FF: It's Not Right - Chapter 8
Read the rest of this series over here.
Please note I retain sole ownership of all the works of fiction on this blog so please do not reproduce or alter my work and claim it as your own.
Chapter 8
Khushi spent the rest of the afternoon trying to focus on her work. It wasn't particularly hard, just answering phone calls and typing up the occasional letter for her boss Abhinav. She'd stumbled through the interview, never having had a proper one before and fully expected to be rejected on the spot. However Abhinav had only laughed and confided in her that this was also the first interview he had ever conducted.
After Abhinav's father's recent death he'd inherited a company he didn't really want and knew next to nothing about. They'd bonded over their family worries and Abhinav had invited her to be his friend rather than an employee and muddle through this business together. Abhinav had even convinced her parents to move to Delhi and she was so pleased to be able to see them every day even if Bauji did look older and more world weary than when she'd seen him last.
Khushi was still typing when she heard a knock on her office door and looked up to see Abhinav walking in. 'Hello sir, you're back? I'll just get some tea for you.' She made to stand up but Abhinav smiled as he put his hands on her shoulders and sat her back down on her chair and took the one opposite her desk. It was almost as if she was the boss and he was her employee.
'I told you this morning Khushi, don't call me 'sir' and don't call me 'Abhinavji' either. It makes me feel old. Just Abhi is fine. I promise.' Abhinav stopped to take something out of his pocket, 'besides we're friends right?' He held out his hand to her and Khushi was delighted to see her favourite roadside snack.
'Wow, thank you!' She took a handful and picked the phone up as it started to ring. With her mouth still full, she half mumbled half giggled 'good morning, I mean afternoon, I mean how can I help you?'
Arnav sighed at the sound of her voice, he hadn't expected her to answer the phone. This meant she was Abhinav's direct secretary which irritated him unnecessarily. 'Can I speak to Abhinav Sinha?' He asked in a harsh tone trying to keep all emotion out of his voice but failing.
Khushi quickly swallowed her food and her eyes grew large as she recognised the voice on the other side. Not that he seemed to recognise her as he hadn't even acknowledged her. Well two can play that game, she thought to herself. 'Yes of course, he's right here. Who shall I say is calling?'
Arnav couldn't believe what he was hearing. Khushi didn't recognise him? And what was this about Abhinav being right there? Did they share an office or something? 'Just give him the phone!' Arnav barked into his mobile no longer trying to control his anger. Although he didn't even understand why he was angry in the first place,
Khushi handed the phone over to Abhinav whispering 'it's Arnav Singh Raizada for you'. It was interesting how Abhinav who had previously been slouched in his chair suddenly sat straight up like a child being called to the Headmaster's office. She listened intently to try and hear what was being said but all she could hear were Abhinav's constant affirmations, 'yes sir' and 'of course sir'.
As soon as Abhinav put the phone down Khushi questioned him 'what did he say? What did he want?'
Abhinav looked almost dazed as he answered, 'he wants to talk about increasing our ad space in his magazines. He's coming here, now. I can't believe...'
'Here? Now?' Khushi's voice was high pitched as she unconsciously checked herself out on her computer screen.
'I know, I can't believe it myself. I've been ringing AR for a month trying to get an increase and now Arnav Singh Raizada himself is coming here to talk to me about it? Oh my god Khushi, I can't do this. He's going to ask all these questions and I don't even know all my facts and figures properly. You know him don't you? Miss Kashyap said you worked with him before, please you have to help me.'
Khushi heard the distress in his voice and instantly forgot her own concerns about Arnav coming to the office. 'Sir, you'll be fine,' she said as she dragged her own chair around to his.
'Don't call me sir.'
'Sorry. You just have to take a couple of deep breaths, you can do this. I know that man thinks he's the Lord Governer of everything but this is your office! He can't boss you around here, no matter what he thinks!' Khushi began doing her impression of Arnav which she had perfected over the last few weeks much to Payal's amusement. It had the desired response of making Abhinav laugh and temporarily forget his stress.
***
Arnav waited in the car park for a whole 5 minutes before striding up to Abhinav's office. He had left his office within moments of finding Abhinav's file and was already parked up when he made the call. 5 minutes was enough time for his story about 'being in the area' to be believable.
Normally he would never trouble himself with such a small account as Abhinav's but he convinced himself all he needed to do was see Khushi one more time. He'd see her, she'd be fine and have a perfectly adequate job and that was it, she'd be out of his system and he could move on without feeling any guilt.
Guilt: that was all it was. He'd been telling himself the same thing for the past three weeks and had yet to convince himself. Arnav Singh Raizada never felt guilty for his actions but mentally labelling Khushi and everything he felt about her as guilt was easier and more convenient than examining any other possibilities.
Guilt was nowhere near what Arnav felt when he followed the peon to a set of two offices with large windows facing him. He could see Khushi through the window and although the two chairs were about a foot apart from each other Arnav's hands clenched as if Khushi was sitting on Abhinav's lap. He stood watching for a second as they two of them had an animated conversation and tried to remember if he and Khushi had ever had an actual conversation that didn't involve fighting or accusations and insults.
He strode towards the offices noting that the one Khushi and Abhinav were sitting in was clearly not the boss's office and so he didn't bother knocking but just walked in. Khushi and Abhinav stood up immediately and he was secretly pleased to have put an end to their conversation.
'Mr Raizada, you're here, so quick. I was expecting you to take longer.'
Arnav wasn't paying attention to Abhinav's muttering but instead staring at Khushi who was practically squirming but refusing to meet his gaze and staring at her feet instead.
'Shall we get down to business or do you want to stand here chatting all day?' Arnav spoke while still looking at Khushi but then abruptly turned and walked out of the door towards the other office. He sensed Abhinav wasn't behind him and looked back around to see Abhinav and Khushi making strange hand movements and gestures to each other before they both caught him looking at them and stopped.
He simply glared at Abhinav and watched the guy almost run towards him. Salman Khan? Honestly what was Lavanya thinking? The guy was nothing like Salman Khan, maybe in the facial expressions slightly but that was it.
Arnav walked in and sat down without waiting for an invitation. He was older than Abhinav as well as his social and intellectual superior, he didn't need an invitation. He also didn't need to hear Abhinav's poorly executed presentation but spent the time frequently looking through the connecting window to what he had assumed to be Khushi's office but she was nowhere in sight.
Arnav was getting tired of pretending to listen to Abhinav's sales pitch and turned his head as soon as he heard a knock on the door. He was rewarded with a very nervous Khushi struggling to open the door with one hand and a tray balanced on her other hand. Abhinav jumped up immediately to help her and Arnav's irritation with the guy grew even more. What kind of boss helped his secretary bring coffee in?
'It's okay sir, I've got it.' Khushi tried to hold the tray away from Abhinav.
'Khushi?' Abhinav looked questioningly at Khushi as he took the tray from her hands.
'Sorry sir, I mean..Abhinavji. I mean Abhi.' She looked flustered and briefly caught Arnav's eye before lookign away from him again.
Arnav watched this nervous interaction between the two and his brain went into overdrive. Lavanya had told him this was Khushi's first day and yet there was so much familiarity between the two. And this nervousness was that because of his presence? Or was that the nervousness of two people who were attracted to each other?
Typical Khushi Kumari Gupta. All her talk about marriage and long term relationships was clearly just talk since here she was flirting with her boss of only one day. He looked from Khushi to Abhinav and back again trying to gauge their emotions.
Arnav just about heard Abhinav speak to him, 'sir, do you take sugar?' By the time he'd stopped looking at Khushi and processed the question enough to formulate an answer it had already been answered.
Khushi had stepped forward and put her hand on Abhinav's to stop him, 'no, no sugar. He has diabetes.'
Arnav was stuck between feeling pleased that Khushi at least remembered something about him and angry at the sight of Khushi's hand on Abhinav's.
Please note I retain sole ownership of all the works of fiction on this blog so please do not reproduce or alter my work and claim it as your own.
Chapter 8
Khushi spent the rest of the afternoon trying to focus on her work. It wasn't particularly hard, just answering phone calls and typing up the occasional letter for her boss Abhinav. She'd stumbled through the interview, never having had a proper one before and fully expected to be rejected on the spot. However Abhinav had only laughed and confided in her that this was also the first interview he had ever conducted.
After Abhinav's father's recent death he'd inherited a company he didn't really want and knew next to nothing about. They'd bonded over their family worries and Abhinav had invited her to be his friend rather than an employee and muddle through this business together. Abhinav had even convinced her parents to move to Delhi and she was so pleased to be able to see them every day even if Bauji did look older and more world weary than when she'd seen him last.
Khushi was still typing when she heard a knock on her office door and looked up to see Abhinav walking in. 'Hello sir, you're back? I'll just get some tea for you.' She made to stand up but Abhinav smiled as he put his hands on her shoulders and sat her back down on her chair and took the one opposite her desk. It was almost as if she was the boss and he was her employee.
'I told you this morning Khushi, don't call me 'sir' and don't call me 'Abhinavji' either. It makes me feel old. Just Abhi is fine. I promise.' Abhinav stopped to take something out of his pocket, 'besides we're friends right?' He held out his hand to her and Khushi was delighted to see her favourite roadside snack.
'Wow, thank you!' She took a handful and picked the phone up as it started to ring. With her mouth still full, she half mumbled half giggled 'good morning, I mean afternoon, I mean how can I help you?'
Arnav sighed at the sound of her voice, he hadn't expected her to answer the phone. This meant she was Abhinav's direct secretary which irritated him unnecessarily. 'Can I speak to Abhinav Sinha?' He asked in a harsh tone trying to keep all emotion out of his voice but failing.
Khushi quickly swallowed her food and her eyes grew large as she recognised the voice on the other side. Not that he seemed to recognise her as he hadn't even acknowledged her. Well two can play that game, she thought to herself. 'Yes of course, he's right here. Who shall I say is calling?'
Arnav couldn't believe what he was hearing. Khushi didn't recognise him? And what was this about Abhinav being right there? Did they share an office or something? 'Just give him the phone!' Arnav barked into his mobile no longer trying to control his anger. Although he didn't even understand why he was angry in the first place,
Khushi handed the phone over to Abhinav whispering 'it's Arnav Singh Raizada for you'. It was interesting how Abhinav who had previously been slouched in his chair suddenly sat straight up like a child being called to the Headmaster's office. She listened intently to try and hear what was being said but all she could hear were Abhinav's constant affirmations, 'yes sir' and 'of course sir'.
As soon as Abhinav put the phone down Khushi questioned him 'what did he say? What did he want?'
Abhinav looked almost dazed as he answered, 'he wants to talk about increasing our ad space in his magazines. He's coming here, now. I can't believe...'
'Here? Now?' Khushi's voice was high pitched as she unconsciously checked herself out on her computer screen.
'I know, I can't believe it myself. I've been ringing AR for a month trying to get an increase and now Arnav Singh Raizada himself is coming here to talk to me about it? Oh my god Khushi, I can't do this. He's going to ask all these questions and I don't even know all my facts and figures properly. You know him don't you? Miss Kashyap said you worked with him before, please you have to help me.'
Khushi heard the distress in his voice and instantly forgot her own concerns about Arnav coming to the office. 'Sir, you'll be fine,' she said as she dragged her own chair around to his.
'Don't call me sir.'
'Sorry. You just have to take a couple of deep breaths, you can do this. I know that man thinks he's the Lord Governer of everything but this is your office! He can't boss you around here, no matter what he thinks!' Khushi began doing her impression of Arnav which she had perfected over the last few weeks much to Payal's amusement. It had the desired response of making Abhinav laugh and temporarily forget his stress.
***
Arnav waited in the car park for a whole 5 minutes before striding up to Abhinav's office. He had left his office within moments of finding Abhinav's file and was already parked up when he made the call. 5 minutes was enough time for his story about 'being in the area' to be believable.
Normally he would never trouble himself with such a small account as Abhinav's but he convinced himself all he needed to do was see Khushi one more time. He'd see her, she'd be fine and have a perfectly adequate job and that was it, she'd be out of his system and he could move on without feeling any guilt.
Guilt: that was all it was. He'd been telling himself the same thing for the past three weeks and had yet to convince himself. Arnav Singh Raizada never felt guilty for his actions but mentally labelling Khushi and everything he felt about her as guilt was easier and more convenient than examining any other possibilities.
Guilt was nowhere near what Arnav felt when he followed the peon to a set of two offices with large windows facing him. He could see Khushi through the window and although the two chairs were about a foot apart from each other Arnav's hands clenched as if Khushi was sitting on Abhinav's lap. He stood watching for a second as they two of them had an animated conversation and tried to remember if he and Khushi had ever had an actual conversation that didn't involve fighting or accusations and insults.
He strode towards the offices noting that the one Khushi and Abhinav were sitting in was clearly not the boss's office and so he didn't bother knocking but just walked in. Khushi and Abhinav stood up immediately and he was secretly pleased to have put an end to their conversation.
'Mr Raizada, you're here, so quick. I was expecting you to take longer.'
Arnav wasn't paying attention to Abhinav's muttering but instead staring at Khushi who was practically squirming but refusing to meet his gaze and staring at her feet instead.
'Shall we get down to business or do you want to stand here chatting all day?' Arnav spoke while still looking at Khushi but then abruptly turned and walked out of the door towards the other office. He sensed Abhinav wasn't behind him and looked back around to see Abhinav and Khushi making strange hand movements and gestures to each other before they both caught him looking at them and stopped.
He simply glared at Abhinav and watched the guy almost run towards him. Salman Khan? Honestly what was Lavanya thinking? The guy was nothing like Salman Khan, maybe in the facial expressions slightly but that was it.
Arnav walked in and sat down without waiting for an invitation. He was older than Abhinav as well as his social and intellectual superior, he didn't need an invitation. He also didn't need to hear Abhinav's poorly executed presentation but spent the time frequently looking through the connecting window to what he had assumed to be Khushi's office but she was nowhere in sight.
Arnav was getting tired of pretending to listen to Abhinav's sales pitch and turned his head as soon as he heard a knock on the door. He was rewarded with a very nervous Khushi struggling to open the door with one hand and a tray balanced on her other hand. Abhinav jumped up immediately to help her and Arnav's irritation with the guy grew even more. What kind of boss helped his secretary bring coffee in?
'It's okay sir, I've got it.' Khushi tried to hold the tray away from Abhinav.
'Khushi?' Abhinav looked questioningly at Khushi as he took the tray from her hands.
'Sorry sir, I mean..Abhinavji. I mean Abhi.' She looked flustered and briefly caught Arnav's eye before lookign away from him again.
Arnav watched this nervous interaction between the two and his brain went into overdrive. Lavanya had told him this was Khushi's first day and yet there was so much familiarity between the two. And this nervousness was that because of his presence? Or was that the nervousness of two people who were attracted to each other?
Typical Khushi Kumari Gupta. All her talk about marriage and long term relationships was clearly just talk since here she was flirting with her boss of only one day. He looked from Khushi to Abhinav and back again trying to gauge their emotions.
Arnav just about heard Abhinav speak to him, 'sir, do you take sugar?' By the time he'd stopped looking at Khushi and processed the question enough to formulate an answer it had already been answered.
Khushi had stepped forward and put her hand on Abhinav's to stop him, 'no, no sugar. He has diabetes.'
Arnav was stuck between feeling pleased that Khushi at least remembered something about him and angry at the sight of Khushi's hand on Abhinav's.
haha khushi ur unknowingly taking revenge on him and making him burn in jealousy
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