IPKKND FF: JALEBI by Jalebi Jane Thread 1: EPISODE 001-042 - Page 15

i kinda got stuck at the line where you hint " half his age" what is arnav's age?! i am facinated by 40's falling for 20's only when its as passionate as these two!

JALEBI by Maya (EPISODE 007)

WHAT LONELINESS IS MORE LONELY than distrust, Sisters?* None. For distrust colours everything. Every overture. Sincere or insincere. Discernment is the first casualty of distrust.

Optimism is the second.

Do not misunderstand me. Khushi Kumari Gupta had never been sanguine about her job at ASR Group. Her daily conflicts with the CEO made that sort of confidence impossible. Yet!----yet, during that one blissful naive hour when she had believed him to be reasonable, she had experienced the kind of optimism she had not felt since Lucknow. An optimism about her future prospects.

For though Arnav Singh Raizada was a despot, his empire was an exhilarating place to work. He had reach and imagination, and was touted as the man transforming the Indian textile industry. And, yes, even though Khushi despised him for his conduct towards herself, she couldn't help but feel a flutter of pride when her neighbours congratulated her on gaining a position with the celebrated ASR Group.

Of course, Buaji and Jiji had not been so congratulatory.

And their paying-guest, Shyam, even less so.

Indeed, in language even stronger than that of her aunt and sister, Shyam had objected to her decision to work for Arnav. And let me say that Khushi would not have tolerated such interference on a family matter had she not owed him a great debt of thanks.

For it was Shyam, Sisters, who had rescued Khushi from goons inflamed by that notorious fashion-show footage. Shyam had been the one man in a crowd of onlookers who had came to her aid. And it was for this alone that she heard his concerns with patience, even though she had recently begun to resent how he kept insinuating himself into her personal choices.

His main concern was that if the media learnt she was employed by Arnav, the story which had already smeared her reputation would be resurrected. She would be forced to leave Delhi, as she had Lucknow. He drew Buaji into the discussion, reviving her distress about Khushi's "ruin and degradation."

Khushi listened and when he completed, she thanked him for his concern but assured him that the world had a short memory and the media an even shorter one. And before he countered, she made it clear that she would not be ruled by the world's opinion and certainly not be influenced to turn down a well-paying position in a reputable company at a time when funds were tight at home. The conversation had ended there because she had left the room.

But because of that conversation, Khushi had been scrupulous about not divulging at home what she endured at the office. Nobody knew about the contract. Nobody knew about her battles with Arnav. At home, all believed that she thrived at ASR Group and rarely saw the man-in-charge.

But let me return us to the present moment, Sisters, for much had happened on this day that made the past somewhat obselete:

The marketing men slipped out of Arnav Singh Raizada's office and the last one to leave made a point of closing the door behind him.

Arnav silently offered Khushi the chair opposite him.

When she declined with a shake of her head, he lifted from his chair as though he too would stand----but Khushi preferring to have the large solid desk between them, rather than have him towering over her, quickly took the offered chair.

He settled back. A slight curl of his upper lip told her that he understood her.

"What was all that natak about?" she asked, indicating the general area where the men had been standing minutes ago.

Perhaps our Heroine should not have begun there. Perhaps she ought to have focused on the subject which had brought her into Arnav's office----not on this secondary matter----but her curiosity was such that she launched with that question.

"Natak?" he repeated. "Is that your opinion of my weekly marketing meeting?" Again, a slight smirk.

She countered, "I know what you're doing." It was voiced as an indictment.

"Really?" His brow lifted and he asked, "What is it that I'm doing, Miss Gupta?"

"All this," she said, sweeping the entire room with her eyes. "All that earlier pleasantness. Not exploding when you overheard my conversation with Pari. Re-assigning my duties to promote goodwill between us." Here she inserted a derisive humph. "Turning my words into a tagline for the menswear campaign. Miss Gupta's sensational idea!----"

"----I don't recall using the word sensational'."

She ignored his interruption, and continued. "I know that all this pretense is because the contract prevents you from dismissing me. You feign kindness because you have no choice but to endure me. You are powerless to act against me until next Tuesday."

"Powerless?" he repeated. There was no longer any humour in his eyes.

How very typical, she thought----of all the things she had said, he had focused on that one word. The man for whom power was everything bristled at being labelled as powerless.

"Yes, Sir. You are powerless." She repeated the word with effect. "For if I chose to torment you for the remaining days of our term, I could do it with full impunity. Am I wrong?"

Here Khushi smiled. Not one of those smiles which spoke of happiness, but of smug satisfaction.

"You are not wrong, Miss Gupta," he said, "but you've forgotten something vital. The seven days belong to us both. You may use them to provoke a dismissal, and I may use them to provoke a resignation."

This was an old game. And she told him so. "You've already spent three weeks attempting to cause my resignation with your outrageous assignments. Yet, here I am. Still."

"If----" he leaned across the desk, his eyes challenging her, "----if it was my intention to force a resignation from you, I could have one before the end of this day. However, that is not what I desire from you."

Contrary to everything proper and fitting to this situation and their relationship, something leaped in her body at his use of the word desire'. She did not enjoy the sensation.

Her mouth formed the question, "what do you want from me?" At the same time, her legs commanded her to stand. She obeyed.

He also stood. And then he said, "a chance to court you."

*Adapted from George Eliot's -Middlemarch-

huhhh 😕 khushi state of mind

Originally posted by: JalebiJane

shakethebiscuit wrote:

i kinda got stuck at the line where you hint " half his age" what is arnav's age?! i am facinated by 40's falling for 20's only when its as passionate as these two!

I think you may have misunderstood that line. Or perhaps I need to rewrite it. In that line, I'm referring to the Marketing Manager who is twice as old as Khushi. Not referring to Arnav.

Jalebi Jane

wokay! got it...

for this next episode i never expected him to directly ask her for dating/court-ing?! i thought he'll secretly pursue her...let's see what other twists await for us.

Khushi's daring attitude has thrilled ASR , so he wants to teach her a lesson for messing with him . By Courting 😲

Loved part 7👏

This is the first time I am actually having arnav Singh raizada. He is manipulating her and that makes the feeling even more intense.

Finally caught with last 2 parts. They are super awesome. Am looking forward to next part.

Playing hot and cold again. I love the battle between these two! One can almost see them arguing, and challenging each other.