What the hell was she doing here?!!!! This could not be happening. He closed his eyes and opened them again, but there she was, she wasn't a spectre but was physically there.
'What the-?!! Who let you in here?!!' He snarled through his gritted teeth, desperately trying to control his anger. He couldn't let it lose when his foreign delegates may arrive any minute.
She was trembling from head to toe, what was he doing here, how could this be happening all over again and why? Dear God, why in every meeting with him was she destined to ruin something of his, last time it was his fashion show and this time his shoes. He seemed angry enough to skewer her alive. She opened her mouth to try and explain her presence but only gurgling noises came out, infuriarating him more. She tried again as his nostrils flared up waiting for her to get out of her dumb state, 'I...I...receptionist...biscuit trays...you asked for coffee...' she stammered out, he followed enough to understand that the receptionist had sent her in to serve the refreshments, as the secretary who was responsible for this job had decided to take a sick day.
'Malika sent you!!! But what the hell are you even doing in my office?!!!' he blasted at her.
'I...I...in...internsh-sh-ship pr-programme...' she began but stopped as she realized he said this was his office, that wasn't right , 'your office?! What do you mean your office...this is Nanhe ji's office.' Khushi stated, straightening up, for up until now she had been bending backwards, away from him, wanting to keep a safe distance.
'Who? This is my office, LaANK. I am the co-owner of LaANK!!' he spat back.
'No you are not, LaANK stands for the founding partners,' she had finally done the research last night, not wanting to appear a fool again, 'Nand-Kishore, Lavanya and what was the third one...Oh yeah, Arnav...yeah it belongs to these guys...not you...you are...Arnav Singh Raiza-' the blood drained from her face, as the realization hit her, that he was Arnav Singh Raizada, as in Arnav the third partner, 'you are...A-A-Arnav...oh God. I'm sooo sorry, I- I' she tried to salvage the situation, but he had heard enough of her ramblings.
'Save it. Just get out of here, before you cause more damage!' He grabbed her by the arm and began leading her towards the door, in no mood of listening to her explanations. He had just gotten to the door when it opened from the outside and in walked Malika, the receptionist, with the sponsors. He tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her closer to whisper in her ear, 'you better not make a mess in this meeting or it will be your neck in my hands, understand?!' with that he let go of her and shoved her towards the refreshments tables, as he made his way towards the delegates, greeting them in the most polite manner.
She despised him. How could he be evil incarnate one minute and so cordial the other, not wanting to give him another reason to blow on her she preceded to the table, rubbing her arm as she went.
The meeting began without any further hitches and after serving the guests with their choice of beverage Khushi settled in her corner to tune out Arnav and his droning proposal on why these people should sponsor LaANK. Well if they asked her, she would tell them don't as sponsoring LaANK would mean having to deal with cantankerous Arnav Singh Raizada and in her opinion that was reason enough to not want to have anything to do with the company. He was awful that man! What was his problem anyway, never a smile, never any communication that he understood another person's plights. It was only opinions, his opinions and ultimatums with him. Obnoxious, bitter man!!
Skulking over him, she didn't realize when she started scarfing down the biscuits that sat in the tray next to her. It was only when a bitter tasting one entered her mouth that she realized she had reverted to her habit of eating anything sweet when upset. Only the last one wasn't sweet but was one of those savoury biscuits, ugh! Who even put these ones amongst all these delicious creamy ones. It was like putting Arnav Singh Raizada amongst all the nice lively people who worked at LaANK, he completely stood out in his sober colours compared to the vibrant ones the others wore. Him acidic and the others sugary. What a contrast. She searched for any fluid with which she could wash away the bad aftertaste the biscuit had left, she found a water bottle on the other side of the table. She went over to it and started drinking, after she had taken one sip and the tangy taste had left her mouth, however, the sudden onslaught of water in her mouth made her realize how thirsty she was, the biscuits had left her mouth quite dry. She began drinking more, but she drank to quickly and began choking on the water.
She coughed and sputtered, dropping the water bottle on the floor which exploded with a crash, as it was a glass bottles not plastic, thereby making sure everyone had her attention if they hadn't had before with her coughing noises. Someone exclaimed from the table, 'Oh my God, she is choking, someone help her!' But Khushi didn't see who it was her eyes were on the dark, furious ones, in which she could read murder. Someone came from behind and started slapping her on the back to get her to settle down, but the hiccups had started, out of fear. 'There, there, you're okay.' Someone said soothingly as they rubbed her back, to which she only managed to give a stiff nod, it was okay for her to think that Khushi was okay now, she didn't realize that she would have to deal with Arnav Singh Raizada, which would be worse than choking to death.
Her eyes shifted from the person who had been helping her and onto her pursuer as her heart gave a wild jump. He was walking right towards her, in deliberate, controlled strides. Automatically, Khushi began moving back, adrenaline pumping through her body as she thought of an escape route. One hand reflexively enclosed around her abdominal area, to protect her baby from this man, while the other groped around her in hope to find something that may help her in her escape. Suddenly her back hit something solid and cold, the wall. Oh crap! She had nowhere to go. Panic was written all over her flushed face as her hands frantically fumbled on the wall for some release from this situation. Her fingers landed on some sort of a tiny handle. Was her back on the door? Excellent all she need to do was pull the handle and she would be out of this room. She yanked with all he might, but no door opened instead, police sirens began to wail in everyone's ears.
What On Earth?!!! Khushi looked around, what had just happened, why were sirens blaring around them; and then out of nowhere a shower opened up on top of them. For one wild minute Khushi thought it was raining, but then how was that possible, even if it was raining outside the water would not be coming inside there was a ceiling for crying out loud. What the heck was going on?!! There was chaos all around her, everyone of the delegates were leaving the room, with a panicked look about them, leaving only Arnav and Khushi there, getting drenched under the shower, which for some weird reason the ceiling had opened upon them all. Not understanding what was happening she turned to face the only other person in the room, who looked like he was going to kill her. His fists were bawled, his nostrils flared, his jaw twitching and his pupils dilated. However, their attention wasn't on Khushi at the moment, but on her fingers. She too followed his gaze to see why he was staring at her hand, when she spotted what was it that held his attention, her heart sank and everything that had occurred in the last 20 seconds came into sharp focus. Her hand still clutched the handle that she had pulled, only now she saw that the handle belonged to the fire alarm not the door. She was in for it now. Khushi Kumari Gupta count your final blessings for this man will not spare you! Khushi thought as she closed her eyes and began praying ferociously to DM.
Nothing seemed to happen for the longest time, yet Khushi kept her eyes closed too afraid to open them and find that the world around her had dissolved and she was standing in mid-air. It was only when the sirens stopped blaring and the sprinklers above ended their bathe did she finally open her eyes to find a completely drenched but vacant conference room. Where was Arnav Singh Raizada, it was unlike him to spare her. She looked around the room but didn't find him, she even looked under the table, may be he had taken refuge from the sprinklers there as ridiculous as that sounded, she still checked he wasn't there either. She gathered up the courage and peeked outside the door, no sign of him their either. What had happened? Where had he disappeared to? May be he melted away in the water, just like the wicked witch in Oz, god knew he was evil...don't be stupid Khushi Kumari Gupta she rebuked herself, although a giggle did escape her as she imagined him liquefying in the water, although this time she had to agree the fault was hers', even if it hadn't been intentional.
She made her way back to the D-Squat, mulling over what had taken place in the conference room and how Arnav had left without saying anything. May be, just maybe he had spared her, understanding that she had not meant for any of it to happen, maybe she had been wrong and he was capable of understanding...
Only he wasn't as she saw now, clutching the termination letter in her hand, he had fired her. For a mistake, it seemed unreasonable and unfair. He hadn't even heard her side of the story, even the judges' let a murderer give his statement before committing him. But he hadn't, only left the damned letter on top of her bag, where she had found it moments before, causing her to reflect over everything that had happened. This was unfair and injust. She could not let him do this. He couldn't fire her before he had hired her!
Her mind made up, she squared her shoulders and marched upstairs to his office where he had retreated to after the downpour in the conference room, it was clear now that the office space upstairs must be his considering it was the only place that lacked colour and warmth in this office, just the way he lacked them.
'What the-?!! Who let you in here?!!' He snarled through his gritted teeth, desperately trying to control his anger. He couldn't let it lose when his foreign delegates may arrive any minute.
She was trembling from head to toe, what was he doing here, how could this be happening all over again and why? Dear God, why in every meeting with him was she destined to ruin something of his, last time it was his fashion show and this time his shoes. He seemed angry enough to skewer her alive. She opened her mouth to try and explain her presence but only gurgling noises came out, infuriarating him more. She tried again as his nostrils flared up waiting for her to get out of her dumb state, 'I...I...receptionist...biscuit trays...you asked for coffee...' she stammered out, he followed enough to understand that the receptionist had sent her in to serve the refreshments, as the secretary who was responsible for this job had decided to take a sick day.
'Malika sent you!!! But what the hell are you even doing in my office?!!!' he blasted at her.
'I...I...in...internsh-sh-ship pr-programme...' she began but stopped as she realized he said this was his office, that wasn't right , 'your office?! What do you mean your office...this is Nanhe ji's office.' Khushi stated, straightening up, for up until now she had been bending backwards, away from him, wanting to keep a safe distance.
'Who? This is my office, LaANK. I am the co-owner of LaANK!!' he spat back.
'No you are not, LaANK stands for the founding partners,' she had finally done the research last night, not wanting to appear a fool again, 'Nand-Kishore, Lavanya and what was the third one...Oh yeah, Arnav...yeah it belongs to these guys...not you...you are...Arnav Singh Raiza-' the blood drained from her face, as the realization hit her, that he was Arnav Singh Raizada, as in Arnav the third partner, 'you are...A-A-Arnav...oh God. I'm sooo sorry, I- I' she tried to salvage the situation, but he had heard enough of her ramblings.
'Save it. Just get out of here, before you cause more damage!' He grabbed her by the arm and began leading her towards the door, in no mood of listening to her explanations. He had just gotten to the door when it opened from the outside and in walked Malika, the receptionist, with the sponsors. He tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her closer to whisper in her ear, 'you better not make a mess in this meeting or it will be your neck in my hands, understand?!' with that he let go of her and shoved her towards the refreshments tables, as he made his way towards the delegates, greeting them in the most polite manner.
She despised him. How could he be evil incarnate one minute and so cordial the other, not wanting to give him another reason to blow on her she preceded to the table, rubbing her arm as she went.
The meeting began without any further hitches and after serving the guests with their choice of beverage Khushi settled in her corner to tune out Arnav and his droning proposal on why these people should sponsor LaANK. Well if they asked her, she would tell them don't as sponsoring LaANK would mean having to deal with cantankerous Arnav Singh Raizada and in her opinion that was reason enough to not want to have anything to do with the company. He was awful that man! What was his problem anyway, never a smile, never any communication that he understood another person's plights. It was only opinions, his opinions and ultimatums with him. Obnoxious, bitter man!!
Skulking over him, she didn't realize when she started scarfing down the biscuits that sat in the tray next to her. It was only when a bitter tasting one entered her mouth that she realized she had reverted to her habit of eating anything sweet when upset. Only the last one wasn't sweet but was one of those savoury biscuits, ugh! Who even put these ones amongst all these delicious creamy ones. It was like putting Arnav Singh Raizada amongst all the nice lively people who worked at LaANK, he completely stood out in his sober colours compared to the vibrant ones the others wore. Him acidic and the others sugary. What a contrast. She searched for any fluid with which she could wash away the bad aftertaste the biscuit had left, she found a water bottle on the other side of the table. She went over to it and started drinking, after she had taken one sip and the tangy taste had left her mouth, however, the sudden onslaught of water in her mouth made her realize how thirsty she was, the biscuits had left her mouth quite dry. She began drinking more, but she drank to quickly and began choking on the water.
She coughed and sputtered, dropping the water bottle on the floor which exploded with a crash, as it was a glass bottles not plastic, thereby making sure everyone had her attention if they hadn't had before with her coughing noises. Someone exclaimed from the table, 'Oh my God, she is choking, someone help her!' But Khushi didn't see who it was her eyes were on the dark, furious ones, in which she could read murder. Someone came from behind and started slapping her on the back to get her to settle down, but the hiccups had started, out of fear. 'There, there, you're okay.' Someone said soothingly as they rubbed her back, to which she only managed to give a stiff nod, it was okay for her to think that Khushi was okay now, she didn't realize that she would have to deal with Arnav Singh Raizada, which would be worse than choking to death.
Her eyes shifted from the person who had been helping her and onto her pursuer as her heart gave a wild jump. He was walking right towards her, in deliberate, controlled strides. Automatically, Khushi began moving back, adrenaline pumping through her body as she thought of an escape route. One hand reflexively enclosed around her abdominal area, to protect her baby from this man, while the other groped around her in hope to find something that may help her in her escape. Suddenly her back hit something solid and cold, the wall. Oh crap! She had nowhere to go. Panic was written all over her flushed face as her hands frantically fumbled on the wall for some release from this situation. Her fingers landed on some sort of a tiny handle. Was her back on the door? Excellent all she need to do was pull the handle and she would be out of this room. She yanked with all he might, but no door opened instead, police sirens began to wail in everyone's ears.
What On Earth?!!! Khushi looked around, what had just happened, why were sirens blaring around them; and then out of nowhere a shower opened up on top of them. For one wild minute Khushi thought it was raining, but then how was that possible, even if it was raining outside the water would not be coming inside there was a ceiling for crying out loud. What the heck was going on?!! There was chaos all around her, everyone of the delegates were leaving the room, with a panicked look about them, leaving only Arnav and Khushi there, getting drenched under the shower, which for some weird reason the ceiling had opened upon them all. Not understanding what was happening she turned to face the only other person in the room, who looked like he was going to kill her. His fists were bawled, his nostrils flared, his jaw twitching and his pupils dilated. However, their attention wasn't on Khushi at the moment, but on her fingers. She too followed his gaze to see why he was staring at her hand, when she spotted what was it that held his attention, her heart sank and everything that had occurred in the last 20 seconds came into sharp focus. Her hand still clutched the handle that she had pulled, only now she saw that the handle belonged to the fire alarm not the door. She was in for it now. Khushi Kumari Gupta count your final blessings for this man will not spare you! Khushi thought as she closed her eyes and began praying ferociously to DM.
Nothing seemed to happen for the longest time, yet Khushi kept her eyes closed too afraid to open them and find that the world around her had dissolved and she was standing in mid-air. It was only when the sirens stopped blaring and the sprinklers above ended their bathe did she finally open her eyes to find a completely drenched but vacant conference room. Where was Arnav Singh Raizada, it was unlike him to spare her. She looked around the room but didn't find him, she even looked under the table, may be he had taken refuge from the sprinklers there as ridiculous as that sounded, she still checked he wasn't there either. She gathered up the courage and peeked outside the door, no sign of him their either. What had happened? Where had he disappeared to? May be he melted away in the water, just like the wicked witch in Oz, god knew he was evil...don't be stupid Khushi Kumari Gupta she rebuked herself, although a giggle did escape her as she imagined him liquefying in the water, although this time she had to agree the fault was hers', even if it hadn't been intentional.
She made her way back to the D-Squat, mulling over what had taken place in the conference room and how Arnav had left without saying anything. May be, just maybe he had spared her, understanding that she had not meant for any of it to happen, maybe she had been wrong and he was capable of understanding...
Only he wasn't as she saw now, clutching the termination letter in her hand, he had fired her. For a mistake, it seemed unreasonable and unfair. He hadn't even heard her side of the story, even the judges' let a murderer give his statement before committing him. But he hadn't, only left the damned letter on top of her bag, where she had found it moments before, causing her to reflect over everything that had happened. This was unfair and injust. She could not let him do this. He couldn't fire her before he had hired her!
Her mind made up, she squared her shoulders and marched upstairs to his office where he had retreated to after the downpour in the conference room, it was clear now that the office space upstairs must be his considering it was the only place that lacked colour and warmth in this office, just the way he lacked them.
*****