Chapter One
"Life seldom turns out the way we expect it to" I read as I turned to the first page of the latest book I purchased, Great Expectations'.
I couldn't help but sigh at the relevance of that quote to my very own life.
Who would have thought that Akash Raizada, the CEO of the AR corp. would leave the organization the way he did? She couldn't help but relive those painful moments when he looked back at her one last time before leaving their lives forever.
Yes, she had become close to Akash over the past few months... but wasn't that natural? The CEO of a company and the head of governance and legal administration did have to work together most of the time...
Having to spend the entire day, every day with Akash was frustrating at first...No doubt he was the smartest around, but there were times when I felt extremely conscious under his presence..there were times when I needed time to myself, when I needed my own space to think creatively or just simply reflect upon life.. but Bam! Akash was always in the same cabin or conference hall as me
As months passed, his presence was a routine I had just become accustomed to... Our conversations had started to become more casual and friendly, and by now, I knew him inside out... I knew his life story, all his adventures, flings, habits and tastes, and vice-versa I suppose..
But who ever said that girls and guys couldn't be just friends? No matter what the rest of the office thought, what our families thought, the two of us were just friends... his presence just didn't give me those nervous jitters, or that butterfly sensation in my stomach.. The spark was just never there...
It was always just a warm comfort feeling to be around the people I knew so well, and the people who I knew would protect me and shield me against all the harsh realities of life... which girl doesn't want that anyway?
Irrespective of the hard exterior I portrayed, I needed a shoulder to cry on.. a person to rant to, to spill out my emotions to, and who I knew would never ever judge me for that.. it was a relation just so pure..
And just when I had all of that... just when I felt that I had no reason to complain, this pillar of support was snatched far away from me... Akash was dismissed for reasons unknown to all of us...
The potential reasons for his dismissal made the best gossip topics and it wouldn't take a genius to know that most of those reasons' been spoken about would somehow include me...
So what? You would think... but those changed impressions about me hit me, and hit me bad. I hated to see the people I would often have a laugh with, laugh at me... He was obviously the people's favourite and in their stories, I was the villain...
Life had become living hell then... Not only did I miss Akash and all our conversations with all my heart, but was misunderstood by every single person in this office... I didn't miss any of the curious and judgemental glances I receive when I walk into the office every single day...
Funny how people take just a second to come upto conclusions that can affect others for a lifetime... apart from that, work had become doubly stressful without Akash too..
And how much of this could a woman handle? How long would I pretend to be the unaffected, egoistic and full-of-life person?
But no way was I going to get into self-pity, that was only for the weak. Over the next few weeks, I kept myself busy with office work and let myself drown into the world of books.
I lived the life of a different fictional character every single day... I cried with Ronnie (the last song), felt the despair of Jane (Jane Eyre) and transformed with Raju (The guide)
Gone were the days where I wore my emotions on my sleeve...although rarely these days, but when those memories struck back, I couldn't help but shed a tear... but those tears were wiped off before they could be witnessed by any element of the outside world.
[Continued from Prologue]
Being in the situation I was in, I couldn't help but let out a "Yay" when I came to know of a holiday.. one less day of being my newly formed self.. And just like I had let that excitement slip, I had also allowed myself a moment of laughter upon seeing the most comical expression in front of me...
And being the new composed, bold Khushi, I could allow myself to check out the latest entrant in the office... He was quite a sight after all... But what I wasn't prepared for was to have him invade my thoughts like that... I needed to get him off my mind, and what could be better than a new book to read and live yet another characters life?
"Life seldom turns out the way we expect it to" I re-read and then closed the book and put it aside for the time-being. It would be better to be lost in Mr. Superhot's thoughts' I thought before Lavanya barged into my room and took me to Mr.Superhot's room.
I didn't know what to expect from him... would his voice be as amazing and manly as his laughter? Would he be angry for the episode in the lift? Would he be amused and let it pass? Or would he have forgotten about it already?
But nothing.. Nothing would have prepared me for what was in store, the minute I opened the door..
I was immediately pushed against the wall and sandwiched between the cold wall and a hard, muscular body...
All other thoughts and emotions went for a toss and my knees went weak as I realized that there wasn't even an inch of gap between our two bodies... As I opened my eyes and looked up at him, I saw him closing his eyes and leaning towards me... and I registered nothing else, as my senses went for an overdrive as I took in his cologne, felt his chest against mine, his stubble against my neck...
"Do you have any idea what you did to me, checking me out like that?" He whispered against my neck and I gasped as I felt his lips move against my skin...
Hell, did he have any idea about what he was doing to me?
He stayed in that position, with his lips on my neck and his eyes closed, as if waiting for me to take the next move... As I didn't respond for a moment, he began to pull away from me... But I didn't like that loss of contact, at all...
"mmm" was all I could manage before I lifted my hands, placed them on his back, pulled him back to his initial position and involuntarily started moving my hands slowly across his back.
He inhaled sharply at that, and this time, I felt the butterflies in my stomach.
I felt his lips move slowly, seductively from my neck, upwards to my jaw, cheek and finally rest near the corner of my now quivering lips.
"Khushi..." He whispered huskily against the corner of my lips
"m..mm?" I managed to say as my hands moved from exploring his back to his chest. I felt his muscles through the fabric of his clothing...my hands playing their own torturous game on this stunning man infront of me, as they continued exploring his muscles and moving downwards
"You're... ki..lling me" He managed to say before his lips moved sideways, from the corner of my lips slowly, seductively and torturously to its centre, to cover them fully
"m..mm" I whispered against his lips.. he parted his lips and took my lower lip between his teeth, when I felt his phone vibrating against my thigh, through his pant pocket
He groaned and stepped slightly backward before answering his call..
I didn't hear any of the conversation as my mind was numbed and my heart was still beating erratically as an after-effect of what had just transpired
"Khushi, I need to talk to you" I heard him say and I finally looked back up at him
"uhh.. I don't know how to say this to you... khushi...that was Akash's call..I'm ...Akash's brother" he said and looked at me, trying to take in my reaction
I visibly paled and stood rooted to the spot, unable to react, as he took a step closer to me, held me by my shoulders and whispered "I'm here... for you,baby"
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A/N -
Not what you expected? Well it took a different turn from what I had initially planned too.. I don't know how it came out, so I'm extremely nervous for this chapter... Love it or hate it, please let me know :)
Cricket
Arjun
Jhanak
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