Arhi SS : Chemistry - Part 12
It had been two weeks since the Guptas had visited the Raizadas. Two weeks since he and Khushi had sorted out the last of the difference between them. If Arnav had thought of spending uninterrupted time with Khushi since then, he had been proven completely wrong. The last two weeks were extremely hectic at work, with a million little and big things to look into. The last time he had spent some proper time with Khushi was about four days ago. That dinner also had been interrupted with phone calls and last-minute approvals.
The Gupta Industries and Raizada Corps, were finally merging together in whole. No more separate offices, departments or operations. The decision had been taken by the elders and had convinced Arnav and Khushi to go ahead with this decision without any further doubt. The new entity would be called RG Enterprise and would soon be launched globally, strengthening their hold in the market. The rebranding exercise was in full swing, with branding houses lining up to present fresh corporate identity options. Arnav and Khushi had been in and out of meetings, taking one decision after the other.
If Arnav felt the fatigue, he also knew how tired Khushi was. The growing dark patches under her beautiful eyes, made him feel agitated at how stressed she was at the moment. He wanted to be there with her through all her problems... however, handling his own employees and trying to retain them into this new venture was taking more effort than he had anticipated. The launch was slated in another ten days and he knew that they would not get any respite till it was over. Lack of spending time with Khushi, the craving to kiss her and the physical agitation building up within him, was one of the reasons of his sullen mood today.
He had just approved the final ad campaign that they would be going ahead with. The shoot would happen in a couple of days, followed by the retouching of images and the final product will be out there... the huge hoardings and ads, launching RG Enterprise as one of the strongest entities in India. He was busy on a call when Khushi suddenly burst into his cabin without a knock. Even though these basic protocols weren't necessary for them, Khushi was the one who had decided to maintain strictly professional behavior at work, not wanting to feed fodder to the gossipmongers. Arnav had reluctantly acceded to her decisions, extracting a promise from her about the daily doses of kisses he required from her.
Hence, when she had burst into his cabin without a knock, he had been momentarily surprised and was silenced while on the call. She was about to speak when she saw him holding the phone to his ear. Gaining a control over her emotions, she sat in the chair opposite to him, fidgeting with her phone. He took in her livid expression, her face red with fury. Her eyes looked at him pointedly and he wondered about the reason for such irritation. Did she know how cute she looked, when she was agitated? The fire in her eyes made her more appealing that what she already was. She looked deliciously tempting and all Arnav wanted to do was walk around the table and take her full lips in for a bruising kiss. He wanted to kiss her till every angry thought was driven away from that tiny little head.
He knew that there was no point carrying on with the conversation on the phone. His mind was distracted to see Khushi so distraught. Hence, he quickly ended the call and asked, "What happened Gabbar? Why do you look so furious?" She looked up from her phone and got up from the seat. Throwing the phone carelessly on his already messy table, she asked, "You cancelled the Jha deal?" The irritation in her voice was evident and Arnav knew why she was so angry. He had taken a decision himself, without involving her into it. They had decided to finalize everything mutually. However, knowing how Khushi and Shyam had gotten along over the past few weeks, he did not think rationally and had called of the deal with the Jhas.
"I can explain, Khushi," he tried to do some damage control. "You better Arnav... I am waiting!" she replied coolly. He stood up from his seat and walked around, so he was standing right in front of her. He tried taking her hand in his; however, she folded her arms instead and stood firmly in place, waiting for his explanation. Sighing in resignation, he walked over to the sofa and settled himself on it. Patting the space besides him, he urged her with his eyes to come and sit near him. He hated the distance between them. Already with the growing pile of work, they had barely managed to spend time together and now this misunderstanding needed to be cleared as soon as possible.
Even though furious, Khushi walked over and settled besides him, maintaining a respectable distance between them, much to his dislike. "Shyam Jha is a fraud Khushi. His sweet talks over the few weeks had me doubting his true intentions. I had his background checked and realized that Jha's are going through a major financial crisis and the sole reason they wanted to tie up with RG, is to gain reputation in the market. They have nothing to offer us in return of our investments," Arnav put it as clearly as possible, not hiding any aspect of the fraudulent Jha Empire.
He saw her relax into the sofa... her earlier irritation dissolving rapidly. She said, "You should have told me all about this Arnav. You know how we work together, regarding every decision relating to RGE. Shyam had called me and he was the one who told me about the cancelled deal. He tried to portray a completely different picture, making you the villain. I found it fishy and thus came directly to you. Lack of communication causes misunderstandings Arnav and that is exactly why we had decided to share even the tiniest detail of this merger. Then why did you not tell me before?"
Arnav replied immediately, "With so much work happening at a time, it just slipped out of my mind Gabbar... will you let it go... just this time?" She cocked her eyebrow in question, demanding the truthful answer from him. How did she read him like a book? She saw through his pretenses... understood his deepest insecurities. The feelings she evoked in him, was beyond what he had ever experienced. How was he to keep his hands off her? He shifted closer to her and was glad that she didn't move away. It was a sign that she was ready to listen.
Lifting her hand to his lips, he placed a tender kiss on her knuckles, eliciting a gasp from her at this sudden mood shift. Thinking it better to tell her everything he was feeling, he said "Khushi... I heard Shyam Jha talking to someone on the phone last week, just outside this building. He was talking about you." "About me?" Khushi was surprised at this news. "Yes you and how both of you'll had become good friends. He was telling the other person on the line, that it would be easy to try and seduce you, considering your recently broken engagement. Both of us had barely been meeting each other for the last few days and he took it as a hint that there was nothing brewing between us, that would be dangerous to his plan," Arnav related the entire happenings that had been on his mind over the week.
Khushi sat still, taking in all the information and Arnav was about to rush to her for comfort when her expressions suddenly changed. He could see her visibly shaking with anger. She swore lightly, surprising him with the curses that seemed to be flying out of her mouth so freely. It was a complete contrast to her otherwise demure personality. She spouted angrily, "How dare he! How dare he think like that? He needs a tight slap. I am shocked seeing his true face. How easily I had fallen for his sweet talks and innocence. Why didn't you tell me all of this before Arnav? I had a right to know. I would have kicked him, where it would hurt the most for thinking so cheaply of me."
It might not be the right reaction at such a moment, but Arnav was turned on seeing this fiery side of Khushi. Despite knowing her for months, he had never seen her raise her voice at someone. The anger sparked a flame within her, which made him wonder how it would engulf them in its rapid haze. He would be a fool to deny that he hadn't imagined his object of fancy on his large bed, wrapped up in nothing but a flimsy sheet, moaning his name in pleasure. He had only curbed his growing desires, knowing that Khushi had just got out of a complicated relationship and he did not want to rush her into something, which she would regret later. He wanted her to be sure of herself... of them and of where this relationship was headed.
Cupping her face into his sweaty palms he fused his lips with her. Her shocked gasp was his undoing as he cradled her face with his one hand, while the other managed to roam freely over her body. His thumb gently brushed against the tip of her breast. He felt her tremble at this intimate touch as she moaned into his mouth. His mind was fighting a losing battle against his body. He needed to calm her down and this was not exactly the right solution to their problems. Kissing her jaw, he dragged himself away. He took in her flushed face and her chest heaving with the ragged breathing. She looked so deliciously pleasured that his mind went into an overdrive, conjuring sensual images.
Needing to divert himself he said hoarsely, "Shyam Jha will suffer Khushi. Only, not in a way you want him to. You think I could stand quietly listening to him, mouth all that crap about you? I had to use all of my self-control to not attack and punch the daylights out of him. Cancelling this deal is just the beginning of his downfall, Khushi. I have a plan in mind and will reveal it to you post the launch of RG, which is of utmost priority. Do you trust me?" He saw Khushi nod and relax into his arms. Pulling her closer he kissed her forehead and whispered, "Do you have any clue how hot you look when you are infuriated, Gabbar? I almost came." She looked at him with shock. Her eyes rounded and her mouth formed a perfect "O".
He knew this was the first time he had spoken so brazenly, but who could blame the poor guy, when is girlfriend wore such fitting shirts... her top two button askew due I their kissing session. "How could you say that, besharam!" she admonished him as a deep red colour flared on her cheeks. How was one woman, both bold and coy at the same time? She had wanted to rip off Shyam a few minutes ago and now she was blushing at the mere mention of sex. Arnav moved forward and fastened the distracting buttons, his fingers innocently brushing against the skin of her neck. This slightest touch had her neck erupting with goosebumps and he could not stop his mind from wandering into dangerous territories.
He shook his head to clear these amorous thoughts and got up from the sofa abruptly. Cussing in the air he turned around to face Khushi. "You are going to be the death of me Gabbar. These, last couple of weeks have kept you away from me and now I am like this hormonal teenager... frustrated... annoyed at the distance we have to maintain as a facade in front of this world. I can't even hold your hand dammit!" Arnav said, running a frustrating hand through his hair. Khushi giggled at his plight and got up to straighten her disheveled state. "Tch tch tch... Arnav Singh Raizada, lacking self-control? What has life come upto?" she teased him, her eyes glinting with mischief.
Arnav took quick strides towards her, to teach her a lesson for playing with ASR. She had only seen that side of him, during presentations and conferences. She sprinted towards the door and opened it, only to bump into Jai and Aman. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as Jai and Aman looked between their bosses, a certain light illuminating their faces. It wasn't difficult for either to judge what was happening between these two. They had seen it coming over the past couple of months. Aman was the quicker one to grasp this uneasiness and said, "Maam... sir... the printers are waiting in the conference room. We need to finalize the papers for the corporate stationery and also our corporate brochure." Arnav nodded firmly, schooling his expressions, while he saw Khushi fidget with her phone. Needing to give her a moment, he said, "We will be there in five minutes Aman. You'll proceed."
"I think we should make our relationship official Khushi," he said seriously, once they were alone. To her questioning look he continued, "I hate this sneaking around to meet. It is unnecessarily complicating things. I don't think our parents would have much of an issue with this news. And if I am not mistaken, they already have a strong doubt in their heads, about something cooking up between us. You know, nani has been sneakily asking me things about you. Your darling Akash must have blurted the truth." Khushi giggled at his annoyance and replied, "Don't get Akash into this Arnav. He would never put me in a spot. Can't say the same about you though. He just loves troubling you and that is one reason I like him even more." Arnav glared at her as she continued seriously, "But the truth is Arnav... the moment we tell our parents... they are sure to bring out the topic of hmmm... mm..."
It was Arnav's turn to smirk, seeing Khushi fumbling with words. He teased, "You can say the forbidden word Khushi... marriage! I know what you mean... but then eventually things are meant to happen, aren't they?" She blushed prettily at his statement and he pulled her closer for a kiss. She placed her hand over his mouth and said, "Arnav, no... Everyone is waiting for us in the conference room. Lets go. We will discuss about all these things once the launch is over. Lets make RG Enterprise a success and then we can disclose things to our families." He nodded and they quickly walked out of his cabin, to once again get busy into never-ending discussions and presentations.
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"So finally, you both have accepted that what you share is something special. It's weird that it took you guys so long," Sheetal spoke snootily, taking a swig from her green tea. Khushi looked at Arnav and rolled her eyes, making him chuckle at her cuteness. On Khushi's insistence, he had joined Sheetal and her for a coffee... managing to squeeze a couple of hours from their hectic schedule. Sheetal had been pestering Khushi and Khushi being herself, could not refuse her best friend anymore. He was just glad it was not NK she had forced him to meet... because he for one, was not yet ready to face her ex-fiance and relax in his seat comfortably, seeing the two friends chat. Only when things between him and Khushi would get formalized, would he go out on the double dinner date, NK had proposed Khushi.
"Oh my god! You obsessed man. Stop staring at her like you are going to eat her up," Sheetal's comment broke through his reverie and he realized that he had been watching Khushi nibble on the Starbucks chocolate chip cookie. The way she would eat around the chocolate chips and then take them in her mouth, relishing the melting chocolate... fascinated him. His mind always went into overdrive seeing her expressing pleasure for anything. It made him crave to be the reason for her pleasure someday. Khushi's eyes clashed with his as she stopped midway, eating the cookie. His hand moved involuntarily to pick a tiny crumb from her bottom lip. The feather light touch made her suck in a breath and he reveled in her response. They were so lost in their own sweet world, that Sheetal had to literally whack them to get their attention.
"Gosh! Get a room you guys. I had never imagined that there would be a day, when Khushi Kumari Gupta would actually embarrass me," Sheetal said annoyingly and Arnav and Khushi only managed to chuckle. Sheetal didn't fail to notice the blush creeping up on Khushi's cheeks and the glimmer in Arnav's eyes as he watched her best friend. Sheetal would never let the duo know, but she was truly happy for them. They seemed to be two pieces fit to be together. Khushi reached out to her and said, "You have to make it to the launch next Sunday, Sheetal. I know you hate the press con's and boring speeches... so just make it to the after-party. And get Rick along with you... You have been going on dates with him all of this month, which means that things are pretty serious this time..." Khushi giggled, flustering Sheetal for a change.
Arnav sat back and enjoyed watching these two girls pull each other's legs. He was just glad that Khushi did not feel any insecurity around Sheetal anymore. It put him at ease and allowed him to focus on the woman who had his heart. Her laughter, her smile, her constant chatter... everything about her had managed to make a place in his heart. He had planned on a surprise weekend getaway from the hustle-bustle of this city, were Khushi and he could spend some time together. He wanted to tell her with desperation, that he had fallen in love with her. His mind had already started work on how he would make the moment special for her. The launch will be over this weekend, getting their life back on track, with ample of free time to spend with each other. He could not wait for Sunday to come sooner that it already would.
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
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