Chapter 52: Chihuahua on Crack
"What? No way!" he said with more fervor than the request required and turned to see Khushi arch an eyebrow.
"I mean..." he tried to backtrack as he thought of the right way to cry off from what she was asking him to do. "I have plans tonight, Khushi, sorry."
"You're lying, of course." She told him, the shadow of a slight smile on her face and he couldn't help but smile back as he agreed, "Indeed."
"Please, Rajeev. I can't go by myself." She pleaded, coming around the desk.
They had wrapped their first meeting as Mohan Industries client rep and Raizada Enterprises project managing team just twenty minutes ago. It was a long meeting and the rest of the group members had already left. There was only twenty more minutes to go before the work day was officially over and Khushi stood there pleading for him to accompany her to the Raizada mansion to pay respects to the debilitated cousin, who he could vouch to her and the rest of the world was about as debilitated as a Chihuahua on crack! And he would be damned if he would set foot in that house again!
"Ask Lavanya bhabi." He told her as he tried to ignore her pleading looks.
"Rajeev, Lee has two little guys and a husband that requires her attention on a daily basis! I can't ask her to drop everything for an impromptu visit to go to the house of the man who she insulted just three weeks ago. I am trying to win back her good favor, not take advantage of her giving nature!"
He sighed heavily as he walked to the window.
"She is fine, Khushi. I saw her this afternoon myself. There is not a thing wrong with her. In fact, I think all the rest and pampering that she has been getting at home as a reward for her gunda activities has only resulted in her becoming a... threat to law and order."
"A threat to law and order? I know you exaggerate when you speak of her, but seriously..."
He cut her off as he turned around. "I am telling you the truth. It's no exaggeration. They need to lock her up at home. She has totally lost it!"
"Oh dear Lord, do you think she hit her head when he threw her?" he heard her ask and turned to her in confusion. "What?"
He saw her mocking expression and rolled his eyes. "Fine! Go ahead! Mock me! Don't tell me I didn't warn you."
"Are you coming with me or not?" she asked, smiling again now.
When he sighed again, she grabbed his keys from the table and walked to the door. "Come on! If you resist too much more, Rajeev, I am going to think that you're a coward. Either that or..." she turned around from the door to shoot a suspicious look at him.
"Or..." she said as she arched an eyebrow again, "did something happen between you two while I was gone? I know you said that you got all your information on her from overhearing Arnav on the phone, except this afternoon when you actually saw her, but maybe that was not entirely the truth? Are you keeping something from me, Rajeev?"
He swung his laptop bag onto his shoulder and walked to the door to join her. "Let's go before you start hypothesizing all manner of untruths. Ten minutes, okay? We'll stay there for 10 minutes and then we will leave."
"Fine." She said, smiling widely at him. He was glad to see her smile. Earlier in the afternoon when the meeting had started, she had seemed like she had come out of a battle, although he hadn't heard any raised voices or any confrontation of the sort coming from Arnav's office. He had asked her what was wrong and she had shaken her head and had said that everything was fine and that the meeting with Arnav had gone better than expected given the circumstances. She hadn't elaborated further.
Thus, he was glad that she was in better spirits now. He could put up with ten minutes in the company of the kissing maniac if it would improve Khushi's mood.
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Tum Se Tum Tak
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