Chapter 17

Next morning, at breakfast Mrs. Indrani Raizada's appearance completely flummoxed Khushi. She looked angry.

"The house seems suddenly overcrowded while I was gone." Mrs. Raizada said looking at Anjali, "I didn’t know you were bringing a friend to stay."

"This is Khushi," Anjali said, "I met her in Mangalore when she was working for Arnav at the college."

Mrs. Raizada's eyes widened. "I see," she said, "what is she doing here?"

"She is staying with me as my guest," Anjali said firmly.

"Well, now that I am back, I think you will find it more convenient to be back at your own house."

"I want Di to stay here for some more time." Arnav's husky voice rang out.

"I am afraid that is not possible," Mrs. Raizada said sharply, "my friend is visiting me with her family and we need two rooms."

"In that case, I will leave." Arnav announced.

When Khushi was about to say something, she caught Anjali's eyes stopping her from doing so.

"Stop it!" Mr. Raizada's loud voice boomed, "we have plenty of rooms in this house. Why does anyone have to leave?"

His wife looked miffed at his interference. "Those rooms are being used to store my clothes and other things."

"Those can be temporarily moved to the store room." Her husband pointed out.

"Store room?" her eyebrows raised, "do you know how expensive --?"

"Good morning!" Lavanya walked in, "I am sorry I am late today. Oh hello Mrs. Raizada. When did you arrive?"

"Hello, Lavanya dear," she greeted the young woman, "I came in late last night. Do sit down and don’t be so formal – call me Indu."

Mrs. Raizada continued talking to Lavanya as though nothing had happened and it seemed like she had decided to drop the previous topic.

A little later, Khushi stepped into Anjali's room just as she was getting ready to go to work.

"Anjaliji, why didn’t you let me say anything?" she asked, "I should leave this place if it's going to be such a problem."

"It is resolved now, isn’t it?" Anjali said, as she brushed her hair.

"But I don’t think Mrs. Raizada is happy."

"She will never be happy so don’t worry about that." She took her handbag out of the cupboard.

"But – I am sorry – I guess you will be late --"

"It's alright," Anjali waved her to the couch, "come sit down. Listen Khushi, are you going to leave just because my aunt was rude today?" Anjali asked her, "if you want to be with Arnav you will have to learn to deal with her Khushi. She is Arnav's step mom and you will be associated with her in one way of the other. If you think you can't handle her sharp tongue for one day, imagine what Arnav went through."

Anjali was silent for long moments. "Arnav's life has been very difficult Khushi. When he came here, he wasn’t accepted by my aunt. People might say it was natural for her to reject the illegitimate child of her husband --"

"But it wasn’t Arnav' fault!" Khushi exclaimed.

"She already doted on her son Akash a lot but that increased after Arnav came here – more so because she felt that my uncle favoured Arnav more because of his brilliance. She was afraid that he would make Arnav his heir. Arnav's dad realized that she was insecure and to keep the peace he sided with her."

He had told Rashmi's father that he wanted to make it on his own. He hadn’t wanted to reveal his family background to other people.

"That's so sad," Khushi said emphatically, "how can one behave that way toward a child?"

"My aunt is the kind of person who doesn’t care about anyone --" Anjali said, "not even her brother."

"You father?"

"Yes," Anjali said, "this house belongs to my grandfather, " the only reason she let my father and me live here is because half of it belongs to my dad. She pushed us to a small portion of the house and kept the entire house to herself. My father passed away a few years ago and I am married and she thinks she owns the house.

"They have another house in the outskirts of the city but this one is in the heart of the city – that's why she covets this house more."

"I am sorry." Khushi said.

"True love is very difficult to find Khushi. Manav and I thought --."

"Isn't Manav angry with me?" Khushi asked in a low voice.

"No, he is not," Anjali assured her, "he is the one who told me to help you."

"Really?" Khushi said surprised, "he didn’t pick up my calls."

"Well, we both discussed about it and came to the conclusion that we should help you."

"Thank you both for this," she said. It was very clear that Anjali was doing this for her brother. She probably didn’t trust her that much but Manav had convinced her to do this.

"I have to let you know that I am quitting my job with Shyamji. Arnav has asked me to work for him now."

 She looked relieved. "That's a good thing," she said, "I think you should find a counsellor's job. I will make enquiries at the University."

"I am planning to do my Masters in Psychology Anjaliji," Khushi said, "I have signed up with Symbiosis which is a distance learning platform. My course begins in a few months. This job will be temporary."

Anjali hugged her. "I am very happy for you Khushi. Looks like Arnav is softening toward you."

Khushi felt guilty about not letting Anjali know about another thing. "Anjaliji, I am sorry I didn’t tell you earlier but I did talk to Arnav and after listening to me he – seemed indifferent. I am not sure what he is thinking --"

"We will never know what Arnav really thinks," Anjali said, "he has been like that since childhood. But this morning he told my aunt he wants me to stay back even though he knows I hate staying here. He did it so he could stay longer with you." She smiled. "So be patient and wait for some time longer. I think everything will be fine."

Khushi didn’t feel so fine as she stood in front of Shyam's table to submit her resignation letter.

"This will not be necessary Khushiji," he told her, "I hadn’t really issued your offer letter. It was on probation basis. Take a seat."

Khushi sat on a chair. "I am sorry Shyamji. I am really grateful to you for giving me a job when I really needed it."

"If that's true why are you quitting?" His tone was curt.

"I am not really cut out for this job Shyamji," she said, "I intended to tell you at the party but you left early."

"What do you mean you are not cut out for this job?" Shyam didn’t seem to be want to let go that easily.

When Khushi hesitated Shyam said, "Whatever it is – tell me the truth."

Khushi decided to be forthright. "After the training, I spent some time with –Prachi – the other girl in my training class. She took me to a night club and I saw her flirting with men. They were all drinking a lot and I think they were doing drugs too. When I refused to go back again, she laughed at me saying I wasn’t fit for this job. She told me all this was very important to build connections in our job."

His demeanor changed. "I see," he looked serious, "I will look into this matter. Have you told anyone about this?"

"No." She said, "And there was this incident after the party." She explained what happened with Mr. Desai.

"Why didn’t you call me?" he demanded.

"Your phone was out of reach."

Shyam smiled. "I think Arnav overreacted," he said, "Mr. Desai is genuinely a nice person. Don’t tell me you are quitting because of this silly incident?"

Arnav walked in right at that moment. "It was not a silly incident jeejaji," he said, "Desai had no business asking a young girl to come to his room to help him with hi so called "speech". Telling her he lost his glasses was the oldest trick in the book."

"We always can’t be distrustful of people you know," Shyam argued.

"I can’t believe you don’t see anything wrong in what that man did," Arnav said, "Anyway, if you are done I would like to take Khushi and assign her some work for today."

"I thought you already had someone for the job," Shyam pointed out.

"An extra hand is always welcome jeejaji," he retorted, "speeds up the process. Come Khushi."

"All the best Khushiji!" Shyam's words somehow made her feel uncomfortable as she left his cabin.

That evening Khushi sat as Lavanya shopped for lingerie at one of the high-end stores in South Delhi. She had accompanied Lavanya for shopping a few times in the past month as the other girl had begged her to go along for company. After shopping they sat at a coffee shop as was their habit.

"Khushi, how was your first day at your new job?" Lavanya asked, sipping on her iced coffee.

"Tiring but good."

There was loads of documentation work that was not only pending but had to re-done. Apparently, the girl they had hired earlier was a novice and her inexperience was showing clearly in the documentation. But the hard part was that her cubicle was right across from Arnav's cabin making it very easy for him to see her if his blinds were open.

"Forget your work for a bit," she advised, "did you enjoy the shopping experience?"

How could she enjoy watching someone else buy clothes? "It's nice Lavanya" she said politely, "but I am not a big shopper." Khushi wished her coffee wasn’t so cold.

"I noticed that," Lavanya said, "you know there is a learning experience in all this."

"There is?" Khushi asked curiously.

"Now you will get the right motivation to want to earn more money."

Khushi understood that Lavanya wasn’t necessarily looking down on her but it was her way of telling her that she had less ambition.

"I know money is important Lavanyaji." Her mother's shoulder surgery last month had cost them a lot of money.

"Yes – money means power Khushi," she said, "and there is power in another thing."

"What?"

"Beauty."

"What do you mean?"

"Another day I will explain to you what I mean by that," she winked, "I have to rush home to get ready for a date."

A few hours later, Arnav knocked on the door of the luxury suite of The Merlin Hotel. He remembered Khushi standing at the door of one such room just a few days ago. He had just made it in time to save that idiotic girl from getting into another fiasco. He smiled to himself just as the door opened.

"What so funny Arnav?" Lavanya opened the door wearing a thigh-length, dark green wrap dress that showed off her slim figure to its full advantage. "Welcome to the luxury suite." She wore red lipstick and dark khol in her eyes. He noticed that she had made a lot of effort on her looks.

"Wow!" Arnav exclaimed as he looked around, "this room looks amazing Lavanya."

"Thank you!" She wrapped her arms around him in hug. "I knew you would love it." She whispered in his ear.

She seemed very wired up tonight. Arnav held her shoulder, taking a step back. "Of course – anyone who comes here will love it." He walked to the window and touched the curtains. "You have excellent taste in décor. The choice of furniture, fabric and accessories is outstanding. You have decorated this place beyond expectations."

"You are the first person to see it after completion – other than my team of course," she said, "do you think the management will like it?"

Arnav was surprised at the revelation. "That's a lot of responsibility on me but I do think they will like it."

There was knock on the door. "I will get that." She walked to the door and opened it. Two members of the hotel staff walked in pushing a trolley. In a few minutes, they had set up a table for two, complete with an ice bucket and food. "We will take care of it ourselves. Thank you." Lavanya tipped the waiters and sent them on their way.

"What's all this?" he asked her, "I thought we were going out to eat."

"This is my treat for successful completion of this project and my gratitude for spending time with me to help my bag my next project so soon."

"The project isn’t confirmed yet --" Arnav began.

"I have no doubt about getting it!" Lavanya walked up to him and brought him to the table. She uncorked the champagne bottle like an expert and poured the golden liquid into both the flutes. She handed him a glass and clinked hers to his. "To us." She said looking into his eyes.

"Congratulations." Arnav said softly before downing the entire liquid at one shot.

"Take it easy Arnav!" Lavanya exclaimed as stepped closer, "we have all night."

Arnav moved to the other side of the table, opening the lids on the bowls that were placed on the table. "I am really hungry. Shall we eat?" he asked her.

"Okay –" she paused, "since you are hungry."

After the meal was done, Arnav stood up, "Lavanya, I have an early morning meeting at the office."

"Oh, come on," Lavanya dragged him to the couch and pushed him on it, "let us talk for some time." She poured him another drink.

"You know Arnav when my dad first told me I should come and stay with you all at your house, I was so livid. I tried to reason with him but he was adamant. He told me he would get me this hotel project only if I did this. But thanks to that, I was able to get to know you ---"

"Do you know my favourite food?" he asked her.

"Well, I am not really sure. Is it chicken kabab?"

Arnav shook his head. "It's chicken gassi."

"You mean that dish that they make with that thin dosa at your house?"

"Yes, that's neer dosa."

She crinkled her nose. "I don’t like coconut based gravies much. They have too many calories. In fact, I would advise you not to eat that. You will get high cholesterol eating that often. You must eat fish instead."

"It doesn’t suit me," he said, "the last time I ate with you at the restaurant I fell sick."

"Is that why you were sick?" Lavanya asked him, "I am sorry I didn’t come see you. This project was at its peak and was coming home late and had to go back early in the mornings as well."

"That's alright," Arnav said, "I was taken care of." Anjali had brought him medicines for rashes and for his stomach which was undoubtedly sent by Khushi.

"While we are on the subject, I don’t like any of the Indian breakfast your cook makes. Idli, dosa, upma, poha. They are all oily and salty. I prefer cereals, oats or bread for breakfast."

"But I love Indian breakfast." He was pretty sure the Indian breakfast was being made by Khushi on the days he was around at home as HP was pretty bad with south indian breakfast.

"How did we end up with this topic?" she asked him looking confused.

"Lavanya I really have to leave now."

"Arnav, you promised to go over the proposal for me!" Lavanya whined, "I have to submit it tomorrow. Please Arnav."

"I am not sure I am up to it," Arnav began, "I think I might have had a little too much to drink "

"Oh, come on Arnav," she brought the proposal and placed it in front of him, "you can do this blind folded and you know that."

"Alright," he acceded, "I am sure this is pretty good already," he said as he flipped through the pages.

"You think so?" Lavanya asked, her face just inches away from him, "I wanted to ask about this point here." She leaned on the table and looked up at him.

Her dress had dipped revealing ample cleavage, her short dress had ridden way above her thigh.

As she leaned toward him, Arnav stood up. "Can I use the wash room?" he asked her.

"Sure."

A few minutes later when he stepped out Lavanya sat on the sofa in black silk lingerie. "Is everything okay?"

He looked at her, his face contorted in pain. "I was sick," he said, "I think it was the fish."

Khushi tossed and turned on her bed. She hadn’t been able to sleep as it was hot and the AC in her room wasn’t working as the power was out. She heard a knock on the door. Who would be knocking past midnight she wondered. It could be Anjali asking for some medicine. She cracked open the door to see Arnav standing there.

"Open up!" he commanded, "I want to come in."

"This is not a good time," she said, "let's talk in the morning."

"I am sick," he said, "I need something."

"You go back to your room," she suggested, "I will have it sent over to you."

"What wrong with you?" he pushed his way inside. "What the ---?" he looked at her from top to bottom. She was wearing a short black cotton slip. How could she look so ravishing in a simple slip?

"What?" she asked him. "It is hot!"

"Cover up, will you?" he said gruffly, "I am tired of seeing lingerie tonight."

Khushi understood the connection between the lingerie Lavanya had bought earlier and the talks about beauty being power.

"You were on a date with Lavanyaji," she pointed out, "why don’t you ask her for medicine?"

"It wasn’t really a date," he said, "she wanted me show the room she had been working on at the Merlin Hotel."

Khushi's scoffed. "In her lingerie?"

"What's with that tone Khushi?" he asked her, "don’t you believe me?"

Khushi realized that he was a little high with all the alcohol he's consumed. "What does it matter if I believe you or not?"

"Don’t you dare say that!" he exclaimed, "only I know how I escaped from there."

"Why?" she asked him, as her heart jumped with joy, "didn’t you like what you saw?" She wished she could take it back as soon as she said it.

"I was sick," he said evasively, "I told you."

This was not the answer she was expecting. "Okay, take off your shirt. I will apply the lotion on your rashes first and then I will give you the medicine for your infection."

Khushi quickly covered herself with a robe and brought the Caladryl lotion to see Arnav sitting on her bed, shirtless. His muscles flexed in the golden light of dim lighting in the room. Memories of the night in Mangalore came crashing down as she yearned to touch every inch of the that muscled torso. Khushi was shocked at her own desire. As she moved her hands across his back, she noticed that there were no signs of rashes.

"You have no rashes!"

He looked up at her. "So, when did I say I had rashes?" he asked her. His molten brown eyes bore into hers.

"You said you were sick."

"I was," he whispered, "but I am okay now." He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

"Then you better leave." Khushi said nervously.

"Why did you put on the robe?" To hell with his resolve. He undid her robe and pushed it off her shoulders. He pulled her onto his lap.

"Arnav!" Khushi exclaimed, "what are you doing?"

Arnav realized that it was only Khushi who could make him feel this way, this intense all- consuming sensation that he had never ever experienced with any other woman in his life and after his episode with Lavanya, he was afraid he had no hope in the future either.

He took her lips and kissed her long and deep.

"What have you done to me Khushi?" he rasped. "You have bewitched me -- like that snake that gets attracted to the flowers. I am sure you learnt some voodoo magic while you were in Tonse. I can't be doing this -- but you make me want to do things --" he murmured.

Khushi stilled. She had a long day and the last thing she needed was another accusation from him.

"I make you do things?" she asked him, "You were the one who knocked on my door in the middle of the night!" she exclaimed angrily.

Arnav suddenly pushed her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her in vice like grip. "Shhhh …Khushi – just for a few minutes --" he fell silent.

"Let me go!" she said, trying to move away from him, but it was impossible.

"Arnav?"

When she heard his steady breathing in her ear, she realized he had fallen into a deep slumber.

Oh God! She would have to wake him up somehow. What if someone discovered that Arnav had spent the night in her room? But it felt so good to be wrapped up in his arms. She didn’t know what the future had in stock for her. Was it wrong to steal a few blissful moments? These were her last thoughts before sleep claimed her.