hey guys...here is the next installment 😃😃...enjoy...
NOTE: Bare with me for now...the story will pick up soon 😳
Chapter 2
He entered the room with four other bodyguards coming in behind him. As soon as he entered Naku's eyes widened at his appearance. To say he was handsome was an understatement. He was the kind of guy that her sisters found "hot" or "fine". Naku, however, didn't like those terms because they signified some level of immaturity and inappropriate sex appeal. Naku preferred the term "handsome" because it hinted at maturity and confidence. Looking at the man once again, she saw that he oozed both. When he entered the room, his presence was felt. He brought with him an air of confidence that nearly bordered on arrogance. He brought with him power and authority. He didn't demand respect – he commanded it. Anyone is his presence was pulled towards him like a magnet – you couldn't take your eyes of him.
Naku was no exception – she wasn't immune to his charm. It was only when AS spoke that she returned from her reserve.
"Yeh raha mera beta…Dutta," she said with pride and affection.
Dutta smiled at AS.
"Dutta, yeh hai Babi, meri bachpan ki saathi."
"Namaste," Dutta said.
His voice was like velvet. It was deep, yet low and rough. Naku knew that single handedly he had the power to make a room full of girls weak in the knees.
"Namaste beta. Yeh hai meri doh betiyaan Supriya aur Leelavati," Babi said as she introduced the girls to Dutta.
Again, Dutta smiled, and Naku could have sworn she heard her step-sisters let out sighs.
"Naku," Babi called, "Jaa Sujata aur Dutta ko uppar lekar jaa."
"Ji Aai…mem-saab," Naku said correcting herself. Along with her dress code, Babi also controlled how she spoke. She was to address Babi as mem-saab in front of guests. "Aaiyeh."
"Chalo," AS said but stopped mid step. "Dutta, tum nahin aa rahe ho?"
"Nahin Aayi Saabhi, abhi nahin. Pehle secutiry sambhal loon phir aajunga," Dutta said.
AS's simply smiled.
Naku led the way up the stairs towards the first guest room as she was followed by one guard carrying two suitcases. Once in the room Naku opened the drapes to let the light in.
"Aayi Saahib," Naku began but stopped. "Main aapko…Aayi Saahib bula sakti hoon?"
"Haan beta, kyun nahin," AS's said as she sat on the bed.
Naku couldn't help but smile, it was infectious. "Aagar kissi bhi cheese ki zarurat pade toh mujhe bula lijiyehga."
"Tik hai," AS's said.
Naku quietly closed the door behind her as she left the room and headed back to the kitchen to finish up with lunch. About an hour later everyone was down for lunch, everyone except Dutta. AS's was just about to go up and get him when Babi insisted on Supriya going instead. She figured, the more Supriya took care of him and looked after him, the more chances there were for him falling for her. Sadly, this first attempt didn't work as Dutta was not in the house, he had stepped out.
Naku found it odd that Dutta hadn't returned until later in the evening, and when he did he barely acknowledged anyone. He just said a quick greeting before retreating to his room. Again, at dinner, Babi sent Supriya up to get Dutta but she came back empty handed. Naku was standing in the kitchen with Babi when Supriya came down.
"Kya hua? Dutta nahin aaya?" Babi asked.
"Nahin," Supriya replied.
"Tune tik se poocha ke nahin?"
"Uff Aayi. Tik se poocha aur bar bar poocha. Aab baas…paata nahin kyun itna bhao khaa raha hai. Khana hai toh aajayega varna bhuka marega. Mujhe koi farak nahin padta," Supriya said as she grabbed a glass of water and left the kitchen.
"Meri baath toh sun…" Babi called as she chased after Supriya.
Everyone had enjoyed dinner – AS had even praised it. However, it still bugged Naku that Dutta hadn't eaten anything all day. He'd been holed up in his room since he returned, not once coming out for water even. Naku's father had always taught her that guests were like God's in your house so treat them with respect and love. Naku knew her father wouldn't like Dutta going all night without food, so once everyone was done eating and doing their own thing, Naku prepared a tray for Dutta and took it up herself.
If it had been any other girl, they'd have been a nervous wreck going to Dutta's room. All for one simple reason – they'd all be trying to impress him. They would have primped, practiced what they were going to say all to make a good impression on the cute man in the house. They would have hopes that by doing all this, maybe, just maybe, he'd fall for them. Naku, had no such worried. No way as Dutta going to fall for her. There was no reason for her to worry about something that wasn't even remotely possible.
As she approached his room she took a second to calm her nerves. Then, she knocked.
"Kaun hai?" a voice came from inside the room.
"Naku," she answered.
Then, just like that, the door swung open revealing Dutta dressed in a white kurta-pajama set. If Naku had been the kind of girl to day dream she'd be drooling all over the place by now. But Naku wasn't that like of girl. No reason to waste time and energy on something that she shouldn't be thinking about in the first place.
"Kya hai?" he asked, rather rudely.
"Aapke liyeh khana layi thi Saab," Naku said, her eyes down cast.
"Bhuk nahin hai," he said.
Anyone else would have backed down, but not Naku. "Khali pet nahin sona chahiyeh Saab. Thoda sa kha lijiyeh."
Naku looked up slightly to see him place his hand on his hips and give her a questioning look.
"Aayi Saahib ne beja hai?" he asked.
"Nahin."
"Toh phir?"
"Main khud leh aayi," she answered.
It was only then that Dutta stepped aside and let her into his room. She walked in and placed the tray of food on the table. She then went over to the bedside table where there was a pitcher of water, so she poured him a glass of water and placed it next to the food.
"Aur kuch chahiyeh Saab?" Naku asked.
"Nahin…" he said.
Naku had turned to leave when he called back, "Ruk. Hard drink milega?" he asked. "Hard drink matlab…"
"Paata hai," Naku cut in before he could finish explaining. "Nahin milega Saab."
"Kyun?" he asked.
"Kyun ke ghaar mein sharab nahin hai," Naku said.
"Shit! Mujhe hi lana padega," Dutta said to himself.
"Aap nahin laa sakte," Naku added quietly.
"Kyun?"
"Kyun ke ghaar mein sharab laana mana hai."
"Kissne kaha?"
"Bab…" Naku stopped herself before she said 'baba'. "Bade Saab ne."
"Lekin tere Bade Saab toh hai nahin. Jahaan tak main jaanta hoon, tere Bade Saab toh guzar gaye. Vaise, tu kaun hoti hai mujhe mana karne wali?" Dutta asked.
"Koi nahin, magar phir bhi…unke usloon ka palan karte hai log. Issi liyeh ghaar mein sharab nahin laa sakte aap." That was all Naku said before leaving the room.
Once outside, she let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. As hospitable as she wanted to be, she wasn't going to let a guest, no matter who he may be, break a rule that her father had followed until the day he died – no alcohol in this house. Naku didn't know what to expect from him when she said no, and she wasn't about to stick around to find out either.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dutta stood rooted on his spot at the audacity of that girl. How dare she deny him something? Dutta Bhao…how dare she deny him? He had asked for a simple drink and she had gone off about the rules and regulations of the house set years ago. Dutta was just about to give her a piece of his mind when she rushed out the door. He couldn't help but smile – everyone feared Dutta Bhao…everyone.
As he looked to the table where she had left a tray of food, he thought of her again. He didn't know who she was? Probably a maid from the looks of it. He had to hand it to her, she had guts for coming into his room – or the 'Lions Den' as many referred to it. She was unique to put it lightly – he'd never seen anyone like her. Her skin was a dirty shade of brown, bordering on fake looking. Her hair was slicked back with oil and braided, while she had what most people called a unibrow. From the looks of her, he half expected her to smell like oil or something unnatural. However he was surprised – pleasantly surprised – when she walked past him giving off a slight hint of vanilla.
As Dutta sat down to eat, he stopped to think. Did she really bring it on her own or had his so-called 'mother' put her up to it? If there was one person in this world he couldn't stand it was him 'mother', or step mother to put it more aptly. His father had married her after the death of Dutta biological mother. At the time of the wedding Dutta was already twelve years old and dead set against the wedding. From day one she had tried to take the place of his mother, and from day one Dutta fought against her. He didn't like her, he never had and he never will.
He was only here with her now because of a promise he made to his dying father. One of his idiotic rivals had made the mistake of threatening Dutta and his family. They'd even tried to blow up a car that AS was supposed to be in. That is when Dutta realized that his number one priority was the safety of AS, and this was the best option. Hiding out at a friends house – a friend that no one knew existed. Hell, even Dutta hadn't known until a few days ago.
Dutta shook his head getting rid of all the memories that tied him to a time when he was simply Dutta Patil and not Dutta Bhao. If this had been his step-mother's idea then she'd have brought it herself, like she'd done so many times at their own home. His step-mother was a pro at acting like she cared.
Dutta began eating, satisfied with the fact that AS hadn't sent it for him – the girl had brought it. No matter how she looked or what she said to him, she was thoughtful – he had to give her that much.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next morning, Naku admitted, she was surprised when she saw Dutta come down for breakfast with the family. She half expected to not come out of his room at all. After eating, he had spent the better half of the day working out every detail of security for the duration of his stay here. Through the grapevine and from things Naku witnessed herself, it was clear that Dutta was not taking any chances with his mothers safety. Every main entrance had two armed guards, all doors and windows were alarmed, and every family member got their own personal bodyguard that was to follow them wherever they went – family members only.
After lunch Dutta sat on the couch in the family room reading a paper when Naku came in to clean. Soon after, Supriya came in with a huge smile on her face.
"Kaise hai aap" she asked.
"Main?" Dutta asked as he looked up from his paper. "Tik hoon."
"Yahaan aapko bore lag raha hoga naa?" Supriya asked.
"Nahin, tik hai." Dutta was trying to get her away from him.
"Kya tik hai? Kyun naa hum ek kaam karte hai, film dekhne chale?"
"Film? Nahin, mujhe filmein pasand nahin," Dutta said, brushing her off.
"Magar…"
Dutta put the paper down and said, "Mujhe kuch kaam hai." Then he left.
Supriya was left speechless while Naku had to hider her smile.
Much to Naku's amusement, Supriya didn't let the matter die like that. Naku found Supriya asking Dutta again during lunch, and then a few hours after that when he was trying to finish reading the paper from the morning.
Naku was just brining Supriya a glass of juice, when she was amused by the topic of conversation.
"Mujhe nahin lagta ke Kareena Saif se saath aachi lagti hai. Mujhe toh Shahid aur Kareen pasand hai," Supriya said. "Aapko kya lagta hai?"
Naku glanced over at Dutta who looked utterly confused – like he had no idea what Supriya was talking about.
"Vaise…mujhe Salman aur Ash zyada pasand hai, Salman aur Katrina kuch jamti nahin hai," Supriya added.
Naku had to leave before she started laughing out loud at the sheer idiocy of the entire conversation.
It was well into the evening and Supriya had gotten nowhere with making Dutta agree to go to the movie with her. But Supriya was nothing if she wasn't persistent. Just after dinner, she brought up the topic again but with a twist.
"Chaliyeh, film nahin dekhna hai aapko toh koi baath nahin. Mere saath TV toh dekh sakte hai naa?" Supriya sat next to Dutta on the couch and turned on the TV flipping to Star One, just as Dill Mill Gaye started. "Jaante hai, yeh mera favorite show hai! Mujhe naa Armaan aur Riddhima ki jodi pasand hai. Sid tik tak hai, lekin Armaan aur Riddhima ka pyaar saabse special hai…" With that Supriya began her rant on the love triangle of Armaan-Riddhima-Sid.
Naku stood behind in the darkness of the room and marveled at Supriya's clear lack of common sense and the ability to read peoples body language. It was one of those moments that you really shouldn't watch but the stupidity of it all just drew you in deeper.
"Oops, lagta hai mere phone ka battery abhi khatam hojayega," Supriya said as she got to her feet. "Aap jaiyehga maat, main abhi aayi. Aaj toh aapke kaam ke vajse film nahin dekh paye. Lekin kaal mujhe koi bahana nahin chahiyeh. Aayi ne kaha ke mujhe aapko entertain karna hai." With a flirtatious smile, she left.
Naku would have burst out laughing at the expression on Dutta's face had it not been so desperate and annoyed. Naku knew that she had no place in any of this, but the poor man was being tortured by Supriya's mindless chatter. No one should suffer such a fate, and if she didn't so anything soon, poor Dutta would suffer his entire visit. Therefore, against her better judgment, Naku decided to meddle.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dutta was ready to pound his head into the wall if he had to listen to one more second of that girls blabber. Did she have nothing better to do in life other than discuss who was dating whom and who fit better together? Sure, he knew that his fellow Indian people loved their Bollywood gossip and movies, but there was a limit. Dutta knew that if she could, Supriya would do her PhD on the golden couple Salamander and Ashes – or whatever they were called. Didn't he also mention something about Katrina? Was she talking about the hurricane that hit the US a few years back? He just shrugged it all off. He never had, didn't have and never would have any interest in such trivial things.
As soon as Supriya went upstairs to charge her phone, Dutta put his paper down and was going to make a mad dash for his room. The girl had the brain power of an ant. He'd rejected her offers all day and yet she still didn't get the hint. Dutta didn't know what else to do, he feared that even if he laid it out in plain language for her – I don't like you – she'd still not get the hint. Just as Dutta got up he heard a voice behind him.
"Saab," the voice came.
Turning around, Dutta came face to face with the girl who had brought him his dinner the previous night. He'd seen her around the house all day today doing various chores. Part of him had wanted to thank her for the food last night, but the other part said it was all part of her job.
"Kya hai? Jaldi batao," Dutta said looking at the stairs for any sign of Supriya, "Mere paas waqt nahin hai."
With a smile Naku said, "Mere paas ek tarika hai jisse aap Taayi se baach sakte hai."
"Taayi?"
"Supriya Taayi," Naku clarified.
"Tere paas? Kya hai?" Dutta asked.
"Aagli baar jaab Taayi aapse pooche ke aapko film dekhne jaana hai ke nahin. Aap haan kardijiyeh," Naku instructed.
"Kya!? Pagal hogayi ho kya?" Dutta roared.
"Nahin saab, puri baath toh suniyeh," Naku said before he could walk away.
"Bol." Dutta stopped against his wishes.
"Taayi se kahiyehga ke aapko woh…action films pasand hai…aur TV pe aapko…woh…kya kehte hai…umm…," Naku stalled in finding the word she was looking for because she didn't want to sound too smart – maids weren't meant to have and education. "Haan…woh documantree."
"Documentary," Dutta corrected.
"Haan woh hi," Naku said. "Taayi ko un doh cheezoon se bohot nafrat hai. Bilkul pasand nahin."
Naku finished giving her advice just as Supriya came back down the stairs with a list of movies and show timings for the next day. Seeing Naku so close to Dutta, Supriya was surprised.
"Tu yahaan kya kaar rahi hai Naku?" Supriya asked in an angry tone.
"Woh…" Naku began.
"Maine usse pani mangvaiya," Dutta said. "Jaa paani lekar aa."
"Ji Saab," with that Naku left.
"Haan toh…" Supriya began searching the movie list. "Mujhe naa romance bohot pasand hai…"
Dutta decided to take the girls advice – what did he have to lose. "Mujhe toh action films pasand hai."
"Ac…action?" Supriya asked, not pleased.
"Haan, aur documentary ho toh…kya baat hai," Dutta added with flare.
"Documentary? Magar mujhe toh woh dono bilkul pasand nahin hai," Supriya complained.
"Toh kya hua. Aap hi keh rahi thi ke aapki Aayi ne kahan ke aapko mujhe entertain karna hai," Dutta said.
"Haan woh……" Supriya didn't know what to say.
"Toh kahiyeh, kaal kitne baje film dekhne jaana hai?"
"Film…kaal…oh woh…mujhe abhi yaad aaya ke kaal mujhe kuch kaam hai bahar. Hum phir khabi chalte hai," Supriya said.
Dutta fought a smile as he said, "Oh, that's too bad."
"Ya…good night," Supriya said as she fled upstairs.
Once she was out of sight Dutta let out a quiet laugh. Never had he seen anyone change so quickly. The maid girl had been right, her advice worked like a charm.
"Saab, paani," Naku called.
Turning around Dutta saw her back with a glass of water.
"Hmm, shukriya," he said as he took it. "Pani ke liyeh aur Supriya se bachane ke liyeh."
"Koi baath nahin Saab. Aap humare mehman hai, itna toh main kaar hi sakti hoon," Naku said.
Handing her back the glass Dutta asked, "Tere naam kya batayi thi?"
"Ji…Naku," she answered.
Before Dutta could say anything he heard someone calling to him as they entered the room. Turning to the door he saw it was his 'head of security' and best friend, Baji Rao.
"Bhao," Baji called. "Tu yahaan hai maine tujhe kahaan kahaan nahin dunda."
Dutta heard Naku chuckle but didn't comment on it.
"Naku yeh Baji hai, aur Baji yeh Naku…mera body guard," Dutta joked.
"Body guard?" Baji asked.
"Haan, abhi abhi Naku ne mujhe ek bohot bade khatre se bachaya hai," Dutta said.
"Khatra bole toh…?" Baji asked.
"Supriya," Dutta said. "Baad mein samjata hoon," he added when he saw Baji's confusion.
"Tik hai. Yeh loh Bhao, joh tune mangvaiya…hard drink." Baji pulled out two bottles of alcohol from the bag he was holding.
Immediately Dutta turned to face Naku, whose smile had been replaced with a blank look. She looked him in the eyes for just a second before she left without saying anything. That one second was enough to cause an unexpected reaction from Dutta.
When Baji had pulled out the alcohol, Dutta saw disappointment in Naku's eyes and it shocked him. What shocked him wasn't the disappointment it was the fact that she had cared enough to be disappointed. In order to be disappointed, one would have to set standards for others. He was Dutta – Dutta Bhao – people didn't set standards for him, he set standards for people. People didn't have expectations for him, yet for some reason Naku did.
Dutta didn't know what bothered him more – the fact that Naku was disappointed or the fact her disappointment bothered him more than he'd like.
JAZ
ps: looking forward to comments 😳
😃
Anupamaa
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
