work. He kept her from getting lost in herself. Neither mentioned nor referred to their grimy past and continued to be polite and friendly with each other. Well as polite as Aditya could be she added as an afterthought smiling.
He was forever bumping into her, looking for opportunities to trouble her, and he had the oddest habit of popping up whenever she was alone. She enjoyed it for the most part. But she didn't know what to make of the visceral reaction she was having whenever he was around. She absolutely refused to acknowledge that her racing heart and warm tingling sensation across her body whenever they were standing too close to each other had anything to do with him. It was becoming increasingly apparent to her that her business partner was a very attractive man and she was trying hard to ignore it.
She scowled as she thought about what he had said at her house today. I think its safe to say ladies that our heroine wasn't very pleased with Mr. Hotter-than-the-Sun Hooda. While our heroine maybe gently bred and delicate she had an ego befitting her grace. She didn't appreciate being criticized for her clothes nor did she like that he always had to have the last word in any situation. Aditya had walked away before giving her a chance to retort. As always.
After he had left she had stuffed the sari he had chosen deep in her closet and cleaned up her room. She had decided on the pink and silver number and she was happy with her choice. Noor returned sometime later and came looking for her "Appi I am back. Has Aditya left? I was in a hurry so I let him in. Zoya scowled and replied "He managed to find me alright. He left a while ago.
Noor looked at her Appi's expression and giggled, she asked "Did you both fight again? What did he do now? How you both get any work done with the amount of arguing you do is beyond me
Zoya replied "It's not my fault he is an annoying smart ass, anyway nevermind that, I have finally decided what to wear to the party. What do you think? Zoya lifted the dress to show her and Noor being the dutiful adorable little cupcake that she was replied smiling "Appi you know you look good in everything, and your suits are beautiful. I am sure you will look amazing
Zoya not satisfied with her answer stalked to her closet, glared at its contents before pulling out the sari she had buried earlier in a huff.
Yes, ladies, the very sari that our hero had decided the Siddique princess should wear. She turned around, held the dress and the sari up to Noor and asked: "Which one do YOU think is a better choice?
Noor took one look at the sari and said "The sari. The answer is always the sari. Plus you look amazingly hot in a sari
Zoya annoyed at the answer looked at the sari again. It was a beautiful white lace and net sari with a stunning red and silver border paired with a minuscule red blouse. Ammi had bought it for her when they had all gone shopping before she went back to Mussourie.
Zoya grudgingly accepted that it was indeed a better choice. The last time Zoya had worn a sari it had been Pooja Hooda's and we are all familiar with how that went aren't we ladies. Zoya frowned at the memory and considered wearing the sari to erase the darkness attached to such a beautiful thing.
She hesitated before making up her mind she, after all, was a stubborn woman and didn't want to prove Aditya right. Does it matter though? She thought. It's not like he was going to see her tonight. There was no way he would know that she had listened to him. He cant gloat if he won't know! Happy at that thought she put the dress back inside the closet.
Her attention was brought back to the party by the sound of clinking glasses. She was happily sipping away at her pina colada looking around at the people. She was glad she had worn the sari. She felt beautiful in it and privately agreed that Aditya had been right about the suit. Everyone around her was dressed to the T and she would have been grossly underdressed had she chosen to wear the suit. She had gotten so used to being the organizer she had forgotten what it was to be a guest at a beautiful wedding. Her family was right she was working too much these days she thought smiling to herself when a black-suited man approached her. "Hi, He said with a smile.
Zoya responded with a smile and waited for him to continue. "I am Shekhar, I couldn't help but notice that you were sitting all alone. You must be bored. Why don't you join me and my friends at our table pointing to his right? Zoya looked at the table he was pointing at and saw a bunch of semi-drunk boisterous men looking at them and answered "Thank you, but I am fine here She turned away from him pretending to text on her phone to signify that the conversation was over.
Ignoring her dismissal he continued "It's a beautiful night, isn't it? I wonder if you have had the chance to dance yet. Shall we?
Zoya, who had finished her drink, used it as an excuse "Thank you but I think I will go get myself a drink instead. Enjoy your evening she said getting up.
Undeterred by her obvious disinterest he said "Let me get that for you. It's a crime to let a beautiful woman like you buy her own drink He didn't wait for her response and turned to go to the bar.
Zoya took advantage of the opportunity and disappeared to the opposite side of the venue as far away as possible from him and his friends.
She assumed he would probably move on to another unsuspecting innocent female when he found her gone. She looked at the time and sent a text to Noor to ask her whereabouts.
Zoya was beginning to feel the pangs of hunger and went in search of food. She was looking at the food options when she felt someone grab her arm and say "There you are! I have been looking for you everywhere. I came back with your drink to find an empty table.
Zoya turned around and stared in disbelief. The moron had actually come looking for her and was now holding her arm! She snatched her arm back and raised herself to her full height and said "Excuse me! What do you think you are doing? Maybe I wasn't clear enough for you earlier but I am not interested in your company so leave me alone
She prepared to turn around when he grabbed her arm in a much harder grip this time. Zoya got a whiff of alcohol from him and realized he was half drunk. He looked her over with his unfocused sleazy eyes and said "Oh come on now, don't be a tease. The whole hard to get routine is getting old. I saw you smiling at me and my friends before I decided to approach you. Don't act all coy now. All I asked for is a dance and a drink
Zoya looked at him in disbelief. Was this guy for real?! Did he really believe she had been flirting with him when she had in fact been smiling to herself? She tried to free her hand and said "Are you mad? Your delusions are not my problem. Let me go. She was beginning to feel afraid now. Desperate to distance herself from him she looked around for help. There weren't too many people standing where they were and the last thing she wanted was to create a scene.
She attempted to pull her arm away again when she heard a voice from her right call her name. She sighed in relief and turned to find the source of the voice and her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe her eyes. To say our heroine was stunned was an understatement ladies. One, after all, doesn't expect our hero to pop up like a genie or a fairy godmother whenever our heroine gets in trouble.
Zoya couldn't decide if she was indeed seeing Aditya standing in front of her or if she had finally gone insane and seeing things.
To be continued...
Thank you for reading. The story was originally going to be a two shot but I can't for the life me shorten the length. I tend to ramble a lot. I hope you like what i have writen so far and please feel free to leave feedback and your kind thoughts.
Arjun
Cricket
