Rikara Redux: OS#22 The Letter pg 17 - Page 4

How much I'm loving this... Gundi gauri and Om sneaking out regularly for their so called hang outs..and getting caught by sahil.. That was tooo cute!!!

Originally posted by: sreekailas

How much I'm loving this... Gundi gauri and Om sneaking out regularly for their so called hang outs..and getting caught by sahil.. That was tooo cute!!!

Originally posted by: Geolover

Nice stories

Hey Guys!!!! This is the 4th OS in the series! This is just a light hearted one to explore more of their friend phase, coz I love writing about their friendship. Hope you like it!!! The song for this one is High School Musical 3's 'Can I have This Dance'!!

P.S. RiKara meeting is finally coming up next week, Heard it from the horse's mouth (Surbhi!) in her latest interview and saw the clips released by Harneet!!!

Anyway, here goes the update!

OS#13 The Dance of Jealousy

"So where is this part-time job that you got again?"

Om asked as he waltzed to the beat of the boring ballroom music he found on his laptop.

Up...side...close...down...side...close...

His feet moved in practiced counts to make sure he didn't bang into the pair of petite female feet that was coordinating his movements with her own. God only knew how long it had taken him to master these few steps to the waltz that he was supposed to do for Shivaay's sangeet. And God knows who decided it was a good idea to choreograph a waltz number between the best men and the bridesmaids during the Sangeet. He could feel his head hurt thinking about the unfortunate partner he had received as a result of Rudra's sneaky planning. He was partnered with one of Tia's annoying cousins named Riddhima who had a nasally voice and didn't know the D of dancing. Sure, he wasn't too good at it either, but at least he didn't step on people's shoes and claim to be an expert of the waltz. Rudra on the other hand had scored a hot dancer cousin named Romi who had a beautiful body and waltzed like she was on water. He sighed.

"The Mehta Publishers and Co. They offered me a part-time job as one of their French translators for their project in publishing Indian classical tales in France. I will also be working alongside the best writers in the business and could probably think about slipping my resume in for a journalist position..."

As Gauri bubbled on about the 'best' opportunity that she got, Om could not help but wander where he had heard the name 'Mehta' again. He had this nagging feeling that he had heard this name before and not in the most flattering way. Something somewhere was not right.

In between thoughts, he lifted Gauri's right hand in preparation for the underarm turn in a quarter circle, but messed the step up by moving a little too quickly to the right and banging into Gauri's head as she turned gracefully in her place. Definitely need more practice, he thought.

"Ouch" Gauri mumbled, now used to her partner's clumsiness when it came to waltzing. Still, he had came a far way from when he first started practicing with her.

It was a week after their meet at the Peak when he came to the outhouse one night at the verge of bursting. When Gauri had sneaked him out of the house and sat him down on the terrace of the Oberoi Mansion, he revealed how the waltz was nothing like he thought and his partner was a nuisance who he was slowly developing the likelihood to strangle. Gauri chuckled and reassured him of helping him with this latest 'disaster', having been trained in waltz herself by her friend who took professional classes. And after that every other day they met up at the Peak with music and waltzed to the clumsy beats and songs that Om had picked out for the evening. Om thought that Gauri would have no patience with his shortcomings, given that she was the Gundi he thought her to be, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that she was an understanding person with his dance. Yet, that didn't stop the occasional jokes that she cracked at his lopsided turns and awkward feet. Now that they had progressed from casual friends, her inhibitions were slowly wearing down and she didn't hesitate before poking fun at him.

Om left his arms from her waist and sunk to the ground, tired by the practicing they had been doing. His thoughts wandered back to Gauri's part time job. Mehta. He racked his brain trying to remember where he had heard this name but to no avail. Gauri sat down beside him, gulping a huge sip of water and handing him the bottle before staring at the setting sun in bliss. Life couldn't be better. She was going to work in a prestigious company with her dream writers and also earn some money for her Annika di. She had been so surprised when the young owner of the company had personally invited her to his office for the interview; and when he offered the job almost immediately, she had been ecstatic.

Just then her phone rang and Sahil popped up on her screen. Sighing, she picked up the call while Om turned his attention to her.

"Gauri, come home quick. Annika di got off work early today. Something about Mr. Oberoi being too nice to her."

"What? Okay, I'll be there soon. Don't say anything. Samjha?"

"Ya, but only if you get me the ice cream from Gupta ji's store on the way back."

"Sahil" Gauri said frustrated. Her brother was getting too good at this. She would need to think of a good way to convince her brother to keep his mouth shut, but for now, she would have to agree. "Fine."

Gauri clicked the phone and turned her gaze back to Om. He already knew.

"I hate lying to them." Gauri said as a pang of guilt hit her when the thought of her sister being kept in the dark about her meetings with Om surfaced.

"So, don't. Anyway, its not like we are doing anything wrong. It's not like we are on a date."

Om said too quickly before realizing that he had hit a soft spot. The thoughts of Rudi's joke on them dating the first few times they had hung out circled back in his mind and the confusion following their meet at the Peak came back in full force. He had been so conscious of them staying friends that he hadn't bothered to call her or text her following their non-date'. And when he finally simmered his thoughts down, including the sexual tension that he felt when she was near, he had made his way to the outhouse a week later only to be met with the royal anger of Gundi Gauri.

She was pissed and that was an understatement. What did he think of himself? Hanging out with her like she was his good friend one week and then completely ignoring her the next week? If he finally realized that she was a poor, college going girl who was out of place with a rich guy like him, then she was better off without him. There was no need to think about him or miss seeing him, if he felt that way.

So when he came around a week later for an invitation to a party that he had wanted to go to, she had refused and sent him packing on his way. Bewildered, he stood in front of the outhouse, wondering why the Gundi Gauri had resurfaced. He rang the doorbell again, sat her down and talked to her. He, of course, didn't mention Rudi's joke, lest he make the situation more awkward. But, he did say that he had been really busy with Shivaay and Priyanka's wedding preparations and the business, so he hadn't had time to call her back. She weighed the excuse in her mind (for she knew it was an excuse) and decided to give him another chance.

"Waise, how's Sahil?" Om asked eager to divert the conversation away from the uncomfortable 'date' situation and into safer territory. Gauri let it slide and concentrated on his question. "Sahil is fine, but he keeps demanding ice cream for keeping quiet. And so much ice cream is going to make him sick, but there is no other way to keep his mouth shut."

"Again, why do you want to hide it?" Om asked again confused as to why she was sneaking out if she felt so guilty about it. The fact that he himself was slipping out of the house to meet Gauri was another debate and reason altogether.

"Om..." Gauri started and then stopped. How would she explain the unwanted attraction that she was feeling for him that made her feel a little lightheaded every time she saw him. The reason why she didn't blink before agreeing to practice the waltz with him in spite of her inhibitions. One conversation about the Omkara Singh Oberoi with her Annika di and she would see the effect that Om was having on Gauri. She would worry, just as she worries about everything and then forbid her from meeting him ever again. Gauri could practically hear the fear and disapproval in Annika's voice if she ever told her the extent to which Om and Gauri had gotten closer over the weeks that they had been spending time together. So, no she couldn't know.

Shaking her head, she concentrated on getting home in time before Annika di found out.

"Om we have to go back and I have an early day tomorrow. It's my first day with Mehta Publishers and Co. and I don't want to be late." She stood up and pulled him up with her.

Mehta...Vikram Mehta...no, no that was the boring banker who kept talking mutual funds, Bonnie Mehta, nope, that was his date from three years ago, Mehta..Mehta...Ranveer Mehta...yes! The douche who took advantage of...

Om's eyes widened when he realized who she might be working for tomorrow. A cold, possessive flare of anger passed through him when he realized why Ranveer 'Ronnie' Mehta would have offered the job to Gauri. He must have taken one look at the curves of her body and the innocence in her face and thrown his A-game at her like he did two years ago at the sleazy party he regretted being a part of. He was most definitely looking for something more than a part time employee and Omkara Singh Oberoi wasn't about to let that happen. With a calculated step forward, he asked. "Did you apply anywhere else for the part time job?

Gauri looked back confused. "Well, I did apply to Sancham Publishers for their part-time offer of managing the translations for the Shakespearean history and collection of poetry. They were talking about getting the renowned writer Shankar Loy for the interpretation. I was hoping to work with him, you know. He is one of my favorite writers and..."

"Done"

"What?" Gauri looked astonished. What was he talking about? They didn't even offer her the job.

"You'll do the internship at Sancham Publishers instead of Mehta Publishers and Co."

"But, I didn't clear the interview and.."

"I said its done." Om dismissed. It wasn't that big of a deal anyway, especially when he knew the CEO Paakhi Sancham on a rather personal level.

"And what about Mehta.. "Gauri asked, wondering why he was suddenly directing the decisions in her life and even more, why she was okay with it.

"Don't do their job. Didn't you want to work with Shankar Loy, your favorite writer?"

Gauri shrugged. What she cared about was the money and the experience and with Om's offer, she would also get to meet the Shankar Loy! She couldn't be more excited.

"But why are you doing this for me?" Gauri asked, needing confirmation that this wasn't some kind of joke.

Om smiled. He stepped towards her and pulled her in a tight side hug before saying, "if you can go through terrible waltz practices for me, then can't I get you your dream job?"

And with that Gauri calmed down in his hug and smiled. Whatever the confusion was about her feelings and the attraction that she felt, she had to admit that he was turning out to be a beautiful friend to have. Little had she known that the Omkara Singh Oberoi that she had ogled at in the Mansion and then met on the train would be this soft-hearted, dependable and generous. Life was truly beginning to look up for her.

Om pulled back soon after and said, "Now don't you want to rush home before Sahil opens his mouth in front of Annika? Coz, God knows there isn't enough ice cream in the world to stop that from happening if you don't go back home in time."

Gauri managed a light hearted laugh before slipping into the passenger seat next to him and speeding back to the Mansion before sunset.

________

A few weeks later, Gauri was deeply engrossed in the world set up by Shakespeare's Macbeth when her phone rang shrill and loud. Sighing, she picked it up and answered Dev's irritating questions. The intern didn't know how to take no for an answer, she grumbled.

"Gauri ji, would you go out with me this Friday for a cup of coffee at CCD across the street? Last week you were busy and the week before that you had to deliver a really important project, so what about this week?"

"Dev, I...have an emergency deadline for this new assignment that is due this Saturday and I haven't even started."

"Oh, but I'm in your team. I never heard of this assignment. Maybe I can help y-"

"NO!" Gauri shouted a little too quickly before realizing that Dev was just being a nice intern and colleague. There was no need to go all Gundi on him. She could let him down nicely.

"N-no Dev. It is really okay. I'll manage. See you Monday." Gauri dismissed before slamming the phone back onto its receiver. One of these days she was going to lose her temper on him if he continued to be this persistent.

A knock on her door deviated her mood and a husky voice sounded through the room.

"Looks like the Gundi has resurfaced. Is that dim witted intern still bothering you?" Om asked.

Gaurii chuckled. "Not really, he is nice Om. It's just that he is so persistent even after I have said no so many times."

"Even after I told him off? Om asked bewildered. The intern really was dim witted.

"Ya" Gauri paused. "But it's okay. I have it under control. You don't need to bother."

Something about the way she said it bothered Om with an unsettling feeling. Of course he needed to bother if a lousy intern was hitting on Gauri. There was no question about it. But, why was he feeling this way? He shrugged it off for the moment knowing he was going to ponder over it later in the night.

"Anyway, do you want to go practice? I feel like I'm getting better and better at the waltz. Maybe, next time I'll get Riddhima and get her to work with you..."

Gauri's simmered temper flared up at the sound of somebody else practicing a close dance like the waltz with him. Their practices were only for them, nobody else was allowed. But, wasn't he practicing the dance with her to be perfect for when he had to perform with Riddhima? Wasn't he always supposed to dance with Riddhima and she was just the stand-in until he got better? So, then why was she so possessive about their dance practices and moreover, him?

"I thought you danced with only me." Gauri blurted without thinking, gaining Om's attention as they walked to the parking lot of her office.

"What?" Om knew what he heard, but he didn't quite understand. Why was she suddenly feeling this way?

"I meant, I thought you would do maybe a few more practices before you danced with Riddhima. Don't you want to be perfect for the big night? Di was saying that the biggest celebrities were coming for the event and it would be a shame to stumble in front of them..."

Gauri blabbered on making sure Om didn't pay attention to her slip of the tongue. Her feelings for him were starting to materialize into possessiveness and she needed to stop before she fell too hard. Coz, God knew, if she fell then there would be no one to put her back. Not even the Gundi in her.

Om nodded absentmindedly, letting it slide like he had been doing with a lot of things lately. Together, they made their way to the Peak. Om was right. He had improved quite a bit in the few weeks that they had been practicing. He caught Gauri in the right motion as she spun the underarm spin during the dance and she couldn't help but admire the grace and beauty with which Omkara Singh Oberoi was beginning to dazzle her with. Together they danced till the sun set in the West before making their way back to the Mansion.

______

Thanks!

read them all in one go you are a very very talented writer

Originally posted by: GoWithTheRhythm

read them all in one go you are a very very talented writer

I've been stalking your oses and the series and this couldn't get better I just wish if this stuff was materialized

Originally posted by: ...Anabella...

I've been stalking your oses and the series and this couldn't get better I just wish if this stuff was materialized

Hey,
Your writings are amazing and I am lost in the dreamy world of Rikara. Spellbounded by your talent. I am loving this series on reduxed rikara. Please keep writing and making your fans happy.

U r awesome writer