“Memsaab,
may i come in?” Garima looked up from the sheaf of papers she was
correcting and smiled at the man standing near her study door
“Arre...Suresh beta, come in...kaise ho? (how are you?)” she
asked him with affection to which he shyly smiled
“I am always
happy and content working you you and badi memsaab...so i am very
well” he said as Garima gestured him to come and sit
She
kept her papers aside and folded her arms on the table “So, is
everything ok? How's you wife now? She was not keeping well wasn't
she? And the baby?” she asked him with a concerned look to which he
nodded “Yes, she was ill, doctor saab said she has weakness...but now she is fine...and our daughter is also doing well”
he said proudly
“Hmm...i
see the pride of being a father in your eyes!” she said laughing
with him “And don't worry... physical weakness is pretty common
after first pregnancy...with proper medications, she will be
fine...do let us know if you need anything ok?” she asked him
gently placing her hand on his
“Thank
you memsaab....and yes, i am very proud that i'm a father of a
daughter...after seeing badi memsaab, you and khushi didi...i know
that i'm very lucky to be blessed with a daughter, who will one day
make my name proud!” he said with a twinkle in his eyes
“Accha
memsaab..i had actually come to return this” he said handing over a
ornate box to her...she recognized it instantly and looked at him
with a question in her eyes
“I forgot to return it
back...you see, a few days ago, this paan daani was lying at the Mill's
reception area..I know it belonged to Arun sir” he said explaining
to her
“I
tried finding sir to return it back to him, but that same day he
had left for Delhi...so i took it along with me lest someone steals
it...but i am ashamed to say that i gave the paan's inside to thapaji
on that fateful night of his death..bless his poor soul” he said
with remorse.
Garima
took the box and kept it aside “Its ok Suresh, i'm sure Arun is not
even aware of it missing...he has many of these around..what with his
fondness for paan...” she said as the young man nodded and smiled
fondly “At least thapaji died eating this favorite thing that
night” he said as Garima gave him a soft smile
“Yes,
his death really shook ma a lot...the heart attack was so sudden that
nothing could be done...” she said as a lone tear ran down her
cheek at the thought of her favorite thapa chacha...he always knew
what to say to lift everyone's moods, she thought sadly as she wiped
the tears off her face
“I'll
return it to Arun when he comes here next” she said to Suresh as he
nodded and got up “Thank you memsaab...i would have done it myself,
but since he hardly visits the mills now...” he said as Garima
shook her head
“I
know...he'll be here mostly tomorrow..ill give it then” she said as
Suresh thanked her again and left, leaving her to go back to
correcting her notes...not aware of a very disturbing discovery lost
amidst their conversation.
.........................................
“Baby!...where
are you?” sheetal's voice drifted over his phone while he went over
some figures on his laptop...he took a second to answer her back
instead of ending the call in annoyance
“Sheetal...its 3 in the
afternoon...so i'm obviously at work...was there anything important you
wanted to talk about?” he asked her, knowing the answer to it
“Oh God baby...why are you always so annoyed? I had just called to remind
you about Shyam's party tonight...you haven't forgotten have you?”
she asked him in a panicked tone to which arnav just wanted to groan
out loud...the last thing he wanted to do was attend that fool's
party
“Uh...Sheetal...i'm
afraid i'll be tied up with something...you should go ahead though”
he said as he went back to his work
“No...no! You can't do this to
me!! I mean..i bought a brand new Versace for this party...and its
also a launch party of one of the best clubs in Mumbai that Shyam
owns...please arnav, you can't ditch me at the last moment!” she
whined as arnav closed his eyes in frustration
“Fine..i'll come, but for half an hour only...get it?” he said in a 'I
don't want any argument' voice to which sheetal agreed quickly...he
knew she won't ask more than that....and he knew that he could only
take that much of the saccharine sweetness that Shyam Jha ladled up.
He
ended the call as his intercom rang “Yes” he asked as his
secretary spoke “Sir, Ms Gupta is here..may i send her in” she
asked him to which he answered quickly “yes, please let her come in”
he said and waited as his door opened up and khushi walked in with a
polite smile
“Hope
i'm not disturbing you?” she asked as he shook his head, “No, off
course not...” he said as she came and sat down opposite him...he
looked on as she flipped open her ipad and clicked on something
before showing it to him
“I had sent his mail in the morning to
you...but i guess you were busy...” she said as arnav donned his
glasses and peered at the screen
Khushi
passed the iPad to him and admired how the rimless glasses suited his
personality “I didn't know you wore glasses?” she blurted out,
much to her indignation and his amusement “Oh...there's loads you
don't know about me yet Ms Gupta” he said quoting her own line back
She
gave him a sheepish smile as he continued “But, since you
asked...yes i do wear glasses, but only when i use any kind of tabs
or laptops...i have sensitive eyes...and any light at close proximity
hurts them” he said as she peered at his laptop “Oh..my
laptop...it has a screen over it...” he said pointing at the screen
jutting out.
She
smiled and nodded at him while he read the mail. Her gaze wandered
over his office as she took in the warm browns and soothing creams of
the entire place...she had imagined him to be someone who would be
very grey and black type of guy
“Hmm...you
reply is bang on” he said bringing her out of her thoughts. She
leaned forward to take her ipad back from him “Sorry I din't get to
read the mail earlier otherwise i would have replied...lets meet with
these guys and work out a better plan for this quarter” he said to
her as she nodded
“Great...i'll
ask aman to fix up a meeting soon” she said as she got up to go,
only to be gestured by arnav to peer at his laptop screen...she
walked around the table to get a better look and stood next to him as
he pointed towards the screen
“This company is very interested in
investing with us...this guy” he said pointing towards a name,
which khushi could not read clearly
She
leaned forward to see it , oblivious to the fact that she was
standing very close to him. Arnav suddenly felt very alert as she
leaned towards his laptop...her flowery scent wafted over his
nostrils as he breathed in deeply “Victor huang..i have heard of
this guy...in fact, a year ago...i met him at a fundraiser in LA”
she said as she looked to her right side, suddenly finding arnav nose
very close to hers
“Uh...sorry”
she said quickly, straightening up as a faint knock on the door made
them look up “ASR, may i come in” Lavanya asked as she walked in
before he could say anything...she knew that she could take certain
liberties after working for him for so long
“Ok..so on insistence
of Sheetal maam, i have kept your evening free for...” she started
saying but stopped when she looked up to find Khushi standing next to
her boss
“Oh...i'm
so sorry....i'll come back later” she said with an apologetic smile
“Oh no, we are done Lavanya” khushi said walking back towards her
earlier seat and picking up her iPad. She turned towards arnav as
he sat watching her “We'll talk about Mr Huang's company later...i'll
do some more research from my end...” she said to which he nodded
Khushi
said a goodbye to Lavanya before walking out of the office. “Wow...i
absolutely love her office wear (See below)!” Lavanya said with a dreamy look
to which arnav snorted a 'hmm...'.
She looked at her boss who looked
a bit lost and a small smile touched her lips at the implications
“ASR, i hope i did not disturb any important discussion” she said
trying to gauge his reaction
But
was left disappointed as Arnav singh Raizada looked at her with a
blank look “No, off course not...what was it that was so
important?” he asked her as she raised her eyebrows and sat down
in the same chair khushi had just vacated
“Oh yes...uh, Mr Jha's
party tonight? I've informed the driver and rescheduled your evening
meeting for tomorrow afternoon” she said with a smile only to get a
scowl from her boss
“Who
the hell told you to reschedule anything? Lavanya...what is wrong
with you? I never compromise work for these frivolous parties..” he
said as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair...Lavanya looked
down and cursed herself for not consulting arnav before rescheduling
“I'm
so sorry ASR, but Sheetal maam insisted that this was a very
important event..and I” she started saying only to be cut int he
middle by arnav
“And you what Lavanya?...why do you take anything
that sheetal says so seriously? For her an important event is trying
out the latest restaurant before one of her other socially retarded
friends have a chance to!” he said as lavanya bit back a laugh, wondering for the umpteenth time, why her boss was with that woman!
She
pushed forward a glass of water towards him and said in a sincere
voice “I really am sorry...and i won't repeat this next time” she
said as arnav gave her a quick nod
“Hows you son now? Arush right?”
he asked her to which her face literally lit up “Oh, he's much
better now...thanks for sending doctor mirza that day...Arush really
wasn't in a state for me to take him to the clinic” she said,
gratitude heavy in her voice
“Don't
thank me woman...i salute you for taking care of two kids on your
own” he said as Lavanya gave him a sad smile “Yes...if i did not
have a considerate boss, I don't know where i would be now!” she
said as arnav gave her a stern look
“Ok
enough...now this considerate boss wants you to get to work...i need
your eyes on the new team..see if they are working well
together...i'm a little bit worried for a few of them...so i need
performance and professional conduct reports on all.” he said as
Lavanya did a mock salute and left, leaving him amused.
.........................................
“I
need you to let me know how the guys are faring in their new
roles...i'm a little bit worried for some of them...keep an eye on
Sahiba..she's the one i really want to focus on..” Khushi said as
Aman nodded “Sure maam, anything else?” he asked her as she waved
her hand
“No..nothing
else...” she said as aman turned around at the last minute “Maam,
the Biz Standard people wanted to fix a meeting sometime this
week...they want to do a personal interview” he said as khushi
looked up “An Interview? Now? What for?” she asked Aman who
quickly checked his mail on his phone.
“Uh...they
are doing a piece on successful women in their 20's....they want to
feature you in it” he said as khushi thought about it “Hmm...check
with PR if its a good idea and proceed to fix it for coming monday if
they think its relevant” she said as aman nodded and left.
Successful
women....she thought as she suddenly remembered the conversation she
had yesterday with arnav...and her own thoughts about why she behaved
so differently around him. She got up and stretched her arms up while
walking towards the french windows.
She
was what she was, on her own.period. Yes, she did have an advantage of being
a Gupta, but she was proud of what she had achieved for her company
in such a short time...she did not need to prove herself to
anyone...then why was she trying to impress him so much?
She
had thought about this long & hard and the only thing she could
conclude was that he still affected her...even after all these
years...she still felt this innate need to prove herself to him...and
for him not to think of her as one of those girls he had accused her
of being.
But
then, he did not even remember her...he probably does not even
remember that silly incident anymore...so what was she trying to
prove? And why would it make a difference now? After so long!
She
hugged her arms around herself and closed her eyes. She still
remembered that night so vividly...
Club Arizona
13th May 2006
“Khushi..what
happened? You ok?” her friend asked her as the rest of their group
milled around her. She was still in a kind of shock after listening
to those words from his mouth...but what had really struck her was
the disgust she saw in his eyes...
How
can someone judge another person so quickly? How could he say that
she was attracting such scum just because she was wearing a short
dress...he does not even know her!....she felt more tears prick her
eyes as one of her friends shook her “Khushi! Wow! Arnav singh
raizada fought for you...oh my god! This is going to be page three
news tomorrow! Look at that Neeta woman from Bombay times talking to
him” she said pointing towards the VIP section
Khushi
forced her eyes to move towards the place where he was sitting,
looking furiously at a woman in a short kurta and jeans who was
trying to talk to him....Khushi took a deep breath and started
walking towards them to give him a piece of her mind when she heard
his clear cut voice through the haze of trance music playing around
them.
“Girls
like her give other decent girls a bad name...i'm no hero for saving
her...in fact, i feel that if women are bold enough for other
things...they should also be strong enough to defend themselves...In
fact i'm not even sure if that girl was genuinely in
trouble.....maybe it was a plan to get into tomorrow's bloody page
three!...all these girls care about is their one minute of fame..poor
little rich girls...rolling in their daddy's money!” he said
menacingly, his harsh words slashing through khushi's tender heart
But
before he could look her way, she turned around and ran out of the
club...tears streaming down her face...she could hear her friends
calling her name...hell she could also feel a pair of heated caramel
eyes on her back...but she did not stop..she ran and ran till she
could run no more...
That
was the day, she took the biggest decision of her life...she would
prove him wrong...she would one day stand up to him and look into his
eyes and proclaim that she is not like any of those women...she would
prove to him that she could be better than him...that she could have
the world at her feet...and no one...not even him could point at a
flaw in her...she would show him.
The
ringing of her phone got her back to the present...she took a deep
breath to calm herself and went to pick up her phone..she cursed loudly as she saw the name flashing..she gritted
her teeth and picked up the phone before speaking a honeyed tone “Mr
Jha...what a pleasant surprise!” she said as she heard his deep
chuckle from the other end
“Well
i'm glad its pleasant my dear...i was afraid i won't get to hear your
sweet voice after that day at the auction” he said smoothly making
khushi wonder what this slime-ball was made of....she thought she had
gotten rid of his unwanted advances for good...but here he was
flirting with her again as if she had laid roses at his feet.
Her
thoughts were suddenly cut mid-way as he spoke “I know you must be
wondering why i'm being like this right? When i should probably be
miffed and angry with you for what happened that day?” he asked her
as khushi wondered the same
“Well,
you see Ms Gupta...i thought about it that day....and i came to a
conclusion...that i like you...i really like that fierceness and
feisty nature of yours...its so refreshing” he said as khushi made
a sour face
“Now...i'm
not saying that you should like me too....but how about we start
afresh huh? I mean, now that you have a tie-up with Raizada's...i'm
sure we can benefit mutually? I mean Arnav and I are old friends you
know...” he said making khushi wince
“Hmm...I
don't know what to say Mr Jha” she said, actually wondering what
she should say to this new development...she was surprised that Arnav
was friend's with such a vile man like Jha...and she would have to
bear this oaf owing to good personal relationships...
“Just
say you will Khushi....i hope i can all you Khushi?” he asked her
as she thought it best to be civil to him for now “Yes, off course
you can...” she said as he quickly cut it “Great...so i'm having
a small party tonight...its for a launch of one of my clubs...i'll
send you the address...please do come...i will be honored with your
presence” he said as she pursed her lips..she could honestly not
say no now
“I'd
love you...do send me the address, i'll be there” she said and
ended the call with a quick godbye before he could flirt anymore. She
kept the phone down and called aman to inform him about the party so
that her evening schedule could be cleared.
She
looked at the mail which had just come from Arnav and it took her
back to her previous thoughts...she decided that she had had enough
of proving herself...to him, to her father....to this bloody
chauvinistic society who thought that a woman could never lead..even
after the shining example her own grandmother had set.
She
really did not care anymore what anyone thought of her...either they
accept her as she is, or go to hell...choice is theirs. But as for
her, she will be answerable to no one except her nani and
mother....the rest be damned. Khushi Gupta has arrived.
