Chapter 2

ShikhaKhushi

@ShikhaKhushi

The ringing of the phone interrupted him. He lifted a finger to tell his employee to wait as he answered the call.

"Sir," his secretary spoke tersely. "It's Mr Gupta, he says it's urgent."

With a wave of the hand, he dismissed the man who had been sitting before him as Antara transferred the call.

"Arnav?" he heard a suave voice call his name. He couldn't help but feeling his heart pinch at the pain that laced the other man's voice. It had been three weeks only since Mrs Gupta had died and after seeing her husband at the funerals, Arnav had preferred returning to Mumbai as soon as possible. The destruction that was so obvious on Mr Gupta was unbearable.

He gulped tightly before daring to greet the older man. "Namaste Uncle. How are you?"

There was a sigh, and Arnav knew the answer to his question. He couldn't understand how Shashi Gupta could be feeling. He had no idea. But judging by the crushed image of his hero he had witnessed the last time, he never wanted to feel that way.

"I'll ask you to do me a favour," Shashi told him. "I want you to train my daughter."

Arnav was taken aback. "Payal? But why does she-"

"Not Payal, Khushi. I want you to train her."

"Khushi?" the young man spluttered, pushing his chair back to stand up. "What the-? You have only one daughter, Uncle..."

"No... I just found out that... Please, things are getting very complicated here. Just say yes. Just accept to do what I have asked of you."

He frowned. Shashi Gupta had one more daughter? That sure was very intriguing. "I'm sorry, Uncle-"

"You will refuse me, Arnav?" The tone was such that it almost made the request sound like an order. Mr Gupta must have been really desperate to do such a thing, Arnav thought. He sighed and looked out of the glass that walled his office behind his desk, giving a beautiful view of the busy city. The old man was right. Arnav couldn't refuse, he was too indebted to him...

"Fine," he muttered in the end. "But what do I have to train her for?"

He heard Shashi clear his throat. "She... she had been brought up in a middle class environment. And you know it doesn't suit the Guptas. I want you to polish her, give her that shine I gave you. I know I could have done it myself, but I'm too tired now. And teach her about business too. She has to learn it like Payal so that they can handle the Gupta Industries when I'm gone."

Millions of questions arouse in Arnav's mind but he kept them to himself.

"She will be there within a week," Shashi informed him.

***

"Yes Antara? What? Okay, I'm on my way."

Arnav increased his speed. This was unbelievable. First, he was forced into training a girl he could think of nothing more than an imposter just because he had never known her – he knew it was irrational, but it was his instinct and there was not much he could do about it. Now, this girl he had come to dislike without even knowing had arrived at his office three days before she was supposed to come and was asking to see him.

"Bloody hell!" he muttered as she stopped the car and got down, tossing the keys at his valet while he strode into the building.

Arnav went straight to the reception desk. "Where is she?"

"There," the middle-aged woman pointed.

He turned to see a slight girl with her back towards him, staring out at the azure sky, tainted with smudges of white cotton. As he approached her, he saw she had her arms crossed in front of her. She was nervous.

"S'cuse me?" he said and she whipped around with wide eyes.

Damn, she was beautiful. It was that marvellous pair of rich deep ochre orbs had caught his attention first. He let his gaze trail over her, causing her milky skin stain with scarlet and her eyes to lower. She was skinny but with a perfect hourglass figure. And those cerise lips, so juicily inviting...

He yanked his sinful thoughts back immediately. He couldn't think this way about her, especially if she really was Shashi Gupta's daughter.

"You are?" he raised his brow inquisitively.

"Khushi," she breathed. "Khushi Kumaari Gupta. I'm here to meet Mr Raizada."

Arnav nodded curtly. She had a melodious voice. "Do you realise you are here before expected?"

She frowned at her chappals with annoyance. "Dekhiye, humse yeh kaha gaya tha ke humein Arnav Si-" (Look, I was told to meet Arnav Si-)

"I'm Arnav Singh Raizada," he told her coldly. "You were supposed to be here in three days, right?"

Khushi shuffled on her feet tensely. "Yes, I wanted to get used to the environment before..."

"You could at least have informed," he muttered under his breath before dialling his driver's number. He drily instructed Mohan to come to the office and pick Khushi to drop her at his apartment. Then, it was his housekeeper he called to tell her prepare the flat adjacent to his. That one belonged to him too but he didn't use it, so he had decided that Shashi's so-called daughter could stay there. In that way, he would also be able to keep an eye on her and know more about her parentage as well. He told Mariam to also unlock the door to that flat as he had a guest coming right away.

When he had finished, Arnav turned back to the girl. "I've arranged a place for you to stay. You go and take some rest. Tomorrow, you start work."

Giving her no room for discussion, he marched into his elevators to get to his cabin but irritatingly, those dark eyes kept haunting him.

***

"How many times have I told you not to wear these down-market clothes, dammit?" bellowed, careless that the poor girl was trembling.

His eyes swept icily over her form. She always wore those body-hugging kurtas which stuck perfectly to her curves so that he could easily make out her breasts, her thin waist and her hips; even better, the neckline at the back when into a deep arc, showing off the white expanse of her smooth back but the doris with its phudnas which barred the view a bit were infuriating. Under that, there would be a tight, skinny chudi, revealing sometimes some part of the anklets she wore, the anklets that rang all the time she moved, as if alerting him of every step she made. She wore three thick glass bangles in each hand, tinkling each time she moved her arms, while on her neck sat a dupatta she folded so thin that it tempted him to remove it, run his finger down that gracious slope before eventually replacing his digit by his lips.

Couldn't she wear something proper, less tempting, something that would cover her in a better way? He had been reprimanding her for over a week since she had joined his company. He had even offered to pay for the clothes but she obstinately refused. And meanwhile, he was getting himself driven crazy because of that formidable body she owned. It was such a normal thing nowadays. He behaved crankily with everybody during the day, especially if it was her. And at night, it would almost take forever to sleep because each time he would close his eyes, he would see her, he would start imagining would it would be like to make love to her. Then, he would startle himself awake, covered in sweat because of the tumultuous dreams she gave him.

And surprisingly, his nightmares had ceased because of her too... But most of the times, he kept swearing in all the languages he could, at fate, at her... Why did she have to be Shashi Gupta's daughter, dammit? He wasn't sure yet if that was really even true but Shashi had said it, and for the time being, he could let himself believe that.

"Answer me, Khushi!" he roared, suddenly snapping back to the present.

"Humein yeh kapde hi pasand hain," she mumbled. "Hum issi mein comfortable hain." (I like these. I'm comfortable in them.)

'But I'm not comfortable with you in these, dammit!' he thought.

"I don't care!" he hissed wrathfully. "Agar tum aise kapde pehen ke kaam pe pehen ke aaogi, then forget it, Khushi Kumaari Gupta. Main tumhaare comfort ke liye apni company ki image nahin bigaad sakta. I own a fashion company. My staff should be dressed in their best and you are my PA now. You, at least, should be setting a better example." (...If you want to wear such clothes to the office, forget it. I can't compromise the image of my company for your comfort. ...)

He glared at her for a few seconds, then called Antara in his cabin.

"Aaj tak AR ke jo bhi designs samples banaaye gaye, kahaan hain voh?" he enquired as soon at the woman came in. (All the designs samples AR has made till date, where are they?)

"Neeche, store room mein." (Downstairs, in the store room.)

"Theek hai, Khushi ko vahaan bhijvaado," he turned to his new PA. "Tumhein jo bhi pasand aayein, lelo." (Fine, send Khushi there. Take whatever you like.)

She nodded hastily and scurried out of the cabin behind Antara. Arnav leaned back into his chair, eyes closed and wondering whether he had not make a mistake that would only increase his problems...