Chapter 15 - Rest Assured
Arnav couldn’t register even a single word the Marketing Head was speaking. He did nod when he saw others doing it so that his obvious lack of interest wasn’t evident.
He couldn’t help it. What had happened some time ago with Khushi wasn’t something he could forget anytime soon.
The entire week, he had teased her, tried to get a reaction out of her. So far he had succeeded but then, she planned this sweet retribution.
The sight of her in that black sheen top and skirt was etched in his mind. The way she had slowly walked over to him and teased him, made his heart race. And then they had made out and even the memory of it was enough to get his juices flowing.
How far would they have gone if the marketing team hadn’t interrupted? Would they have done it? Right here in his office?
Her boldness had aroused him. He never imagined she would do something like this. But one thing that he had understood very well was that there were so many layers to her. Every time they interacted, he had uncovered some or other aspect of her. And he was more than happy peeling off each layer one by one.
He looked at his watch- 6:35pm. The marketing head was speaking non-stop for an hour now only taking water breaks. Arnav shook his feet impatiently. At this moment, he just wanted to dash off to Khushi’s apartment and continue from where they had left off.
When another member had taken over the presentation, Arnav’s phone vibrated in his pant pocket. He took it out and unlocked it.
(Friday, July 7)
-Khushi- 7:20pm || [+1 attachment.jpg]
Arnav tapped on the picture and it started to load on his screen. It was a photo of a black lace satin nightdress sprawled on a white bed-sheet.
Arnav bit back a groan of excitement. He looked up from his phone to see everyone else was engrossed in the presentation. He resumed typing silently.
-Arnav- 7:22pm || Are you trying to kill me?
-Khushi- 7:23pm || Maybe...
-Arnav- 7:25pm || If this is your idea of punishing me, I am happy to receive it.
Just the thought of Khushi in this black nightdress set blood coursing through his veins. All he wanted to do was tear the lacy dress off her and-
“What do you think?”
The voice drew Arnav out from his reverie. He turned his head to see everyone staring at him.
“Erm…” he cleared his throat, “Sorry, what?”
“The presentation,” a junior manager who stood near the laptop asked, “What do you think? Is it doable for the next quarter?”
Arnav only had a faint idea of what he was talking about. The rest had gone above his head and for the past 2 hours, he hadn’t even focused on their proposal.
“Umm…” he stammered again, “I’ll go through it over the weekend and let you know by Monday.”
The team seemed satisfied by the answer. They started getting up and assembling the files and laptops. Arnav couldn’t believe his luck that the meeting was, at last, over.
It was 8pm and finally he could leave. He chuckled inwardly feeling like a teenage boy who couldn’t wait to meet his girlfriend. As one by one the team members left bidding him a ‘good night’, Arnav too assembled his belongings, ready to exit.
The intercom rang and he received it.
“Sir,” it was his PA, “Sheetal Ma’am is here to see you.”
Arnav huffed and shook his head. Her timing couldn’t be worse. “Send her in,” he told his PA.
This certainly didn’t bode well.
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Sheetal crossed her long legs as she occupied a seat on the small leather couch. Arnav sat on his chair across the table.
“So,” Sheetal smacked her lips, “How goes the stint, Mr. MD?”
“I've had a long day. Let’s skip the small talk, shall we?” Arnav said, leaning back on his chair.
Sheetal let out a high-pitched laugh, before replying, “The vote’s in 3 weeks.”
Arnav quirked his eyebrow.
“Did you forget?” she asked in fake-disbelief, “On 31st July, we have the vote to sell this wretched company.”
“I remember,” Arnav answered, in a low tone.
“You’ve given me your word that you’ll side with me, that you’ll vote in my favor when the time comes.” Sheetal reminded him.
Arnav reflected on her words. 2 and a half months back, he had promised Sheetal that he would vote in her favor to sell Magnolia and later buy it from her. That’s why she had brought him in as the company MD, to get around the loophole of her late father’s will.
What he hadn’t expected was falling for Khushi. He hadn’t accounted for the fact that he would start liking her, start a relationship with her… Now that he had, he was in a dilemma. He knew what Magnolia meant to Khushi- it was her life. And when, 3 weeks later, he would vote in Sheetal’s favor to sell it, she’d be devastated.
These past couple of months, so much had happened in his life- from texting the stranger, bonding with her, finding out it was Khushi- in the midst of all that, his main purpose of coming to Magnolia had taken a backseat.
He had been so happy for a short period of time with Khushi- reveling in their secret romance, that he had forgotten his true motive. And now, Sheetal had woken him up with a jolt.
Sheetal wouldn’t back down. Even if he reneged and backed out from the deal, she would find some or the other way to destroy Khushi’s dream. He couldn’t let that happen either. Moreover what about his own professional commitment that he had with Sheetal? Sly as she was, he knew what he was getting himself into when he signed a deal with her to become the MD.What of his word? What of the immense financial gains that he would make once he sold Magnolia in parts? Wasn't that a major reason for him to accept Sheetal's offer?
Sheetal snarled, “It looks like in these past few months, you’ve become attached to the company… or should I say to the CEO.”
Arnav felt his skin crawl at her statement. “What?”
“I told you Arnav, I have little birds everywhere,” she stated, “And one of them tells me how close you and Khushi have been. Apparently you visited her house and gone out on dinners.”
Arnav didn’t respond at her accusation. It was true after all.
She pursed her lips in a thin line, “Though I doubt how happy Khushi will be when she finds out why you’re really here.”
The sentence felt like a threat to him and he had enough, “You think you can intimidate me?”
“Oh!” she placed her hands over her chest, and replied in a mocking tone, “I am not intimidating you. I am merely stating a fact.”
“Stating facts,” he mimicked her tone, “will not make me vote for you.”
This time Sheetal stood up and spoke solemnly, “See Arnav you maybe rich and influential but this,” she gestured around, “is my turf. Now if you are not up for it, there is still time for me to get a new buyer. Mark my words I will sell this company. I will snatch this from the b*tch- with or without you.”
Arnav balled his fist in anger at the venom Sheetal was spouting. “That’s enough.” His voice thundered.
“It is true- you really are into her,” Sheetal commented slowly, plopping down on the couch, “And here I hoped that you were just playing her. Making a game out of it. And all the dinners and visits was just to get her guard down. Seems like even you couldn’t resist her charm.”
Arnav considered her words, calmly. “Is that what you believe?"
"Isn't that what you usually do? Keep your enemies close? Make them complacent so that when you strike them, they won't even see it coming." She replied.
"So what makes you think I am not doing the same with Magnolia's CEO?" He questioned her sharply.
Sheetal studied him for a moment and then her lips curved into a sneer. “I knew it! It’s just a play for you. A game.” She smirked again, triumphantly. “I knew you were perfect for my plan.”
“Yet you doubted me the first chance you had?” He questioned her pointedly.
She fumbled, “No… It’s just that… I heard…”
“Whom did you hear it from?” Arnav asked directly. “Who are these spies that report to you? My PA? Khushi’s PA?”
Sheetal let out a laugh. “Doesn’t matter. All’s well and as per plan.”
Arnav didn’t say anything.
“So,” Sheetal asked in all seriousness, “Will you stand by your word?”
Arnav spoke with sincerity, “Rest assured, I will.”
A smirk crept on Sheetal’s face. “Then,” she fished in her bag and took out a file, “You’ll have no problem in signing this agreement.”
She extended a blue file and he took it from her to read.
“It’s an agreement between us,” she started explaining without any prodding, “That on 31st July, you’ll vote in my favor to sell.”
“I am giving you my word,” he seethed, “And Arnav Singh Raizada doesn’t backtrack on his promises.”
“Forgive me if I don’t take your word at face value,” Sheetal responded, “Once you sign it, you’ll have to vote for me else,” she paused, “Else you’ll give me 25% share in your AR Group.”
Arnav, shell-shocked for a moment, scoffed. “You must be joking.”
“25% of your company’s share gives me enough power to influence decision as one of the majority shareholder.” She explained, snarly.
“I know what it means,” Arnav gestured angrily at the agreement. “You must be out of your mind if you think I’ll let you in AR Group with this much power.”
Sheetal placed her hand on her chin and sighed. “It's simple Arnav. On 31st July, either you vote for me, Khushi loses Magnolia and all is well or you vote against me, Khushi gets to keep Magnolia but I become an influencing member on your board.”
She emphasized, “I am going to win. One way or another.”
For a second time that day, he contemplated her words. He flipped through the thin agreement, which was a couple of pages. “I have made a decision,” he placed the agreement on his table. He took out a pen from his shirt pocket and sprawled his signature across the 2 pages.
“There,” he handed her back the file, “Rest easy. When the time comes, I’ll vote for you.”
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Khushi checked the time on her phone and scoffed. Arnav had said he would meet her after office and now, it was close to 10pm yet there was no sign of him.
Small drops of condensation appeared along the surface of the silver ice-container, which had a bottle of wine in it. The candles that she had lit sometime back had started to melt beyond the halfway point.
The wait was starting to test her, so she called him. He didn’t receive the call but did text her back.
(Friday, July 7)
-Arnav- 10:42pm || Some work came up. I won’t be able to make it. Sorry.
Khushi read the text and sighed. She was so excited for tonight. The sms had started to make her angry but she reigned in her emotion. If there was anyone who understood the importance of work, it was she. How many weekend and holidays had she spent holed up in her apartment, poring over stacks and stacks of files!
Reigning in her disappointment, she typed a message.
-Khushi- 10:43pm || Don’t worry. It’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Khushi tied the string of her nightgown and blew off the candles. She was putting the wine in the shelf when her phone pinged.
-Arnav- 10:57pm || I’ll be away for the weekend. Important work. Can’t avoid.
The text made her somewhat uneasy. She couldn’t exactly point as to what it was but something in his sms didn’t sit well with her.
-Khushi- 10:59pm || Is everything fine?
-Arnav- 11:05pm || Yeah. It’s not about Magnolia. The work is for one of my other companies.
-Khushi- 11:06pm || I am not talking about work. Are you fine?
-Arnav- 11:08pm || Yes.
Khushi tapped the message box to write more, to ask if he was really fine. A gut feeling told her that something was amiss but she halted her thoughts. Maybe it was her overactive imagination. Everything was fine, she assured herself. He would tell her truthfully if there was a problem.
-Khushi- 11:10pm || If you need any help, or anything… just call me.
-Arnav- 11:13pm || Ok.
-Khushi- 11:14pm || I am here... for you.
-Arnav- 11:17pm || I know.
-Khushi- 11:17pm || Goodnight. I’ll see you on Monday.
Khushi waited for some minutes but he never texted back. And come Monday, he wasn’t at office and neither was he present that entire week.
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Edited by ErisedWitch45 - 6 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah
Tum Se Tum Tak
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