||Can I Have Your Number?||ArHiSS: NewNote pg65 - Page 10

"Khushi, which hotel did this person we need to give the file to say his conference was at?" Payal inquired after they stopped for a bathroom break.

"His name is Arnav Payal," Khushi corrected, and she retrieved a piece of paper from her purse with the name and address of both his house and the hotel scribbled on it, "and it's called Manu Maharani Hotel."

Her friend's eyes lit up in astonishment. "That's the same hotel that I booked a room for us at!"

"Really?" Khushi asked, equally shocked. "Well, I guess that's very convenient!"

The remaining journey only took about two more hours, and as they neared the hotel, Khushi dialed Arnav's number from his phone. It was nearing six already and he had informed her that the conference began at 6:30 so they reached the hotel just in time.

Closing the door of the car and grabbing her bag from the trunk, Khushi gaped at the beautiful place that she and Payal would be staying at for a few days. She had only been to a resort like this once before, before her parents had died and when they all went on a holiday to Goa.

Her eyes wide as she exchanged looks with Payal, they both walked with their bags to the entrance. Khushi suddenly said, "I forgot to thank you for all that you are spending on me Payal. You didn't even have to. All I needed was a ride to Nainital."

Smiling at her, her friend replied, "Don't worry about it Khushi. My parents love you and they could care less where I go and what I spend as long as I stay out of trouble. Besides, I owe you for losing your engagement ring. Speaking of engagement, you still haven't told me the details of how you got engaged to the tenant that stayed in your house a while ago. And you didn't even invite me to your engagement!"

Shyam was the last person Khushi wanted to be discussing, but before she could respond, she spotted Arnav pacing impatiently in front of the large doors of the hotel. He glanced up at her a few seconds and his eyes immediately fell on the black file in her hands.

Khushi watched the relief spread through his face and suddenly she felt more proud than she had when she won the fancy dress competition at her school when she was seven. She saw him approach her and take the file from her hands without a word but she didn't mind. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Payal giving them a curious look.

Arnav was going through the papers inside the file in a blur as if to check that she had not lost or taken any of them. After making sure that they were all in place, he finally looked up at her. "Thank you Khushi, this file was very important and I didn't know if anyone else would make the journey last minute."

"Haww! And you assumed that I would?" Khushi asked sourly, though she was pleased that he had thanked her.

"You owe me," Arnav smirked and finally looked at Payal, who was looking cross and feeling left out. "You must be Khushi's friend."

"Yes, I'm the one who got her a ride here," Payal showed off as Khushi rolled her eyes. "So you should probably thank me too."

Arnav just looked amused. "Thanks." Looking at their bags, he inquired. "Are you both staying here as well?"

"We decided to take spend a few days here since we made the journey," Payal said, after which Arnav offered to carry their bags.

"Um, you don't need to. I'm fine," Khushi quickly said, embarrassed, but Payal, obviously, did not object and let Arnav take her bag inside. As he walked ahead of them, she muttered, "He's cute!" Khushi just gave her a look. This was typical Payal, flirting with any half decent looking man that she laid eyes on.

Arnav left them soon after to go to his conference and Khushi and Payal went up to their suite in the third floor to change out of their clothes.

After her shower, Khushi put on one of the prettiest suits that she had. Payal had told her that they would be eating dinner in the restaurant on the first floor and she wanted to blend in with the fancy environment.

Khushi had even finished brushing her hair, leaving it loose after a long time. Her hair was naturally quite straight, and after applying a bit of makeup, she had to admit that she did not look bad.

Seeing that Payal was still not out of the shower, she called her Buaji from her phone and informed her that they had reached safely. At first, her aunt was confused with the new phone and new number but Khushi had made up some lie about how the telephone company had given her a newer, better phone for free for being such a good customer. Of course, Buaji had then wanted to demand a new home phone for their house as well but Khushi had managed to make up another lie about how they only offered one free phone to one customer per month and her aunt had bought it. She did feel terrible about the lie, but she would face her aunt's anger once Arnav took the phone back later.

As her mind drifted to Arnav, she realized that he had not asked for the phone back.

Her friend interrupted her thoughts, and a few minutes later, both of them left their impressive suite and went back to the first floor. Khushi's stomach grumbled loudly as they neared the smell of food and people. Payal glanced at her and they both giggled as they knew how attached to food Khushi was.

o o o O o o o

Luckily, the first hour of the conference went smoothly for Arnav and Akash and at 7:30, there was an hour break for dinner before it resumed at 8:30 and ended another hour afterwards. There was a good number of employees from AR attending including himself, Akash, Aman, Lavanya, and a few others.

Akash stuck with his cousin as they walked towards the restaurant in the hotel rather than eat out as the rest had chosen to do, except Lavanya of course. She was not far behind Arnav along with her best friend, Pam, both of them glaring daggers at Arnav who chose to ignore them.

Arnav's mind wandered to Khushi as he sat next to his cousin and waited for a waiter to approach them. She looked more beautiful every time he saw her up close, which had only been twice. He pictured how her face had flushed when he offered to take her bag and smiled slightly to himself, leaning back and putting his hands in his pockets.

His cousin interrupted his thoughts. "What are you smiling about Bhai? The conference, right? It's going well so far."

Arnav shot him a look, "It is, but I still don't see how you forgot to tell me that this was today, and in Nainital at that."

"I sent you a message right when the Sharmas informed me Bhai! You must have missed it," Akash replied, looking defensive.

"I don't miss messages Akash," Arnav said sternly, feeling guilty a second later. "Leave it, it doesn't matter. Maybe I did miss it."

His cousin shrugged and excused himself to go to the bathroom. Arnav's eyes followed his back and his thoughts drifted to how Akash was coming off as slightly careless these days. He knew that his cousin was very capable and hardworking but something was amiss recently.

A waiter finally approached them and Arnav ordered for both of them, knowing his cousin's taste better than his own. His eyes flitted around the room and landed on a girl's back, a girl dressed in a purple anarkali suit. There was something oddly familiar about her and he tried to catch a glimpse of her face but she was speaking to somebody on her phone without turning around. It was then that Arnav realized that the back of her phone had the AR Designs' logo printed at the bottom left. He could recognize it from a mile away.

Which other girls came besides Lavanya, Pim, and Sara?' Arnav wondered for a second before he realized that Khushi also had one of his company phones " a phone he was yet to collect.

The girl finally turned half her face to the right, crossing her left leg over her other and with a start, Arnav recognized that it was Khushi. To say he was astonished was an understatement. If she looked beautiful before, then she looked stunning with her hair loose. Arnav had seen many gorgeous women in his life, but there was something innocently beautiful about Khushi, something that he felt very attracted to. It was a pity that she was engaged already, but if he was right, then she wasn't very happy about her upcoming marriage.

As if feeling his gaze, she hung up on whoever she was talking to and turned to look in his direction. Catching his intense expression, she flushed and turned her back to him quickly. Why was Arnav staring at her like that? Wasn't he supposed to be at a conference? And where was Payal? She left for the bathroom ten minutes ago. Khushi's stomach growled in anticipation for the chole bature that she had ordered as she muttered to herself about how she looked like a pathetic case waiting for her food alone.

Khushi couldn't feel Arnav's gaze any longer, so out of a lack of anything better to do (or so she told herself), she turned her face slowly backwards to see if he was still alone. He wasn't. There was a girl clad in a black miniskirt and tight white blouse who had joined him, and she was currently holding on to his arm as tight as her shirt looked as Arnav appeared uncomfortable.

Is that Lavanya?' Khushi thought, curiosity overtaking her as she kept observing them. If she was really engaged to Arnav, then he was a very rude fianc because he pushed her off of him and she glared and muttered something that Khushi didn't catch. As she pushed her chair back with a screech and stomped away in her heels, Khushi caught sight of her left hand and noticed with surprise that it was bare. Is he even engaged to Lavanya? Or was it that girl Sara who was hitting on Arnav through an email earlier?

Khushi suddenly felt Arnav's gaze on her again and she found herself staring back at him, flushing as he smirked. He knows that I was watching him,' Khushi thought was embarrassment, turning around again and wondering where Payal or her food was. Either would be a welcome distraction.

Devi Maiyya listened to her prayers, and she finally spotted Payal walking towards her. However, she wasn't alone. Khushi saw that her friend was joined by a tall man wearing glasses, looking at Payal as if she was the most fascinating thing alive. They neared her table and Payal finally tore her gaze from him to look at Khushi.

"This is Akash," she introduced, smiling brightly. "I just met him now. Would you mind if he joined us Khushi?"

"And if you don't mind, my cousin as well or else he would be alone," Akash added in a friendly tone.

"Um sure, why not?" Khushi gave them a weak smile, suddenly feeling like a third wheel. She hoped Payal was still up for sightseeing and didn't completely ignore her for this man that she had just met. Actually, Khushi didn't doubt that would happen.

A moment later, Khushi looked up and gasped to see that Arnav had walked over to their table and seated himself next to her as it was the only open seat left.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped, feeling like he was stalking her.

"Oh Khushi, he's my cousin," Akash introduced, "It looks like you two already know each other?"

"We just met a few days ago," Arnav added, "at a restaurant." He gave Khushi a look as he said this, warning her not to say anything about the phone currently in Khushi's purse. She swallowed nervously and gulped down a chug of water. Payal was eyeing them curiously, since she obviously knew the truth as well. However, her friend soon lost interest and engaged herself into a conversation with just Akash, leaving Arnav and Khushi feeling awkward. Well, Khushi was feeling awkward but Arnav seemed to be completely at ease and absorbed in his phone.

When will the food get here?' Khushi thought with annoyance, considering barging into the kitchen and making the chole bature herself. She got distracted as she received a text and was surprised to see it was from Arnav. Then again, who else texted her these days?

You look upset.'

Khushi glanced at him from the corner of her eye and saw that his face was concentrated on his phone's screen.

She typed back. I'm hungry.'

We're at a restaurant.'

The food's not here yet!' Khushi's stomach grumbled loudly as she sent the text and she saw Arnav finally look up at her, smirking slightly as she flushed. She hated how he always smirked at her, and it seemed to be reserved just for her.

Another awkward minute passed, and Khushi's phone beeped again. Instead of a text from Arnav, she realized it was an email sent to him...from Lavanya. She must only have his PA's number, which Khushi found odd. What kind of a girlfriend or fianc wouldn't have their own boyfriend's personal number?

If this is the girl you dumped me for, then don't expect me to be jealous because there's nothing to be jealous of. Honestly ASR, I would have that you could do better.'

Khushi sucked in her breath. Was Lavanya talking about her? It was likely, as the email just arrived and she was currently sitting next to Arnav. She turned around slowly as she caught sight of the girl in white and black from earlier glaring daggers at her.

Her cheeks red from the humiliation, she debated on whether she should forward Arnav the message or not and then decided to just do it as she had promised that she would send everything that was meant for him.

A second after Khushi had sent it, she felt Arnav's eyes on her but she kept her head down, afraid that she might cry if she looked up. She suddenly thought of every time that her Buaji had told her she was lucky that someone like Shyam wanted to marry her. Khushi felt the insecurity buried inside her start to rise again as she suddenly lost her appetite, even as the waiter finally brought the food to their table.

She finally looked up, only to rise quickly. "I don't feel too well. I need to go to the bathroom." Khushi felt Arnav's eyes still boring into her face but she was too embarrassed to even look at him so she dashed to the bathroom before anyone could say anything.

Wiping away a few lone tears that had escaped from her eyes, Khushi washed her face, feeling stupid that she was crying because of what some random girl had said. Lavanya was probably just upset that Arnav was sitting next to her instead of his own girlfriend/fiance. She wasn't sure which yet, but Lavanya did mention that he had dumped her.

The door opened suddenly, and Khushi was startled to see Lavanya enter the otherwise empty bathroom and narrow her eyes at her.

"Who are you?" Lavanya demanded, crossing her arms. "And why were you sitting with ASR? Are you his new girlfriend?"

She was far more intimidating up close but Khushi finally found her voice. "No, I barely even know who he is. My friend brought his cousin to our table so he just joined us."

The girl studied her face for a few more seconds before breathing in relief, "Oh, good. Because we used to go out, but he recently dumped me for some other girl...or so he says. I thought you were her."

So she was just his ex-girlfriend, not even a fiance. Still, Khushi smiled nervously. "Uh, nope, not me. Anyway, nice meeting you. I should go now, my food is getting cold."

Before she could make a dash for it, the girl caught her arm and glared at her. "You better not be lying." Khushi gaped and pulled her arm away, wincing as Lavanya had scraped her long, manicured nails onto her skin. What was this girl's problem? Even if Khushi just happened to be Arnav's new girlfriend, Lavanya had no right to act the way she was.

"I'm not lying," Khushi said through gritted teeth, pulling free and walking out of the restroom before Lavanya could stop her again. However, she walked straight into something hard and looked up to realize that she had bumped right into Arnav. She found him looking down at her with concern in his eyes and barely noticed that he was holding her elbows.

Khushi stepped back quickly before Lavanya could see them but Arnav grabbed her wrist and forced her to the end of the hallway and out a door labeled Exit.'

"What are you doing?" Khushi gasped, suddenly feeling cold being outdoors and hugging her arms to herself to get warmer.

"I wouldn't pay any attention to Lavanya," Arnav said finally, searching her face for a reaction.

Khushi felt her cheeks heating again as he stared at her. Why did she always feel so flustered and tongue tied in front of him? "I, I know. I don't care about that."

"Then why did you just get up and leave?"

"Because I needed to use the restroom," Khushi lied easily, sticking her chin up and walking past him to head back inside.

Arnav stared at her retreating back with a flicker of amusement, forgetting that he still had to get the phone from her.

Khushi's appetite revived as soon as she saw the yummy food awaiting her on the table. She began stuffing her face, ignoring the fact that she was the only one at the table eating so much and oily food at that. Arnav and Akash left soon after as they still had another hour of the conference to attend. This left Khushi to listen to Payal gush about how wonderful Akash was.

"We're going out tomorrow for lunch," her friend added. "He was actually supposed to leave for Delhi tomorrow morning but he is staying back for a few days just for me. Khushi, I know you wanted to go sightseeing but can we put that off until day after tomorrow? Please?"

Khushi sighed and nodded though she was extremely annoyed on the inside. This was the only problem with Payal. She would do so much for her but then ditch her when she least expected it. "It's fine. I'll find something to do on my own."

"I knew you'd understand." Payal beamed and soon Khushi forgot all about having to spend the next day alone as her favorite jalebis arrived in a nice, round platter.