FF: When Love And Hate Collide... Pt26 pg145 10/07 - Page 61

Originally posted by: cherry227

zoya- im going out of town on thursday and am really pressed for time!! i was going to update one of each atleast before i leave but it looks difficult :((( however, im trying to write on OS for the contest and after that if i get time then i will write short updates... but cant promise anything!

Originally posted by: cherry227

zoya- im going out of town on thursday and am really pressed for time!! i was going to update one of each atleast before i leave but it looks difficult :((( however, im trying to write on OS for the contest and after that if i get time then i will write short updates... but cant promise anything!

PART 17

"Good morning..."

D's eyebrows shot up to his forehead hearing his hitler boss almost sing along the greeting to him. Someone was in a very good mood today and Danish believed in the saying 'Make hay while the sun shines'.

"And a very good morning to you! Kya baat hai Arohi... Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?"

To D's utter dismay, Arohi let out a small laugh. "Nope! As a matter of fact, I slept on the right side of the bed last night!!!"

D smiled... probably his widest smile till date in this office premises. Arohi definitely was in a fabulous mood and it made him the most happiest to see this smile on her face, first thing in the morning. Whoever, or whatever, had made this happen was definitely worth praising.

"So should I read out your appointments to you or do you want to take the day off?"

"D... im in a good mood. But Ive not gone crazy... yet! Tell me the schedule please..."

Smiling, D reached for his ipad and started reading Arohis poa for the day.

"... and 5pm, appointment with the dress designer."

"Hold it! Dress designer? For what?"

"This one has been added by your dad... and I have strong evidence that your mother might be behind the whole idea. Dress designer, for the outfit that you'll be wearing on Friday, for the Khurana wedding."

"What! Its just a wedding... why do I need to get a dress designed for that! I have many indian outfits... I can just wear one of them! I dont have time to waste on this. Just cancel the meeting..."

"Uh... uh... uh! No can do Miss Ahluwalia. Mr Sudhir Ahluwalia has red tagged this one... which means that this an important one and cannot be cancelled."

"Dammit! Talk about a ball buster. Fine... ill deal with her..."

"Not her... him!"

"Oh god! They are the worst."

D chuckled seeing Arohi react so normally like a harrowed young woman. "I know. But they are still easy on women. When it comes to a male client, they can get really weird. Agar tumhe tension aa raha hai, toh Arjun ka kya horaha hoga???"

"Arjun? Even he is coming for this appointment???"

For the first time D noticed genuine surprise, devoid of any irritation in Arohis voice.

"Yes. As per the orders given, aap dono ko thik se dress up karke jaana hai. No casuals or office wear. Strictly wedding gear, with all the accessories. Mr Khurana is not only an old and valuable investor, but he is almost family and a very important asset to our new company. So..."

Arohi shut her eyes in resignation. One more order from her father, that she had to go through. Well, if it was going to be traumatic for Arjun then she can probably bear the torture herself. A slow devilish grin spread slowly across Arohis face as she thought up and imagined numerous ways to make this appointment memomrable for Arjun.

Coffee break... mid-afternoon...

"What has your boss done to my boss???"

"Excuse me???" D blinked rapidly to clear his head again. What was wrong with the office today?! Arohi was in a great mood in the morning, he had met Arjun around lunch time but he looked like he could kill someone and now this woman was accusing him of something that he had no clue of! "What makes you think Arohi has done something?"

Natasha approached the pantry table and slammed her diary on it. "Well for starters, Arjun was in an extremely foul mood in the morning, snapping, at everyone and everything! Then there was some appointment @5pm which got him muttering about Arohi under his breath. And now, every once in a while, he gets lost in his own world, planning something very cunningly. These are symptoms of your boss... not mine! She has rubbed off her frown on his face or something... I dont know!"

D watched as Nats briskly got a coffee and plopped herself on the stool opposite to him, totally frustrated. "Hmmm... interesting! Now that I think of it, Arohi is behaving like Arjun today. She was happy in the morning, she is reacting like a normal person and I actually caught her singing away a couple of times. Didn't Arjuns dadi come to india last night???"

"She did! She is like Arjuns jar of elixir... but when I attempted to ask him about her, he actually snapped at me. Can you believe that?"

"Hmm... jaroor kal raat ko kuch hua hai, jisse inn dono ki personalities have got exchanged."

"You mean like... magic or something?"

D glared at Nats. Realising that she was harrowed because of her boss, he decided to give her a break. "I mean something regarding dadi. Are you in good terms with her? Because right now, only she can answer our questions and clear the confusion."

"Actually I am. But shes a very dangerous woman. And if Arjun finds out..."

"Cmon Natasha... you are a woman! You are not calling her for gossip... you're making a courtesy call, asking her how she is, since she arrived yesterday etc. And eventually if she spills the beans then you didnt ask for it now, did you?"

Nats stared in astonishment at the fake innocence on Dhondus face. "D... sometimes I wonder... ki tum galti se aadmi ban gaye. You are so smart that you should've been born as a woman!"

"Shut up! I cant even decide whether its an insult or a compliment!!! Now stop wasting time and get to work. Designer ke appointment mein sirf 2 ghante baaki hain. Give me some good news before that."

Danish winked at her and Natasha grinned, leaving the pantry in a hurry. D's smile waned as he thought about the discussion that they had just had. So Arohi now along with getting affected by Arjun, had started reacting too. And even Arjun was not spared! The only question was do they both realise it? If not, then someone had to make them so that they really think this through. Danish did not want anymore pains and disappointments in Arohis life... and for that if he had to do anything... he would do it!

5.15 pm... Sanjay Lal's boutique...

Arjun just stared... mesmerised. He was sitting in the designers cabin made in full glass. From one side, he could see the entire office working below, from one end a breathtaking view of the ocean filled ones vision through the floor to ceiling windows. But Arjuns eyes were stuck on another end of the cabin which showed a view of the touch up area outside the fitting rooms. And from one of the fitting rooms, Arohi had just emerged wearing a sea green sequined saree.

When she had entered the room a couple of minutes back, she was wearing her traditional office wear and Arjun was wearing a permanent frown because of the lousy day that he had. But when she emerged from the room, it felt like a caterpillar had metamorphosed into an butterfly. The gem-studded tissue saree wrapped around her like a coccon, with her creamy silk skin peeking out from the gaps in the material, the colour a perfect contrast to her black midnight eyes. The bright lights in the room flashed off the shiny blanket of her brown hair and the stones embedded in the garment around her.

Arohi was busy talking to Sanjay, explaining to him the fitting issues with the blouse that she was facing and Arjuns eyes were completely trained on her. He could not imagine how a woman could manage to look so beautiful and hot in a western gown as well a traditional indian wear. He wondered if she would look equally gorgeous in a punjabi patiala suit or a ghagra-choli.

Arjuns thoughts took him to la-la land again and he didnt realise that Arohi had finished her conversation with Sanjay and was now looking at him. He continued to stare, till Arohi waved a hand infront of her to get his attention. When Arjun came back to the present, he just smiled in Arohis direction. She smiled back and tilted her head towards Sanjay, questioning whether Arjun was busy ogling at the young gay designer.

Arjun immediately sobered up and looked around. Ever since they had started for their appointment from office, Arohi had been teasing him about dadi's condition. If Arjun would've been in a better mood, he would have teased her back but he was too flustered by the frustrating day that he had spent, laced with intermittent calls from dadi reminding him about the one month deadline.

To add fuel to fire, Sanjay had been fawning all over Arjun ever since they had arrived at the boutique. Arohi had seized the moment and made a crack about checking with dadi, whether she would be OK if Arohi looked for a boy for Arjun instead of a girl! Arjun had wanted to strangle her but she had been saved by Sanjay, who walked in with her saree and let her to the dressing room to change.

Now, when again Arohi smiled suggestively, Arjun didnt feel like strangling her but... grabbing her and kissing her... again! Arjuns thoughts had started scaring him now. This was the second time after he had kissed her when he had wanted to repeat his actions. It had been very evident to him now, that when it came to Arohi, his attraction was not in his control. It will not be long enough when he wont be able to snap out of it and do something stupid again... like the infamous kiss.

Arjun was an instinctive person, however, he did not treat his relationships that way. He always had a complete agenda for each and every girl that he had an affair with. He would end it just before emotional ties started to form and and make him or the girl weak enough into believing that this was actually going somewhere. But with Arohi it was way too complicated. Even if they mutually agreed to end the relationship, they would still have to see each other every single day and work with each other.

Arohi was every bit a professional that he was, and he was sure that she would keep her end of the promise but there was a lot more to that. Dadi, Sudhir uncle, aunty, sanchit, his parents... it would just be too awkward. But he had to do something before he lost control over his own feelings... and the only way to do that would be to talk it out with Arohi.

But what if she doesnt want to acknowledge her feelings for him? Arohi was very much capable of doing something so ridiculous so that she can just pretend that it never happened. In that case, may be he should talk to the next best person. Yes... that would be better. If he could do that, then he will not have to say anything to Arohi, she will get the point from her own sources. This sounded like a better idea... talking to Danish first definitely made sense than talking to Arohi.

Ahluwalia office... same time...

"Did you find out something?"

"Uh... huh!"

"And whats that?"

"There is some deadline, which is the cause of his problems."

Deadline... what deadline?"

"I dont know. But before the end of this month, they have to finalise something."

"It cant be a project. Because if it was then Arohi would have definitely told me."

"Would Arohi still tell it to you if it was not work but something personal?"

D looked taken aback. "Of course. I am not just her PA, we are friends too you know."

Natasha smiled. She had no intentions of questioning Arohi and Danish's friendship but looks like she had said something that hurt D. "I know D. But I was not sure if Arohi would confide in you about something, the she herself was not aware of. Like her feelings for Arjun."

D rolled his eyes. "Well... she would confide in me about her confusion, even if she is not 'aware' as you put it." D lifted his hands in the air and quoted with his fingers, his actions bringing a chuckle out of Nats.

"I think we should both have a word with our friends. Just casually... we can easily catch it if theres something going on in their minds... dont you think?"

Danish sighed in acceptance and nodded his head. "I think this is the first time that we are agreeing with each other. I will have a word with Arohi today."

"Even I will talk to..."

Nats stopped midway as Dhondus phone pinged and he looked at it to check the new message. A frown etched on his forehead as he read it. He looked up at Nats with confusion in his eyes.

"Who is it???"

D blinked. "Arjun... he wants to talk to me."

Natashas eyes opened wide. "About what????"

Dhondu just shrugged his shoulders and turned to his phone again, re-reading the message in case he had made a mistake.

Thank you for keeping patience and sorry for the short update. i promise a long one after i come back from my holidays 😃 sincere apologies to all the writers whose work i follow but havent been able to read and comment... will give lamba wala comments pakka 🤗

Originally posted by: cherry227

hi guys... sorry im still on vacation and have not got the time to write... I will be going to malaysia on saturday and will be completely inactive till the 15th

So... i will be giving an update of both MR and WL tomorrow before i go absconding 😆 you guys will have plenty of time to read and comment till i come back on the 15th 🤗