Part 8
Trip to New York
The silent mobile vibrated on the wooden table beside the hospital bed. Sheena had fallen asleep on the chair beside her mother and had totally lost track of time. Her past illusions had taken her back a long way which had made her late. Her wonderful days with Sujal had almost made her forget about her dreadful days that she fell sound asleep after a long time.
Yet it was short lived since the vibration irritated her and she was forced to wake up. Her drowsy eyes felt heavy due to the soreness from the crying. It hadn't been loud and violent yet even the silent ones left a deep mark.
With a lazy hand she wiped her dry eyes in order to wake up to the blinding morning rays coming in through the window beside her. Her head felt a bit sore too and from sleeping on the rather uncomfortable chair her back had almost given up on her and she desperately longed for an extended relaxing massage followed by a hot steamed shower.
However her days of pleasure had ended long back and ever since Sujal had entered back into her life it had become nothing more than miserable. The vibration continued and finally she shunned it and then immediately became alert when she saw the time. She was late.
After a quick freshen up from the bathroom she changed into something decent. His harsh remarks still echoed her ears. Last night he had been very rude to her in the party and the way he had made her feel like trash had been tormenting. If she would have gone in the same dress then he wouldn't have had left one moment in insulting her and she probably would have been sent home to change. Not like it mattered to her at all of what he thought about but still it was about her female ego being hurt.
Her mother was still asleep so it was a good opportunity to slip out without explaining anything further. She laid a soft kiss on her forehead and for a few seconds just gazed at her with numb eyes. All her effort was for her mother only and she was going to fight with the whole world if she had to, just to save her.
Another day of misery had begun as she took the taxi towards Garewal Industries. It was strange how she found everything so different when nothing had changed around her. It was the same roads and the same kind of people roaming around yet she found everything different. Her world had changed so much over the year. Where she had been a successful career woman and one twist of harsh reality had dumped her into a terrible position. It was worse than being a courtesan because in that at least there was some respect. Yet here Sujal behaved as if she was just a commodity and nothing else.
The taxi halted and so did her thought chain. She was very late and she knew how much was going to come her way so first she prepared herself and then walked inside the huge glass building. Once upon a time all the grand luxuries had excited her but after what she had been through she no longer craved for it yet just wanted a normal comfy life with her mother.
Somehow it appeared silent when she reached Sujal's personal receptionist. Perhaps it was the silence before the storm so she didn't really feel relieved. If a day went without his blasphemies then it certainly was Diwali.
"Hey Reena, I know I'm very late. Pass me today's appointment list." Sheena was eager to begin her work before she got even more late.
To her surprise Reena handed her an envelope instead. "Actually today's schedule is different. Hasn't boss discussed it with you?" She said it as if the whole office knew and only Sheena didn't.
Obviously that was true. "He didn't tell me anything. What is this?" Sheena examined the envelope and looked inside. To her surprise there were two passports and some documents. Then she remembered how on the first day she was instructed to deposit her passport without any questions. She had tried hard and hard to rebel against it yet she had no choice.
Having moved away from the reception she opened up the documents and found they were air tickets and the destination was New York. They were named on her and Sujal. It disappointed her. It had never crossed her mind that he would take her along on his international trips. She wasn't prepared to feast his eyes as he enjoyed the show. There was no way she was going to leave her mother alone.
The stomp towards his cabin was interrupted by Reena. "He hasn't come in yet but has told me to give this to you." She handed Sheena another sheet of paper and then carried on with her work.
There was a bunch of instructions which enraged her further and she just scrunched the paper and retired to her work place adjacent his office. If he thought he could force her to go with him then he was wrong. Working for him was one thing but she wasn't going to warm his bed as he wanted. Here she had defenses yet if she went along with him then there was no way out.
One hour later
The dynamic personality finally made an appearance at the office. It was the first time when he had been late yet of course there was no one to report to so he could have cared less. However it did reflect upon his disciplinary lifestyle yet once in a while everyone was allowed some sort of leniency. If only he could have thought the same for his employees yet they were workers and he was the boss.
Even though the past memories still ran in his head, his composure and appearance had resolved back to subtle. There were no traces of mental disturbance or of any heavy drinking. His disheveled hair was back into order and his brand new suit was well pressed just the way he liked it.
As he passed Sheena before his office, frown lines appeared upon his forehead which clearly indicated he was displeased. "In my office right now!" He ordered and didn't even wait for any of her retorts.
It was expected and as it was she had been waiting to confront him about his audacity. She followed and stood up front because never before had she been afraid of him and never was she going to be afraid at present.
He sat on his chair with his coat hanging behind. His injured hand was raised up onto the table as he scrutinized her with his puffy eyes.
She noticed them alright and felt slight pain within her. It was true they had negative feelings towards each other but somewhere deep they still could feel each other's pain. Then she noticed his hand in the handkerchief and wondered why he had injured himself. He was totally irresponsible.
"No one in this office has the right to disobey me." He made himself clear. "How dare did you think you could be an exception?" The puffiness slightly increased as his eyes became hot red with anger.
Sheena looked bemused by his raised voice but then she came in control again. "How dare did you think that I would go anywhere with you?" Redness slowly built up within her eyes too. "You may have bought me as your employee but you haven't bought me as your pleasure toy yet so don't even think I would be a part of your entertainment."
Sujal pushed his chair back and stood up with both his hands leaning on the table top. "Let me make this loud and clear. You are assigned by a contract which states you will work as my personal assistant till each and every penny is returned. Personal assistant means you take care of my each and every need personally as well as professionally." She just tossed her head in disagreement. "And for your information this is strictly a business trip. We are going on an international conference in New York. Not on one of your s**tty joyrides." The last part definitely hurt her just as he intended. "Your job is to follow instructions, not to ask questions." She tried to intervene but he raised his hand to shun her. "Not another word from you. I expect everything to be done on that list."
His order was final but she couldn't just go. "My mother is in no condition to be left alone like this. I'm not going anywhere."
With a sigh he returned back to his seat. "I've already discussed with the doctors and they have told me that she has recovered very well. Her treatment is continuing yet if you argue any further Miss Sheena Khanna, I'll put a halt to it and you'll be running around like a beggar once more."
Of course she wanted to protest but no choice was left. The contract was rubbed in her face again to remind her, not like she needed to be reminded since it was clearly locked in her mind.
"You've got an hour to get everything done on that list and I expect it to be done to the dot. And remember that this is a business conference so everything should be professional. Do you understand?"
Anger was surely buried inside yet it was clearly evident in her tone. "Yes Sir! I understand." Nothing further remained to be discussed so she turned and left.
As soon as she reached her table she died to scream out loud with frustration yet she wasn't even allowed to do that. Lot of work had to be done and she was tired of his abuses so decided to get it done in proper order.
The next hour was spent religiously following each and every detail on the list. First of all she had to confirm their tickets and make sure the seats were exactly the ones Sujal preferred. Then she had to take a trip to his house and had to make sure his bag was packed in the exact order as he wanted. His maid had been given specific instructions so there wasn't much hassle for Sheena, but she still had to make sure.
Time was running out and she still hadn't packed her own bag so she rushed to her house. She also had to meet her mother and tell her that she was going abroad due to work for a few days. However the traffic had held her down and she had only fifteen minutes so she just grabbed whatever useful clothing she found and stuffed inside the bag. Then rushed to the meet her mother.
She was frustrated and exhausted. The running around had begun from that morning which had hardly given her any time to grab a bite here and there. Yet still she had to continue and had to reach the airport before her boss did. Apparently it was a VIP check in but she still was required to reach before time so that when the king himself arrived there were no hindrances along the path.
Finally in the plane
For a change Sheena was glad that everything had went smoothly and there was hardly anything left for Sujal to pick on. However she knew it wasn't wise to just trust he had changed so always kept alert.
Indeed Sujal was impressed by her arrangements which he hadn't expected. He knew she was going to do something or the other out of spite so certainly was surprised.
It had been two hours since take off and finally he had shut his laptop. It was only then that he turned around and found his fiery mistress in an uncomfortable position. He noticed how even being in first class she still found the chair uncomfortable to sleep. Perhaps she wasn't used to the luxuries and had no idea how to use them. Her seat was tilted back yet she still couldn't find peace. Of course his motive was to give her as much as misery as possible yet somehow right then he couldn't enjoy the scene. Somewhere he also felt uneasy.
After a few more minutes of staring he shook his head and got up. Then he slipped onto the seat beside her and tried to adjust her pillow properly. She stopped the hustle but still he sat there beside her as if he felt the urge to be close. Those sleeping eyes still ran fresh in his mind. The way he had loved her as she had slept in his arms and the way he had longed to tell her how much he...well it hardly mattered anymore.
Just at that thought he attempted to go back to his seat at the front when her hands grabbed onto his elbow and hooked them around it. It wasn't expected and he definitely wasn't overjoyed yet wasn't disappointed either. The grip was strong so he if he tried to struggle out she would wake up and he didn't want that, especially not when all his defenses were down.
Therefore he tilted his seat too so his head rested beside her. Her comfort level made him wonder what she dreamt, since finally she slept comfortably as if she had just waited for the right support. Even if his brain wanted him to leave and go back to his seat his heart urged him to remain beside her and to just take as much as time he had to stare at her pretty face, just the way he always had.
Soon later he also closed his eyes and wondered what life would had been if she hadn't betrayed him. If she hadn't just used him for his money and position.
Aasmaan tera mera huwa, khwaab ki tarha dhuaan dhuaan
Aasmaan tera mera huwa, saans ki tarha ruaan ruaan
Ho jaye jahan tu jaaye, paaye mujhe hee paaye
Saaye ye mere hain tujhme samaaye
Saiyaara main saiyaara, saiyaara tu saiyaara
Sitaaron ke jahan main milenge hum yaara
Saiyaara main saiyaara, saiyaara tu saiyaara
Sitaaron ke jahan main milenge hum yaara
An hour later or so Sheena woke up due to the disturbing announcement regarding some turbulence. Her eyes felt numb against the plane lights as she was still half asleep yet after the next scene she completely woke up. Sujal slept beside her and her hands interlinked with his. She instantly moved them back and also moved back slightly. How could he do that to her when she had no idea what happened around? He knew very well how to take advantage but she wasn't going to allow him to get close to her any more. Yet just seeing him asleep she couldn't help but think how innocent and sweet he appeared, just like the man she had fallen in love with. How could he have turned into a monster?
Tu jo mila, to yu huwa, hogayi puri adhuri si duaa
Tu jo gaya, to le gaya sung tere mere jeene ki her waja
Of course she knew it was a big deceit from his side. He held no value of her in his life and she also had moved on and no longer wanted to associate with him further. She wasn't going to leave any chances for him to manipulate her once again.
Just then his eyes opened and she had less time to have turned away from him. Both their eyes met and they wanted to spill out pools and pools of words and feelings but both their egos were higher than that. He saw how much compassion she felt for him right then and perhaps it was the correct moment to lay down his demands.
Ho jaye jahan tu jaaye, paaye mujhe hee paaye
Saaye ye mere hain tujhme samaaye
Saiyaara main saiyaara, saiyaara tu saiyaara
Sitaaron ke jahan main milenge hum yaara
Saiyaara main saiyaara, saiyaara tu saiyaara
Sitaaron ke jahan main milenge hum yaara
However just as he was about to say something she blabbed out. "No reason to say sorry because I know you never do anything by mistake." She turned away arrogantly and looked outside the window at the floating clouds.
Her arrogance irked him terribly so he sat up straight and crossed his arms across his chest. "Excuse me, Miss Sheena Khanna. I don't know what it is that makes you so full of yourself but let me just make it clear that I don't need to do anything to get close to anyone." He gave her a sharp glare. "People come to me like a magnet. The same thing happened here." He turned away. "You came onto me and rested your head on my shoulder and wrapped your arms around mine." She shook her head in disagreement. "I'm the one who deserves the apology."
Without looking at him she spoke with a lot of force. "I'm sorry Sir but don't worry I wont make the same mistake again." She didn't want to face him at all because earlier on the passion she had seen in his eyes was enough to make her melt again as she had done before.
"Good. A person only learns from their mistakes." He leaned his head back and sighed. The seat had suddenly become uncomfortable or perhaps his companion had become too hostile.
In return she smirked. "Let me add that there are some people who keep on making mistakes yet don't learn anything from them, thinking that they would go around teaching others."
It was directed towards him and it disappointed him further. "There are also some people who don't notice their own flaws and go around pointing fingers at others. In that arrogance and pride they continue making so many mistakes that there are no ways left of resolving them." With that last word he aggressively got off the seat and returned back to his seat in front. His anger had boiled up again and he forgot everything he had thought about. She didn't deserve his love and attention at all. All she deserved was a well fetched lesson.
Sheena thought over everything he said and deep down she felt very hallow. He never understood before and he still didn't understand her. If only they could have been the way they had always been.
Tumpe miti tumse bani, tumse huwa hain haan khud pe yakeen
Tu jo nahi to na sahi, main hu yahaa per tu hain yahi kahin
Ho jaye jahan tu jaaye, paaye mujhe hee paaye
Saaye ye mere hain tujhme samaaye
Saiyaara main saiyaara, saiyaara tu saiyaara
Sitaaron ke jahan main milenge hum yaara
Saiyaara main saiyaara, saiyaara tu saiyaara
Sitaaron ke jahan main milenge hum yaara
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrEEYkHLtLY&list=UUt5LOUWf__YX5hMfhusFbyA[/YOUTUBE]
For the next several hours both of them remained emerged in their own thoughts and work. Not one of them looked at each other even for a second because their pain had emerged into their egos which had grown to grand level by then.
Something felt terribly wrong and she felt uneasy once again. The plane had been quite rocky from sometime yet she hadn't felt much in the beginning but it had begun to get out of control. Her stomach churned and her head felt a bit light headed.
After had bared it for further few minutes she felt too nauseous so rapidly got off the seat and rushed towards the washroom.
Edited by awaazilicious - 10 years ago
Anupamaa
63