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GUILT ON CASE 20.4
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u r welcum.. 😊 btw... pls pls pls update fast.. i loved ur ff and meri jaan nikli jaa rahi hia ki aage kya hoga.. so could u plzz update asap<br><br>hey thanks, pragya ... and samrat will start calling gunjan Chashmish very soon ... even I find it strange to keep writing Gunjan!!! 😉 Romance will come ... they are getting to know each other and becoming closer first. <br>thanks so much for reading, hun!<br>
Chapter Seven
The next day, between showing Samrat the changes Mayank had suggested and trying to contact their own lawyer, it was almost noon by the time Gunjan got any time to herself. The first thing she did after taking a quick look at the invitation Samrat had mentioned the night before, was to make a quick call to Dia.
"Do I need to attend this?" she asked her, trying to sound casual, trying not to let the butterflies in her stomach show.
On the other end, Dia sounded surprised.
"Yes, of course, Gunjan. If Sammy has told you to accompany him, you must. He just wants you meet some more clients and office people informally, so that you feel more comfortable at work. It will be a good party – there'll be entertainment and music – you'll like it."
"The dress code is smart casual," said Gunjan, her heart beating uncomfortably. So she couldn't get out of this one. Clients, and office people … crowds, strangers … how would she handle it? What would she say to them? Her rabbit hole was looking more and more inviting. But there was no way she could dive into it, it seemed.
"What should I … I normally wear Indian …"
Dia thought for a moment. "Do you want to try something new?" she asked and Gunjan swallowed nervously, thinking of Dia's extremely smart, extremely short maternity dresses …
"I'm not sure … I don't know what to … "
Dia was quiet for a moment, and Gunjan could sense she was thinking again. Then she spoke again.
"We could look for something nice, Gunjan. I can help, if you want. Meet me at one at …" Dia named a clothing store and Gunjan sighed with relief.
"My sister works there," she told Dia. "She's good with clothes, too …"
"Good, so tell her to keep herself free, and we'll find something for you to wear," promised Dia. A little relieved, Gunjan rang off.
Dia and Nupur got on like a house on fire. Nupur was elated at the thought of choosing something different for Gunjan to wear – as she said, Gunjan usually dressed like a school teacher! Between the two of them, Gunjan felt as though she was being run over by a bulldozer. In the span of one hour, they made her try on almost a dozen different dresses and outfits, and only by sheer force of will, did she manage to stop Dia from making her buy a beautiful off shoulder knee length dress in the palest cream.
"It will look great on you, Gunjan," Dia tried her best to persuade a reluctant Gunjan. "The color, the style …"
"I'll never wear it," Gunjan insisted, and Nupur grimaced at Dia.
"Forget it, Dia. You don't know her. If you insist, she'll buy it, and then it will sit in her cupboard, and she'll land up at the party in an old salwar kameez. There's no point. She's as obstinate as a mule when it comes to herself. Let's find her something she'll actually wear."
But finally it was Gunjan herself who spotted it.
It was a knee length raw silk jacket style top in deep turquoise blue, matched with narrow black pants and accompanied by a soft silk stole in the same turquoise as the top, shot with turquoise green and silver threads. The neck was square with some sparkly bead work on it, the sleeves were short and fitted, and when Gunjan came out of the fitting room, both Dia and Nupur stared at her in silence for a moment, before nodding their heads vigorously. Dia gave her a thumbs up.
"Perfect!" she said, smiling widely at Gunjan.
"You look … lovely!" said Nupur, and hugged her. The butterflies in Gunjan's stomach gave a little jig, before settling down slightly.
The three girls had a casual and very enjoyable lunch together before Gunjan headed back to work, almost an hour later than she had intended. Samrat was waiting for her, and his mood was not good.
"You're late," were his first words, quite unnecessarily, she felt. She knew it already and was feeling guilty enough about it. But she had finished what work she had to do, and anyway, he was supposed to be in a meeting till evening. She had thought he wouldn't need her, in fact that he wouldn't even miss her, and she was a little surprised that his meeting had finished so early.
"You … were meeting Mr. Srivastav," she reminded him. "Did he go through the contract? What did he say about the changes?"
"We wound up early," he told her in a tone which said that it was her fault. She felt even more guilty.
"But why? I mean … you had all the papers … was he not well enough? He came out from hospital just this morning, maybe he didn't have time to …"
"I needed you for the meeting," he told her flatly, and she looked surprised at that one.
"Me? I wasn't supposed to be there! It was a confidential …"
"And you're my PA … you're supposed to be there for all my confidential stuff. Which means … from now on, you sit in on my meetings, unless I tell you specifically you're not to," he informed her firmly in his best 'I'm the boss' tone and then spoiled the effect by adding, "Besides, I can't understand half of what Mr. Srivastav says … he sounds like he's chewing paan while he's talking. I need a translator."
She tried to hide her smile. So he was sulking again.
"What did you do when Dia was here?" she asked him. "She never sat in on all these meetings. I know that – because she told me so."
He glared at her.
"I told you – I needed a translator. What Dia did is not the point. I wanted you there, so you should have been there. You knew all about the contract changes, for one thing. And also …" he added wickedly, as she was about to protest that she had been through the whole lot with him very thoroughly just that morning, "You're much better to look at. Looking at Srivastav for an hour gives me a headache."
He thought she would blush again, but Gunjan was euphoric from her successful shopping trip and able to deflect that one surprisingly easily.
"Better looking than Mr. Srivastav? Is that supposed to be a compliment?" she asked him, a small sparkle of mischief in her eyes. He looked completely surprised for a minute, then an answering gleam lit his eyes.
"Just the truth. Well, you can't be worse looking … surely!" he told her, and chuckled as her mouth dropped open in indignation. "Where were you?"
She tried to hide her shopping bag, suddenly unsure as to what to say. She was too embarrassed to tell him she had been shopping for the party.
"I … I had some personal work," she said finally. "I had to … meet someone. I got a little late … I'm sorry …"
He nodded, and his smile died.
"Well, back to work now," he told her. "And I hope you remember about the party tonight. Don't make any other plans … with anyone else. I'll pick you up …"
"I'll meet you downstairs in the office lobby," she told him quickly. "Eight o'clock? The party starts at eight thirty."
He nodded again and went back into his office, leaving her wondering slightly at his change of mood.
But Samrat's mood seemed to have improved later when she went in with some more work for him, and he kept her busy the rest of the day in his room, going through a number of his current projects, to 'bring her up to date', he told her, so that she could join him in his discussions with his clients. By evening, she was exhausted, but excited with the work, and told him so.
"You're tired," he said, looking at her and she smiled tiredly.
"I am … but I don't mind. It's been … fun. Studying economics and marketing in theory and actually applying them are two different things. I enjoyed this."
"So did I," Samrat replied, and was surprised to find that he meant it. Within three- four days he had changed his mind about Gunjan about six times already, he thought to himself. His first resistance to her had been because of pure bloody mindedness – he hadn't wanted Dia to go on leave and he had taken it out on Gunjan, by being rude and mocking. Then he'd been intrigued – her external demure appearance and those old-fashioned clothes belied by the sparkle he'd noticed in her eyes at first glimpse. And he'd felt bad because she was shy, as Dia had said, shy and nervous, but trying her best to hide it and work in spite of his less than helpful attitude. And then he'd been impressed – she'd caught the changes in the contract at first look and that was going to save him a pretty penny.
And now … he was enjoying working with her. She was quiet but attentive, she listened far more than she spoke, and she had an imp of mischief in her which surfaced rarely but at the most unexpected times and caught him completely off guard.
And she had a lovely smile.
He smiled to himself as he recalled her smile, and Gunjan looked at him enquiringly again. She was sitting in her hard backed chair next to the sofa – after yesterday, she had avoided sitting on the sofa, he noticed. It was soft and squashy, and anyone who sat on it tended to sink into it – and into anyone else sitting on it. And after the first try, she had avoided it like the plague. That was another thing about her – she seemed to be very conscious about any physical contact. Was it with him only, he wondered? Or with everyone? With the unknown Mayank? Had Mayank been her lunch date? The reason why she had been so late back?
Again he was wondering about her men friends. It was her personal life and none of his business. Annoyed with where his thoughts were going, he shook his head.
"Nothing," he said in answer to Gunjan's look. "I was just thinking … I'm glad you didn't get lost in the secretarial pool. What a waste that would have been."
She made a small face. "It was good of Dia to give me this chance," she said. "I have no work experience at all."
"Good of Dia?" he asked, teasing her again. "What about good of me? I'm your boss, not Dia … it's me you should be grateful to."
"Yes, but you didn't want me …" she began and then stopped and blushed at her own bluntness. "I'm sorry," she said self-consciously. "Sometimes I don't think before I talk …"
"Are you always so incurably truthful?" he asked, grinning again, and then took pity on her as she looked as though she wanted to sink into the ground. "No, you're right, I didn't want you … and I should be grateful to Dia too … for not listening to me. I'm glad she insisted on giving you the job."
He was rewarded by a flash of that smile. Then she glanced at the big clock in the corner and jumped up.
"It's almost eight! Don't we need to leave?!"
He looked at his watch in surprise. After a long time, he hadn't noticed the time while working – the afternoon and evening had flown.
"Ten minutes," he told her, getting up in a hurry. "I'll just freshen up … and you?"
"I'll get ready too," she told him. "Ten minutes?"
He grinned as she made for the door.
"I haven't yet met a girl who can get ready in 'ten' minutes," he called as she reached the door, and she turned to give him a look.
"I'll wait for you in my office. And you … now have nine and a half minutes," she informed him, and disappeared, leaving him grinning even more widely.
Chapter Seven
The next day, between showing Samrat the changes Mayank had suggested and trying to contact their own lawyer, it was almost noon by the time Gunjan got any time to herself. The first thing she did after taking a quick look at the invitation Samrat had mentioned the night before, was to make a quick call to Dia.
"Kya mera yeh attend karna zaroori hai?" she asked her, trying to sound casual, trying not to let the butterflies in her stomach show.
On the other end, Dia sounded surprised.
"Yes, of course, Gunjan. Agar Sammy ne tumhe saath mein chalne ko bola hai, to tumhe jaana hi chahiye. Tum office ke logon ko aur kuch clients ko thode informal atmosphere mein mil logi, so tum kaam par zyada comfortable feel karogi. Party achchi hogi – entertainment aur music bhi hoga. Tum enjoy karogi."
"Dress code 'smart casual' hai," said Gunjan, her heart beating uncomfortably. So she couldn't get out of this one. Clients, and office people … crowds, strangers … how would she handle it? What would she say to them? Her rabbit hole was looking more and more inviting. But there was no way she could dive into it, it seemed.
"Main kya … main to normally Indian hi …"
Dia thought for a moment. "Kuch naya try karna chahti ho?" she asked and Gunjan swallowed nervously, thinking of Dia's extremely smart, extremely short maternity dresses …
"Pata nahin … mujhe samajh nahin aa raha ki main kya … "
Dia was quiet for a moment, and Gunjan could sense she was thinking again. Then she spoke again.
"Hum kuch achcha dhoondne ki koshish kar sakte hain, Gunjan. Main help kar sakti hun, if you want. Meet me at one at …" Dia named a clothing store and Gunjan sighed with relief.
"Meri behen vahan kaam karti hai," she told Dia. "Uski choice bahut achchi hai …"
"Good, to usko bolna ki voh khud ko free rakhe. Hum saath tumhare liye kuch na kuch dhoond lenge," promised Dia. A little relieved, Gunjan rang off.
Dia and Nupur got on like a house on fire. Nupur was elated at the thought of choosing something different for Gunjan to wear – as she said, Gunjan usually dressed like a school teacher! Between the two of them, Gunjan felt as though she was being run over by a bulldozer. In the span of one hour, they made her try on almost a dozen different dresses and outfits, and only by sheer force of will, did she manage to stop Dia from making her buy a beautiful off shoulder knee length dress in the palest cream.
"Yeh tum par bahut suit karegi, Gunjan," Dia tried her best to persuade a reluctant Gunjan. "Yeh color, yeh style dekho …"
"Main kabhi pehnungi nahin, Dia," Gunjan insisted, and Nupur grimaced at Dia.
"Chhodo, Dia. Tum Gunjan ko nahin jaanti. Agar tum insist karogi, to voh kharid to legi, phir uski cupboard mein baitha rahega, aur yeh party mein phir vahi purane salwar kameez mein pahunch jayegi. Koi fayda nahin. Khud ki baat aati hai to yeh ladki sabse adiyal ho jaati hai. Kuch aisa dhoondte hai jo voh actually pehnegi."
But finally it was Gunjan herself who spotted it.
It was a knee length raw silk jacket style top in deep turquoise blue, matched with narrow black pants and accompanied by a soft silk stole in the same turquoise as the top, shot with turquoise green and silver threads. The neck was square with some sparkly bead work on it, the sleeves were short and fitted, and when Gunjan came out of the fitting room, both Dia and Nupur stared at her in silence for a moment, before nodding their heads vigorously. Dia gave her a thumbs up.
"Perfect!" she said, smiling widely at Gunjan.
"Bahut … achchi lag rahi hai!" said Nupur, and hugged her. The butterflies in Gunjan's stomach gave a little jig, before settling down slightly.
The three girls had a casual and very enjoyable lunch together before Gunjan headed back to work, almost an hour later than she had intended. Samrat was waiting for her, and his mood was not good.
"You're late," were his first words, quite unnecessarily, she felt. She knew it already and was feeling guilty enough about it. But she had finished what work she had to do, and anyway, he was supposed to be in a meeting till evening. She had thought he wouldn't need her, in fact that he wouldn't even miss her, and she was a little surprised that his meeting had finished so early.
"Aap to … Mr. Srivastav ko milne vaale the," she reminded him. "Unhone contract dekha? Jo changes thi, unke bare mein unhone kya kaha?"
"Meeting jaldi khatam ho gayi," he told her in a tone which said that it was her fault. She felt even more guilty.
"Lekin kyun? Mera matlab hai … aapke paas saare papers the … kya unki tabiyat ab bhi theek nahin thi? Voh subah hi hospital se discharge hue the, shayad unhe time nahin mila, sab papers dekhne …"
"Tum meeting mein nahin thi," he told her flatly, and she looked surprised at that one.
"Main? Mujhe kahan meeting attend karni thi? Confidential meeting thi …"
"Aur tum meri PA ho … tumhe mere sab confidential kaam ke liye present hona chahiye. Which means … aaj se, agar main tum ko specifically nahin bolun, tum meri sab meetings attend karogi, " he informed her firmly in his best 'I'm the boss' tone, and then spoiled the effect by adding, "Besides, Mr. Srivastav kya bolte hain, mujhe ek word bhi samajh mein nahin aata. Aisa lagta hai ki voh munh mein paan bhar ke baat kar rahe hain. Mujhe to unki baaton ke liye translator chahiye – samajh hi nahin aata kaunsi language bol rahe hain."
She tried to hide her smile. So he was sulking again.
"Jab Dia yahan thi tab kya karte the?" she asked him. "Voh to yeh sab meetings nahin attend karti thi … usne mujhe bataya tha."
He glared at her.
"Maine kaha na – mujhe translator chahiye tha. Dia kya karti thi, kya nahin karti thi – use tumhara koi lena dena nahin. Main chahta tha ki tum meeting attend karo, so tumhe vahan hona chahiye tha. Vaise bhi, tum saare contract changes ke bare mein jaanti ho. Aur …" he added wickedly, as she was about to protest that she had been through the whole lot with him very thoroughly just that morning, "… do ghante Srivastav ki shakal dekhne se mujhe sar mein dard ho jaata hai. At least, tum dikhne mein unse zyada sundar ho."
He thought she would blush again, but Gunjan was euphoric from her successful shopping trip and able to deflect that one surprisingly easily.
"Zyada sundar hun? Mr. Srivastav se? Kya main isko compliment samjhun?" she asked him, a small sparkle of mischief in her eyes. He looked completely surprised for a minute, then an answering gleam lit his eyes.
"Sirf sach bol raha hun. Vaise, tum unse buri to ho bhi nahin sakti … surely!" he told her, and chuckled as her mouth dropped open in indignation. "Kahan thi tum?"
She tried to hide her shopping bag, suddenly unsure as to what to say. She was too embarrassed to tell him she had been shopping for the party.
"Mujhe … mujhe kuch personal kaam tha," she said finally. "Kisise … milna tha. Thodi zyada der ho gayi … I'm sorry …"
He nodded, and his smile died.
"To ab kaam shuru karein?" he told her. "Aur aaj ki party ke baare mein yaad hai na? Aur kisi ko milne ke plans mat bana lena. Tum mere saath chalogi …"
"Main aapko neeche office lobby mein meet kar lungi," she told him quickly. "Aath baje? Party ka time saadhe aath baje hai."
He nodded again and went back into his office, leaving her wondering slightly at his change of mood.
But Samrat's mood seemed to have improved later when she went in with some more work for him, and he kept her busy the rest of the day in his room, going through a number of his current projects, to 'bring her up to date', he told her, so that she could join him in his discussions with his clients. By evening, she was exhausted, but excited with the work, and told him so.
"Thak gayi?" he said, looking at her and she smiled tiredly.
"Thoda sa … lekin theek hai. Yeh sab … bahut interesting tha. Economics and marketing ki theory padhna aur unhe business mein apply karna do alga lag baatein hain. Mujhe achcha laga."
"Mujhe bhi," Samrat replied, and was surprised to find that he meant it. Within three- four days he had changed his mind about Gunjan about six times already, he thought to himself. His first resistance to her had been because of pure bloody mindedness – he hadn't wanted Dia to go on leave and he had taken it out on Gunjan, by being rude and mocking. Then he'd been intrigued – her external demure appearance and those old-fashioned clothes belied by the sparkle he'd noticed in her eyes at first glimpse. And he'd felt bad because she was shy, as Dia had said, shy and nervous, but trying her best to hide it and work in spite of his less than helpful attitude. And then he'd been impressed – she'd caught the changes in the contract at first look and that was going to save him a pretty penny.
And now … he was enjoying working with her. She was quiet but attentive, she listened far more than she spoke, and she had an imp of mischief in her which surfaced rarely but at the most unexpected times and caught him completely off guard.
And she had a lovely smile.
He smiled to himself as he recalled her smile, and Gunjan looked at him enquiringly again. She was sitting in her hard backed chair next to the sofa – after yesterday, she had avoided sitting on the sofa, he noticed. It was soft and squashy, and anyone who sat on it tended to sink into it – and into anyone else sitting on it. And after the first try, she had avoided it like the plague. That was another thing about her – she seemed to be very conscious about any physical contact. Was it with him only, he wondered? Or with everyone? With the unknown Mayank? Had Mayank been her lunch date? The reason why she had been so late back?
Again he was wondering about her men friends. It was her personal life and none of his business. Annoyed with where his thoughts were going, he shook his head.
"Kuch nahin," he said in answer to Gunjan's look. "Main bas yeh soch raha tha … achcha hua tum secretarial pool mein gum nahin ho gayi. Bahut hi waste hota."
She made a small face. "Thanks to Dia … usne mujhe yeh chance diya …," she said. "Mujhe to koi work experience nahin hai."
"Thanks to Dia?" he asked, teasing her again. "Mujhe thanks nahin kahogi? Boss to main hun tumhara … thanks to tumhe mujhe kehna chahiye."
"Haan, lekin tum to mujhe chahte hi nahin the …" she began and then stopped and blushed at her own bluntness. "I'm sorry," she said self-consciously. "kabhi kabhi main bina soche hi bol deti hun …"
"Kya tum hamesha itni saaf saaf sach bol deti ho?" he asked, grinning again, and then took pity on her as she looked as though she wanted to sink into the ground. "Vaise, tum theek keh rahi ho. Main tumhe nahin rakhna chahta tha … aur mujhe bhi Dia ko thanks kehna chahiye … meri baat nahin sunne ke liye. I'm glad ki usne tumhe job dene ke liye insist kiya."
He was rewarded by a flash of that smile. Then she glanced at the big clock in the corner and jumped up.
"Aath bajne vaale hain! Humein chalna nahin chahiye?!"
He looked at his watch in surprise. After a long time, he hadn't noticed the time while working – the afternoon and evening had flown.
"Dus minute," he told her, getting up in a hurry. "Main freshen up karke aata hun … aur tum?"
"Main bhi," she told him. "Dus minute?"
He grinned as she made for the door.
"Mujhe aaj tak aise ladki nahin mili jiske tayyar hone ke liye 'dus minute' sirf dus minute hon," he called as she reached the door, and she turned to give him a look.
"Main apne office mein tumhara intezar karungi. Aur … tumhare paas ab nau minute aur tees second hain," she informed him, and disappeared, leaving him grinning even more widely.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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