Chapter Eight

"Hey Khush breakfast is ready," NK called out loud.

Khushi almost dropped her mobile while putting it in her bag, but succeeded in saving it in quick reflex and heaved a sigh of relief muttering "not again". 

But she had not guessed the possibility of getting another shock this early in the morning, so when she walked out of her room cursing all her stars for making her eat garbage for the very first meal in the day  (well NK's cooking is nothing better than that) she dropped her phone or let's just say it slipped from her hand, while her mouth hung open seeing the scene before her eyes.

Normally among the friends it would be her who would do the cooking and NK would help in cleaning . As for La, she did not bother to leave bed before 9 in the morning for these trivial issues like cleaning and cooking. So what she got late regularly for her classes? For her, there should be some benefits of being the teacher. 

Though NK had some severe issue with this attitude of hers, but Khushi managed to defuse them whenever they argued or better say fought. 

But today was one of those days of miracles when she thought she would walk into a war-front where she would witness a massacre of vegetables and kitchen items, she entered into a neatly arranged and spotlessly cleaned dining hall where two swore enemies for life worked in harmony and laid the dining table like they had been waiters for life. 

Khushi watched in horror when NK toppled a tumbler by mistake and La caught it before it could hit the floor, and both gave each other a winning smile. 

By now Khushi was all ready to faint as it was too much for the poor tiny heart of hers, but La saw her in time, standing rooted to her bedroom door, while keeping the tumbler back to the coffee table, where they have set the breakfast, and ushered her to come and take a seat beside her on the loveseat.

Khushi comes out of her shocked state, though not completely, and bends down to pick up her phone. When she makes sure that her phone has survived 24th fall, she walks to the duo with purposeful steps to discover how this miracle happened.


**


Arnav lowers the blind with his forefinger to make a small peeping hole and his eyes met the empty cubicle. He checked the time which showed that it was still 15 minutes left to start the office hour and he let the blind go. Sliding his fingers into both pockets of his jeans, he walked to the other side of the room where the glass window gave a front view of the office campus which had a beautiful garden in the center with a small artificial fall in the middle. Around the garden, there were four buildings of different departments, one of which he was right now, the main office. The main gate also comes in the view where there was a small security block to check every person and vehicle entering the premises. People were walking in lazily knowing they still had time to reach their respective work places. Few were standing in the middle, chatting, causing a little road block and making a driver honk to move them aside, and as they moved, the driver, who Arnav guessed his senior designer, looking at the model of the car, whoosh passed them towards the parking.

Arnav took dialled from his phone...
Hello, came the response...
Hello Aman, where are you? (Arnav asked casually.)
Just came. Still in parking. Anything important? (Aman answered breezily)
Yes pay 1000 bucks. In security office downstairs before coming up. (Arnav said smugly.)
What? Why? (confused.)
You just broke the speed limit rule inside office premises and that should be your fine. (Arnav informed.)
What? How? Where are you? (Aman looked around, astonished.)
Just above your head. (Arnav spoke innocently feeling the laughter bubbling in his chest )
What? (flustered.)
*Chuckle*
Whatever. (Aman mutters irritated.)
Aa ha, don't forget to pay before you come up. (Arnav bit his lower lip to control himself from bursting out.)
Whatever. (This time Aman said aloud furious.)
Sound of laughter floated from other end and Aman disconnected the call huffing but went towards the security office nonetheless.

**


"La, NK are guys alright", Khushi asked after taking her seat.

"What happened to us?" La asked smiling knowingly to NK.

But Khushi did not miss the exchange and jumped on her seat pointing her finger towards them comically, speaking  in a rush "that... that happened and before I lose control over my nerves tell me how this wonder happened... I mean how the archenemies sit in one place and don't fight to kill." she huffed.

NK offered her a glass of water and said cheekily, "Well that hurts to know what kind of opinion you hold for us (he pointed him and La, who gave a smug smile) but you are our friend so we don't mind (Khushi made a face and NK bit the inside of his cheek to stop the grin) and how far this peace is concern, well darling (a mischievous grin broke out on his face and so on La's) don't get so worked up, it is just that we wanted to give our friend a good morning start so we are in a truce, just for the morning, until we leave for our works...
... and then you can expect the expected" La finished for NK
Khushi heaved a sigh dramatically "and I though it is a start of a new era..."

And thus the three friends sat together chatting, laughing and eating...

**

Finally, when Khushi reached AR office, she was considerably late but she cared less when she was in her best mood, thanks to her buddies.
**

"You are late."

Khushi jumped in her seat. She looked back only to find ASR's smouldering eyes looking at her intently. She took a deep breath before sobering up, to calm her racing heart beat and spoke plastering a formal smile "Yes ASR, I am sorry. But you know Delhi traffic, I was stuck in the last signal for 20 minutes. Is there anything you need?"

She had come to office 10 minutes back and has been taking a few files out from the cabinet behind her chair when he crept up behind her. 

 ASR searched her face for  any sign of their last meeting but it did not give away any emotion.

Disappointed he ordered "Come to my cabin. NOW." and turned on his heel to go back to his cabin, leaving no room for another word.

Khushi sighed, time to face the monster in his den.

She dropped the files on the table and took her pad and pen before following him. 

**
ASR sat lost in thought.

A vision of a girl and the feel of her soft lips had kept him awake last night till wee hours only to fall into a restless slumber of few hours and then he had come to office early to finish some unfinished business.  But he had kept checking that she had arrived or not and when he had given up thinking that maybe she was not going to turn up today after their unplanned meeting of yesterday night, she had come in her regular office avatar. Though he hadn't expected her to be any different but when he had gone to see her expecting her to get unnerved before him or react in same that told him he did make a difference in her feelings, but the girl had managed to surprise him again. After the initial shock, she had maintained her perfect poker face and if he had expected her to falter in her behavior then she had successfully disappointed him. It was not like he was complaining but she had been consuming his mind quite efficiently since he had first set his eyes on her. With her enigmatic persona and mysterious ways, his interest to know her was becoming an obsession, while she looked less bothered about his existence. 

She will be the death of me. 

**

The knock on the door brought him back from his train of thoughts and walked in the reason of his misery...

How different she had looked last night from this full sleeve kurta and slim fit jeans and those sandals and this ponytail... like, oh it is so not her or it is??... But why this complete change of persona? why doesn't she use her full name?  Why does she want to leave? What her real self? The Khushi he knows for a while now or the Khush whom he has met last night by mistake??... And he will have to find the answers for him, for his sanity.


Why this girl affects him so much? He wondered.

Maybe because no other girl has been able to wreck your brain like this before, his subconscious answered...

True that... the corner of her lips lifted in a ghost of a smile.

**

Khushi, who was now standing across the table scrunched her eyebrows, why the hell is he smiling?

Understanding her confusion ASR schooled his features and walked across the table to her.

"So Khush, as you know your seven days of notice period starts from today and Akash, said he will start interviewing for new PA from next Monday so by the time you leave you will be able to train the new employee for a couple of days about her responsibilities. Still, I will like you to rethink about your decision..."  He was now standing before Khushi, leaning on his table, cross-armed, keeping a poker face.

"It is Khushi ASR, Khushi maintained her calm, feeling anything but, and thank you for giving me the opportunity for reconsidering but I wouldn't have decided to leave if I haven't been sure about it. I will really be happy to help whoever Akash chooses to fill my position. So tell me ASR is there anything you want me to do now?"

If he hadn't been so trained to keep his poker face steady then he surely would have raised his brows when Khushi corrected her name and if he wouldn't have been watching her so closely then he would have surely believed in her composed exterior but as always her eyes gave away her inner secrets, telling him that she was as disturbed as him about the happening of last night, but in a good way or bad that's  his problem to find out and ASR will be damned if he let, this time, pass away.

"Yes I want you to do something for me..." he trailed off smiling in satisfaction, inwardly, seeing her squirm slightly under his gaze.

Khushi looked on questioningly.

"Drop this pretence." he said blatantly.

Her eyes grew wide but she held her composure expertly and opened her mouth but only a gasp escaped as his finger rested on them... Her gaze dropped on his finger and then again shot back to meet his eyes. The outline of her orbs turned a darker shade of green with a little hint of fiery gold around the pupil, which has gone darker, and the very first time ASR noticed how her exotic eyes changed colour with her mood, which is not very pleasant at the moment. He traced his index finger on her lower lip but before she could retort he leisurely took it back. He walked around her ever so slowly, like a lion on the prowl, pushing his hands into his trouser's pockets, watching her keenly, as if assessing her, and finally stood before her in a feet distance with an unreadable expression on his face.  He tilted his head a little and bringing his lips down near her ear spoke only for her ears, "You are not what you look like".

***

ASR watched with delight, at last, may be for a fraction of seconds only, but there, her mask had fallen. Her eyes had widened, a gasp very tactfully been stiffened, but her lips have parted nonetheless, her head has turned towards him sharply and then phew! All gone. The mask of indifference again on place making him wonder if he had imagined all that. He realised it was really not a nice feeling to meet another of his kind. A female ASR.

But then she said something very calmly, nonchalantly, leaving him surprised and lost for words.

She smiled humourlessly before she said, "Yes I am not."  when she registers the almost invisible shock in his eyes with her blatant acknowledgement she chuckled and spoke again "none of us in that matter..." She paused again  and turned to walk to the window which overlooked the front garden, her eyes looking at nothing in particular, arms crossed she continued, "... tell me something ASR, are you the same as others look at you?"  she noticed  his silent chuckle from her peripheral vision and smiled a  knowing smile to herself "... we all have our masks in place and very few know us who we are without the facade, sometimes we let them see us knowingly and sometimes they intrude in our life unknowingly." and her eyes met his, pointedly.

She left after that head held high without another word, or backwards glance, leaving Arnav deep in thought.

****