Hey Everyone!
So, do you guys remember Jiya? She was doing a thought experiment, imagining the old Raghav under similar circumstances (meaning that he's in love with Kalpi and Kalpi likes him too but neither has said anything yet, but people misunderstand that Kalpi likes Sammy). When I say old Raghav, I don't mean the attitude wala Raghav, but the Raghav who Kalpi got introduced to when he was drunk. I am talking about the Raghav who was so afraid of people coming near him because of the fear that they would get hurt because of him.
So, what started as a conversation between two friends who seriously needed some catching up to do ended up being this. So, I present you the joint collaboration between Jiya and Shona. And when I said collaboration, I mean she practically wrote the whole thing while I hovered in the background LOL (maybe I helped just a little?). This will definitely be out of character from time to time, so be warned about that. I hope you all enjoy this very much because I know that we enjoyed orchestrating it for you!
Raghav glanced sideways again, hoping to catch a glimpse of the familiar white top that came in the wake of early hours. Raghav knew that he used to be the first one in the office, but his destiny had been generous with him and he had now gotten used to her arriving in early morning. They didn't talk, or even sat together to chat like normal colleagues do. It wasn't because he was the boss while she was a mere employee. It was more like an understanding - an arrangement of sorts.
This particular arrangement started two months after the night he got drunk and revealed a part of himself that he was desperately trying to hide. A lot had happened ever since.
The start of everything was when she had gotten promoted and Raghav begrudgingly (at least on the surface for everyone to see) signed her promotion letter. He thought for sure that Kalpi would quit right away, after all surely she wanted to keep her pride? Isn't that how humans worked? But she hadn't. She had just merely gotten that signed and raised her eyebrow as she asked for a cabin for her new position. He had been very confused at that and remarked that she couldn't run away if she signed a contract with him, and he still remembered the tense silence that had followed after that statement. After the pause, she had smiled at him and merely said that she never runs away from a challenge because she knows that she would be the one winning.
Because of her promotion, there was a sudden boost in work load being done more quickly. Raghav knew that she was skilled, but never realized how well she does her job at directing other to do the same as well. Their sales had gone up and they actually won contracts that Raghav thought that the company still needed time before handling. However, she had proven him wrong and completed the workload with skillful management. Not only that, she had started coming earlier (perhaps to finish the extra work she got), and always smiled at him as she went to her cabin. At first, he had just written it off as something only someone demented would do (because why would anyone smile at a rude and apparently ruthless man human?) but it had become clear to him with time that she was like that. She had a way with words that she so skillfully used in sealing the deals. No matter what happened during the day, or even the day before, she would always come to the office with a smile. And there was also the case of a particular smile, a quirk of her lip to one side more than the other and the twinkle in her eyes with her right eyebrow raised slightly, just directed at him. Soon he realized that she may have been mocking him in her own way for thinking so little of her when she was merely an assistant. She was definitely cheeky, and he found himself smiling every time he saw her doing that after he realized her intention.
Alas, she had been right about one thing. She was definitely the one winning. Not only did she have the whole office singing her praises, she also had him wrapped around her little fingers. She didn't even realize but he couldn't seal his deals without her. No, it was not because he was incompetent. He was Raghav Singhania and that word is not found in his dictionary. It was merely because he always missed her presence, and it just seemed really illogical to go to a meeting about a certain proposal without the proper employee to take notes and speak up at the right times. Sammy was Raghav's voice, but he needed someone who could parallel his approach and dissect it until they perfect their proposals. He needed her. And it was only on a professional level, and had nothing personal in that.
So, the fact of the matter was that they had now become accustomed to always coming in the early mornings. However, unfortunately that came with other human habits for him. Not only did he get used to seeing her around in early mornings, and would probably miss her presence if she came later (since it's really too lonely to be the only one in a huge building at 7 o'clock in the morning), but also because he started noticing small things about her - things that people don't really notice unless they were keenly paying attention.
The first thing he noticed was the fact that she liked putting her hair in sideway ponytail, because that made her look more professional and mature. Another thing was that she liked carrying the beige color bag that she got for her promotion, and that Sammy had gifted her for him (because it would be weird if he gifted her something while initially being reluctant while signing her promotion letter). Another thing that he noticed, and this is where his worries started, was that she would pin her hair down in a way that her bangs don't bother her too much. However, her hairs were a lot like her and had a mind of their own. They would always come on her face, while she worked. He still remembered that one time when they were furiously working on a proposal to meet a deadline and she frustratingly sighed every time the hair came on her face. For some reason, she still never did anything else to stop those hairs from falling to her face. What frustrated him more was the fact how his hands twitched to reach out and tug them behind her ear. Because of this very reason, he still remembered how he got frustrated at her for not doing something about those hairs and she only slightly glared at him while going back to her work. He had just shrugged that off.
Another thing that really really started to bother him was that he was actually noticing her dressing patterns. She would usually wear 10 different color professional attires, color coded by weeks. This week was her white color, so she would usually come with some white shade. Not only that, she would especially dress in traditional attire when attending parties, office events or when attending office on Fridays. This bothered him because he was actually expecting her to walk in the office at any moment, with a white professional wear, waltzing in like she was the one who owned the place.
He sighed again at his thought process being so Kalpana-centric. If only that girl knew how much he thought of her. She would not only be horrified but also wrongfully assume that he actually liked her - which would of course be utter rubbish because he did not.
His thoughts were interrupted, as he heard the outside door clicking open, as she twisted the knob. He unconsciously smiled as he turned more towards his glass door, so he could see her coming in and nod in acknowledgement when he sees her smirking at him again. He looked down enough on the laptop so he could catch her white outfit from his peripheral vision and he could pretend that he only looked up for a second (and he wasn't actually waiting for her to come and acknowledge his presence). However, that blur in his vision never came. Curious, he looked up to see if she got hung up somewhere, and was baffled to see her near his glass window, talking to Sammy. She wasn't wearing her white attire. Instead, she was wearing a light mehndi colored traditional Anarkali dress, as it lightly hugged her curves. Not only that, she actually put her hair down, and was leaning into Sammy as she laughed at something he said. Sammy just smiled slightly as his eyes twinkled while looking at her. What was going on?
In a little bit, they had broken off and she had gone to her office, without really acknowledging his presence. That...didn't feel right. He saw Sammy coming in and quickly composed himself.
"So, I see you're in a great mood so early in the morning."
Sammy looked at him and smiled as he waved his comments away, without realizing that Raghav was actually very curious about what had been going on outside.
"Kalpana is such an interesting girl. I can't say that I can ever get bored with her. Don't you think?"
Raghav didn't know how to respond to that so he merely shrugged and pretended to type away. Sammy saw that as a sign of disinterest (though the real reason was that Raghav didn't just want to hear about Kalpana for the fear that he might say something that reveals his inner thought process) and they both got to work.
They were all preparing for the upcoming meeting on the next day, when he realized that he was left alone with Kalpana. Now, before he wouldn't have cared, but there was something that was going on now. Whenever he was alone with her, he felt the sudden urge of speaking out loud, whether to bully or to get attention (which he would never agree with) but the urge was knowing at him. He suddenly felt her gaze at him and looked up to catch her eyes. She looked away for a brief moment in an attempt to formulate her thoughts, then she looked at him again. He sized her up, while she looked at him, and then raised his eyebrow at her as if commenting on her dress. She just smiled and shrugged, as if saying that she felt like doing something different. He tried not to but his lips quirked up and her eyes lit up a little. Then she looked down again towards her hands.
He cleared her throat to get her attention, and furrowed his head and nodded his head in a way to tell her to ask what she had wanted to ask and she had eased up after understanding his gesture.
"Well, sir, I was wondering if you can maybe come with me to my house after we are done with work? Aai invited you and Sammy sir over for dinner."
Raghav's eyes lit up in understanding. He realized why she was with Sammy in the morning. She had seemed so relaxed when he was around, yet she seemed so tensed when she had to ask Raghav. He had really thought that they had a better understanding, and she would be more at ease in asking him. Then again, he shouldn't have expected that because he was the one to create that boss and employee wall, while crushing any other walls of civility outside of work for them. He could feel the tension in the air, and couldn't help but feel disappointed. She didn't really feel comfortable with him there but was still inviting him for her mother.
"Oh well let Kamla Ma know that I am very grateful for the offer, but I have something I need to attend in the evening."
"But Sir, Sammy Sir just told me that he freed up your schedule.."
"It's not work. It's something personal. Look, I am sorry that I can't make it. Just take Sammy. He would be more fun of a person to spend time with and to have dinner with," he finished off as his voice betrayed some bitterness (that Kalpi may have mistaken for annoyance).
He could see the disappointment in her eyes at her answer, but she just nodded and went back to work. And Raghav for a second, felt like a petulant child. He ignored his urge to apologize to her, because it wasn't his fault that she was uncomfortable with him around.
Raghav tapped his index finger on the table as he glanced at the clock again. It was 8 o'clock and he assumed that they were probably finishing off dinner and going onto dessert now. This is what he had been doing for the past two hours. He had been looking at the clock, trying to decipher what they were at Kalpana's house. When he couldn't take it anymore, he got up and decided to make a quick visit to her house. No, it wasn't because she asked him to come but because Kamla Ma would be so disappointed if he didn't go and he couldn't do that to her. So, he drove off to her house, deciding to get something for them on the way back.
When he parked the car in front of her house, he felt his heart drumming against his chest. He took deep breaths to calm himself, because really there was no need for him to act like a girl with a huge crush. He was here only for one reason - Kamla Ma. He shouldn't need to be so nervous for her, but then, he hadn't seen her for a while too. Maybe that's why his body was acting strange?
He entered the chawl, and was about to make way upstairs in order to knock on Kalpi's - or Kamla Ma's - house door when he heard someone sobbing. He turned slightly and saw Kalpana sitting under a tree and crying. He didn't know what made him do that, but he kept her gift down gently by the stairs and slowly made his way towards her. He could see that she was trying her hardest not make any noise, in case some other members come and get her, but she was failing miserably. He tapped on her shoulder lightly to get her attention, but it lead to something entirely unexpected. She had abruptly turned around and hugged him. It wasn't a light hug. It was a very tight, clutching hard at your sorrow, heart-wrenching sort of hug. He should've felt guilty for intruding in something so personal. He should've felt like he was doing something so wrong, but it had felt so right. He hadn't meant to, but he had slowly brought up his hands and wrapped her arms around her, in a protective embrace. He didn't know what he was feeling, except it was an urge to give her comfort and solace in his arms. He was starting to confuse himself more and more.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
