SS: Dheere Dheere Se - ArDhika + NeSam ~ 2/13/16 p63 - Page 17

Originally posted by: don girls

Nice
Update

Originally posted by: lovv

really nice...looking forward to read d next update...

i liked d way u gav d chapter titles from songs/movies...its nice...

Originally posted by: -GayathriK-

i have been too busy since the past one month and reading these updates just makes my day!! I loved how you chose to develop things between both the couples. Now its getting exciting when Arjun and Neil are gonna be working around the same office and ohh i am absolutely gonna love it!! 😃

Continue soon!!

Chapter 9: Khabar Nahin

Arjun blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. He could sense Radhika close by him, her arm touching his ever so slightly. "Nothing's going to happen?" He gently chuckled to himself at her sarcastic tone. "Is something funny?" He clamped his lips tightly together taking a moment's paused before he replied, "You afraid of the dark?"

"No."

"Then what's your worry?" They heard what sounded like a generator revving up and just as suddenly as the lights went out they came back on. "Well, that wasn't so bad...just a few seconds." Arjun noticed her glare and inquired, "What?"

"Nothing," she replied turning away.

"As much as it would thrill me to be stuck in this office with you...I actually have better things to do."

"Excuse me? I do not want to be stuck here with you," Radhika snapped. Arjun saw her eyes glow into that familiar fiery brown that always had him amused. "You'd probably take the time to lecture me about the bill I am not paying."

"Yes, thank you for reminding me," he smirked while she mentally cringed at her own words. Crossing his arms against his chest, "You do owe me. I told you before I would accept installments."

"I am not paying for something that was an accident and one that I did not cause," Radhika insisted. "So I would appreciate it if you would stop bothering me about it."

"Bothering you about it?" Arjun repeated with arched eyebrows. "You broke it so you have to pay for it. I'm sure your Dadaji taught you this simple fact...own up to your mistakes."

"No."

"No, you won't own up to your mistakes?" Arjun replied with a hard stare.

"I have work to do," Radhika said and started to walk away. "Don't you have some place you have to be?"

Arjun decided to pause the mobile phone argument for now and stated, "Good thing the lights came back on otherwise I think I would kill myself if I had to stay here with you all night."

Radhika turned around to retort something smart back when a strange sound interrupted her. Her attention went to the front doors as the security shutters came crashing down. Both Radhika and Arjun looked at each other in alarm at what had just happened. Before they had a chance to speak the lights went out again.

"Radhika," Arjun called as he reached his hand out. He felt her hand clasp his and heard her soft reply, "I'm okay."

"I think the windows in the offices don't have the security blinds. We can sit in my office until this passes," Arjun replied.

"How long you think?" Radhika asked as she treaded cautiously behind him. She heard him grunt and mutter something under his breath. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he answered in a strained voice. "Walk to your left a little." Radhika did as she was told and they eventually made it into Arjun's office. "Wait here," he said and let go of her hand. She heard him stumbling around and then heard the sounds of objects falling to the floor.

"Arjun Sir?" she expressed with concern.

"Just stay where you are..." More sounds of items rolling onto the floor were heard along with a muffled, "Damn*t!"

Radhika's eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she could see the faint lines of moonlight entering between the blinds. She made her way across the room but not before bumping into the desk making the mug of pens rattle causing Arjun to reprimand her. "Didn't I tell you stay put?"

She located the pulleys and gently turned the blinds open allowing the moonlight to come in. She could see that the entire block was out. No one had electricity. She had a satisfied smile on her face when she turned around to face him. He was rubbing the side of his thigh with a pained expression. "Are you all right?"

"It's nothing," he answered as he stood up straight. "I'm fine. So, the entire block is out. I guess there was another surge and it set off the security shutters. Building security will be alerted and we should be out soon..." Arjun's eyes narrowed as he heard her let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Did I say something funny?"

"No, just that last time you said something like that...nothing's going to happen...the lights went out...the exact opposite of what you were hoping for...maybe you shouldn't say anything."

"So you're telling me to shut up?" Arjun laughed out loud. "This coming from you? You talk non-stop all day...give people headaches," rubbing his forehead, "Talking about clothes...and shopping...places to find good mithai...and stupid TV serials--"

"At least I don't jinx things," Radhika cut in, "And if I'm so annoying then why are you listening in on my conversations?"

Arjun was left slightly speechless. He wasn't going to admit that he had been curious about her response to the note he left last Friday and was secretly listening in on her conversations with her colleagues. He was expecting some big reaction from her on Monday, but when she remained mum it started to bother him. He started to purposely poke at her during the team meetings to rile something out of her. But she continued to be stoic, only replying to him when spoken to and interacting with him when she had to. "I wasn't," was all he could finally say. He pulled his chair towards him and sat down swiveling it around so the back faced her. Radhika sighed at his childish behavior.

Radhika sat on the couch completely restless and bored. She could hear the steady tick-tock of the clock on the wall. It had been a little over two hours and the electricity was still out. She glanced towards Arjun's direction, squinting slightly trying to make out under the shadows if he was asleep or awake. He hadn't moved from his seat in quite some time. Deciding to break the silence she called out, "Arjun Sir? Arjun Sir?" She paused and nervously licked her bottom lip before biting gently down pondering what she should do next. Maybe he had fallen asleep. She stared down at the dead mobile phone in her hand. She had been listening to music all day and the battery had been drained down. The phone died while she had attempted to make several calls out to Sam. The signal was bad and the phone never connected anywhere. The office phones had recently been replaced from landlines to VOIP (voice over IP) and with the power outage, there was no way calls could come in or go out. Radhika glanced back at Arjun and called again, "Arjun Sir? Arjun Sir, are you asleep? Arjun Sir?" She frowned and muttered, "Great he's sleeping like a baby and we're still in the dark. How am I going to get out of here? He's so useless. My mobile is dead and the office phones don't work. Sam and Neil must be worried," sighing, "And I'm hungry too."

"I'm useless, huh?"

Radhika let out a surprised scream and put her hand to her chest trying to calm herself. "You-your awake!?"

"Damn*t!" cringing as he tugged at his ears, "Why are you screaming? You're always screaming."

"I thought you were asleep?"

"You told me to shut up," Arjun simply explained.

"You mean you've been awake the whole time!?" Radhika felt her insides boiling over in anger. She couldn't believe he had been awake the whole time and was giving her the silent treatment for the past two hours.

"Didn't Dadaji tell you it's not nice to stare at people? Maybe you should get your eyes checked."

"You're sitting in the dark! I can't tell if you are asleep or awake and since you were not talking I thought you were asleep. I could have walked over and poked you or thrown something! But I didn't because that would have been rude!"

"Nothing to get upset about," Arjun replied. "I thought you would appreciate the fact I honored your request to keep quiet," sighing, "You're very indecisive." Radhika clenched her fist trying to maintain her composure. "So your cell phone is dead and the office phones don't work."

"You saw all of that and you didn't do a thing?"

"You seemed to have had everything under control. And I think you keep forgetting an important fact...I don't have a mobile phone anymore because of you," Arjun answered. "So how can I call anyone?" Radhika let out a frustrated groan. Arjun was glad he was sitting in the dark as she would have probably strangled him if she could see the amused smirk on his face right now.

"I just want to go home and go sleep in my bed," Radhika whined.

"I thought you were hungry," Arjun replied.

"I'm that too. Aren't you hungry?" Radhika asked.

"No I had a big lunch," Arjun answered only to be betrayed by his stomach as it suddenly gurgled loudly.

Radhika broke out into giggles. "Why were you lying about that?"

It was now Arjun's turn to be sour. He grumbled, "Wish that cafe was open."

"The cafe!" Radhika shouted in excitement. "We can get something to eat from the cafe."

"Are telling me we're going to break into the cafe?"

"I was going to leave them a note and pay them on Monday," Radhika explained. Arjun just chuckled in return. "I don't see anything wrong with that. I took food from there. I should pay them."

"You really are something," Arjun said shaking his head and then got up from his chair, "Let's see what we can find."

"Wait, how are we going to see?" Radhika questioned.

"With this," Arjun replied as he opened a desk drawer and pulled out a flashlight. He turned it on and off to demonstrate that it was working.

"What?! You had that this whole time?!"

"You really need to stop shouting," Arjun replied with irritation. "You and I are the only ones in this office. I can hear you just fine."

"Arjun Sir?"

He noticed the tone in which she had addressed him and could tell there was some underlining uneasiness. He sighed and responded, "Yes Radhika..."

"Can we stop by the restroom first? I really need to go." His eyes softened and he nodded his head.

Sam impatiently tapped the table with her fingers as she listened intently on the phone waiting for her call to be answered. She hung up when she heard the voicemail. "That's the fifth call..." She put her phone down and looked to her right.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. She had a lot of work to do right?" Neil replied.

"She was probably so engrossed that she didn't realize her phone rang...probably had it on silent," Kritika added.

"Even still it's not like her," Zubin mused out loud earning a dirty look from Kritika.

"She did this in Goa," Sam sighed.

"If that's the case then she's probably asleep in her bed," Neil joked but when she didn't crack the smile he was hoping for he continued, "I'll call Arjun up. He said he was working late too. They're probably together."

"Those two together?" Teji cautiously questioned. "They are always fighting."

"It's called differences of opinions," Zubin replied.

"That's call differences of opinions?" Teji asked.

"I'm joking," Zubin laughed. "I think they wouldn't last a day if they were trapped on an island together. They'd probably kill each other before they could be rescued."

"Hmmm...no answer," Neil muttered.

"The office phone is dead. I tried that already," Sam said.

"No, I'm talking about his cell phone."

"His cell phone?" He has a phone?" Sam replied.

"Uh, yes...and why are you glaring at me?" Neil asked.

"I thought his phone got damaged..."

"It did and he got a new one."

"A new one?!" Sam shouted causing Teji, Zubin, and Kritika to look at her in alarm.

"Um, yes...it's for work," Neil cautiously replied. "Is something wrong?" He watched as Sam twisted her lips into a scowl. "Sam?"

Her mouth then relaxed into a smirk making Neil look on with extreme concern. "Radhika's going to kill him when she finds out."

Arjun slowly made his way up the stairs making sure that Radhika was right behind him. They had already made the pit stop at the restrooms each taking their turn to use it while the other one waited outside. Arjun instinctively reached back behind him when he heard Radhika bump into one of the tables. "You okay?"

"Yes, it was the chair," Radhika replied.

Arjun continued walking again making his way to the kitchen door of the cafe. He turned the knob and frowned, "It's lock...of course."

"How are we going to get in then?" Radhika replied.

Arjun ram his shoulder against the door as he turned the knob hoping he could somehow break it down. But it was made of steel and the most he was doing was hurting his shoulder. Arjun gave the flashlight to Radhika and he gave the door a few more good shoves but it was useless. He held his shoulder and panted unsure of how they were going to get in.

"Arjun Sir?"

He looked up and saw the concern in her eyes and he gave a faint grin, "I'm okay." He stood up and rubbed his shoulder, "We're going to have to think of another way to get in."

"What about the service window? It's wide enough and long enough," Radhika suggested.

They both walked over to the front counter and inspected the window. "Okay, I think this will do," Arjun said as he put his hands on the cold steel countertop.

"Are you sure? I can do it," Radhika offered.

"Just hold the flashlight Radhika," Arjun replied and then hoisted himself up and onto the service window platform. Radhika held the flashlight trying her best to angle it in a way that would give him the best light. She watched as he carefully slid himself over the ledge. "To the left please...the light is in my eye."

"How's that?" Radhika asked as she moved the flashlight.

"Ahh...blinding!" The next thing Radhika heard was the crashing of steel pots and pans and groans from Arjun as he hit the floor hard.

"Arjun Sir? Arjun Sir?" She lifted herself up onto the service window and shined the light downward to see what had happened.

"Would you stop moving that thing around?!" Arjun grumbled as he lay on the floor of the kitchen covering his eyes with his hands.

"Arjun Sir, are you okay?" Radhika timidly asked.

"Never better..." he replied sarcastically. "

Radhika tried to push herself further onto the service counter only to drop the flashlight in her hand instead. She saw much to her chagrin as it flipped onto the prepping counter and then roll backwards landing with a thud onto Arjun's stomach. "Sh*t!" he shouted.

"Sir?" she fearfully called out.

"I should have known...not to trust...you with it..." withering with pain as he held his stomach and then continued muttering, "Blinding me first...with the light...you can barely walk...without tripping..."

"Sir...I'm almost there..."

"Don't! J-just stay where you are okay?" Arjun pleaded as he slowly sat up. He grabbed the flashlight on the floor and ordered, "Go back. I'll open the door."

Radhika stood outside of the doorway and waited patiently for the door to be unlocked. She heard the knob rattle and then the lock flipping open. She looked up to see Arjun holding the door open and with the flashlight in his other hand directing her to come inside. He stood still as he felt her hand suddenly touch his right cheek. "Arjun Sir, you're bruised." He watched as her delicate eyebrows arched in concern as she inspected his wound. There was a warmness in her eyes that was making it hard for him to turn away. So he just stood there gently starring in wonder at the woman in front of him. He took in a sharp breath and cringed when she hit a tender spot. "Radhika, that hurt!" he snapped as he turned his head away. "Just don't touch me...and come inside. Let's just find something to eat."

Radhika frowned at his behavior but obediently followed him inside. They walked towards what they thought was the pantry area searching for things like boxes of crackers, bag of chips, and other packaged goods. Arjun moved towards his left flashing the light and here and there so he could see where he was walking when his arm was suddenly hugged tightly by Radhika. She let out a horrified scream, "Rat! Rat! Oh My God! There is a rat! Sir!" Arjun was slightly being tossed around as Radhika was literally trying to climb on top of him to get away from the rat she had seen. He grunted as her hands grabbed his shoulders and he hunched forward from her weight on his back as she clung to him for dear life; all the while shouting her head off in complete fear. "Calm down...can you stop screaming?"

"There is one!"

"I don't see a rat. There is no rat!" Arjun heatedly replied as he searched the floor covering every corner with the light.

" It's over there! Ahhh...don't look over there!" Radhika hollered as she caught another glimpse of the gray rodent.

"Then how am I suppose to see?"

"I don't want to see it." She grabbed his arm and turned it so the light would go to the left instead of the right side of the wall. "You shouldn't see it!"

Arjun tried to move to the right so he could inspect the floor to determine if there truly was a furry friend with them. He grimaced as she turned his direction again. "Can you stop doing that?!"

"Please Sir! Sir, the rat!" She pleaded as she buried her face into the back of his neck.

Arjun swung the light to the right and saw what she had seen. "Radhika, look there..."

"No...I don't want to look...please-please just make it go away."

He tried not laugh out loud as he had now identified her rat. "Radhika...look over there..." He felt her head shaking negatively against his shoulder causing him to calmly coax, "Just trust me. Take a look."

"Arjun Sir..." she mumbled against his shirt.

"Trust me Radhika...see...there is no rat." He felt her lift her head up and peer over his shoulder. He could smell the soft scent of rose petals lingering in the air. Her hair was gently brushing against the stubble on his chin and he could hear her gentle breathing.

"Where?" she shyly inquired.

"There," Arjun replied as he directed the flashlight to the corner. "That's your rat."

Radhika's eyes went wide as she stared down at the gray mop propped up against the wall. "Oh..." she turned towards him and gave an apologetic toothy smile, "Sorry..." It was the second time that night Arjun felt himself unable to move. All he could do was stare at the way she was grinning up at him in embarrassment. Radhika carefully lowered herself back on the ground and removed her hands from around his shoulders. "So...food..." He didn't know why but he felt a sense of lost watching her walk away from him going further into the pantry. "Arjun Sir?" Hearing his name being called broke him out of whatever trance he may have been in and he immediately walked to where Radhika was hoping she had found something they could eat.

Originally posted by: iheartChai

I'm glad you are enjoying the chapters.

I am trying my best to develop relationships between everyone. You'll soon see some Neil and Radhika interaction and Sam and Arjun interaction.

Hopefully I can make this all entertaining enough.

Thanks for commenting 😃

Nooo grace not arjun n sam.. Will tolerate anything else 😭 pleaseee..

I am in love with dis story.. Though nothing sort of romance started between ardhika, but each n every moment of dem together is giving me immense joy.. Really waiting for the next update 😊 😊

wow such a amazing story. i loved to much ardhika's conv. keep updating ur amazing stories.

I told you I am going to love this chapter Grace 😃 I loved each and everything... You are handling both the couples excellently... Arjun has started to fall for Chashni huh?! It just gets exciting everytime you update... And NeSam... They are already in love 😳

Nice chapter😃

ABSOLUTELYYY loved this chap,
arjun radhika's sandwich ''date'' was cute lol

simply in love wid this SS
plz update soon!!