The Wrong Start - Arshi FF - Ch17 Page 24 - Page 6

Interesting...Arnav and Khushi working in the same rank, as rivals. Khushi giving back to  Arnav as good as she gets. Khushi in live in relationship with Shyam.., but is he what he poses to be ? Who are Arnav’s Di and Jeejaji? 

Chapter 07 - The Road Less Taken

Arnav cleared his throat audibly, making Khushi look up from her book. She lowered her sunglasses almost in slow motion and moved her handbag from the vacant wicker chair in front of her. Arnav nodded and sat down, taking his sunglasses off. This was their first… non-work kind of meeting. And somehow looking at Khushi dressed in a summer dress with a handful of beads around her wrist and flip flops made her a bit… unrecognizable. He was perhaps too used tot he Sridevi vibes she gave around in the workplace with her saris and an occasional pantsuit. After careful consideration last week, he had decided thatKhushi’s dressing was fascinating and intimidating in equal parts as it reminded him of his adolescent 90’s actresses. After all, every guy of his age would testify to the charms of saris and rains. But he was also extremely uncomfortable about how much attention he paid to her clothes. And her perfumes. And her earrings. And the way she crinkled her nose or her animated hand gesturing. God, this was a one-way slide.

She handed him the menu with a half-smile and closed her book.

“So how much of your weekend did you have to move around for this meeting?” she asked, reaching back to tie her long locks into a bun.

“Just an early morning tennis match, nothing overly important.What about you?” Arnav lied and smiled. He had planned to sleep in for most of the afternoon and put his phone on do not disturb. But Khushi didn’t need to know that.

“Oh wow. I can hardly make it out of bed on Saturdays. Need to catch up on sleep and sometimes yoga.” She replied, instantly making him feel like a pretentious idiot. He ordered a flat white instead of the fancy coffee he had initially thought of to avoid further embarrassment.

Rishabh arrived as if on cue and settled down after initial greetings. He opened his bag and handed out copies of what seemed like a fundraising proposal to both Khushi and Arnav.

“I’ll get straight to the point – I’m planning to quit and start a fund of my own with a couple of friends. And I’d like you guys to be my first employees. We’ve been going around forming a thesis around the fund for about three months now and I’m ready to put down my papers. For you Khushi, I wanted this to come from me before you heard it in the market, though I am sure Arnavhere might have already heard some whispers.”

Arnav nodded with a smile as he flipped through the pages lazily. The document was a nice neat piece of work, which was expected from Rishabh. He was a smart guy with a pretty enviable network and an uncanny acumen for the job, He had often wondered why he hadn’t moved to a bigger place, but now it made sense. The underemployment probably gave him time to conceive the idea and float it around.

“So in what capacity would you want me – us – to start off as?” Khushi was still absorbing the news as she went through the profiles of the other partners. Arnav waited for her to make the first move.

“Junior Partners, one step above your current title. We’ll be based out of here, in Mumbai and expect to get the fund incorporated in about two weeks and get the first round of soft commitments within 6 months. If you decided to come in early, within this stage, I’ll give you a higher portion of the bonus pool for fundraising.” Rishabh explained.

“And why me.. and us in particular?” Arnav finally spoke up.

“You guys make a pretty complementary set as a team. You both have worked for rival funds of different sizes, which helps us to get through the growth phase into the maturity pretty well. Khushi is a tech sector expert and you have considerable experience in healthcare and consumer businesses, something that I’m very bullish on. Finally, I saw how well you work as negotiators together – you balance each other out and don’t let the offer become too aggressive or lopsided. I think that’s something as a new fund we can make very good use of. Also, Khushi is interested in making the move to Hong Kong in the near future and we expect China to be a very important part of our strategy. Once the fundraising is complete, I plan for her to set up a team there whileArnav will manage the operations from Mumbai”

Arnav glanced at Khushi who had pursed her lips. Her expression was unreadable.

“Hong Kong?” he finally blurted, looking at her

“My boyfriend… fiancé… is based out of there.” She replied. “Well, that’s all very flattering Rishab, thanks!” she beamed a little now. “ But I’ll need to sleep over this.” She looked at Arnav who nodded in agreement. Of course, she had a boyfriend, a voice muttered in the back of his head. Why did this even matter right now?

“That’s absolutely fine. Take your time and give me a yes or not interested in a week? I can then introduce you guys to my partners and we will run a formal process?”

He got up to leave and straightened his jacket. Arnav stared at Khushi blankly and was rewarded with a scowl.

“What Raizada? I’m not dying to see your face every day either if that’s what you’re thinking. But the offer looks good.”

“Of course Khushi, I know I’m hard to keep up with.” He retorted and put his sunglasses back on. He felt a weird elation inside him as he watched her pack her book and phone into the bag. Maybe his general sense of stagnation was about to end.

This is a nice surprise!! They are both going to work together...

On a side note,

Hope you and your family  are being safe during these hard times!!

An update after such a long time,both of them are now going to work together as in team so that’s why Khushi’s boss emailed Arnav to meet him.

Her boyfriend is beginning to bother him. He is so defensive about everything. Always playing the he is superior game.

I’m loving Arnav’s fascination with all things related to  Khushi!! :) 

At last know that Arnav does have feelings for her

Chapter 08 - The Next Step

"So what is exactly bothering you about the offer?" Payal asked Khushi as she went through the binder. Khushi placed two cups on tea on the coffee table and flopped down beside Payal on the cushions.

"Nothing is.. bothering me per se. It's a perfect opportunity for me to move my base to Hong Kong without having to sacrifice rank. It's just that Shyam seemed a little... weird about the whole thing. When I called him to tell him about the move, he... didn't seem excited. I'm on the verge of uprooting my life for this relationship but I'm not sure if he is ready for the next step."

Khushi wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her head on them. Payal sipped her tea silently and put an arm around her.

"Do you want to marry this guy Khushi?" she asked gently.

She had witnessed Khushi gradually melt into the relationship and this new person. Their love story wasn't marked by dramatic proclamations and tearful realizations. They did not go around updating their Instagram and Facebook accounts. It had instead been a slowly-burning flame, starting with book and movie recommendations, graduating to lengthier text conversations and cross-country visits. Everything was so smooth and effortless that Payal was quite taken aback when Khushi mentioned about having second thoughts.

"I don't know Payal, I mean... If I'm honest, I have considered it. I have invested a lot in the relationship and it's not exactly easy. Shyam and I share this easy compatibility and whatever you'd like to call as "love". I look forward to having him over, he's respectful, understanding and pretty much everything I would want in a life partner. It's... almost too good to be true and perhaps that's what I am worried about." She leaned back and closed her eyes.

"Do I sense imposter syndrome making its way to your personal life as well?" Payal chuckled.

"Maybe that's what this whole thing is. Just the disbelief at finally having something to keep and ending the struggle? You know I've never had a lot of close friends and this is the first relationship where somebody actually didn't lose interest in me after a couple of months. Maybe I just don't want to screw this up by rocking the boat when things are actually going on pretty smooth."

"You can't be afraid to take the plunge with the guy you want to spend your life with, no?" Payal said softly after a few moments of silence.

Khushi did not respond but merely looked on.

"We are also excluding your favorite Raizada from the equation by the way." Payal grinned as she Khushi moaned.

"Come on Khushi, you spent every weekend of this month ranting about how seeing his face is killing you on the inside bit by bit. Are you ignoring the fact that you two will be the only two employees of this fund for at least a year?"

"Yeah well, you're right. Can I tolerate the asshole in exchange for a boatload of money and a chance to convert my long-distance love life into an actual relationship? Probably."

"Watching you guys go at each other has substituted my daily prime time entertainment. Your domestic feud with Raizada probably explains the harmony on the home front." Payal teased. "But in all seriousness, why don't you try proposing to Shyam?"

Khushi's head snapped around and she almost stared at her in horror.

"Are you crazy?" 

"See, you can go full-on Monica if you want but I do think you should clarify your future plans with him now. You guys have been sleeping around for long enough to talk about this. And if you can't, then maybe that tells you something too."

Sorry but it's little cringe to read about khushi sleeping with shyam... 

So they are moving to hongkong and gonna work together.... Guess khushi will learn something about Shyam too....

Shyam is not what khushi think of him I think he is married n his family lives in Hong Kong with him n when she mentioned her moving to his country he must be scared that his lie will come out in open n frankly I really want khushi to end this long distance relationship as it’s not worth.