Chapter 11: Knowing the Unknowing
[Earlier on the same day]
"Sir, there is a lady waiting downstairs and she says she wants to meet you." The receptionist at AR informed the CEO Office.
"Okay, send her in"
"Okay, Sir" The receptionist replied and put down the intercom.
"You can meet him in the CEO Office. The cabin is upstairs" The receptionist said to the girl, eyeing her from top to bottom.
"Thank You" The girl replied and headed towards the stairs with nervousness loud in her body language.
~~***~~
Akash Singh Raizada was seated comfortably in the CEO Office, his back thrown against the back of the chair he was sitting in.
The chair of the CEO. The chair which legally belonged to Arnav Singh Raizada but he wasn't in the city to raise objections.
"This is life" murmured Akash, taking a sip from his whiskey and relishing the taste with closed eyes.
"May I come in?" came the soft voice of a girl preceded by a knock on the door.
"Come in" Akash replied and adjusted himself to an attentive position in the chair.
"Oh, it's you. I was expecting you Payal and I am glad you showed up." Said an over-excited Akash as an awkward Payal stepped inside the cabin and took a seat before him.
"You were?" she asked, not really believing.
"Of course I was. Now that when Khushi's out of town, I thought you'd try to meet me." Said Akash with a crooked smile, taking another sip of his whiskey.
"My meeting with you has got nothing to do with Khushi being out of the town. I would have met you anyway" retorted Payal as quick as she can.
"Oh yes, I see. But then you would have preferred meeting me in the Mandir instead of the office. Isn't it, dear?" said Akash with a smug look on his face.
"I am not here to discuss what our prospective places of meeting could have been Akash." Payal replied.
"I know, I know. You're here to make me feel all sorry and go on my knees to beg forgiveness? Or do you think you can change my decision?" Akash asked in a derisive tone.
"I am not here to change anything, Akash though I wish I could. I am still unable to believe that YOU betrayed me. The man whom I loved with my body and soul" Said Payal, at the verge of tears.
"Look, Payal. I never wanted you to love me with all your body and soul. I was quite contended with the former alone but no, you had to indulge your soul too and make things complex" Akash replied in an irritated voice, pushing her off the edge.
She had resolved not to cry before him but the words hurt too much to stop the tears.
"How can you be this insensitive, Akash? You were the one who came to me, followed me for weeks, took vows of love before me, made me feel special. And this is how you talk now? Sometimes I find it hard to believe that you are the same person I loved" said Payal.
"Come on, Payal! Those 'aww-so-sweet' gestures are called 'tricks of the business'. I did all that because I wanted you. And know what? I had kind of started to like you, Payal. But then you had to drop that bomb shell on me with "I-am-pregnant-with-your-baby" stuff" Akash said, taking another sip of the whiskey.
"I...Akash you.. you're disgusting" Payal said as tears spilled down her eyes.
"Yet you love me" Akash replied with a broad smile.
"No, I don't." screamed Payal.
"Oh you do, Payal. If not so, why haven't you aborted the baby yet? Why are you carrying something of mine in your body? You hate me right? So abort it. At least that would put an end to your and mine worries." Akash suggested with the same smile as he refilled his glass.
"I hate you, Akash. That is all I know. But this is not what I came to talk about. I am here to talk about Khushi." Said Payal, once again the firmness in her voice surfacing back.
"Oh. Khushi ke baare me? What about her?" asked Akash, keeping the whiskey glass aside and lifting a paper weight in his hands and rotating it with his fingers.
"She's working here, under your brother, Arnav Singh Raizada."
"Well sorry, Payal but this isn't exactly a breaking news for me. I already know" said Akash, his eyes glinting.
"Of course you know. And I want you to stay away from her. Do not dare to come near her. You're..."
"Shh, Payal, Ferociousness doesn't suit you well. And how I ought to behave around your little sister, you don't need to explain to me. All you need to worry about is your Babuji's health. I don't think you would want another heart attack for him. Or do you?" asked Akash, leaning towards the table and speaking in a soft and slow yet malicious voice.
"Just go home and watch the show unfold, Payal. Akash Singh Raizada is going to win this game" Akash said and laughed a slow laugh, making Payal shiver in apprehension.
"Akash, you're not human. You're a monster" said Payal before grabbing her bag and walking out of the cabin with slumped shoulders.
"I am a manipulator, Payal" murmured Akash before his face darkened.
"Khushi Kumari Gupta" He repeated the name over and over in his mind.
~~***~~
"Ma'am, Mr. Raizada is waiting for you at the reception. He has asked if you're ready to leave" The room service man informed when Khushi opened the door of her room after the knock.
"Yes, I am ready." Khushi said as she went back to the room and collected her travel bag from the bed.
"Ma'am I'll carry this" The man said, taking the bag from her and she acknowledged with a soft nod.
As the man led the way, Khushi silently followed him with an expression of forced normalcy upon her face.
She didn't know how long this expression of hers was going to live after seeing Arnav.
The kiss they had shared in her room had left her shaken but she wasn't blaming him for it.
She knew she had faltered.
She wasn't supposed to give into the temptation, the desire. But the mistake had been made. She had kissed him back and now she didn't know how Arnav was going to respond.
What would he be thinking of her?
As thoughts continued coursing through her brain, she reached the reception area to find Arnav talking on his Bluetooth.
His back was facing her and he had his one hand in his pocket.
While talking he turned towards her and their gazes met.
Was it for real? Khushi thought, as she noticed him smiling at her.
He was really smiling at her after that kiss in the room?
Had he taken her reciprocation in some wrong sense?
Is he thinking that she too likes him?
No wait!
Like him?
Does she actually like him? She thought.
"You do, Khushi. You like him more than the mere liking. He sets your heartbeats on race, he makes your skin flush, he invades your dreams, he makes you nervous, he makes you feel wanted, he makes you feel special, he makes you feel precious. You Love.."
"No I don't" She mentally screamed even before the sentence could finish.
"I am waiting for you in the car" He said and left, breaking the row of her thoughts and the mental conflict.
As she followed him out, she found her bag already placed inside by the room service man.
"Get in, Khushi" she heard Arnav say who was already seated inside and was fastening his seat belt.
"Hey, Devi Maiya, Seven more hours in the car with him, alone" she thought as she got into the passenger's seat.
The drive started and there was a silence of two minutes in the car and Khushi wished it to continue for the rest of the hours but her wish went futile as Arnav coughed.
She knew he was going to say something, maybe about the dance, about the kiss.
"Khu.."
"Can you please play some music?" she quickly cut in, pointing her finger towards the stereo system in the SUV.
"Actually I am getting bored and music is like a second stress buster for me" She explained as Arnav gave her an analysing glance.
He understood what she was trying to do.
She didn't want him to talk anything about the evening, something which he was impatiently looking forward to.
When he had reached his room after the kiss, his mind had been a muddle of thoughts. Her reciprocation had been the main reason behind it.
He hadn't expected her to take part in that kiss, instead he had been expecting some retort on her end.
After all the thinking and mental discussions, he had arrived to the conclusion that he liked her. There was no denying he was attracted to her like to no one else.
And judging by her response, he had calculated that maybe she too liked him.
Though she hadn't said it aloud like him, her actions did speak a lot.
Her fidgeting hands in his presence, her shallow breaths at his proximity, her blush every time he would praise her work and on top of all, the looks she would give him when she thought he wasn't looking, everything vouched for her feelings towards him.
Even if the world thought him to be, Arnav Singh Raizada wasn't a total illiterate at studying expressions and feelings and this evening had given him a faint idea of what Khushi's heart held for him.
He wanted to talk but clearly she wasn't willing to.
Fine, he had no intention to force her. He was more than ready to take things slow.
"What type of music you like?" He asked, as she herself provided him a topic to strike a conversation.
"Nothing in particular. Anything would do."
She decided to keep her replies succinct.
Less talking meant less chances of getting into the conversation she was dreading.
"You look stressed out" He commented after a second.
"Music will help" She replied and he sighed inside.
She wasn't giving up a single chance to shut off the conversation.
"Okay" He replied and switched on the stereo for her.
As the soft music flowed in the limited space of the car, Khushi threw her head back in the seat and closed her eyes.
The song seemed to justify the situation and thoughts running within the mind of both the persons.
As the lyrics hit the air, Arnav reluctantly withdrew his gaze from Khushi's now tranquilized face and tried to concentrate on the road ahead, his heartbeats going in sync with the notes of the song.
"Kuch Reshmi hai, kuch khurdura
Abhi beh chala hai, abhi hai ruka"
As he stole a fleeting glance at her face, the lyrics changed to
"Haath me hai ret sa, isaaq tera"
Oh! How beautiful and tempting it was to keep gazing at her, renouncing the world which lay outside.
The world which wasn't allowing her to give into her wishes, depriving him of something he badly wanted.
As his eyes went back to the road, he could feel his heart fluttering with so many new emotions surging within him and he knew there was no coming back now.
"Uss paar tu hai, iss paar main
Lagta hai duboonga..iss baar main,
Jaane kahan hai le chala, isaaq tera"
~~***~~
Khushi was mercilessly aware of his eyes looking at her but she din't dare to open her own eyes and look at him.
Deep down she knew she was fighting a losing battle but she wasn't going to give up, for their own good.
She recalled the evening once again, the feel of his body flushed against hers, the smoldering look in his eyes.
If only she was given an option of reversing the day, she would have opted deleting that kiss they shared.
But she knew it wasn't happening. She will have to live with that memory, the memory of bliss and with all the mental barriers in her mind; it was going to be difficult.
She was lost in her thoughts with her eyes still closed but the sudden feel of his hands on hers, made her eyes shot open and she sat back in the seat with a jolt.
With surprise written all over her face, she looked at Arnav's face who was still looking at the road ahead.
Her eyes travelled down to look at his hand placed upon hers which was resting by her side.
She stared at the only contact between their skins and then raised her questioning gaze at him.
"I hope you don't mind, Khushi. I just felt like.." He said, looking in her direction and noticed the storm of emotions whirling in her eyes.
"Main tere tu mere, saamne jab talak
Ye jami ye falak, khoobsoorat lage,
"Kisht me hai mili aaj ki ye khushi
Gin rakhe hai magar kal ke lamhe sabhi"
"Khushi, is there anything you want to share?" He finally asked and she quickly averted her gaze from his.
"You should be more careful while driving. Please concentrate on the road" She replied, slipping her hand away and placing them in her lap.
"Right" He murmured back and steadied his gaze back on the road while Khushi wondered if she imagined the dismay in his voice or was it really there.
His face was once again going back to being unreadable and she hated doing that to him.
She was aware what was on his mind and she was afraid he would be able to see the same in her eyes.
She looked at him through the corner of her eyes.
"Kuch der tujhko bhi, tak loongi main
Palko ke taalo me, rakh loongi mai
Hai subah ke khwaab sa, isaaq tera"
~~***~~
The drive continued for another half an before the silence in the car was disturbed by the ringing of Khushi's phone.
Giving a quick look to Arnav who was still looking ahead in the dark silence of the night, she disconnected the call.
Ever since the song had ended, he hadn't tried to strike another conversation and Khushi had been somewhat happy about it.
It didn't take more than one minute when her phone started ringing again and she knew it will keep ringing until she received it.
Giving another conscious glance at Arnav, she received the call.
"Your dear sister visited me this afternoon" Akash started without bothering with any pleasantries.
"Hmm" She replied with.
"Hmm? I thought you were going to get berserk about it as you don't like her visiting me" Said an impassive Akash.
"Don't like is a small word. I hate it actually" she finally said aloud and expected a fleeting glance from Arnav but it didn't come.
"There you said it. I love it when you get so straightforward" Said a smirking Akash and Khushi tried her best not to scream back at him.
"So how's the work there? You have been spending some quality time with my Bhai, haven't you? Asked Akash and Khushi could imagine his face while doing so, thus pure disgust rising within her.
This man was the limit of cheapness.
"Your silence hints that Bhai is around" Said Akash with a hinge of amusement in his voice which Khushi loathed like anything.
"Okay fine, fine, I shouldn't tease the tigress. Call me when you're back. We have urgent issues to discuss about your sister" Said Akash and disconnected.
Khushi took in easy and long breaths to calm herself down and turned to look at Arnav, realising that he was already looking at her.
"You fine?" He asked, his eyes brimming with concern and she couldn't help but smile at him.
She indeed loved this man.
******
Edited by Pearl_Oyster - 7 years ago
Cricket
330