Music Of The Heart.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

- 8:00

'I hope maami is not up yet.' Arnav tried his best not to make any noise. He didn't want to wake his mami up or he was sure he wouldn't be leaving the house before noon. Arnav thanked his lucky stars when he successfully made it to the main door. 

'Can't believe I had to sneak out of my own mami's house.' Arnav shook his head, closing the door quietly, behind him.

*----*----*----*

"Stop pushing Khush! Let me see." Julia peeked from behind their bedroom door, searching the living room for any signs of their bua.
"Shit. She's sitting on the couch. Now what?!" Julia whispered in Khushi's ear.
"WHAT?" Khushi almost shouted slapping her forehead. She went to sit on her bed.
"Shhh. Don't shout, she'll hear you! We'll think of something. Don't panic." Julia closed the door, standing against it.
"If I wouldn't reach on time Jules, that Laad governor will have another reason to call me irresponsible and careless. I don't want to hear another lecture on punctuality. Hey Devi Maiyya." Khushi sighed, dropping her head in her hands.
Julia came to sit beside her, squeezing her shoulder she said 
"Don't worry Khush. I've got a plan. I'll go out and try to bring her to her room someway. I'll try to keep her occupied there and when I'll text you, run out of the house as fast as you can." Julia winked at Khushi. 
"Okaaaay. Love you so much Jules, you always save me from her." 
"Love you too, babe."
Julia side-hugged Khushi and went out to bring her plan into action.


'Shit. Its 8:20 already. What's taking Julia so long.' Khushi was restlessly pacing in her room when her phone beeped.

'The coast is clear. Run ;)' -Julia.

Khushi grabbed her hand bag and ran towards the door as fast as she could. 
Once out, she breathed a sigh of relief and texted Julia back.

'Phew. Thanks Jules. You're the best. I'm sure, I'll get a BIIIIG lecture about this from bua when I'll return. :/' -Khushi

'Haha, no problem. Don't worry, I'll handle her.' -Julia

'I know. Love you so much, bye :*' -Khushi

'Love you too. Take care :)' -Julia

"Taxi!" Khushi shouted. 


*----*----*----*
-8:30

Arnav nodded at the security guard's 'Good morning', checking the time on his wrist watch. The whole office was silent as dead. Nobody came to office today except for the security guard and two peons. 
Taking long strides, he reached his cabin and closed the door behind him. He kept his laptop and car keys on the table. 

-8:45
Arnav was working on his laptop when he heard a knock at his door.

"Come in!"
"Sir, your coffee." The peon said in a really shaky voice. His whole form was trembling with the intensity of his boss's gaze on him. 
"Keep it and leave!" 
The peon, kept the cup on the table and quickly turned to leave. 
"Wait!" Arnav stopped him.
"Y .. yes sir?"
"Is Ms. Gupta here yet?"
"No, sir."
'That good for nothing employee! Never on time!' Arnav scowled.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GO!" Arnav yelled at the poor peon. The boy
flinched and rushed out of the cabin. His heart was pounding and his legs were turning jelly. He was running at his top speed when he bumped into Khushi.
"Woah woah. Whats wrong man? Where are you running to?" Khushi chuckled.
"That man inside needs to learn how to manage his anger and talk to poor souls like us!" 
"Is he angry?" Khushi was starting to get afraid now.
"VERY ANGRY! And yeah, he also asked if you were here yet."
"Damn. Im 20 minutes late! Anyways, where is everybody else?"
"Its Sunday girl. Nobody comes to office on Sunday. Its weekend, remember?"
"Yeah right .. But that Raizada doesn't seem to understand that! Anyways, see ya' "
Khushi took a deep breathe before knocking at his door.
"Come in!"
'Hey Devi Maiyya, protect me' she silently prayed and stepped inside the lion's den. Khushi closed the door behind her and came to stand in front of Arnav's desk.
"You are late!" Arnav said, without looking up at her.
"Uh .. I uh, I am sorry Mr. Raizada, I--" Khushi's eyes widened when she saw Arnav getting up and walking towards her.
Khushi immediately started walking back, which she could see irked Arnav more!
"STOP" Arnav barked. His tone harsh. He rolled up his sleeves, and stood against the table. His hands crossed over his chest.
Khushi's gaze fell onto his bronze, muscled forearms and for a moment, her mouth went dry. His tan complexion complimented his perfect features. Her gaze lifted to his chest and his broad shoulders. She wondered how it would be like to see him shirtless. Khushi swallowed hard at the thought of him being bare chested in front of her. Khushi involuntarily licked her lips, wetting her dry mouth. Khushi closed her eyes, wanting to sweep these gutter thoughts out of her head. She took a deep breathe and looked up to see Arnav gazing at her intently. He raised his eye brows at her, bringing her out of her daze. 

'The hell Khushi? Stop drooling! Oh wait. Is he smirking? OMG. Did he notice you staring at him? Shit. Of course he did. That is why he is smirking. That beast! Congratulations Khushi. You have successfully embarrassed your self in front of this Laad governor. Now he will be thinking so low of you! Oh, and since when did you start to care about what he thinks of you? And anywa--"

"Sir!" 
"Huh?" Khushi was so lost in her own thoughts that she missed on what Arnav just said.
"I said, CALL ME SIR!" 
"But, we are all on first name basis here. Then too I call you Mr. Raizada. Isn't that enough?!" Khushi protested.
"You are my PA! I don't care what you call others. You have to call me sir! Thats an order! If you are not comfortable with that, then you can resign, nobody has stopped you from doing so."
Arnav was losing his patience now. How dare she back answer him! Who the hell is she to talk to ASR like that! 
Khushi opened her mouth to protest again but then she thought it would be better to just do what he says than risking her job.
Khushi clenched her fists and nodded. 
"Good. Also, you are late Ms. Gupta. Like always. This is not tolerant in AR. If you want to continue this job you have to learn to be on time. Or you can leave the job, we have thousands of more people who are willing to work for AR and also who understand the meaning of punctuality!"
Thats it. This was enough to fuel the fire, that was created between them. Khushi's control snapped. All her resolutions 'to not back answer him and keep quiet' broke. 
"Well, 'sir'. I am sorry to interrupt but I'm afraid I have a family. Who wouldn't let me work on Sundays. They believe everyone has a right to have one day off from work and spend some time with their families. I think I must tell them that this 'right' does not apply on the employees of AR-- oh wait. Not the employees of AR, but only me to be more specific.
I am sorry if I'm late 'sir' but it wasn't that easy for me to escape from my house without letting my family know that I'm working today. Then I would've never been able to come. Anyways, why am I even telling this to someone so callous like you. I doubt you understand anything other than business and work." Khushi tilted her head a little to see something behind Arnav.
"I see, you've already got your coffee. Well then, I will be in my cubicle 'sir'. Call me if you need anything." Khushi said, emphasizing on the word sir every time she said it. She turned on her heels and walked to the door.
"Ms. Gupta!" Arnav called through gritted teeth. His eyes were spitting fire now. His face hard and fists clenched. 
Khushi's heart was pounding in her chest now. Realization dawned on her, that she just now insulted her beast of a boss. What was she thinking?! Hell, was she even thinking when she said that to her boss?!
'Very good Khushi. But you know what, you should have looked for another job before saying that to him. That would've helped. Because no way in hell, is he going to let you stay now! Hey Devi Maiyya' Khushi swallowed hard and turned around to face him.
"Did I mention that you are going to work on all the weekends of this month?" Arnav closed the distance between them standing merely inches away from her. 
"WHAT?!" Khushi's eyes would have never been much wider. Her mouth formed a perfect 'O' . "But.. but Mr. Raizada--"
"SIR, Ms. Gupta. And now that you're already late, I suggest you should not waste more time and get back to work this instant. I don't have all the time in the world to sit and listen to your good-for-nothing stories." Arnav retorted.
"But sir--" Khushi had to lean her head slightly backwards in order to look into his eyes.
"Don't waste my time Ms. Gupta. Go and bring me Mr. Patrick's file." Arnav turned and walked towards his table. Khushi stared at Arnav's retreating back. she couldn't believe her fate. Out of every fucking employee in AR, why did he have to choose her to be his PA? Why was he so bent on making her life hell! What sin did she ever do to get this Laad Governor as her punishment? Khushi was still cursing her fate when a loud harsh voice made her flinch.
"I SAID GO!!"
Khushi swallowed and rushed out of the cabin.

*----*----*----*

"What?! But Julia today is SUNDAY for God's sake! What kind of man is he! Has he no heart?!"
"I know bua. Please calm down. We'll talk to Khushi about it, when she will come back."
"What's there left to talk about! This is limit Julia! Any more working weekends and Khushi will resign from this job!" Shilpa bua pointed her cooking knife at Khushi's photo hung on the wall.
"Relax buaa. Breathe. And please, pleeease bua don't shout at Khushi when she comes back. She does not want to lose her job and that's why she has to do whatever her boss says. And I am sure, her boss will have the decency to not make her work on any more weekends. So, you don't have to worry." Julia took the knife from her hands and started chopping the onions.
"He better not!" Shilpa bua frowned, resuming her cooking. 

*----*----*----*

"What?! He left so early in the morning?!" Asha questioned the servants.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Did he have breakfast?" 
"Um, no ma'am."
"My God. How many times have I told him not to leave the house without breakfast. From tomorrow onwards, I will wake up before he does and incase if I don't, you are going to make sure he doesn't skip his breakfast and meals." Asha ordered, her hands on her hips.
"Yes ma'am."

*----*----*----*

"Stupid Laad Governor! Even the canteen is closed today! What am I going to do now." Khushi cursed, holding her growling stomach. She was so hungry right now that she could eat the whole office. 
She knocked at his door before making her way in, with the file.