Chapter 3

charlotte74

@charlotte74

Chapter 3

As the morning rays filtered through the curtains, Khushi woke up in the well decorated guest room of the Raizada house. She quickly showered and changed into clothes she kept in the wardrobe for impromptu overnight stays. As she went down to the kitchen to make some tea, she thought of how huge the house was.

The palatial Raizada house, was a place whose opulence never ceased to overwhelm her whenever she came here. The huge living room had two ornate sofas with red and gold upholstery and a magnificent chandelier dangling from the ceiling. Elegant drapes in red covered the huge windows. All the furniture was classic dark mahogany colour while antique artefacts were strategically placed in appropriate places. Central to the house was the majestic staircase with wrought iron railings, that curved to the left and to the right leading to separate wings of the house. Despite the extravagance it exuded, the décor was too loud in her opinion. Given a free hand she could give the place a makeover it deserved.

Mr. and Mrs. Raizada lived in the master bedroom downstairs while the rest of the family lived in their respective wings upstairs. She took the stairs, walked to the far end of the hallway and knocked on the door.

Akash opened the door and ushered her into the living area of their suite.

"You brought tea," he smiled at her gratefully.

Her brother-in-law was a tall, fair and handsome man with glasses that made him look gentle.

"How is jeeji doing now?" Khushi enquired. When she met him last night Akash had told her they should talk in the morning as Payal wasn’t feeling well.

"Your sister gave me a fright yesterday." He said in his soft voice. "She went to Chandni chowk to meet someone about the loan – I think he is your dad's friend. She didn’t tell me she was going. She felt dizzy there and fell."

"Oh no!" Khushi was aghast.

"Someone called me and I rushed there and took her to see the doctor," he explained, "everything is fine but the doctor gave me earful for not listening to her advice.

"Khushi, you have to talk to her about this. She can't do things like this with a baby on the way especially after the last two miscarriages."

"I know," Khushi said in a low voice, "I don’t know why she didn’t tell me either – I will talk to her."

"It's all my fault," he held his head in his hands in frustration.

Khushi wanted to console him. "I am trying to arrange for the loan but 20 lakhs is a huge amount of money – "

"It's 50 lakhs actually," he told her.

Khushi felt the color drain out of her face. "What?"

"I am sorry –" he said, "but I don’t know why Payal asked you – I know your dad's condition. I will manage it somehow."

"Akashji?" Payal's voice wafted from the adjoining bedroom, "are you there?"

Akash walked up and opened the door to the bedroom. "Khushi is here," he said as he walked in.

"What's going on?" she asked looking at Khushi.

"I asked her to come here so she could talk some sense into you." Akash said.

"What do you expect me to do Akashji?" she asked him, "should I sit here and wait until dadaji throws us out on the street?"

"Jiji, please calm down," Khushi was alarmed by what Payal had just said, "can you please explain clearly?"

"He has changed now," Payal said, "after spending time with Arnav in the US."

"Payal – please –" Akash implored.

"Akashji – we have to explain it to Khushi or else she won't understand."

Akash nodded wearily. "I had planned to place a bid on a housing project. I had invested a lot of money in it --- for equipment and other things – to be prepared once the project begins. But dadaji backed out of the deal in the last minute.

"Now the other party won't return the money I invested – I am in big trouble."

"Why did dadaji back out of the deal?" Khushi asked him.

"While he was in the US, Arnav convinced him not to go with the deal." Payal said.

"Why would he do something like that?" she asked in disbelief.

"I don’t know if Payal told you," Akash said, "When he first came to live here, we were friends --" he paused, "but one day in school he beat up a boy – Dhruv, very badly. The principal had called dadaji and told him that the boy's parents wanted to press charges and that they were suspending him. A few days later, he beat me too. That's when my grandfather decided to send him to boarding-school. I think he blames me for that."

"You were just kids back then."

"Yes -- even I thought we had put it all behind us when we grew up -- but he became bitter again when his company folded."

"Khushi we need your help –" Payal begged, "Please --"

"Payal, I don’t think you should ask Khushi – it's not right."

"Okay -- " Payal said, tears streaming down her cheeks, "I think it's not right to bring a baby into a world with uncertainties – so let's go ahead and –"

"Payal!" Akash exclaimed in anguish.

"Don’t say that jiji," Khushi took her sister in her arms, "I promise you – everything will be alright."

A shudder went up her spine when she thought of what Payal had implied. How could something so joyous as a celebration of life turn into a nightmare? A huge hole formed in the pit of her stomach for she had promised something that seemed impossible to achieve.

A little later, Khushi carried a breakfast tray into Suryaprakash Raizada's room.

"I brought breakfast for Dadaji – Hariprakashji is busy in the kitchen," Khushi told Devyani Raizada, "looks like he is still asleep."

"Thanks, Khushi," His wife Devyani Raizada smiled at Khushi. "I missed you a lot in the US!"

Khushi teared up as she thought of the senior's condition. She hugged Devyani. "I am sorry dadiji!' she whispered softly.

"It's all in His hands now Khushi," she wiped a tear, "How is you father?" she enquired.

"He is doing better now," she said as she placed the breakfast tray on the nightstand, "Dadiji -- I think I should check your blood pressure. You don’t look that good."

"It's nothing – I think I am just tired from our trip." Devyani dismissed.

Just as Khushi went up to the wardrobe, she saw a dark figure near the windows. It was Arnav. "Oh God -- you scared me."

"I was just checking my e-mails," he said without looking up, "what's that?"

"It's a BP monitor," Khushi said, "Dadiji has these watery eyes and swollen ankles whenever her BP goes high."

Devyani's blood pressure was indeed on the higher side. Devyani looked up at Arnav. "Khushi noticed these symptoms six months ago. The last time it was a problem with the dosage.

"Shouldn’t you see a doctor then?" Arnav asked his grandmother.

"I will go to the doctor tomorrow," she told him, "you both go on and have breakfast. I will feed your grandfather and join you after Hariprakash comes."

Khushi went to the kitchen and relieved Hariprakash, the trusted housekeeper of the Raizadas' assuring him that she would make sure the breakfast was served. As she brought the pooris, she saw Arnav seated at the dining table along with the rest of the Raizada family.

"Is Payal not coming down for breakfast?" Mamiji enquired.

"She is unwell Ma," Akash replied, "She will eat her breakfast in her room."

"Hope everything is alright?" Shyam was concerned. Shyam Manohar Jha, Anjali's husband, had an affable nature and was very easy going compared to the other members of the household.

"Nothing to worry about," Akash said and Khushi realized he didn’t want to disclose Payal's incident to the family members.

"I cooked and cleaned until the day before I went to my delivery," Akash's mother said, "one should be active during pregnancy." She looked at Khushi.

As Khushi remained silent Akash said, "You know that the doctor has ordered bed rest."

"HP is busy taking care of sasurji," mamiji said, "now with Payal's bedrest we will have to find someone to take care of the kitchen. It is so difficult to find good cooks these days. Khushi, I think you should move in here to help your sister."

As Khushi was wondering what to say Arnav spoke up. "I don’t think Khushi is looking for a change in her career." He quipped much to her chagrin.

"I know that!" Mamiji shot back, "I was talking about after work."

"It would good to taste your cooking for a change Manorama," Devyani said as she took her seat.

"So how long will you be staying here Arnav?" Mamaji asked, "I am sure your workplace won’t allow you a long leave."

Arnav smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. "I work freelance Mamaji," he said, "so I can stay as long as I like.

"I met Dhruv's mom the other day," Mamiji said, "she told me Dhruv is getting married to a girl from a rich family. So good to see the boy is doing well and settling down."

"Manorama!" Arnav's grandmother exclaimed.

"I am glad to hear that he wasn’t scarred for life," Arnav's words were met with complete silence.

When he suddenly looked at her, Khushi realized that they were talking about the boy he beat up in school. She had noticed the pain reflected in Arnav's eyes when Mamiji had talked about Dhruv but he had quickly hidden it as he came back with a scathing rejoinder.

"It's not a joke Arnav!" Mamaji said curtly.

"I wish he had realized that," Arnav said as he stood up and left the table and took the stairs two at a time. Khushi had the strangest urge to follow him but she had better things to worry about at the moment.

"Why did you have to bring that up?" Devyani questioned her daughter-in-law.

"You always support him Ma," Mamaji said, "that's why he is the way he is."

"Of course I support him!" Devyani stared at her son. "and I am proud of who he is." She stood up and left the table, her plate untouched.

The next morning, as he walked into the conference room at the AR office, Arnav saw Khushi looking out of the window. Her long braid fell like a rope down her back. He couldn’t help noticing how slender she looked in the long, printed kurta top in a dark shade of red and black ankle length pants.

There was a pensive look on her face as though she was carrying a huge burden.

Suddenly, she turned around with a start, "Good -- morning Arnavji – sir!" she stuttered, "I wasn't expecting you -- you said we wouldn’t be working together -- "

"I am sorry to disappoint you --" he said, "but I assure you that it will be temporary." His thoughts went back to the argument he had with his sister the previous night.

"As long as you are here, you might as well make yourself useful."

"You know I have been useful to you from the past two years," he reminded her, "it is my designs you have been using for your projects."

"You are not doing me any favours here Arnav," Anjali retorted, "it is also your company you know."

"I don’t think Nanaji agrees with that --" Arnav said, "He made it quite clear when I went off on my own."

"I don’t think so --" Anjali folded her hands at her middle, "no amount of slogging from my side would make him think that."

"You are the genius architect who the clients want to meet face to face! I have been trying to manage all this time but now that you are here, it will be a lot easier."

"That's impossible Di," Arnav said, "I can't take that responsibility –"

"Why not?" she demanded, "from what Nanaji told me it seemed like you had patched up."

"Nanaji's feeling that way because of his condition -- But Mamaji and Mamiji are clearly not happy about it."

"Are you going to use that as your excuse to escape?" she goaded him.

"It's not like that Di –" Arnav said, "but you have been doing such a great job here -- taking care of the company – with Akash and your husband as well -- "

Anjali touched her forehead. "Unfortunately, we weren’t good enough, were we?" she said wearily, "AR constructions is not doing well from the past one year," she said, "you know that. If this continues Nanaji's legacy will just go up in smoke."

"Di please – I think you are exaggerating --!"

"I will see you tomorrow at 10 AM sharp!"

"I am sorry -- I shouldn’t have said that," Khushi apologized, "Anjaliji will be here soon." She picked the briefing material placed on the table.

He went up to her and lightly touched her wrist.  She looked up at him, her almond shaped eyes a little wary.

"Why are you picking up all the material?" he asked her, "isn't it required for the meeting?" She seemed distracted.

"Oh!" she touched her forehead, "I – I will put them back." The bundle slipped from her hands and fell on the table.

Strands of her locks had escaped from its confines to sit on her flushed cheeks. "Are you always this clumsy or is today an exception?"

Before Khushi could respond, the team members including Rohan walked into the room followed by Anjali.

"I am sorry I am late!" Sameera, Anjali's personal assistant rushed in to pick up the material.

Khushi quickly moved away and took her seat on Anjali's left while Arnav took his seat on Anjali's right.

As Anjali introduced Arnav to everyone in the team, Khushi looked on in admiration. Anjali was an elegant looking woman in her early thirties. She was tall and slender with straight black shoulder length hair.

Most of her colleagues thought that Anjali was a hard taskmaster, unemotional and cold. But Khushi felt that women in higher positions were often judged differently than their male counterparts. She admired Anjali for her dedication toward work hoping that she could be as successful as Anjali was in a few years.

"Today we will discuss the two most important projects that need our attention. The first one is for a client Mr. Manjit Singh who wants to build a Spanish design farm house located in Sultanpur Dabas area. This client is a close friend of Mr. Sukhvinder Singh Mann, Khushi's previous boss. As per Mr. Mann's request Khushi will not only be in charge of the interior design but also the liaison between the two parties.

"The second one is a renovation project for an ancestral heritage property in Old Delhi that they want to convert into a hotel which is equally important as it is for a family friend of the Raizadas." She turned toward her brother, "Arnav -- I want you to work on this project."

"Sure." Arnav murmured without interest.

"Okay, your meeting with Lavanya Kashyap is scheduled for –" she looked up at Sameera, her personal assistant.

"Wait a minute!" Arnav exclaimed, "Lavanya Kashyap?" he asked in disbelief.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that the project was for the Kashyaps?" she asked him, "what's the problem? You know Lavanya well."

Khushi was surprised for Arnav and Lavanya had not acknowledged each other at the engagement. She knew Rohan was thinking the same as he briefly glanced at her.

"Why are you giving me a renovation project?" Arnav asked Anjali, "I should be doing the Spanish one -- "

For once, Khushi too agreed with Arnav as Mr. Mann had specifically asked for their best architect for the project. But she was hardly in a position to contradict Anjali.

"I think Rohan will handle it just fine, won't you Rohan?" Anjali looked at Rohan.

"Absolutely!" Rohan said eagerly, "I won't let you down Anjali m'am."

"This is ridiculous!" Arnav exclaimed with a shake of his head.

"Mr. Kashyap specifically asked for you Arnav," Anjali said firmly, "When are the meetings Sameera?"

"The meeting with Mr. Manjit Singh is set for tomorrow," Sameera replied, "and the meeting with Ms. Kashyap is at 3 pm today."

"Ria, you can work on the interiors for the renovation project – with Khushi's guidance," Anjali looked at the newly joined employee.

Khushi could clearly see that Arnav was not happy with the way things had progressed.

"Great!" Anjali hit her palm on the table, "if no one has any questions I have to rush –"

Arnav raised his hand. "What is the policy in this office for romantic relationships between team members?" Arnav asked out of the blue.

Arnav saw that Rohan's face had gone one shade pale while Khushi was shooting daggers with her eyes.

 "What?" Anjali's eyebrows twisted in confusion.

"In the US, couples aren't allowed to work in the same team," he said looking at Rohan.

"This is irrelevant because we don’t have any couples here," she said and then looked around the mixed group of men and women seated at the table, "right?" she asked no one in particular.

"Of course not!" Rohan's voice rang out loud and clear for everyone to hear.

He looked at Khushi. "Khushi?"

"What?" Khushi looked at him sharply, wondering if he was asking her to confirm what Rohan had said.

 "I need the address of the place where I am supposed to meet Ms. Kashyap." Khushi wasn’t fooled by his innocent face.

"Sameera will text you the address," She replied with a barely controlled temper.

That evening Khushi sat across from Shyam Manohar Jha at a small restaurant called Khalsa veg corner, a short distance from Karol Bhag metro station. The modest restaurant had a few tables but was popular for its delicious snacks.

"Nice to see you Khushiji," Shyam greeted Khushi with a smile.

"Same here Shyamji," Khushi smiled back.

"Sorry I made you come all the way," Shyam said, "but this is close to the construction site where I am working."

Shyam took care all the civil work required for the constructions at AR.

"It’s not a problem Shyamji," Khushi said, "I came by metro."

Shyam ordered two teas and some pakoras.

"You must be wondering what all this is about," Shyam began, "I will come to the point without further delay. Buaji had called me last week – regarding the loan."

Khushi couldn’t hide her surprise. "Oh – I am sorry about that Shyamji. I don’t know why she called you."

"Please don’t be so formal Khushiji," Shyam said, "I am glad Buaji thought of me. You know my father and her husband came from Madhyapradesh and that too from the same town, Binaganj."

"I know Shyamji – but – still we can't impose on you."

"Have you arranged for the loan?" he asked her simply.

"No – I have checked in a few places and I am waiting to hear from them."

"Buaji told me it seems like you are running short of time."

When Khushi remained silent Shyam continued, "I can get you the loan. It's 20 lakhs right?"

Khushi's face paled. "It's 50 --" She whispered.

Shyam leaned back and let out a low whistle. "Buaji told me it was 20."

"I just found out myself," she said.

As the waiter served them tea and snacks Shyam said, "Please drink your tea Khushiji. Here is what I can do. I will be able to get you the 20 lakhs loan right away.

"For the rest, we will figure out a way soon. Will that work?"

Khushi teared up. "How will you get me a loan when there is practically no guarantor? I am sure the rate of interest is going to be very high too."

"Well, if we can give them something as collateral –"

"The house is already mortgaged due to Payal's wedding expenses." Khushi explained.

"What about the store?"

"My dad is getting better and will start going to the store," Khushi said, "that's not possible.

"Shyamji instead of giving me the loan, why don’t you just give to to Akashji?" Khushi asked the question that was nagging her. "I am sure he will have collateral –"

"I don’t trust him." Shyam said plainly.

"What?"

"Why do you think he is in trouble Khushiji?" Shyam asked her, "I have known him for a long time. He has never been interested in the business unlike Arnav who is a natural at this. Finally, Nanaji made him my apprentice so that he could learn some civil work. But how much ever I tried to teach him the job, he didn’t learn much. After a while he gave up and would sit in the AC office room and let me do all the work.

"If might have observed that he and his wife lead an extravagant lifestyle – foreign vacations, expensive cars, clothes and jewelry."

She realized that Shyam was right about the lifestyle part for she had also observed the same.

As Khushi remained silent Shyam said, "I am sorry for being blatant here but the situation called for some truths."

"I understand." Khushi agreed.

"Do you have anything in Indore – land or property?" Shyam asked her.

"We do have my dad's old grocery store but my parents want to move back there in a few years."

"Well if we could use that as collateral for now – then in a few years we can release it before your parents move there."

"I don’t think so Shyamji –"

"You know what?" he said as he sipped on his tea, "the way things are going – the only option left for you will be to find a rich husband."

"What?" Khushi's eyes went wide with shock. Rich husband. She felt like laughing out loud. At this point she was on the verge of losing even a potential husband. Her thoughts went back to her conversation with Rohan the previous evening.

She had finally broached the subject of the loan. She had explained the debts that her family had incurred for her sister's wedding. Looking at his shocked face she didn’t have the courage to ask him for more than 5 lakhs.

"That's a lot of money Khushi," he had told her, "what do you need so much money for when you are already in debt?"

"I was thinking about investing in a – business." Even to her own ears she sounded irrational but she continued. "Do you think your dad can help?"

"My father didn’t even help me --" Rohan confessed, "he forced me to get a loan for my own apartment. I am sorry."

"Please don’t be!" She deserved it for lying to him she'd thought. "I understand."

"I don’t think it is great idea to invest in a business --" He advised with a charming smile, "you should concentrate on your job. It is just going to be added stress."

She had nodded mutely. She had not been happy about lying, but she could hardly tell him the truth for she wasn’t sure what the truth was. She had a strange feeling that her brother-in-law hadn't told her everything.

"Khushiji?" Shyam's voice brought her back to the present. "I was kidding!" he smiled sheepishly, "I thought I should lighten up the mood a little but I am sorry -- it was a bad joke." He paused and then looked up at her, his eyes serious.

"But jokes apart – are you sure you want this loan? It's a huge responsibility."

I think it's not right to bring a baby into a world with uncertainties….

If not for anyone else she would have to do it for the new life that deserved a chance to make its place in the world.

"Please arrange for the amount" she said firmly, "I will get the collateral."

"It's a deal. Don’t worry about the collateral right now –" Shyam assured her, "I will try to buy you some time."

She felt like she was diving into a deep dark river without knowing if she would drown or survive.