Arnav was getting ready in his evening wear when her heard his bell ring, he waited as he heard Anna's voice bounce off the walls, she was as always ordering his butler around. But he was least bothered in what she did during the day, he just needed her to accompany him to his events and warm his bed at night. He adjusted his tie and slipped on his dark jacket. He spritzed some cologne and walked out of his room.
As he was coming down, his phone rang again. He switched on his Bluetooth and spoke "yes Aman, now what! I'm going for your damn fashion show, so chill" Aman cleared his throat "Uh..ASR, your uncle wants to speak to you." Arnav quickly straightened up and wondered why his uncle had not called him directly.
"Arnav, how are you son? I asked Aman to call you since currently your mother has hijacked my phone" Arnav heard his mama's deep voice "I'm very well mama, in fact i'm leaving for the fashion show you wanted me to attend and then I'm meeting StClair to discuss out exports. Oh and why has ma kept your phone?"
Mahendra looked uneasily at Aman as he continued "yes, yes..that's good. Both the commitments are equally important. But son there are other commitments also which are required from you. I hope you understand what i'm talking about?"
Arnav made a face as he wondered what his mama was on about "Umm..can you be a little bit more specific? Do I need to meet anyone else in London? Which meeting are you talking about?"
Mahendra voice came softly over the phone "Ok, Listen arnav. This is confidential and i'm only telling you this because I want the best for you. The reason your mother has taken my phone is because she did not want me to speak to you or tell you about this"
Arnav walked down to the foyer and took a glass of water which his butler offered "yes mama, do tell me what this big news or secret is. Is ma again finding some girl for me?" he said laughing.
Mahendra cleared his throat again "Well now that you say it, yes she is. In fact she has settled her mind on Mehra's daughter. You remember you had met her last year?"
Arnav vaguely remembered a mousy girl who was extremely annoying and kept asking him if he believed in past life, 'freak' he thought. So his mother was fixing him up with her, he grinned into the phone "Let her try all her tricks mama, there is no way i'm saying yes"
Mahendra was now positively sweating "Well arnav, this time you may have no choice!" Arnav stopped drinking the water "What do you mean mama?" He heard as mahendra spoke quickly "because if you refuse then your mother and your grandmother will fire you from the company"
...
Khushi was feeling very good, her exam had gone amazingly well and she had just spoken to someone about a flat in a neighborhood near her aunt's care home. She had just enough money to pay the rent for the first 3 months, plus she would start looking for a proper job now that she will graduate, she might even be offered one tonight! Life was just getting better for her.
Khushi was just putting the finishing touches to her outfit, when her professor came up to her, Mariam cheny was a well known person in the fashion industry, she had mentored many successful designers and khushi was very happy that she got to study under her "Katya darling, I think your dress is absolutely fabulous! Trs lgant mon cherie!"
Khushi was overwhelmed by her comments, she hardly gave such positive review "Merci beaucoup madame I really appreciate your guidance."
Mariam gave her a dazzling smile "Oh, now you wait katya dear, one day you will be a very successful designer, mark my words! And I will be talking about your work to the judges and reviewers, so be prepared to make a dramatic entrance tonight, your first but definitely not your last" with that she air kissed khushi and walked away elegantly.
Khushi took the dress off the mannequin and helped her chosen model wear it. They still had to get the models hair and make up done and then accessorize her just in time for the ramp walk, she saw as she received a text from her buaji, wishing her good luck; Khushi smiled and replied a thank you as she nervously waited while the model got ready to walk for her.
...
The glass of water slipped out of arnav's hand but was expertly caught by his butler "Excuse me! How the hell can they fire me from my own company!" then it struck him, since he loved them sooo much, he had given all three of the ladies in his family a large stake in the company. While arnav himself held 29%, both his mother and grandmother put together owned 32% and if they had anjali as part of it, then it would climb to 48%!
Arnav felt himself sweating, he could not believe his mom and dadi could be this cunning. He wondered if they would actually go ahead with this mad drama "Ok mama, what you are saying is that they can throw me out! But will they be wearing business suits and go to work then?. They have lots of stakeholders to answer to you know"
Mahendra regretted calling arnav now, he could feel the fury rising in him through the phone "Well, they were talking about approaching Mr Ujjal Ghosh, the CEO of Laxmi Textiles..they might go for a joint venture if you are not on board. You have to do something arnav, either sacrifice yourself to this girl or find a wife asap!"
Arnav sat down on the stairs with his head in his hands "How can they do this! I mean its absurd, just to see me married they can actually go to this length? How the hell am I supposed to find a wife in such a short time!"
Mahendra spoke calmly, he knew he had to help arnav in some way "look arnav, the good thing is that technically you don't know about this decision or plan which these two are hatching, you have the advantage of finding some girl who can pose to be your fiance. Bring her here, then maybe after a little while you can stage a break-up. This will buy you some time and keep your mother happy for a while. We can figure out how to manage the stake structure till then."
Arnav felt his spirits lift, his mama was absolutely right "I love you mama, your'e a life saver! K I gotta go...i need to find me a fiance. I'll be back to Delhi on thursday. Don't tell anyone about this conversation we had. Thanks once again, I owe you one!"
Arnav quickly called up his friend Akshay and ashed him to meet him for a drink around 10, he had to find a suitable girl asap and he knew that Akshay was the right person to help him out.
He looked up as Anna came barging into the room in a whiff of strong perfumes, instantly he remembered the girl from earlier.He shook his head and led anna out to his waiting limousine, He had to get the fashion show and his meeting out of the way soon, there were more pressing issues to be dealt with at the moment.
Mahendra smiled fondly as he kept the phone, how much ever he loved his sister, she was a maniac sometimes. He wasn't sure if he did the right thing suggesting this idea to Arnav, but he knew that the Mehra's girl was a lunatic! He could't knowingly push arnav towards her. He gave the phone back to a stunned looking Aman and left the office.
...
Khushi was pacing up and down the small pathway behind the stage area, her model was ready to go, she was waiting for her cue, as soon as the choreographer motioned, Khushi leapt forward and nudged her model to go on the ramp. She was soon smiling a huge smile as she heard the audience clap very loudly for her outfit. She glanced out from the little curtain to see what was going on.
Khushi saw professor cheny sitting with a couple of people in the first row, she could vaguely make out a tall built man in a dark suit sitting on her right, her heart jumped as she took in his handsome face, he alluded a kind of magnetic aura around him, khushi knew this was ASR.
Obviously next to him sat the famous Brazilian supermodel Anna campos, she looked stunning as she sat serenely with her hand on his thighs, she had heard rumors of them dating..or sleeping or whatever, she didn't know why that disturbed her.
She shrugged her thoughts away as her model swiftly and elegantly finished her walk and came back. Khushi went and hugged her tightly as joy filled her heart. She was just returning the hugs of all her fellow classmates when her phone rang.
She recognized the number as her buaji's care home, Roseneath. She picked up the call with shaky hands, and wondered why they were calling her at this time, she quickly left the green room and went outside into the balmy air, she meekly said a hello "Yes, Ms Khushi Gutpa? I'm calling from roseneath care home, this is regarding your aunt"
Khushi held her breath as she felt the walls closing around her, she asked in a shaky voice what was wrong, the lady on the other end answered robotically "Your aunt has suffered a major heart attack, We have admitted her to the nearby St Mary's hospital. She seems to be out of danger now but please make your way there as soon as possible"
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