FF: When Love And Hate Collide... Pt26 pg145 10/07 - Page 31

Originally posted by: pinky.padda

absolitely awesome too good

Originally posted by: zoya_naziya

Di when is the next update?

Originally posted by: cherry227

yupp! today it is😃

sach...yummy

Originally posted by: cherry227

yupp! today it is 😃

PART 10

Arjun stole a glance at her. She was staring straight ahead, her glasses perched on her head. He could make out the dark circles under her eyes indicating that she had not slept properly for the past two days. She had been steadily avoiding looking him in the eye since morning. He had been a bit off but she had conducted the meeting with utmost vigour and spirit. Arjuns admiration for her was increasing by the day, but he did not like it... neither did he like her ignoring him.

The investors had clearly come with an agenda with finding fault in their planning and schedule to raise concerns over their money. But Miss Ahluwalia had given them a run for it! Her entire data and statistics were so precise that even Arjun had been amazed. He had extended his support to her when need be, however, he had surrendered the reins of this meeting in Arohis hands. And he didn't regret it.

But he regretted not being able to talk to her. For the first time in his life, Arjun Singhania was a tab bit nervous. Because for the first time in his life, Arjun Singhania was about to apologise to someone... not just someone, but his enemy... not just enemy but also his partner! Why was his life so complicated??? He had tried very hard to keep it straight and simple by steadily avoiding relationships. Yet, here he was, trying to diplomatically tackle the single most steady female in his life... the first and only woman who had slapped him!

Arjun tried exhaling loudly a couple of times to catch Arohis attention, but she was staring outside the window at something with great interest. Sensing the driver being a potential eavesdropper in the car, Arjun did not pursue gripping it anymore and concentrated on a game on his phone.

Twenty one minutes!

That was the exact record breaking time that Arohi Ahluwalia had been quiet. The distance from the venue of the meeting to her office had taken them twenty one minutes to be exact and Arohi had successfully avoided even looking at Arjun then. But as soon as she entered her office, she could hear the tapping of his shoes against the floor behind her and realised that the confrontation was near. Steeling herself for an impassive discussion, she walked steadily towards her cabin.

Arjuns eyes were glued to his phone as he walked behind black pump shoes clicking on the floor, but his mind was busy typing out a virtual script that he will be reciting like a parrot in a couple of minutes. Enough of impulsive confrontations, now was the time for measured actions. Before turning to enter Arohis cabin, Arjun looked up to return the smile from Shanti. She was relieved to see him smile back at her unlike the lost look that he had thrown her way in the morning. But Arjuns smile dimmed as he realised that Shanti was not wearing any white jasmine flowers today.

Inside Arohis cabin...

Arohi clenched her teeth as she heard the door not only shut, but lock behind Arjun. Turning slowly around, she removed her glasses off her head and placed them on her desk. Looking steadily at Arjun, she crossed her hands below her chest and waited for him to talk. Arjun shoved his hands inside his pant pockets and came to stand in front of her. He searched her eyes for anger, hatred or even pain' but he was disappointed to find only patience in them.

"Arohi... I just wanted to say that... whatever happened last night... whatever I did... I am... I am sorry..."

Arohi still looked at him steadily. Arjun continued.

"I should not have kissed you last night. It was completely out of the line. Whatever has happened between us, was in the past. And we are business partners today, who are bound by professional ethics to conduct business in the way it should be conducted. I donot want work to get awkward between us because of our personal issues. And so, for my part in getting emotions involved in business, I apologise."

There! He had said it! Arjun left out a deep breath after he confessed. It was not that bad. Infact he felt better after getting it off his chest. Looking back at her, he waited for her reaction. For her to say something... anything. Arohi still stared, contemplating her words to him. Finally she blinked, and her body relaxed.

"Apology accepted. And... I am sorry too."

Arjun felt an unusual surge of happiness to see his apology being accepted. And her apologising back was like the cherry on the cake!

"No Arohi. You need not apologise. You slapped me because I kissed you. So technically speaking..."

"Who told you I am apologising for slapping you?" Arohi cut Arjun in between and Arjun looked at her with a frown.

"You just said... you're sorry... so..."

"Yes, I said Im sorry. But Im sorry for not believing you. Before I left the party, I saw the woman and her husband dance, the one whom you had 'helped'. I am not sorry for the slap. You totally deserved that!"

Arjuns eyes widened in disbelief. Here he thought that she was apologising for imprinting her fingers on his cheek... but no! Miss Ahluwalia thinks that he deserved it. Conveniently ignoring the hard fact, Arjuns ego gave way to this anger to start clawing at his brain.

"You know Arohi... its funny that you would apologise for prejudging me, but not for the result of that! If you hadn't riled me up in the first place, then I may not have..."

"Excuse me??!!" Arohi cut him off again. "There are always a lot of 'ifs' and 'buts' Arjun, but at the end of the day, we are both adults and responsible for our actions. If you had not kissed me then I wouldn't have slapped you, doesn't that make sense too?"

"Fine! As long as we agree that we made a mistake and decide never to repeat it, I think we can move ahead in life now. Arjun Singhania does not shy away from accepting his mistakes or apologising for them. I also appreciate you saying sorry and I accept your apology."

"Great... so we are good?" Arohi extended her hand to shake on the new beginning of their alliance. Arjun stared at her expressionless face. What was this woman made of? Wasn't she even tiny bit affected by what happened last night? He had not expected her to cry buckets over it but he had not ruled out a tiny amount of drama from her end in making him feel awful for taking advantage of her so! But then Arjun was forgetting that this was no ordinary woman he was dealing with.

Shaking his hand with hers briefly, Arjun dropped it like a burning coal as he realised how soft it was. Trying to turn his attention to the pandoras box that they had opened last night, he decided to speak his mind out and get it over with.

"You know... you have quite high standards expecting huge amount of morality from a stranger and not from your own sister!"

"Actually, I did expect from her. That's why she earned the slap that I gave her when we reached home!!! The slap that you, a stranger, were spared of... then."

"Oh! So the urge to slap me has been festering in your mind for 6 long years. No wonder it was so... hard!" Arjun chuckled and Arohi glared at him.

This man was impossible! They had just had managed to salvage a huge tiff and he was cracking adult jokes about it... in her office... in her cabin. She should have not listened to D and just handed him a copy of her rulebook to be followed inside the office. Somehow she doubted if it would have made a difference.

Still smiling, Arjun walked towards the cabin door and unlocked it. Stopping for a second, he turned around searching for something in the cabin. The frown on his face indicated that he had not got what he was looking for. Sniffing his nose again, Arjun walked out of the cabin.

Arjuns phone...

Apologised... now get off my back!

-ARS

Good boss! Im proud of you :)

-NAK

But I hate you! Stop wasting my office hours and get back to work :P

-ARS

Wasting office hours? This is new?! Is it the Ahluwalia effect??? LOL

-NAK

Im warning you Nats! Grrr...

-ARS

Haha... sorry for ruffling your feathers! I hope you do feel better though.

-NAK

Actually I do! How do you know everytime what I am supposed to do???

-ARS

It's a gift... something that im not paid for ;)

-NAK

Read the fine print... its in your job profile! See you in two hours ;)

-ARS

Cheapskate! Have lunch on time... Meeting with Khuranas now! See ya...

-NAK

Arjuns smiled at the phone, put it in his pocket and headed towards his cabin, whistling away.

A few days later...

Arohi rubbed her eyes as she realised that she had been staring at the laptop for too long. But she had to finish this report today and give her comments on it. That way she could ensure it going out first thing tomorrow morning. Placing her glasses back on her nose, she continued reading. After finishing, she attached it in the email, typed her comments and send it off.

Removing her glasses, she leaned back in to the chair, closing her eyes. It had been a productive week, a peaceful one too. After their apology session, she and Arjun had reached an understanding where they both consciously stayed out of each others way. The games had stopped... for now. And besides work, they did not associate with each other. Arjun had started making dinner plans sans her family, even refusing her fathers invitation twice, although he did it respectfully. And all his efforts had paid off because Arohi Ahluwalia was at peace, and she could finally concentrate on her work.

Arohi could not place her finger on it, but after that night something had changed between them. She had consciously avoided dissecting her feelings about the same for very long now, but she knew that she had to face them someday. And better do it earlier than to have them come out later, in the form of another emotional outburst.

Arohi opened her eyes and her fingers touched her lips. It was the first kiss that Arohi had received after... after her last relationship. And it had caught her completely off guard. It should have been like any other cheap drunk a** who was trying to take advantage of her, and whom she had taught a lesson. But it did not turn out that way for her... and she could not figure out why!

She should have been pleased with herself for slapping him and slept off... but she had not slept a wink that night. On the front, it had been her fury at the sheer dare of this man to try such a stunt. But it had also riled up buried feelings inside her and that had led more towards the emotional outburst. For a few seconds, Arohi had noticed his sharp indrawn breath, which indicated the eagerness one expressed... she could not forget the strong male musk scent that had filled her senses when he had come close to her... nor could she ignore the feel of his hard chest beneath her palms when she had pushed him with all her strength.

She had not noticed all these things when she had first touched him, but she had done so with Arjun. And these were the exact same things that Arjun Singhania banked upon to fool girls and have his lusty way with them. Not that she cared!

Other than that, the same Arohi Ahluwalia, who harped on her professional attitude, had given way to her emotions to control her, which had lead to the whole morality expectation from Arjun. She knew many men, who were much more characterless than him. Yet Arjuns behaviour had disturbed her... why she didn't know! And the worst part is that Arjun had noticed it. That's why he had questioned her about it.

"Im the one whos wrong and characterless over here right??? For once, it did not enter your stubborn head that she was the one who had actually broken the law... but somehow only I turned out to be the bad guy in your eyes... why Arohi!!!"

Ideally Arohi would've left such a man to his defences, outside her office. But then why did it matter so much to her if he was a philanderer? Was it because he was a family friend and her father loved him so much? Or was it because he had wronged her sister? Or maybe because she had started liking him over the time that they had been working together and hence this trait bothered her?!

Arohis eyes widened in surprise at the direction her own thoughts had taken. She could deny it to the world, but not to herself that she had started admiring and respecting Arjun for the way he worked. Sometimes she had felt like she was looking in the mirror, so similar to her, was his dedication towards work. And it was the conflict of her own emotions, between admiring him and detesting him, that had led to her extreme display of emotions. Her hate for him was pulling her back from respecting him.

Arohi closed her eyes and dropped back in her chair.

After years of building a rock-solid wall between her personal and professional mind, she could not believe that the most unsuspecting man would manage to breach it. Arohi opened her eyes and sat straight in her chair again. It was good that she had analysed her feelings. Now that she knew the problem, all she had to do was find a solution. But how was someone supposed to deal with such conflicting feelings??

If only they had extended their acquaintance to friendship, Arohi would have got company in her thoughts. Not far away from Arohis cabin, Arjun was sitting in his office, in his chair and trying to find a solution to the same problem.

I hope you guys are liking the story and its flow 😊

right now only MR on my mind! sorry for the weekend disappointment and i maynot be able to update tonight... but trust me IM ON IT!!!

Yayy! M first.
Love the update. Finally they r behaving mature,i love the way they apolozisd to each other. It was unique. Arjun's thought are coming to aru's mind,he is affectng her thoughts..n same with him also. Aru feelng the sensation dat she nvr felt for her past bf.
M luvng this inner fyt in both of them.
I jst hope ke aru ka past ab present main na aye.

I expected d othr updt :/

amazing update!!

amazing update ...thanx for pm...plz continue asap

aweee arjun is very forward boy... bigda ladka, but kya kare hume toh vo phir crazy bna deta hai.