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Chapter 6
Akash, who at the current moment resembled a deer caught in headlights, was surrounded by the entire office staff with a million questions flying towards him all at once.
The picture painted before him reminded Arnav of when his career first set off on a tangent that reached dizzying heights rapidly; he had been constantly hoarded by paparazzi who behaved in the same way his employees were currently.
"What the-? What is going on here?" Arnav asked in an uncharacteristically husky voice - however it had been sharp enough to interrupt the crowd as several dozen eyes lifted curiously to the very perpetrator who was the reason for their speculation.
Heads turned in oscillation between Arnav, Khushi, and then at their joint hands in a fluid motion as if they were watching a fast paced 3-way-tennis-match.
Arnav and Khushi were bewildered by the bizarre events that were occurring around them.
"What the hell?" Arnav asked confused.
No one replied, but merely continued staring at Arnav and Khushi as if they were a fascinating new artefact at a museum.
Khushi moved slightly behind his shoulder to hide a smile; in hindsight, she found this rather amusing - though she wasn't exactly sure what was going on... the expressions on people's faces were fabulous - it was a definite Kodak moment. She itched to take her iPhone out right then to take a snap.
"My my, how the mighty have fallen ... figuratively and literally;" chirped a lone voice as she sauntered towards the newly-announced couple breaking away from the crowd; with Akash right behind her, using this opportunity to escape the rest.
Arnav let his scrutinising glare linger on his best friend Lavanya Kashyap as he bit back a groan at the fire in her eyes. He knew what was coming.
"Lavanya Kashyap," Lavanya introduced herself to Khushi as she held her hand out. "Previously Arnav's best friend, before he exchanged that title to merely his 'Personal Secretary'," she said shooting a brusque smile at Arnav.
It was evident that Lavanya did not appreciate that she had to find out about Khushi along with the rest of AR. To say that she was upset with Arnav would be an understatement.
But what was Arnav supposed to say? 'I'm sorry that I couldn't introduce you to my girlfriend Lavanya - in fact I only met her a couple of days ago when I picked her up off the street?' - Because that definitely coincided with Khushi's Bollywood version of their story.
"Khushi Kumari Gupta," Khushi acknowledged with a laugh as she shook Lavanya's hand; unaware of the turmoil of betrayal and hurt that was brewing between the two long term best friends.
Lavanya smirked at the three names and smirked even wider as she took in the horror displayed in Arnav's eyes as she informed Khushi, "I can already tell that we're going to be good friends. I clearly need some, since my existing ones are doing a devastatingly poor job at it."
"Lavanya, what are you saying?" asked one of the girls who Lavanya tried not to associate with.
However, the ladies at AR behaved like they were moths attracted to a flame around here; with her being the metaphorical flame.
All of them tried to take advantage of the tight friendship she had with Arnav to try to get close to him; but Lavanya could see straight through their facade and refused friendship of any kind. However, she could see that Khushi was different to the other girls and had an immediate understanding of Arnav's choice in girlfriend ' finally someone who she could actually get on with!
"What do you mean?" Lavanya asked with a mocking confused expression.
"Thees ladki ... as your friend? Matlab, when you have us .. why would you...?" It slipped out before she spotted Arnav's stance and effectively stopped digging herself a deeper grave.
He'd crossed his arms and stared at the girl challengingly with a raised eyebrow.
Khushi also noticed his stance and the evident power he held over everyone around him and whispered "Laad Governor," accurately taking the piss out of the other girl's outrageous English pronunciation; and of Arnav's, or rather ASR's, character. She hadn't meant for anyone to hear, rather, making a note of this new side to Arnav's character that she was witnessing when Akash and Lavanya's laughs startled her.
She shot them a sheepish smile as they sniggered at the new nickname that they were determined to call Arnav by, hereinafter.
Arnav too had heard.
He was not amused.
Well ... that's what he told himself unconvincingly as his ASR attitude broke for a split second that had you blinked, you would have missed the ghost of a smile that passed over his face.
He quickly caught hold of his emotions as his lips turned into a disapproving frown at Khushi; who had the decorum to look flustered.
"First of all, she is my girlfriend and I expect you all to give her the respect she deserves. Are we clear?" Arnav barked; turning his attention to the matters that needed to be addressed.
He was met with stunned expressions and hesitant nods.
"Secondly; you all have 5 seconds to get back to work, before you find yourselves sacked. This is the second time today that I've had to remind you that you are in a goddamn workplace."
Arnav did not even have to start as everyone immediately scrambled towards their work stations.
It was in this moment that Khushi recognised and admired him. He was so dominant, and though he was hot-headed, she realised that he still had the upmost respect from his employees. No doubt in recognition for all the hard work he'd pulled to make him company number one in the industry.
"And you," he said, turning around to Khushi. She shivered under his passionate eyes that declared acquiescence from the beholder. As much as she wanted to deny him, to look away - she found it impossible to break contact with his hypnotic eyes and instantly she deduced the reason why women lusted after him. "If you're quite done causing a commotion here, let me drive you back to the hospital." He stated rather than asking; walking away not waiting for a response.
Khushi gaped after his audacity wanting to call him back and give him a piece of her mind before she reminded herself of where she was. Reining in her anger she turned around to bid her goodbyes to Akash and Lavanya.
"See you at home Akash and Lavanya we should definitely meet up sometime!"
She turned on her heel and traipsed after Arnav. On her way out she pondered on the two different sides of Arnav that she'd seen so far - how could one person be so sweet and amorous in the confines of his office and then turn into the demanding devil himself mere seconds later?
Lavanya knew that look, she invented it. It was the look that was continuously on her face as she dealt with Arnav on a daily basis; that man was infuriating and it seemed that he had finally met his match. Someone who was not going to sit back and let him trample over her with his menacing attitude; someone who can give it back to him as good as she got.
"I love her!" Lavanya exclaimed to Akash.
"Everyone does La! She's great!" Akash replied with a genuine smile, the smile slid off his face as he felt a familiar feeling that had become a common occurrence this afternoon.
His spine tingled; he looked around to see everyone staring at him for the umpteenth time.
"What now?" He asked them all.
"See you at home?" One of them asked with a dropped jaw.
Akash just about high-tailed it out of there with Lavanya hot on his heel as she finally caught on.
**
She had decided not to speak to him and he was aware of her silent treatment.
Khushi had always been one for expressing how she felt; but she also distinguished the fact that she'd be giving Arnav exactly what he wanted if she opened her mouth and let him have a piece of her mind.
She could feel her earlier headache returning as she over worked her mind into understanding the man sat beside her.
Arnav knew that he had incensed her when he had spoken to her in his usual manner in front of everyone - but if she expected special treatment then she was sorely mistaken.
He pulled over on his white Range Rover Evoque by the drop off spot near the private hospital's main entrance. It was a private drive so Arnav was not too bothered about any incoming vehicles.
Turning off the ignition, he walked around to open the door for Khushi; before she even had a second to register what he was doing.
She ignored his hand and helped herself out of the large vehicle, using the step on the side to make sure that she didn't trip over the high distance between herself and the ground.
Without sparing a second look at him; she turned around to go.
If she thought that he was about to let her leave just like that then she clearly had a lot of learning to do about the enigma that was Arnav Singh Raizada.
He gripped her forearm and spun her around to face him, pressing her up against the closed door of the Rover.
She looked up at his built form in anger; but her expression was dampened disappointingly as her eyes squinted against the harsh sunlight. He swiftly shifted slightly so that his shadow fell on her instead.
She took that moment to admire how handsome he looked in his dark designer aviators as they accented his perfect bone structure and the stubble! - Don't get her started on how she loved men with stubble.
It was also clear by the tight cling of the silken fabric of his navy shirt (he'd removed his jacket due to the scorching heat of the sun) that he regularly worked out - the bulges of his biceps proved that; but by no means was he bulky - just perfect.
Though she was in heels, he was most definitely a tall man as he still towered a good couple inches above her; which gave her the perfect sight of his strong jaw line that was straight in front of her. In fact, if she inched forwards with a tilt of her head, she would be kissing his Adam's apple.
His arms were still gripping onto her forearms holding them lazily by her sides; but hard enough for her to not be able to even struggle under his grip.
His hot and cold attitude confused her.
He stepped even closer to her; completely invading her personal space and she swallowed roughly, feeling the instinctive need to step away from his predatory form. She could feel the heat of his body radiating off him making her even more uncomfortable, as she felt hot and worked up.
She remembered the last time they had been in a similar position - Friday night, before Anjali had unknowingly walked in on their heated conversation - she wondered if anything else would have happened that night had they not been interrupted.
Her bosom heaved in rapid successions as he leant down so that his lips tickled sensuously against her ear.
"I'll pick you up later," he whispered, "what time do you finish?"
"S-si-six." She stuttered against his neck that was inches away from her trembling lips; having already forgotten about the earlier animosity she'd held for him.
"Perfect," he purred. "I'll be here." With a swift kiss to her cheek, he promptly left with a smirk leaving her gaping in his absence.
As Arnav drove back, his heart rate slowed down a bit now that he was not in close proximity to the girl that was making him go crazy. He'd been able to hide it better than her.
An eloquent smile outlined on his thin lips as he dwelled on the fact that she seemed equally affected by his presence as he was by hers.
He was pleased.
Khushi, on the other hand, kept a hand to her cheek where his lips had touched as she walked into the building; becoming aware of the fact that she was blushing. She could still feel his presence enveloped around her -was she supposed to be feeling this way? Wasn't this a deal of convenience?
Her heart fluttered, and thumped against her ribcage rapidly as if she'd just run a marathon and was burning in need for oxygen.
For the first time ever, Khushi Kumari Gupta was left without words.
Not wanting to endure what Akash had at AR, Khushi pretended to be ignorant to their questioning eyes and walked straight past them - too wound up over a man who was evading her every thought.
A.N. OK, I have to admit, I'm quite proud of how this chapter turned out ... things are heating up between KKG and ASR. I've been writing and editing this chapter over the weekend and the AMAZING Teri Meri dream sequence today inspired me to finalise this chapter. You'd laugh if you ever read the stark difference between the chapter that's just been posted as opposed to the chapter I had mere two hours ago.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have been reading and reviewing ... I don't have the time to reply to all the comments unfortunately; but I do take time to read each and every one. So please don't feel unappreciated by my lack of response - I do acknowledge them!
I am overwhelmed by just how well this story has been received - I honestly wasn't expecting it so thank you so much!
I will be back soon with another chapter! ;)
Chapter 7: Link
Seher Hone Ko Hai
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