FF: When Love And Hate Collide... Pt26 pg145 10/07 - Page 53

Originally posted by: zoya_naziya

Di when is the next update? Is it this or MR?

Originally posted by: cooljaya11

Kya muje iski aor kmh ki update fb pe inbox kar sakti ho
I m reading through mobile n it's difficult to find page n I don't know how many chapters I left of all this
Plz

Originally posted by: AAKMH2

amazing updt

love every bit of it

dadi arjun convo was so sweet

to arjun k dil men bjj rhe hen guitar

\waituing for their abrioad buisness meeting😉

cnt wait to read firther

\uopdt soon

Originally posted by: cherry227

anything for you darling🤗

tu hai kidhar? miss you so much😭

saare updates chahiye ya sirf last ones???

Originally posted by: cherry227

trying for both tonight 😳

PART 15

Tuesday…

"No"

"Yes"

"No… you're wrong!"

"Yes… Im right!"

"Are you always this stubborn…?"

"… And are you always in denial???"

"Goddd… this woman is impossible!"

"Oh stop being dramatic… Just open your mind a little bit and you will realise that what I am saying makes perfect sense."

D just let out a grunt and turned his head away. It looked like he was just destined to argue with stubborn females all his life… at home his wife, at work his boss, and at breaks this new colleague of his… Natasha. He had felt that she might be a little easy going like her boss but when it came to conviction about something, she was as stubborn as the other two women in his life.

But even Danish was no less. He knew Arohi a lot more than anyone else. If she was falling for Arjun or even slightly affected by him then he could make that out. And right now he saw that Arjun just unnerved her. But then, even that was a sign of getting affected by someone, wasn't it? Was he just being blind and stupid or plain egoistic because Natasha brought up this topic first and not him?

He stole a look in her direction as he sipped coffee. He could see Natashas 'i-know-you-are-looking-at-me' look over the rim of his coffee mug. Keeping the mug down, he immediately sobered up. Closing his eyes for a brief second, Dhondu gathered courage to attempt the first ever cease fire in his life.

"Ok. Maanlo… for a minute… that what you're saying makes sense… or is even true for that matter. But… how does that news become a good one? As far as I know Arjun and Arohi… they are complete opposite of each other. So even if they are attracted towards the other, this is not going to work."

"My dear Dhondu… you just spoke like a… typical man."

D frowned at three things: 1) she called him dhondu, 2) her comment was extremely sexist, and 3) her smile and tone were so sugary that it made him feel like a small child being explained something, by his mother.

"Natasha, you might be a big dreamer, but I am a realist. Those two are like chalk and cheese. And I don't know what makes you think that this is a very romantic situation."

"Uffooo… how can you be this dumb! They have a lot in common ok. Arjun and Arohi both are people who love their families, both love their work, both are workaholics, both are smart intelligent and successful, and both have strong feelings for each other… even if the feelings might be of hatred before. But the intensity of their feelings will remain when the hate changes to love."

D looked at Natashas dreamy face as if she had lost her marbles! "When hate changes to love??? What are you? 12? Grow up Nats! This is not a some Mills and Boon novel happening in real life. These are Arjun and Arohi! One of them has already slapped the other!!!"

"Yes but… didn't you make out the silent understanding between them, these past few days? Not just that, they are acknowledging each other in a very civil fashion and I havent heard them scream at each other too."

"And that is your idea of how love is born? By not screaming at each other???"

"I didn't say they are already in love now, did i? But they are definitely on that road."

"You know what… if Arohi caught me gossipping in the office, that too about her, she will fire me… and my entire family will come on the road. So I better get going."

D picked up his half drank mug of coffee and filled another one for Arohi.

"Its ok if you don't agree but can you atleast keep your eyes and ears open… and let me know anything that I need to know?"

Natasha looked hopefully at D as he picked up the two mugs. He nodded in response after a brief pause. But before turning around he decided to speak his mind out.

"It will be a disastrous combination Nats. Arohi is a dedicated person, someone who will want a commitment. And you know how much committed Arjun is, when it comes to relationships. So trust me, you should be praying that what you think is not true instead of being happy about it."

"Im sorry but I don't agree with you Dhonds." Natashas calm but determined voice made him look back. Her gaze was direct.

"You and I both know that Arohi and Arjun are extremes. Arohi needs to loosen up a bit and Arjun needs to get little bit serious. This is exactly why I feel it will work because they both will balance each other out. They just need to understand it themselves."

"Still… I would not bet my money on it." Opening the door of the pantry, D left for his bosses office, leaving a smiling Natasha behind.

Small conference room… evening…

Arohi concentrated on the words in front of her again. Neither her eyes nor her concentration was in her control today. Time and again her gaze flickered to her business partner sitting across the table, with his head immersed in another file. Arohi had glanced in Arjuns direction atleast 10 times now, feeling that he was staring at her, but he had his eyes steadily on the document in the file, which was kept on the table. Suddenly Arohi felt like a nervous teenager, trying to catch if someone was looking in her direction, only to embarassingly find out that she was wrong.

Getting angry at herself, she turned her attention back to the document. Both of them had to finish reading the final papers and give their mutual OK so that the company in US can take the deal forward. Even though it was a last minute call, Arjun Arohi both decided to stay back and complete it as it was Tuesday morning in America and they would save on one day delay. Since the joint venture was running successfully in India, Rudra had proposed a similar tie up with the Ahluwalias in the US. Thus opening the American market for his friend and getting the much needed support from him in return.

Arohi had to start reading everything from start as her concentration was broken by the distractive man in the opposite chair. Little did Arohi know that Arjun was watching her too. Only, he had adopted a smarter way. If Arohi would find out, that instead of reading the papers, Arjun was observing Arohis reflection on the glass top of the table, then she would stop brow beating herself. Not only was he having the pleasure of looking at her uninterrupted, but he also caught her looking in his direction, frowning, and then looking back at the file. It was getting very difficult for Arjun to fake concentration and control his smile.

After taking almost double the amount of time, D and Natasha were called in the room, and handed over the signed documents which were to be faxed to the American office. Arjun looked at Arohi as she started finishing up her other work and giving instructions to D. She was back in the Miss Ahluwalia mode, with her head tied in a tight bun and the black rimmed glasses on her nose. He had a sudden urge to remove those glasses and throw them away so that he could stare in her black velvet eyes. And grab her hair to open up the neatly tied bun, so that soft curly tendrils fell down on her back, covering it like starless sky in the night.

Mentally and physically, Arjun was trying to refrain himself from crossing the invisible border which existed between him and Arohi. Even though she had been a lot more civil after the apology episode, one touch of her skin, one taste of her lips and one smell of her perfume was slowly pushing Arjun towards her. He knew it very well that she was not 'just another girl' and he could not expect to date her like he did the others. But still his treacherous mind refused to come out of her thoughts making him feel, that maybe he should try and give it a shot. But his overactive brain was still overriding his heart. Because incase it ruined things further, then a lot was at stake here.

Yet, this woman continued to amaze him everyday. Being a strong, confident and successful woman, and yet being a confused vulnerable girl when it came to emotions was a pretty lethal combination in Arjuns dictionary. He knew nothing about Arohis past, whether she was in a relationship ever or not, but knowing her, it seemed like it was highly unlikely. He suddenly wanted to know everything about her. What was it that made her this Arohi Ahluwalia.

Arohi finished giving instructions to D and turned around to see Arjun rocking in his chair, his eyes on her and his fingers caressing his chin, deep in thought. She frowned a bit, and snapped her fingers in front of Arjuns eyes, bringing him out of his trance. Arjun smiled at her and shook his head at the silent question in her eyes.

"Arohi… agar hum saath mein jaa rahe hain to… why don't you send your car back? We can ride together in my car."

Arohis nerves jumped a bit at the prospect of her and Arjun driving to her place, alone… in his car. The entire idea sounded so… informal… or even friendly. Logically thinking it did make sense, yet Arohi could not immediately agree to it. And her father helped her out in that as Arjuns phone rang the next instant.

"Hello Sudhir uncle… Yes, we just finished signing the papers. We will leave in another 30 minutes… ohh… ok. Thik hai. Mein Arohi se keh dunga. She is here, do you want to talk to her?"

Arohi looked anxiously in Arjuns direction, but Arjun shook his head.

"Ok. I will ask Arohi to send her car and driver home… Achha? Mere liye? O wow… I cant wait! We will leave as soon as possible and call you when we do. Bye."

Cutting the call Arjun looked at Arohi.

"Sudhir uncle needs your car and driver. Lagta hai ab tumhe mere saath meri hi gaadi mein aana hoga." Arjuns smile was genuine but it looked mocking to Arohi. He had noticed that Arohi had taken a little more than a minute to answer his question before the call came. Now he could bet his life that Arohi Ahluwalia was scared to be alone with him!

"Haan… ok. I will ask D to send the driver off. Aur kya kaha dad ne???"

"Aur unhone kaha ki mere liye ek surprise hai!"

"Achha?" Arohi was genuinely surprised. Why was she not told about this?

"Tum toh aise act karrahi ho jaise tumhe pata hi nahi!" Arjuns eyebrows jumped up. "Kahi tumne toh kuch plan nahi kiya hai na? Mere khaane mein jamaalgota milaya hai kya???"

Arohis eyes widened at Arjuns suggestion. No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop herself from smiling. "Dammit! Tumhe kaise pata chala??? Saara surprise kharab hogaya…"

Arjun and Arohi both stared at each other for a moment and burst out laughing. For the first time in days, they were laughing together without it being directed at either one of them. Arjuns heart was dancing hearing Arohis musical laughter. He never heard a sound that would be sweet to his ears. After the laughter died down, they both collected their things and moved towards their cabins to wrap up for the day.

Ahluwalia Aashiana… driveway…

"See… it was not that bad…"

"Matlab?"

"I mean you were worried about coming with me in my car. But I got you safe and sound to your house, didn't I?"

"I was not worried about my safety. I was more worried about yours!"

Arjun lost the count of the number of times, when Arohis words had surprised him today evening and eventually made him laugh. He had never thought that Arohis company would be so much fun. He had enjoyed every minute of their ride together. Discussing music, movies, books and a lot of common interests. Since they both loved to play instruments, they even discussed classical music and how important a base it was, for any artist.

Discussing and smiling was how they entered the house together when a familiar screechy voice grabbed their attention.

"Oye phitte mooh… aye koi waqt honda hai gaar aane ka???"

Arjuns eyes widened seeing his dadi sit on the sofa with Sudhir Ahluwalia, with her famous frown on her face and her hands perched on her waist.

ab aayega mazaa 😉 😆 i want to know your guesses and speculations! arjun arohi ke rishte ko daadi ka tadka lagne waala hai 🤣