Arhi FF: It's Complicated;Chap16 Pg46! 05/05 - Page 18

awesome update!!

A/n: Another update though this time, it isn't so soon; and I'm afraid I have a little bad news to go with this. So I'm moving to a hostel this week; its not going to hamper my writing but I'm afraid I won't have enough time to PM everyone on my list. Extremely sorry guys but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you guys to check on the thread from time to time. Really sorry!

Chapter 11: A New Job And A New Friend

Khushi was pacing in her room, muttering to herself as we enter her room on this night; or to be more precise, the night before her first day at work. What first seemed to be Khushi muttering to herself clears up to seem that she is talking to someone; or something, to be precise.

"What was the need for you to go and put me in such a situation; like I don't have enough bad memories from that office? Going there again was hard enough and now I have to work there? Again? And be treated like a ragdoll? No, no, no, Arnav Singh Raizada; I will not work for you! And as your Secretary too! To see your face day after day for hours together? No way! And it was Lavanyaji's post too! What if she suddenly returns? What will she think of me? Won't she say that I grabbed her place... I mean, her job from her? This is not happening, not even in my dreams!" Khuhsi glared at her temporary version of ASR which happened to be the teddy bear sitting innocently before her. It gave her an unaffected smile, easing her tension a bit. She smiled widely at it and walked to the bed to embrace it.

"Yeah, I know. I'll go there to work tomorrow; no escaping. You don't have to stare at me so knowingly, you know?" she whispered to the doll as if she was sharing a deadly secret. "I just hope I don't get hurt again…" Her eyes clouded with the past memories of her being humiliated in the office when she had worked there. What would the people there think of her now? It had been okay when they hadn't been there a few hours ago but now she'd have to face the entire office again and all their taunts too. Chamkili… Lavanya had used the term as an endearment, but the office people still saw her as the classless middle class girl. Khushi wouldn't have minded if they had welcomed her too, she was used to people teasing her; but she had always felt put down in the office…

"No, no, I will not think that way; maybe this time will be different; no, this time it will be different. I'm sure…" Khushi trailed off, her anxiety and nervousness returning. Standing up, she unconsciously walked out the room and was half way across the hall; in front of Arnav's room to be exact when she recollected herself. Oh, where am I? I walked out on my own thinking I was back at home… But the door to Arnavji's room is open; maybe he has gone out… Maybe I could spend sometime by the pool and go back before he returns…

The prospect making her happy, Khushi entered the room quickly and crossed to the pool, her smile turning genuine and calm as she gazed at the stars. She took a seat on the poolside chair; the one Anjali sat on when they had their tte--tte everyday, but what she remembered of it was that Arnav sat at it everyday, working on his laptop. It even seemed to radiate his presence. Khushi relaxed, leaning back on the chair. A cool breeze was blowing; it made her sigh in contentment. Her anxiety soothed, Khushi began to feel her eyes drooping. Her last thought was of standing up and walking back to her room but then again, it seemed too far away and Khushi's eyes closed finally, a tranquil smile lingering on her lips as she curled up on the chair and fell into a deep sleep.

XXX

What the…? Arnav almost spoke aloud when he saw the form on his poolside chair. He had returned late in the night; it could almost be called early morning and had fallen asleep without closing the poolside door. He would have noticed Khushi sleeping there otherwise; he always knew when she was nearby. But he had been too sleepy and he knew he needed the rest to be able to work the next day and had refrained from taking a look at the poolside.

Look at her; sleeping as if she belongs here… Arnav cut his thoughts short and took a few steps towards her, his gardening tools in one hand and his laptop in another. He had planned to do some work before he went to tend to his plants but before that, he had Khushi to handle. Placing the items in his hands silently so as not to wake her (which was a contradiction in itself since that was what he was going to do), Arnav leaned down to where Khushi was comfortably lying on the chair, curled up on herself. For a moment, Arnav was lost observing her; the one time he could just look at her without having her raise her eyebrows at him in question. Why was it that she thought he needed a reason to look at her, he didn't know. But with Khushi Kumari Gupta, everything came with a reason behind it, a motive and she'd go to any lengths to get to know about it.

"Khushi… Khushi…" Arnav's words failed to elicit any response from her, making him agitated. He was about to shake her awake when he stopped, the smile blooming on her face halting his actions. She's too beautiful when she sleeps the thought ran unbridled in his mind and Arnav couldn't even think to stop it.

He had seen her sleep before; that day when she had waited for him to try to convince him about Lavanya. She was a heavy sleeper, he had learnt; and it would take a lot for him to wake her up. Looking around, Arnav tried to think of a way to wake her up; he had work to complete and no matter how adorable she looked asleep, he had to disturb her. Now what do I do…

XXX

Fifteen minutes later, Arnav was ready to scream, shout, yell and bellow; anything to make the still soundly sleeping girl wake up but then, he wasn't sure if that would help at all. Deciding that he had no other way, Aranv quickly walked down the stairs to where Anjali was seated before the Mandir, stringing together flowers to make a garland.

"Di…" Anjali turned, her face turning into a frown as she spotted the lines of anger on it.

"What happened, Chote? Why are you so agitated this early in the morning?" she inquired as she placed aside the plate on her lap and stood, immediately placing a hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

"I'm fine, Di. Its Khushi. She's…" Anjali's eyes widened at the mention of her name and she asked in a voice that was tenser, "What happened to Khushi? She is fine, right? Is something wrong? Did you say something to her? Is she hurt?"

"Oh I wish I could… Di… I think it best that you come see for yourself," Arnav replied, not knowing how to tell Anjali that Khushi had fallen asleep on the poolside and he hadn't noticed.

"Okay, let's go," Anjali walked before him, a reluctant Arnav following in her wake, sure that his sister was going to embarrass and ridicule him for this. But then, I couldn't just let her sleep there, could I?

Why, it isn't as if you don't like to see her face; you know you look at her more than is normal…

Its because I don't want her to mess anything up…

Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that and some idiot might believe it…

You're calling me an idiot? Do you know who I am?!

You're me and I'm you… we're one and the same; the wisest, most intelligent Mr.Arnav Singh Raizada…

Alright then, tell me the reason behind all this if you're so intellectual as you claim…

Its because you're in l…

"Shut up!" Anjali's stride stopped and she turned, her face a picture of incredulity. "Chote, are you sure you're fine? Who did you just ask to shut up?"

"Di… its my min… I mean, its nothing," Shrugging her shoulders Anjali turned into Arnav's room and he hesitated. Why, its my room; what's making me falter?

He strode in purposefully, his head held high in retort to his mind's ramblings. He was Arnav Singh Raizada and he had no reason to be ashamed of something as simple as a stupid girl falling asleep.

Anjali gave him a look that was so smug that Arnav, for a moment, even thought of saying something rude to wipe the smirk off her face. "So this is the problem that has you running to me this early in the morning, huh Chote?" she asked, her voice clearly filled with laughter.

"Di just… wake Khushi up. I need to work on the laptop and a dozen pots to weed. She's halting me from my work; I don't know how she ended up here in the first place. Wake her up; ask her to get the hell away from here, please." Arnav returned to his room, waiting anxiously for the tell tale exclamation when Khushi would wake up. He didn't want to be there when she did; he knew she'd be embarrassed enough for ten people.

He made an affair of choosing his suit when he heard a commotion behind the glass doors and sure enough, out of the corner of his eye he saw Khushi race past, not even looking at him once. It annoyed him; was she in such a hurry that she couldn't even spare him a glance? Or was it because she didn't want to even look at him?

Before he could ponder on the thought, Anjali returned, shaking her head and smiling in the direction Khushi had gone, "Such a sweet person she is, Chote. She came here yesterday when you had gone out; to see the stars. She loves looking at them because…"

"They remind her of her parents; I know, Di," Arnav knew, the moment he had spoken, that he had brought hell down upon himself. Oh great, now she's going to think all sorts of stupid things Arnav thought resignedly, looking with weariness at the pleasantly surprised expression on his Di's face. He could almost hear the priest's chants echo in his ears from his Di's imagination of his marriage with Khushi. Marrying Khushi… would that be so bad?

Arnav growled at his own betraying thoughts. Yes, it would be bad; in fact, it would be the worst mistake I'll ever commit in my life he told himself sternly, turning to his Di with an explanation, "Di, you know Khushi; she talks a mile a minute and gives away more information about her than is strictly needed. During one of her principle proclamation sessions she blurted out that she was a star gazer…"

"And you remember all her… what did you call it? 'Principle Proclamation Session'?" Anjali asked stubbornly, not willing to leave the opportunity she had got to make Arnav realize what she had already seen in his eyes for the doe eyed girl in the opposite room.

"I… I'm a businessman, Di. I need to be a good listener, don't I?" Arnav reasoned out, though he knew even he wouldn't have fallen for such a lame excuse. But of course, that didn't mean he was starting to dream of roses and chocolates and love. Arnav Singh Raizada was not a romantic; in fact, he would probably be the first person to vote against it.

Anjali fondly mussed up his hair, much to his annoyance. Arnav knew she only ever did that when she knew she had the upper hand. A sudden urge to win the argument made him close up, the cold hearted ASR peeping from behind, "Di, I know you don't believe me now but you will when you see it for yourself. I'll show you I care naught for that silly girl."

With that parting shot, Arnav returned to his beloved garden, leaving a confused Anjali behind. Hey Bhagwan! What have I gone and started now? She wondered as she returned down.

XXX

"Anjaliji, I'm leaving," Khushi informed hurriedly as she gulped a glass of water on the table. She was already running a little late and she knew she'd have to hurry if she had any hopes of being at the office on time; she couldn't risk facing Arnav's wrath another time.

"Khushi, you haven't eaten anything! At least eat this one jalebi!" Anjali pushed a sweet in her hand and Khushi took it, smiling gratefully at her. "I don't know what happened to Chote; I told him to wait for you but he wouldn't listen."

"Its alright, Anjaliji. Either way, he's the boss; it wouldn't be right for us to go to the office in the same vehicle," Khushi replied consolingly as she closed her eyes in silent prayer before the Mandir after which she rushed out of the house like hell was on her heels.

XXX

For all the hurry she had been in, Khushi waited a full half hour before she dared entering Arnav's office. After the prerequisite knock and his answering 'Come in', Khushi walked towards the desk hesitantly, the events of the past evening still fresh in her mind. "Are you alright, Arnavji?" she asked unconsciously, and was rewarded with the reaction of seeing his fingers halt for a second on the keyboard before they began typing twice as fast.

"Call me ASR; none of this Arnavji business in the office. Now, I'm sure since you worked as Lavanya's assistant that you know the work definition for the post of my Secretary. I'll give you a few hours to go through whatever Lavanya has left in the form of records before I'll introduce you to my left hand man, Aman. Your cabin will be Lavanya's old one. You may go now," Arnav said all this in his old toneless voice, making Khushi wonder if the past few months had actually been a dream and she was still stuck in AR because of the contract. Nodding, she took the two files he handed her without question and was at the door when his voice stopped her. "Remember this, Khushi; you are here as my employee; not as my sister's substitute. There is no need for you to take any interest in my personal matters any more than you need to worry about the employees in this office. Remembering this will help you avoid unnecessary confusions in the future," the laptop began ticking, indicating that she was dismissed.

You needed this well and truly, Khushi Kumari Gupta. Why did you go and fall asleep outside his room, in his chair? He should just have kicked you out instead of getting Anjaliji to wake you up. You deserve every harsh word he hurled at you; and asking him about his health on top of everything. You never screw up half way, do you? Giving herself a mental whiplash, Khushi descended the stairs and entered the room that was now hers. She sat a few minutes at the chair, closing her eyes, trying to gain the calmness that would help her to work.

When she was sure, after a few minutes, that she wouldn't panic, Khushi began reading through the files she had been assigned. Whatever Lavanya had or hadn't been, she certainly had been efficient and organized with work, Khushi discovered a few hours later. There had been a few interruptions when Arnav had called her through the intercom asking for a few files but Khushi had found them relatively easily. It had been the going to his room to give them that had been hard but then, he rarely ever looked at her so even that became easier for her over the day.

It was a couple of hours for lunch though Khushi had no interest in eating. She hadn't eaten anything in the morning, but the file she was reading was interesting. It was on the development of AR Group of Industries over the years, highlighting the immense effort Arnav had put in and his ingenious in the field of business that had brought him to the place where he was now referred to reverently as ASR. So engrossed was she in reading a para on the early life of Arnav(which, she knew, was totally off track) that she didn't notice a figure looming in the room until a hand appeared, barring her vision. She looked up startled, dropping the paper in her hand as she stood up hurriedly. "Excuse me?"

"Sorry, I should have asked that but I knocked several times before I entered and you were still engaged in reading the paper so I thought I'd compete for your attention with the newspaper," Khushi didn't know how to react other than to look at him with confused eyes. As if reading the question from her eyes, the man spoke, "I'm Aman; I'm sure you would have heard about me from ASR; the one he always calls a fool? That's me. I'm sorry we couldn't meet before but I have been slaving over at Bangalore for the past few months."

Khushi did laugh this time; she had in fact heard Arnav call Aman exactly that a few times but when she spoke, it was in an entire different tune, "I actually remember him calling you his left hand man," she replied with a grin.

"Of course; the right is always reserved for the Raizadas, isn't it?" she heard him mutter and for some reason or the other, was reminded of Akash. Realising that there was a little bad blood between the two, Khushi wisely remined silent. Aman was about to say something when the intercom rang and Khushi made a motion of dying before she picked it up, making Aman chuckle.

XXX

How could she? How absolutely appalling! What would Aman think! Arnav thought frustratedly as he paced in his room; there had been no peace for him ever since he had seen Aman and Khushi talking to each other as if they were old buddies. Arnav had actually come down to inform Khushi about a luncheon they had to attend. He knew Khushi had been working non-stop since the morning since he had dismissed her; he had seen that she had been punctual in the work she had been given and though not yet as efficient as Lavanya, he had thought she'd learn quick enough. Seeing her each time in his office room had miraculously improved his mood so much so that he hadn't thought about the lunch as a business meeting the way he usually did. He had only thought the new experience would delight her; that he could teach her the ways of the rich. Whatever else, Arnav had thought the afternoon will be well spent with Khushi who would definitely make fun of the mannerisms or habits. She had a way of looking at things from a grounded perspective that Arnav, after the initial stages of disapproval and dislike, had come to accept and enjoy.

What he had seen there, though, had wiped any pleasant thoughts from his mind and he had retreated to his room like a wounded animal, his emotions in too much of turmoil for him to figure out why. All he knew was that he needed to do something to stop Aman and Khushi… from Khushi disgracing herself with Aman. Picking up his phone, he dialed Khushi's intercom number and was rewarded with the amused chuckle of Aman as greeting; which did absolutely nothing to ease his tension.

XXX

"That's it, Aman; you can leave," Arnav practically barked out and after giving Khushi a good luck sign behind Arnav's back, Aman returned to his room. Khushi smiled at Aman's actions; she was already beginning to like him and was close to considering him a friend.

Arnav turned at the precise moment and though the smile on her face surprised him, the thought that Aman might have caused it made it all sour. Giving her a stern look, he said, "There's a luncheon this afternoon and we'll be attending," Khushi nodded at Arnav's words and, taking it as a dismissal, walked to the door. "Another thing; you don't have to come running to my room each time I ask for a file. Send it through someone else. You're my Secretary, not the office peon; you may go," Khushi walked down the stairs, confused. Had he reprimanded her or did he care about her status in the office?

Arnav Singh Raizada is the most confusing individual ever Khushi thought as she returned to the room, ignoring the wary looks being sent her way since she was so lost in thoughts. The office staff were treating her like porcelain so far; not daring to cross her or tease her. Partly because Aman now acted like a shield between the two but Khushi knew that it was mostly because she was now known as Arnav's relative and people wouldn't fare play with someone that powerful. Not his employees; and neither his family Khuhi thought in a moment of bitterness though she had no idea why Arnav's behavior was affecting her so.

He had been the same way before when she had worked here; so what had changed between them that she expected to be treated any different?

A/n: Here you go! Hope you liked it! Aman has entered the picture and I have a huge plot planned for him so stay tuned! Because I like feeling like an evil storywriter, here goes…

Precap:

"Will you keep the Vrath for Karva Chauth tomorrow, Khushi?" Anjali asked as they were assembled at the drawing room and before Khushi could answer, Arnav's voice interrupted, "No way, Di. Khushi isn't fasting,"

Everyone there looked strangely at Arnav, noticing the finality in his tone; as if he had every right to decide in the matter. It also made Khushi feel mad, for some reason…

"Of course I am, Anjaliji," Khushi replied sweetly, ignoring the burning look from Arnav all the while…

Wow!!!!!!!!!! It was an awesome update!!!!!!! Waiting for your evil plot😈...and have a gr8 time in your hostel😊 ...plz continue soon

yay! aman seems sweet! the precap looks fab too

Hey Nina!! 😛

hey nina sorry for not commenting on the last update...

part 11..goood one..liked it..how she helped him and how he confined in her.trusted her..
Part 12..,loved that..the asr back..and jealous of aman..

Loved it! Arnav and khushi scenes were fab. I felt scared for khushi when arnav defended himself to anjali. I like aman already. Pls give a description or better yet a pic so that i can visualize him better. I always read your updates and the story just forms in my mind as if it is visual.
Precap is awesome! Cant wait, hope you get time to update soon. Thanks for the pm.

Oh yay! Aman! And Arnav's jealous :DD Can't wait for the update!