ARHI FF:Strings Of Illusion-T1(PROLOGUE/CHP 1- 5) - Page 28

" 3 million...going once...going twice..." the auctioneer announced but was cut short again as a male voice spoke with confidence "3.5 million..."

The auctioneer nodded his head as he once again made a mark in his book and continued.. "3.5 million ladies and gentlemen...do i hear a 3.75? let me remind you once again the significance of this wonderful masterpiece... this is a one of a kind Faberg egg that was specially commissioned for the maharaja of Udaipur in 1921...there is no other quite like this..." he explained again as the people assembled for the auction looked around...their gaze flitting between the woman sitting at the back and the man sitting at the front.

"3.5 million...going once..." he said again as the man in the front row raised his cue "4 million..." the auctioneer made another mark and smiled "4 million...this is fantastic...it would be an honor to have this as part of your collection Ladies and Gentleman...do i hear a..." he said as the woman in the back row nodded while her assistant raised their cue "5 million..." her sultry voice chipped in, raising the eyebrows of absolutely everyone seated there...

She smiled at the sudden hush in the room...her eyes trained at the back of the tall man seated in the front row...she saw his assistant speak to him in a low voice as the auctioneer waited with bated breath for his cue...everyone in the room knew long ago that the fight for the final item was only between two people...the rest had stopped bidding after 1.5 million...in fact, the egg was probably only worth 2 million at the most...taking it up to near 3 times its price was utter madness...

She felt the man seated next to her wipe his forehead as his hands trembled...the cue board nearly slipping out of his hand... "Careful Aman...you are nervous..." she said casually as she felt his eyes look at her from the side "Mam...we have already outbid this item nearly 3 times its actual market value...don't you think we should stop...its really not..." he started saying as she held her hand up, making him stop abruptly.

"I know what i'm doing Aman...like i told you, we don't go further than this...just wait and watch...he'll take the bait...I am not leaving this room without unburdening that man of a few unworthy millions of his.." she smirked as she saw the man in the front row take the cue from his assistant into his own hands.

The auctioneer gulped on as the man turned around and looked at her directly in the eye...his coal black gaze sweeping across her green-hazel ones "6 million..." he said in his deep voice as he turned back towards the astonished auctioneer.

"Well...this is really fantastic!... 6 million ladies and gentleman...6 million...do i hear a 6.5? 6.5 anyone?" he asked as his eyes darted between Aman and the lady next to him while at the same time the man in the front row straightened his back...waiting for someone to outbid him...but no one else spoke.

He looked at the widely smiling auctioneer who was probably thanking the God's for sending these two people into his auction room today "6 million ...going once... 6 million going twice...SOLD to Mr Jha..." the auctioneer said in a booming voice, as he struck the gavel, brining a finality to the bidding.

The sudden silence which had fallen into the room with the sound of the gavel being hit was disrupted as everyone got up at once, many going ahead to shake the hands of the man who had shelled out 6 million dollars for an artifact which was worth one third the amount...many also gave small smiles to the beautiful woman sitting quietly in the back row observing all of this...her assistant trying to hide his smile.

...

"Looks like I outbid you this time..." Shyam Jha spoke as he spotted his prey walking towards the exit...her assistant by her side...she turned around slowly as her hair fell lazily over her oval face, her eyes lighting up as she smiled at the tall well built man in front of her "Oh...Mr Jha...yes i suppose you did...shame...i really did want that egg...would have looked good in my Faberg collection..." she sighed as the man gave her a triumphant smirk.

"Oh, I know how much you wanted it...but i just had to have it..." he said as he leaned forward and whispered in her ears "but maybe we can negotiate...say...over dinner tonight?" he asked her with a wink as she smiled brightly at him "Oh...now won't that be lovely...but i really haven't got the time tonight ...besides I don't like things which were never meant for me...especially when i'm very happy with the other Faberg egg that I acquired this morning" she said innocently as his brows furrowed together.

"Other egg? Which one are you talking about? I mean..what can be more royal and befitting than this one?" he asked her as she laid a delicate hand over his shoulder... "Oh..didn't you know? There were two eggs commissioned in 1921...one for the maharaja of Udaipur...and the other for the maharaja of Bikaner...and since you are such an enthusiast of these priceless artifacts...you must know that Peter Faberg himself crafted the Bikaner one...which now belongs to me for a mere 2.5 million dollars" she said as his eyes went wide

"Don't tell me you were uninformed? Oh well...it was a private auction held today morning at Sotheby's in London...invitation only off course" she said softly, her eyes holding his captive as she brushed some unseen lint of his coat

"Wait...how do you...i mean...i thought..." he said as she gave him a quick smile "Oh, but you didn't think, did you?...I mean, why would someone pay 3 times the price for something not worth that much?" she said as she winked at him...she saw him fluster and smirked inwardly "I know you must be wondering why i continued to bid right?..well, what can i say? I like taking risks sometimes...and i just love to play...especially where you are concerned Mr Jha...I knew you wound't let me win under any circumstances...so..." she said as his black eyes took on a darker look

"Oh now don't look at me with those big scary eyes...you should be proud of yourself...half of the money spent here goes to charity...think about how many blessings you have collected today...it will definitely last you for a couple of days in heaven...before you reach your rightful place next to Satan.." she said saucily as shyam took a step towards her.

But before he could take another Khushi held her palm up "Tut tut tut...anger is not good for you Jha...we wouldn't want the media to know how you acquired the South-Korean deal now, would we? I mean...it did piss me off, but i have been civil about it...consider this as a kind of retribution for that..." she said as she flipped her hair on one shoulder.

"Now, if you'll excuse me...I have a flight to catch...good luck Mr Jha...oh and don't forget to keep that egg under lock and key...after all it is soo priceless no?.." she said as she swiftly turned on her pencil heels and walked out of the room.

...

"Mam...if you don't mind, there is a Ms Kalki from Economic times, who wants to have an exclusive interview with you tomorrow evening for the new venture with...?" aman said as he adjusted his tab on his lap as he sat across his boss on the plush couch in the first class lounge at LAX airport.

"No media interviews please Aman...i probably won't have time to even pee after i step into Mumbai...the last thing i want is more hounding from the press...ask the PR people to handle this...we can have all the interviews at once, later" she said as she closed her eyes and massaged her temple...she could feel a huge headache coming up just thinking about her home country...5 years...that's how long she had been away...

"Sure mam...i'll take care of that...but you do need to be present for the meeting tomorrow...Shalini mam has insisted that your presence is required..." he said as khushi opened her eyes and gave him an icy stare "Do you take me for a fool aman?" she asked as the aman wondered what to say to that...he shook his head in the negative...thinking that the best thing to do was to keep his mouth shut

"Exactly...so why do you think I won't come for the meeting? This is the biggest venture that our company has ever gone for...and the stakes are pretty high...plus I am directly concerned for this new company...so its absurd of you and nani to think that i won't attend it..." she said as her voice dripped with irritation.

"I'm sorry mam...i just thought..." he said as she sighed...she knew what he had thought "I know Aman...i'm just a bit edgy...you know that I did not want this venture...but since nani was so adamant...i really had to give in...plus i feel its mutually beneficial to both the companies...so...what the hell!" she said as a pair of molten chocolate orbs flashed in front of her eyes...a shiver ran through her body as she remembered the one time she had seen them...all those years ago.

'Air India Flight IA 552 to Mumbai is ready to board, Passengers please proceed to gate number 23' Aman stood up quickly as he heard the announcement...khushi laughed at his eagerness as she saw him pick up his tab and placing it inside his bag "What are you in a hurry for? We still have some time Aman...First class..remember?" she said as he smiled at her "I know mam...but i can't wait any longer to get home...its been so long!" he sighed as he sat down again...

She smiled at him as he sat with his hands on his knees that were impatiently knocking against each other...he had been all over the world with her...but this was the first time since the time Aman has joined her company in LA, that they were traveling back home...home to India.

She uncapped a bottle of evian and sipped the cool water as she saw a familiar face on the large TV in front of her 'So Mr Jha...it really is amazing that you paid 6 million dollars for the Udaipur crown Faberg egg...you really must have wanted it...we heard you fought quite the bidding war with Ms Gupta' the reporter said to a very uncomfortable looking Shaym jha.

Khushi pursed her lips to stop herself from laughing as he cleared his throat and spoke with an uneasy smile 'Ah..yes...i suppose i did...but it was all for a good cause..i knew that half the proceeds go to charity...its just my way of giving something back to the people'he said as Khushi could not hold it any longer...she tilted her head back and gave a very unladylike snort as she laughed to her heart's content...'Ah..could this day get any better!