I'm Back! :D

Heyya. :*

Im back. :D Honestly, I did try to write there but couldn't fight the tough schedule. :(

Also my college has also started so I wouldn't be able to update that often. And I will try to finish this story ASAP now. :)

Thanks for supporting me so far. Keep reading. <3

Cheers. :) 

Olaa :D

Some important stuff that I wanted to share. :)

Well, firstly,  I have completed my first 10 chapters. YAAAY. Now this calls for a celebration. doesn't it? :D And honestly it wouldn't have been possible without all of you. <3 Your comments are very very veeryy encouraging. :)

But you know what? I see soooo many page views and so less comments. :(
Please, please if you read my work and like it then do leave a comment. I reply to all of them. And I swear every single comment helps me and motivated me to write more. It just takes a minute to leave a comment. One word comments or even an emoticon (smiley) will also be appreciated. :)

To all the people who always comment I LOVE YOU ALL. SO VERY MUCH. <3
Thankyou so so much. :) Keep reading and commenting. :D I'll try not to disappoint you. :)

Also, last night I saw an OS on I-F, by an I-F buddy of mine that had some what same ideas that I have put in this FF. I wouldn't like to take her name here but hey, if you're reading this, then pleeease please don't copy my ideas. Its a request. It takes so much time to come up with every single idea and then BOOM! You see someone else using it and getting more response because they have more buddies then you have, because you're a newbie, hurts alot. I'm sure you can come up with much better ideas then mine. :) Please don't copy. :(  

And the lastly, I will be going out of the country for like 15 days and wouldn't be able to update till then. :( I'll be leaving today. But I'll take my Ipad along and will try to write there. Though I don't find Ipads that comfortable for writing purposes then the laptop. But still. I'll try updating, if I get time. :) No promises. :D
This chapter had been written in a hurry, I didn't proof read it. So if there are any mistakes, grammatical errors or any typos then please be kind and ignore. No judging. ^_^ :D

So that's all. Sorry if I bored you. But I had to share this. :p
Lots Lots Lots of love to all. :) <3
Take care. 

Cheeeeeers. :D

Music Of The Heart.

CHAPTER TEN.

Khushi closed her eyes as she leaned in to seal his lips with hers. Her hand went to rest on his chest while his hand flew to her waist, holding her as gently as possible. Waves of heat emanating from him ripped through her body and she fought a shudder.

Khushi could almost feel his warm breath on her mouth when a shrill ringing sound brought them out of their dream land and back to reality. Arnav stared at her in disbelief, his face reflecting the shock displayed on Khushi's face.
Khushi removed her hand from his chest and then glanced at his hand holding her waist. Arnav followed her gaze downwards and gulped when his gaze settled on the intimate contact their bodies made there. He jerked his hand away and stood up in a haste. He turned his back to her, and rushed to pick up the office intercom. 

"Yes!" He barked.
"Uh, sir. There is a man here, he says you asked for a delivery from their restaurant. Should I take it?"
"Yes!" That's all Arnav could manage to speak right now. 
"Okay, sir."
Arnav slammed the receiver back, and stood rooted to his spot. He didn't dare turn around, he wasn't ready to face her yet!
Khushi stood up and straightened her dress. She looked everywhere in the room but him. She gulped before speaking.
"I was so--"
"You don't have to worry, I'm fine. My sugar level dropped and--"
"hungryy--"
"I had to eat something swe-- wait, what?!" Arnav turned around, to face her.
"I was so hungry! I didn't eat anything in the morning, and I just had one doughnut for lunch! And now I'll have to starve until I go home! Bloody hell!"
Khushi said, all in one go.

Arnav didn't know what to say. First time in his life he was at loss of words.
'Damn. What should I say now? Maybe thank her for feeding me the doughnut? Like, thankyou Ms. Gupta for helping me? No no! Thanking her and giving her a chance to boast about herself for the rest of her life! No way in hell! But she did help me.' Arnav's mind was still struggling for a satisfactory reply when the peon knocked at his door.

'Oh good. This will help for now!' Arnav thought before walking towards his door. He took the delivery from the peon and closed the door behind him. 
The delicious smell of the food filled every corner of the room, leaving Khushi more hungrier than she was before.

'Great. First you save his life by feeding him your only doughnut and instead of thanking you he is torturing you with the tempting aroma of his food. Bastard.' Khushi scowled and turned on her heels to get her ass out of his cabin.

"Uh, Ms. Gupta?" Arnav called out.
'So he finally felt the need to say thankyou, did he?' Khushi rolled her eyes and turned to face him.

'Say it, Arnav! Be a gentleman! Just two words. Come on!' Arnav put the food, on his table and lifted his gaze to meet her questioning one.
"Uh, tha-- Damn it!" Arnav closed his eyes in frustration. 
Khushi frowned and waited for him to thank her.
"Uh, Ms. Gupta--" Arnav hesitated.
"What?!" 
"You.. uh-- You can go home!"
"Huh?"
"Yeah. Go home." Arnav avoided her gaze for the umpteenth time in the last fifteen minutes.
"I thought you were going to say tha-- UGH. Never mind. I'm not going home!" Khushi crossed her hands over her chest.
"Excuse me? That's an order Ms. Gupta!" 
Arnav so wished that she'd just agree and go home. Her presence would only force the memories of their almost kiss to come back and stick inside his head. But only if she wouldn't be so stubborn!
"Okay sir. But, I am still not going home! sorry!"
"What the-- I will fire you!" Arnav narrowed his eyes and said in a deadly gravelly voice.
"You can't and you wouldn't. You can't just call your employee to office because YOU feel like working on a bloody Sunday and then ask her to leave because and ONLY because you want her to go home! This ain't any game sir! So yes, I am not going home" Khushi retorted.
"But why the hell not! You are the one who didn't want to come to office today in the first place and when I'm asking you to leave, you don't want to go! You are unbelievable Ms. Gupta!"
"Because I can't leave you, like this!"
"LIKE WHAT DAMN IT?!"
"Don't you get it?! I found you lying on the damn floor unconscious some time back! And you expect me to just leave you here after that, and go home?! REALLY? You think I'll do that?!" 

Arnav stared at her speechlessly. 

Khushi breathed heavily, too furious and too shocked to say anything else. 

An awkward silence settled between them. Both of them were trying to process the answer of the same question that was bugging inside their heads

'WHY DOES SHE CARE? WHY DOES SHE CARE IF HE IS SICK OR IF HE IS EVEN DYING?' 

Khushi turned her head sideways, unable to meet his hard, penetrating gaze now while Arnav's probing gaze refused to leave her face. 

Khushi knew Arnav would be expecting some answers from her now. But she wasn't ready to face any of his questions yet. She wasn't sure herself to why she said that? And why did she feel the need to stay here, and look after him? Didn't she hate him? 

Hate.

If anybody would have asked her what she felt about Arnav yesterday or earlier today than she wouldn't have hesitated in saying that she hated him to the core. But why was she so unsure of her feelings right now? Why did the word hate suddenly didn't feel right for him?

Arnav tried to search her face for answers. He could see in her eyes that she was going through a lot of mixed emotions at the moment. Arnav opened his mouth to say something but before he could do that he heard Khushi say

"I'll be down in my cubicle. If you need something then just give me a call."
Saying that she rushed out of his cabin and slammed the door behind her.

Normally Arnav would've been furious if she would've dared to leave without hearing what he had to say and then slam his fucking door on his face but right now things were different.

Arnav ran a rough hand through his hair and closed his eyes in frustration.
He was frustrated. Yes. But not with her, with himself. What the hell is wrong with him? Was he really going to kiss her? Didn't he himself plan on making her life hell here in office. What was he thinking? Hell! Was he even thinking? And why is it affecting him so much that she is actually staying in office because of him? Because she cares for him?

Does she really care for him? This question alone was eating him up. Man, he needed to distract himself from the thoughts of Khushi Gupta now! He clenched his fists and turned around to go back to his chair when he realized he hadn't eaten yet. 

He sat down and brought a spoon full of rice to his mouth when he stopped half way. 

'She hasn't eaten yet damn it!' Arnav clenched his jaw and pushed his plate away. 

    *----*----*----*

Hunger and confusion, both were not letting Khushi's mind rest in peace even for a bit. First her stomach refused to shutup! now her mind too! The picture of their almost kiss was stuck inside her head, making her heart thunder inside her chest. Khushi held her crying stomach and put her head down on the table. 

'If only my phone wouldn't have been out of battery!' Khushi cursed under her breathe and shook her head fiercely wanting to kick every single image of them together out of her head when somebody patted her shoulder.

Khushi lifted her head to see who it was and asked
"Yeah?"
"A delivery for you." The peon answered.
"A delivery?" Khushi frowned.
"Yeah. Food." The peon smiled.
"Food?" 
"Yeah."
"From?"
"ASR"
"What?"
"I guess he ordered food for you." 
"For me?" Khushi raised her eyebrow, eyeing the food in his hand.
"Damn. What's so confusing, eh? Yes. ASR ORDERED FOOD FOR YOU. So stop the crazy interrogation and EAT."
Khushi nodded and took the box from his hands.
"Thank you." Khushi smiled. The peon nodded and left.
Khushi's mouth watered at the sight of breath-takingly delicious food. She grabbed the spoon and licked her lips.

"Wait a minute! I don't feel something right! Why the hell will that arrogant ass order food for me? Why would-- OH MY GOD. Now I get it! The food is poisoned! Otherwise why would--" The ringing of her office intercom, broke her off.
"WHAT?!" Khushi barked, furious.
"Excuse me?" 
"YOU! How could you!" Khushi slammed her hand on the table and stood up.
"What the--" 
"How could you act so low!" 
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Okay. He was losing it now.
"Wrong with me? ME? You try to poison me and then ask me what's wrong?!" Khushi threw her accusation with full force his way.
"Poison? Are you out of your mind?! I called to ask you if you got the food! What the fuck are you talking about ?!" Arnav barked through his phone.
"Oh No. Don't act so innocent Mr. Raizada! I know this food is poisoned."
"What the-- Are you-- Damn it! Come into my cabin with the food, RIGHT NOW!" His voice had an edge to it. Sharp and irritated.

TBC.

~Anamika? Good guess. :D Im sorry to disappoint you but a kiss would be to soon for their relationship. ;)
I'll try to wind up this ff asap because my college would start in a few days and I wouldn't be able to write much then. :( 
Anyways, please leave a comment when you read. :)
Happy reading. ;)

Cheers. :)

Music Of The Heart.

CHAPTER NINE.

"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.

Arnav lifted his gaze from his laptop to see who it was, it was then that he realized what beauty he failed to notice earlier when Khushi came into his cabin.

Even in her formals, she looked like a goddess. Her dress hugged every curve of her body perfectly, like her second skin. Her skirt revealing her long beautiful legs. Her top showing off just the right amount of skin needed to seduce men all over the world. The colour of her top complimenting her perfectly toned, creamy white skin. Her hair tied high in a knot and her skin glowing due to the sun light pouring inside the room from the window.

Arnav gulped seeing the most gorgeous and exquisite sight he'd ever seen. 

'Damn' he thought before a loud bang brought him out of his daze.

"The file, sir!" Khushi said, practically slamming it on his table.

"Uh .. yeah." Arnav nodded, shifting his gaze to the file and trying not to think about her slender, bare legs across the table. 

Arnav closed his eyes, taking a deep breathe before pushing all the weird thoughts out of his mind. 'Weird' as he called them.

"Now. Bring me Mr. Gilbert's file." Arnav ordered, his eyes scanning through the file in hand.

"You know, you could have asked me to bring both the files in one go!" Khushi frowned.

"I am the boss, Ms. Gupta! I decide things here!" Arnav lifted his gaze to meet her irritated one. He smirked inwardly enjoying the deadly look on her face! 

"Don't just stand there! GO!" Arnav barked, turning his gaze back to the file.

Khushi clenched her fists to keep herself from doing something she might regret later. 

"Yes sir!" She said through gritted teeth and turned to leave.

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

"Bastard. UGH! What the bloody hell he thinks of himself!" Khushi muttered under her breathe searching for the file in Nihaal's cabin.

"I am the boss Ms. Gupta, I decide things here." she mimicked. "Well fuck you, boss! I hope you rot in hell" she searched all the drawers and cupboards in Nihaal's cabin but the file was no where to be seen.

"If not here then it must be down, in Lavanya's cubicle." She sighed, closing Nihaal's door behind her. The sight of the never ending stairs and her hunger was making her dizzy. She cursed her beast of a boss before making her way down the stairs. 

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

Arnav was working on his laptop when he felt his head becoming heavy. And his sight becoming blur. He blinked several times before gulping down his left over coffee. It made him feel a little better.

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

"Not even in Lav's cabin. Where the hell is it?!" Khushi looked around Lavanya's cabin one last time before walking out.

'Where can it be-- Store room? No no, how can it be in the store room. No body will keep it there. It ain't some junk.' Khushi thought, biting her nail.

'May be, someone kept it there not knowing it was Gilbert's. I should check' 

Khushi started for the store room now. She searched the entire store room but she couldn't find it!

'Did we lose the file? Uh-oh. This is not good. This is soo not good. He is going to be so angry!' Khushi gulped, heading towards Arnav's cabin.

Khushi walked into his cabin, without knocking. She was still lost in her thoughts to were the file could be when she heard somebody shouting her name.

"Ms. Gupta!" Arnav yelled. "Stop day dreaming! you are paid to work not to day dream!"

Khushi frowned and looked around to see she was already standing inside his cabin.

"And did you forget, you are supposed to knock before barging inside someone's room? These are called manners. You should learn them!"

Khushi didn't give a damn to the insult he was throwing her way. All she cared about right now was the lost file. Arnav raised his eyebrow when he didn't get any response from her.

"Uh, sir--" Khushi swallowed and prepared herself for the fulmination coming her way before telling him about the file. 

"And what took you so long?" 

"Sir, actually--"

"Oh, and did I mention that  Mr. Gilbert's file is with me only? Nihaal gave it to me yesterday. By the time I remembered that, you were already out of my cabin" 

"Sir, I can't find the -- Wait! WHAT?!"

"What?" Arnav said, his face as innocent as possible. 

"YOU MEAN YOU HAD THE FILE ALL THIS WHILE? AND I WAS LOOKING FOR IT IN THE WHOLE OFFICE LIKE RETARDS?!"

Shocked was an understatement to what Khushi was feeling right now. More then shocked she was angry. Soo angry that she could kill him right NOW with her own hands. Only if she could.

"Oh. You were?!" Arnav said. His tone slightly mocking. His face plain and blank as if he knew nothing about it.

"WHAT THE HELL!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW AFRAID I WAS? THINKING THAT WE LOST THE FILE?!"

"Well we didn't lose the file. Now, stop shouting and connect me with Mr. Gilbert." Khushi's mouth formed the largest 'O' of all times. She didn't move a muscle. She stood rooted to her spot. How dare he! She stared at him, her eyes wide like saucers and her jaw dropped.

"Hurry up Ms. Gupta! You are wasting my time!"

'Relax Khushi. Forget it. He didn't know. Just ignore it.' Khushi walked towards the table, dialling Mr. Gilbert's number. Her gaze never leaving Arnav's face, shooting daggers at him through her eyes.

"A.G Casa De Moda, This is Vanessa Westland, how may I help you?"

"Hello, I am Khushi Gupta from AR. Mr. Raizada's personal assistant. Could you please connect us with Mr. Gilbert? Mr. Raizada wishes to speak to him."

"Sure. Wait."

"Take notes." Arnav told Khushi, before taking the phone from her hands.

"Good morning Mr. Gilbert"

"Very well fine. How are you? Well about the deal..."

The conversation went on for a good twenty minutes, with Khushi struggling to take notes. As soon as the call ended, Arnav kept the phone on the table and went back to working on his laptop. 

"Just so you could know, I don't know short hand! So kindly speak slowly, the next time you want me to take notes!"

"Well, then learn short hand! This is how I speak, and this is how I will speak!" Arnav said through gritted teeth.

"This is not my job sir! I don't wish to learn short hand just for a month. Also I don't have time to. I have to be in office till 7 pm. And you know, now I'm not even free on weekends. So lets do one thing, I will quit being your PA and you can assign somebody else who knows short hand!" Khushi retorted, her arms crossed over her chest.

Arnav stood up from his chair and walked towards her. Making Khushi immediately step back. Khushi flinched when she felt the wall hit her back.

'Shit. You could have gone for the door too, you know! who asked you to stick yourself to the wall!' Khushi cursed herself and gulped when Arnav closed the distance between them, towering over her. Khushi looked up to see his gaze piercing through hers. His jaw clenching and unclenching, time and time again. 

"Don't. Talk. To. Me. Like. That!" His tone deadly-low, sending chills down her spine. Khushi's heart picked up speed and her breathing quickened.

"Uh-- Sir, I--" 

"You don't get to decide things here! You. Have. To. Learn. Short. Hand!" 

Khushi couldn't even blink her eyes, let alone reply him.

"Is that clear Ms. Gupta?" Arnav said, his eyes burning into hers.

"Ye.. Yes sir."

"Good." He said, as he stepped away from her.

"Now go, and write an email to Mr. Gilbert and all these clients" He handed her a paper which had names of some people and some other small details. "Inform them about the meeting we are holding on Wednesday with Mr. Gilbert, here in AR!"

Khushi took the paper from his hands and nodded, too afraid to say anything.

Arnav was about to go back to his chair after Khushi left, when his vision started to get blur again and he felt dizzy. He managed to go back to his chair some how and closed his eyes for a brief moment. His vision cleared again when he opened his eyes but the dizziness was still there. He also realized that it was almost time to take his medicines for diabetes. Before taking it he had to eat something, and hell he didn't even have his breakfast today. The canteen was closed too. He picked up his phone, ordering something from outside.

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

"Done with the email, finally. Should better go inform him first." Khushi was now really really hungry. Her stomach wouldn't shutup. She got up to go when she saw one of the peons carrying doughnuts in a bag. Khushi licked her lips, before calling him out.

"Heyyyy? Listen?!" 

The peon stopped mid step and turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, I uh.. um, you know I, I am kind of hungry and the canteen is closed too so, I was..uh.. thinking--" Khushi was trying to bring her thoughts to her mouth when her stomach growled again. Louder this time.

The peon looked at her and smirked. Offering her one of his doughnuts. 

"Ofcourse, you can have one!" 

"Well, that was embarrassing. Anyways, thankyou so much. I owe you a doughnut now." Khushi winked and the peon chuckled. 

"No problem" He smiled, and left.

Khushi inhaled the delicious smell of the doughnut and grinned.

'This will work for now!' Khushi thought, taking a bite. She turned on her heels, heading towards Arnav's cabin.

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

Arnav was feeling worse with every passing second. The keys on his keyboard suddenly became twice the number they were before due to his blurred vision. His throat went dry and he felt the need to drink some water. Arnav looked around his cabin to find a jug of water on a small table near his door.

He stood up, trying to reach the small table on the other end of the room, when he started losing his vision completely and his legs refused to support him. He was already on his knees when Khushi knocked at his door.

Khushi walked inside his cabin but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her boss lying on the ground unconscious.

"SIR!"

She rushed towards him, sitting on the ground and kept his head on her lap.

"Sir? Sir are you okay? sir?" Khushi panicked when he didn't respond. She cupped his face with one hand and shook his shoulder with the other.

"Sir? Sir wake up please!" Khushi got on her feet reaching for the jug of water. She sprinkled some water on his face and he frowned. He blinked several times before closing his eyes again.

"Sir.. sir please. Stay with me. I'll.. I'll call the doctor!" Khushi looked around to see where she dropped her phone when Arnav held her hand, ever so lightly and said "Khushi-- swee--"

"Huh? What?" Khushi patted his cheek to keep him from fainting again.

"Sweet--"

"Sweet?!" Khushi frowned.

"Sug-- sugar" Arnav gulped as his head lolled sideways on Khushi's lap.

"Sugar? You want to eat something sweet? Sir, you are fainting and you are thinking about food?! Weird." Khushi raised her brow, utterly confused.

"swe.. sweet, hu--hurry" Arnav breathed heavily, his eyes fluttering close.

"Huh? Okay, wait, wait. Stay with me. Don't close your eyes, okay?"

Khushi stood up, going out to look for something sweet to eat when her gaze fell on her doughnut. She instantly fed the sweet, creamed part of her doughnut to him and then reaching for the water again when he started to cough. She slapped his back and helped him to sit upright. Khushi wrapped her arms around his shoulder in order to keep him from falling again and he leaned into her arms, seeking the warmth she was offering him. After a good two, three minutes Arnav was perfectly conscious again. 

He turned his head sideways to look at Khushi, finding her face an inch away from his. Their eyes met and something strong passed between them. Neither of them spoke anything. Enjoying the warmth that seeped into their bodies due to their close proximity. Tingles went up and down his arms when he felt Khushi's warm breathe fanning his face. And suddenly everything around them disappeared. Every sane thought faded away. Arnav knew nothing except for the fact that he was in the arms of the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen, ever met. He gulped when his gaze fell onto her full, parted lips. His gaze wandered between her lips and her eyes. His own lips parted when he leaned his head forward wanting to feel the softness of her lips on his. Their hearts were beating in sync. His heart picked up speed and his mind went blank when he saw Khushi leaning her own head in his direction. 

TBC.

PS- A.G = Adriano Gilbert.

     Casa De Moda is 'Fashion house' in Italian.

Note- That's it for now. ;) I hope you liked it. Please, please leave a comment when you read it so that I could know, if it was good enough or not. The more the comments the quicker the next update. :D <3

Happy reading. :)

Love. <3

Cheers :)

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.