Chapter 8
He picked her up and walked towards the main door of the guest house and rung the bell after he shuffled her weight around on one arm. She was not heavy but my was she a firebrand. He did not know what had made him kiss her. He had been as surprised with himself as she had been. But once he had had the taste of those delicious lips, he had been unable to stop himself.
And now, here she was unconscious not because she was not safe, but he had scared the daylights out of her. He gave a mirth. He had not found humor in anything for a long time and here he was smiling at his he-man antics.
He still could not believe he had driven at break-neck speed to see if she had reached safely. That foolish woman had taken off in middle of the night in Delhi. Thank God, Di and Jeeju had told him once he had gone back into the hall about hasty departure of a very delectable girl he had been dancing with and if he had done something for her to have gone off like that. Anjali had of course taunted that it must be his famous rage which must have made the girl run away.
How did he explain, that for once it was not his anger but something more basic that had driven her away. Why did she rub him the wrong way? Hell, but it had felt right to have her in his arms.
He shook the thought away as the manservant opened the door and let them in guiding him to her bedroom. He placed her on the bed and sat on the edge looking at her as he ordered the man to get some cold water and a cloth.
He then could not help but push away wisps of hair away from her face and tuck them behind her ear. She looked serene and ethereal with her eyes closed, her bow shaped lips curved slightly upwards as if in a smile. He ran a finger on her cheek and felt her eyelids move.
He patted on her cheek to awaken her and found himself drowning in deep pools of brown eyes that looked questioningly at him.
"Kya hua?" she muttered, "Hum mar gaye kya?"
Then she sat up with a jerk as her eyes focussed on him.
"Aap' aap yahan?" Khushi yelped.
"Woh mein'ye dekhne aaya tha ki tum theek thaak pahonchi ki nahi..aur tum'meri gaadi ke samne faint ho gayee. I caught you before you fell." he supplied in response and saw her visibly flich.
"Oh! mujhe laga, mein mar gayee hoon aur kahin baadalon ke upar pahonch gayee thi'" she stopped and smiled at her own imagination.
"Tum theek ho, ab mein chalta hoon." he announced getting up from the bed. "Jaisinh, madam ka khayaal rakhna aur Lavanya madam aa jaaye toh unko kehna mujhe phone kar lein."
And just like that he left.
As he drove away from the guesthouse after speaking with Lavanya, he laughed at the whole comedy of errors that had happened in last half hour. First, the unlikely Sir Galahard had come running behind to see if that pest of a girl was safe and then had made her faint with his dramatic entry to catch her in nick of time. He saw the humor now in her line of being dead already and had itched to reply, "haanji, ye jannat hi ho sakta hai, mein jo yahan hoon." But he did not see humor in him being so drawn to the girl that he had even made the effort.
Khushi did not know whether she should thank him or beat him up for his earlier Himaakat. Reflexively her fingers went to her lips. She heard some murmurs outside but too wrought out she sunk back onto the pillows and pretended to be asleep as she heard someone open the door and peep in.
Lavanya saw a pale girl lying with her hair spread on the pillow sleeping and knew that there was something happening between Arnav and Khushi, which she was not liking but unable to stop it from happening. The way they had danced on the floor, she knew there was a chemistry between them that even they did not realised it at the moment.
Arnav's charms once turned on a girl were usually unescapable. She hoped that the girl would be able to withstand the onslaught.
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Khushi had been back for a month now and there was nothing more to remind her of Arnav Singh Raizada other than the contract which was what she earnestly worked towards and the first of those designs were ready for him to look at.
She dreaded the idea of meeting him, but final design approval were either done by him or his sister and it seemed his sister was not well so the meeting scheduled for coming Thursday would be with Lavanya and him.
The last month had gone in a blur with rishtas coming for her sister and almost finalising but Payal did not seem to be inclined. She had tried to tell her mother to not go ahead but no one had heard her. They had said, shaadi ke baad sab theek ho jaayega. Payal adjust kar legi.
But marriage was not about just adjustment but about sharing and love that helped one sail through the trials and tribulations that life threw your way. Just like their parents.
Khushi wanted to fall in love not compromise on a partner. But to fall in love one should have the liberty of having time, independence and opportunity.
And no Arnav Singh Raizada was not one, for he was the most arrogant man she had had the misfortune to meet and now who also happened to hold the key to her success.
Just thinking of him was good enough to make her want to get on her bouts of jalebi making sessions, but with that kinda rage happening almost everyday of the whole of last month, she figured she had to get a better control on herself especially the coming Thursday.
She went to the office the next day to discuss the designs for the sari collection for coming diwali with Lavanya and found her fiddling with a beautiful trinket on her wrist which she kept twirling wistfully.
"Lavanya, sab theek hai?" she asked as she sat opposite her in Lavanya's cabin. "That is one fine piece of jewellery Lavanya."
"Oh! yeh!" she put her hand on the lap after that and shrugged her shoulder, "Kuch nahi Khushi, ye toh nishaani hai, uss baat ka jo aapko karna nahi chahiye tha, kyon ki shayad, aaj woh cheez aapki hoti, jiski ab aap sirf justaju kar sakte hain."
"Ye kya tumhein woh tumhare woh ne diya hai?" Khushi asked.
"Woh! na'ye usne diya jo kuch bhi nahi ye baat jatana chahta hai." La retorted sarcastically.
Then changing subject they started discussing work and the designs that were up for approval the next day.
Khushi looked in the mirror one final time as she got ready to meet him, after 31 days and 10 hours. "Hah! you are counting." she scolded her image. "Keep your cool and dont react." With that final piece of advise, Khushi left for office, in a taxi for she did not want even a rumple to be present on her dress when she made her presentation.
Reaching office, she was surprised to find Arnav was already there, taken over La's office and settled himself comfortably.
She knocked and went in after his "come in"
She stood inside the office, taking in his grey suit, pale silver shirt and a darker hue of the silver that was his tie. He looked breathtakingly handsome. His upswept hair, cut short so they were controllable. Though there was this lock which tended to curl and fall on his forehead like it did right now that defied his control.
"Are you going to ogle me from the doorway or come inside?" he startled her by suddenly looking straight into her eyes.
Shuffling her feet, Khushi went towards the desk holding the portfolio of designs for approval so that she can then start working on samples.
Arnav had seen her walk into the boutique as she had stood behind the glass partition in Lavanya's office that gave him look into the main shop floor without anyone from outside looking in.
She was wearing a beige silk lakhnavi salwaar kameez with probably her own needle work in varied shades of maroon. The dupatta was mix of beige and gold needle work on a Maroon background which created a becoming contrast to otherwise very understated salwar kameez.
"She is again trying to blend into the background" was the thought ran into his head and he decided he was going to rise her hackles and get her to react.
Without a word, she put forward the portfolio in front of Arnav and sat on the chair he indicated.
Lavanya entered the office apologising for the delay as she had been dealing with a customer and was waved to the vacant seat beside Khushi.
With every turn of the page on the portfolio, Arnav gave his opinion in a sarcastic yet as if it was an underhand compliment. Khushi on her part, refused to be riled and answered in monosyllables.
Even, a dig at something about Lucknowi hospitality did not get a rise out her and Arnav was left seething as to his failure to get Ms Gupta's goat.
Lavanya had seen the rally of silence meets the ogre with mild amusement and had ticked a point in favor of Khushi mentally.
Khushi took her leave after the batch of designs were approval with timeline fixed for two weeks to create the first samples of the designs on varied materials.
Once she reached home, she heaved a mental sigh of relief at having withstood the onslaught of Arnav Singh Raizada and his snide remarks. But she jumped when her cellphone rang and saw his name flash on the screen.
Mentally deriding herself for thinking about him for some weird telepathy was at work surely for this call to come now.
Picking up the phone, she heard him bark, "Khushi, I need you to drop the other designs to my hotel as I want to show it some potential clients whom I shall be meeting later. Be here by 5pm."
Before she could acknowledge or even tell him ok, he had cut the call. "Luchcha, samajhta kya hai apne aapko?" she muttered as she assembled the designs that he has asked for.
The said Hotel was of course on the side of town and will take her good forty minutes to reach, so it meant she only had time for her mom's excellent tea before she started again.
"Could he not have told her that at the office?" she mumbled to herself as her Mom came to her with her cup of tea.
"Maa hamein jaana hai phir kaam se, hamein shayad der ho jaaye. Hum phone kar denge'"
With refreshing tea inside she felt marginally better at having to run errands like a man friday for his lordship. She called him when she reached the lobby but he did not answer the phone.
On asking the reception to contact him, they told her to go upstairs as he was expecting her there. Muttering to herself about his high handedness, she took the elevator to the floor and knocked on his door to hear, "come in" not unlike what she had heard in the morning.
She entered to find him, buttoning his trousers and shirtless with drops of water dripping from his hair on his chest which were travelling down his torso to disappear in the waistband.
Khushi gulped as she let go of the door which closed behind her automatically and turned her head to see the movement.
Feeling trapped she raised her eyes to look at him turning back and wet her lips.
Arnav walked towards her without a care of his state of undress and all Khushi could do was stand there as if transfixed, the portfolio slipping from her hand.
He stopped a couple of steps away from her and said, "Never seen a man naked?"
"You are not naked'" she countered automatically.
He gave a lopsided smile and said, "Would you like me to be?"
"Stop it'Stop it'will ya'what do you want? to shock me? Well you have done that. You have been saying the rudest things all morning and now this. Have you no conscience? What are trying to do? First you make me dance then..you ..you'"
"kiss you'? he interjected.
"See there you go again. What pleasure do you get out of it? Why do you so enjoy hurting me? Riling me? What have I ever done to you that you treat me so abominably? Why?" Khushi's voice had risen and the last word came out in a hitch as if tears were clogging her throat.
She tried to continue blinking away the tears that were suddenly welling up in her eyes and he closed the distance; put her hand on his heart and said, " This is what you do to me."
Edited by -RushTrip- - 12 years ago
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