SS : A million miles away !! Chap 5, 6 & 7 - Pg 52 14/10 - Page 36

Originally posted by: maarushkaa

(*facepalms*)

I just forgot this story ... I have 3 updates ready in my phone already & I forgot to update😲😲

@ragnabw ...tysm for reminding me ! As also for the words in that comment ...I'm overwhelmed !!🤗

Shall update asap once I'm home...Trust me , u r gonna love this😉

Originally posted by: Jaz_

Kalpi is such a klutz 😆 but an adorable one. Raghav narrating Kung fu panda to alleviate her anxiety of flying and heights, too adorable. Wish I had someone like him as a seat ate when I fly. Would make the journey more enjoyable 😳. Loved the last chapter. So they have reached Cali. What happens next? Update please 😃 and please add me to your PM list for future updates, if your accepting requests. Thanks Mariee.

Ola amigos ... Finally back with this story !! Apni kursi ki petiyaan baandh lijiye ... Kyunki hereafter its gonna be a roller coaster with a lotta twists & turns. To compensate my extreme delay in updating ...I'm just brushing through the entire story & so also fast forwarding it by a week. So technically if a person has missed the initial updates ...then its ok ... Coz the actual story begins from here. The 1st 4 chaps were just an intro ...

Story at a glance - Raghav is forced to go to California by his dad in order to give some presentation for the Singhaniya Co. Very well knowing what his spoilt son can do Raghav's dad confiscates all his credit cards & money leaving him almost penniless. Also to assure that he actually ends up in California only & that too solely for WORK purposes he assigns Raghav an assistant Kalpana Vitthal Jadhav - A clumsy girl with great amount of confidence issues. Infact Raghav's first encounter with his assistant was at the airport when an awkward Kalpana was gathering her stuff from the floor which she had mistakenly dropped. Further when they board the airplane raghav realizes that Kalpana was scared of heights. The kindda sweet person Raghav was, he helps her by distracting her attention throughout the journey... Ab aagey !

Part in green - Present time .

Chapter 5

A mighty 7 days had passed by after Raghav & Kalpana's check in into a hotel in California. A pleasant weather & an enticing night life full of music & booze had welcomed them. Raghav had all plans set to make his assistant do all the required presentations while he enjoyed the grandiose of the place. But then, he didn't ... Not even for a millisecond ! He didn't have the money for it was one reason , but there was somethin else as well...

It was 4 in the night as Raghav stood in the balcony of his hotel room sipping onto some hot black coffee. He hadn't expected himself to inculcate Kalpana's habit this quick. There was somethin in that girl that kept Raghav highly interested in her.It was difficult for him to digest that fact , but he wasn't gonna fool himself or the world by denying it either. He knew he wasnt attracted to her , she was not his types ...but there still remained somethin highly unfathomable between them , more on his part to be specific. The Kalpana he'd seen just a few hours back had blown him away. He walked back to the table & poured himself another cup of coffee. He knew the night's gonna be long , he had some serious things to ponder on. Slipping off into a flashback & translocating himself to the day they'd first checked in...

The duo walked in the lavish & extravagant hotel that was booked for them by Singhaniya Co. Raghav leaded as Kalpana followed him , her eyes looking no where else but her feet. By this time raghav had become quite accustomed to this master-slave walk of theirs. He preferred keeping mum & let her be on her own as they walked in their respective rooms .Once inside he dropped himself on the bed & shut his eyes. The flight & the story narration was indeed tiring. But before he could slip into a slumber ..

His phone buzzed , it was his best buddy Prem's text. 'Wohooo mate ...Sammy told me u r in California. That comes off for a party , doesn't it ??' Raghav sighed. In ideal cases he would have partied day in & day out ,but this time it seemed impossible ...especially with the negligible money he had in his wallet. With those amounta dollars , it would be difficult to even treat an ant ... Nodding his head a bit , as if to brush away the thoughts he continued reading

'But don't ya worry , I'll do the honours. Its ma bday next week & u gotta be there. We would have some reeaalll funnn !!'

Hmm , now that's possible ! He would definitely be there he thought and texted him the same.

But what should he do now ? His stomach answered that for him as it grumbled. In no time he'd ordered the room service for dinner & it was there.

After allowing the room service lady to arrange his food for him & invest some flirty words that made her blush till she looked like a tomato , he sat down to finally have some nice food.

'Bon Appetite ! ' he announced to himself as he got the first portion of steak to his mouth. But before he could have a bite of it ...

Aaahhh-----Dhaddd !!! That noise came from the adjacent room. 'Hmmm...ppl in the adjacent room seem to be in a naughty mood tonight !' he thought , his pervert mind on the rise as he got the fork further towards his mouth , but stopped. Didn't the adjacent room belong to ...

The moment he'd registered the fact that the noise had come from Kalpana's room he bolted off in its direction. He twisted the knob of the door , it was open.

Once inside , he came across darkness !

"Kalpana ?" he called out , expecting a response.

"I'm here ...I just ...err ...tripped !"

Walking in the direction from where he heard her meek lil voice , he finally came across a struggling Kalpana who tried to get off the floor taking the bed as her support. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness around , he could see her.

He rushed for help. Wrapping one of his arms around her waist & holding her hand for support he made her sit on the bed. He could feel her uneven breath , pulse beating faster than a normal person's & body soaking in sweat. The ac was on , he checked.

Had she really tripped or is it something else ? He wondered. Not bothering to think any further he immediately put the lights on & handed her a glass of water. She drank it like a thirsty traveller in an oasis.

"U ok ?" he asked out of concern. She nodded, the glass yet to her mouth. And she indeed looked better, better than what she was before. Maybe he was just overthinking , maybe she had just tripped !!

After a brief moment of silence - "Then I suppose I should leave ! Take care Kalpana. " as he got off the bed. No sooner had he reached the door than he heard a meek voice again "Umm .. Mr. Singhaniya , I suppose we should start working on the project from now itself. We need to send a draft of it to Mr Singhaniya by tomorrow. "

"Ummm..I ..." he said turning around as he had mentally prepared to aim a clear-cut refusal to her proposal. What did she think he was ...a robot ? He had almost uttered a no , but somethin deep within refrained him from doing so . Instead "I don't mind , I'm not even sleepy. We can work in my room after I have dinner. But I have an issue ... Mr Singhaniya ... Mr Singhaniya ...kitna confusing hai ! Call me Raghav !"

Walking upto her table, the shivers in her hands quite noticeable she now begun to collect some files & her laptop that lay in an organized heap. Who would say she was clumsy elsewise ... then turning around , her eyes downcasted as always "I prefer maintaining a professional conduct when I'm at work & the people related to it Mr Singhaniya." and she had left , waiting for Raghav to follow.

'No wonders dad likes u & has sent u with me !' he concluded sighingly.

And the rest of the night passed by with work & several mugs of coffee as their additional companions. To his own surprise , he was working & not just whiling away his time like he did always. He had to add one more adjective now to define his Daddy's spy girl - Mysterious girl who had powers to make ppl work ... Hehe...too long to be just an Adjective na ? Even he had thought the same.😆😆

Chapter 6

The days that came by had an all new aspect revealed bout Kalpana.

Buzz buzz ... Arghh !! He groaned as he adjusted his head in a lame attempt of obtaining some comfort from the wooden table. He had dozed off on the working table itself early in the morn when the work had neared completion.

Buzz ...buzzz ! He had finally stirred as he got his phone to his ear & yelled, yet sleepy !!

"Who's it ? "

"Raghav ! Its 3 in the afternoon & U r yet sleeping ? " The next moment , his eyes had flung open as he held the phone to his ear more firmly "Dad ? I promise I was working ..& that's why I was sleeping , I wasn't clubbing. Ask Sammy if you want !"

"Chill Raghav...or what is it that u ppl say ? Take a chill pill man ... "

On hearing his dads voice in a jovile tone , his eyebrows crossed. That's when his eyes discerned the files & papers kept in front of him & realization hit him. Why was he scared , he had been actually working for the first time in his life. Then speaking with slight irritation

"Stop it Dad & get straight to the point !"

"Woah Raghav ...you've started talking like Kalpana in just 2 days ? And have also started working like her ...I saw the presentation & it was great ! I'm now thinking to assign ull more presentations together ..."

"What dad ? I cant hear u dad ? The range isn't proper here ...ill call u back ..." And he'd disconnected after utilizing the age old technique of lieing on the phone.

'This is my first & last project dad ... Once I'm through this & get my cards & stuff back ...trust me , u wont find me ...Mujhe pakadna mushkil hi Nahi namumkin hoga !' and he had headed to the washroom to freshen up.

The days that came by were literally filled upto the brim with meetings & presentations lined up. Raghav had by then got pretty used to her...u know there are these people whom we vaguely know but they yet seem approachable , Kalpana was one of them. The scene that happened first night of their check-in didn't repeat , but it yet stayed somewhere at the back of his mind. Apart from that they remained strictly professional...well., almost.. if one keeps aside Raghav & his jokes which Kalpana didnt at all find funny ...then they remained strictly professional , but his punches somehow kept the atmosphere light.

Chapter 7

It was 7 in the evening by the time Raghav had finished scrolling his phone for the 100000th time now .. He was getting bored. He'd done everything he could ...from flirting to counselling a friend to listening to every single song present in his phone ... Had purchased all sort of games available on those online sites & had sent em home unpaid so Sammy would get a earful from their dad. That was his small lil way of revenging on him for refusing him to drop him off to the airport. He'd even spent some time in an intense workout that had left him stinking like a pig , but he'd also enjoyed admiring himself in the mirror & checking if his abs or muscles had toned up or not. All in all ...he had done every single thing possible...even if it was stupid !

After a few hectic days , this was one day off when they had no meetings to attend & the rest of the work was finished to perfection. He had expected that he would enjoy this day ...but for some reasons he wasn't. He hadn't even seen Kalpana since morn he made a mental note of it. He had to get out of that place or else he would go crazy. That's when an idea struck his head as he put his t-shirt on.

Now standing outside the door of Kalpana's room he knocked "Kalpana ?"

"Just a moment !" was the voice he heard from within the room.

It had been 2-3 mins now since he was standing outside. Does it take so much of time to open a door ...

His thoughts were interrupted when he finally saw the door open. And there stood a Kalpana , counting her toes yet again.

"Hey ! I was ...ummm...just getting bored & I thought even u wud be sitting in the hotel doing nothin ! So I was just wondering if u wud like to go out with me ? " And the 8th wonder of the world happened ! Kalpana looked up at him with surprise. This would be the first time he was seeing her eyes , the fact that she hadn't worn her specks. And what he saw left him mesmerized. They would be the world's most beautiful eyes ever , full of innocence & a tinch of curiosity ! Rarest combination one could find ... But yet , she wasn't his types.

"I mean , only if u r free ! I had seen ads of a carnival ...some 2 lanes far ...so I thought we could just vi...sooo..." her neutral expression was making it all the more difficult for him to decipher what was going on in her head. He felt like a student standing in front of the principal ( hahaha ...unlike the original series Ive inverted the places , chalo maine Yeh bhi kar daala )

And when he had almost thought that she wud refuse he heard her answer 'OK !'

A while later they were on the road walking. It was the festive season going on there , anybody could make out from the level of energy of that place. The air was filled with sweet scents of caramel apples and candy floss. It was a new experience for him as well as he'd been to such places only when he was kid , not afterwards. He wondered why hadn't he , it was better than the smells in the clubs & the energy was way positive in here. Maybe that's why they say, empty pockets open up new perspectives to look at the world.

He then looked to his left , for some reasons he wasn't regretting the decision of getting Kalpana along. For a change she was now walking by his side , he knew she had done it unconsciously when he found her too busy in admiring the surroundings. If he ever felt that her eyes were innocent , then now he would confidently claim that she was indeed too innocent.

"First visit to California ?" he questioned getting close to her , the place was too noisy to hear what the other was saying. She nodded not making any eye-contact as she continued to look at the things around , a smile on her lips. That smile was an infectious one as Raghav was compelled to smile as well.

Once they'd reached the venue Raghav had purchased 2 bracelets so that they would be able to get on all rides. He'd made calculations in advance to see if the money he had would be enough or not ...& it was ! Making Kalpana wear one of those bracelets he smiled at her. She was trying hard to contain her excitement , but was failing at miserably. Why was she behaving as if she'd never been to a place like this ? Was another question that popped up.

And very soon the duo was like running all over the place trying every ride that came their way. They'd literally run into a dozen of people while trying to catch up with all the rides that eve. They were 27 year old kids who didn't wanna miss anything. Then may it be as simple as those dashing cars where Raghav was defeated badly or some unlikely ones like Rings of Fire & Dragon Fury where Kalpana had squealed her lungs out. They'd even won lil goodies when they tried a hand on those luck games.

Raghav was amused would be an understatement. Who would ever imagine that Kalpana would be something like this ! She was fun to be with...

It was 10 by the time they had reached the last ride, the ferris wheel their hands were interlocked by then & they were panting for breath. That was because they'd come running to grab at it after the announcement was mde that the carnival would be closed for the day.

Kalpana gulped on seeing the gigantic Ferris wheel. They're fingers yet intertwined, Raghav started to walk towards the ferris wheel only to feel resistance. It was Kalpana who stood rooted to the ground. That's when he rememberd, she was scared of heights.

"You'll be ok ! Cmon ... The view would be fantastic at the top !!" he explained to cheer her up. But she just nodded in negation. "You should go ! Ill just wait here." He did want to get into the ferris wheel bad , & he wanted to do that with her ... Afterall they'd tried out every single ride together that night. Not wanting to force her ,he started walking towards the food court dragging her along.

After having a quick yet a large meal to satiate their hunger started their walk towards the hotel. If the place was noisy initially , then now it was peaceful as still water with only the streetlights lacing the remote roads. They were tired , their legs were almost on the verge of breaking , but they had to get back. But the random convo they were having hardly made em realize any of it. There was a sort of an increased comfort in their talks now ...

"So how long have u been working with dad now ? "

"Its been ...2-3 years." He noticed the clarity in her voice , she no longer sounded feeble.

"Ooo ...in that case u must be mega awesome at work. U know he takes time to be thoroughly impressed, the fact that he's given u such a big project...Hehehe ... Look at me , I have been trying since birth & haven't succeeded yet ! It is way easier to impress those blondies but him ... And I enjoy my life that way" He ended laughingly.

"So what do u do to enjoy ur life apart from failing miserably flirting ?" She asked in the most casual way

"I go for treks , hang out with some friends ...wait what ..." He saw mischief in her eyes & realized what had she just said to tease him ...

Punching his chest , right above his heart and speaking melodramatically "Oww Kalpana...(now clutching the part tighter) Yeh kya keh diya tumne ?? Tune mujhe kahi ka nahi chhoda ...ek toh talent tha ... And now u say I fail at it, I might just die of shame now ...come my love , give me hug ! I need a shoulder to rest my head the rest of my life. At least I'm happy that I have u ..."

And then he'd begun following her with arms spread out as she ran away from him muttering a chain of no & dodging & laughing at the same time... The kids were yet in the carnival mood.

They hardly noticed that they were now standing outside Kalpana's room.

"Good night Kalp..." His words were interrupted by Kalpana's ringing phone as her expressions changed in a jiffy. The very next moment he saw her enter her room hastily. She'd forgotten to carry it & probably it was urgent he concluded & walked away to his room.

He freshened up and now lay on the bed lazily. Hours back he was in the same room all irritated & bored ...but now ? He was in an opposite position all together. He indeed enjoyed a lot. So tired was he that dozed off on the bed then & there.

It was a late 3 in the night when Raghav's sleep was disturbed. His subconscious mind could register the noises of thundering footfall in the alway of the hotel. Generously choosing to ignore them he pulled the quilt over his head. Seconds later - "Kalpana ..." whispered a fretted Raghav to himself as he sat up in bed.

Afterall it could be anything - a thief could have broken in , a fire or ... Not continuing the list any further he bolted straight out of his room.

SCROLL DOWN ...