Khushi walked down the long spiral
staircase with her father; for a moment it was like time stopped. All
eyes in the party turned towards her, many admiring her beauty and
grace, some lusting after her sexyness, some jealous of her
gorgeousness...but the heavily made up eyes of Sheena looked up to
Khushi with pure hatred! The cute guy she was talking to completely
ignored her and started walking towards the staircase, just like
nearly all the other eligible men in the room. Sheena hated her
cousin with a vengeance; ever since they were small, she had to
compete with her, Khushi was always the bright one, getting good
grades, perfect in all activities, she was the one who was chosen to
head the company, even though Sheena worked equally hard to earn her
place in it. Sometimes Sheena wondered if Khushi even wanted to head
the company, she was too nice and compassionate to do this job
properly. It was not fair that only Shashi gupta gets to make
decisions, when his own brother, her father Kishore was equally
responsible for the recent high profits of the company, why were her
father and she the second fiddle? What ever the case, Sheena had
taken a vow that one day she will be heading this company, by hook or
crook. With this merry thought, she walked towards Khushi.
Khushi saw her family walk lovingly
towards her, her mother was shining in a pink sari. She looked at
Khushi with tears in her eyes “ You look gorgeous beta, i can't
believe its you..out of those horrible office suits; My daughter is
soo beautiful” she said proudly. Khushi hugged her mother fiercely
and turned towards her uncle and his family. She always liked her
uncle Kishore and got along quite well with his wife, but she always
felt there was something evil about Sheena. When they were small,
Sheena had tried to drown her in the pool. Even though she claimed
later that she did not realize it and was just trying to help her,
khushi always felt she should stay a little away from sheena. “You
look good Kush” sheena said sarcastically. Khushi smiled at her and
turned towards her aunt “Chachiji you are looking fantastic!”
Menaka gave a huge smile “ you look good yourself khushi, come we
have to start your introductions” Saying this she led Khushi
towards all the assembled guests. By the end of an hour, Khushi was
exhausted! She excused herself and went to freshen up. While walking
towards the powder room, Kushi's eyes pricked up when she heard the
word 'job' and 'Delhi' together, she looked around to see who was
taking and came across her mother's friend Sheila aunty and another
lady taking; she moved towards them pretending to be on her phone; “
What to do Sheila, i had promised Shobhana devi that i will send
kripali for the governess job at their palace, they were looking for
someone to take care of her great grand children, an adorable set of
twins; Their mother is well..not in the right state of mind. I had
personally assured Shobhana devi that i will send Kripali by tomorrow
night's train; but unfortunately Kripali's mother fell ill at the
last minute. What should i do now? Im in such a fix! Do you know
where i can find another governess this soon? The pay is very good
and it has lodging, meals everything! Plus them being Royals, the
stay will be very comfortable, and the kids are such darlings”
Sheila aunty had just opened her mouth to answer, when Khushi barged
into their conversation “Sorry to interrupt aunty, but i just over
heard your conversation. I may be able to help you out here” the
lady looked at her with an expectant smile “Really beta, do you
know any good governess” Khushi was smiling broadly “ Of course
aunty, i know someone very good! In fact she comes recommended by me!
You don't worry at all, just let me know the details of the place she
needs to go and who she needs to meet, i'll take care of rest of the
thing; Where did you say this place is?” the lady seemed extremely
relieved “ Delhi, i'll give you all the details. In fact there is a
train ticket booked for tomorrow night, she can go on the same one;
What did you say her name was?” Khushi looked around the room
trying to find some name, she suddenly blurted out “ Khushi kumari”
the lady looked bewildered, so khushi explained “ Her name is also
Khushi like mine, but her surname is kumari...i know its unusual but
trust me, she comes highly recommended” the lady thanked Khushi
profusely and went in to call Shobhana devi, after all if the Gupta's
daughter had recommended her, she must be very good.
Khushi took all the details from the
lady and called her best friend Dipti to explain her plans in brief,
Dipti was very doubtful of Khushi's shenanigans, but said they can
discuss further once Khushi gets to Delhi.
Now the only thing left to do was
convince her father; Khushi slowly walked towards him and her uncle
who were deep in conversation, “Papa, can i talk to you for a
second” Shashi gupta looked up “ Yes kiddo, what happened? Is
everything all right” Khushi started clutching her dress very
tightly on her sides “ Papa i was just thinking what you said
earlier; i spoke to Dipti about it and she and her husband are
ecstatic to have me live with them for a few months, and not only
that she said there were many great mid-year courses starting at
Delhi university in art and music. I feel i should explore this
opportunity, what do you think?” Shashi gupta looked at the
expectant face of his daughter and sighed “ ok kiddo, if this is
what you want then i won't stop you. Go and talk to your mother as
well and i'll have a quick chat with Dipti tomorrow morning, you can
leave next week” Khushi started panicking “ nn-no papa, the
courses start from monday, thats day after tomorrow, so i have to
leave for Delhi tomorrow itself to get everything ready in time. I
need to go to the university on monday and work out the admission
process; if i go later then it may be too late” Shashi was about to
cut Khushi when his brother Kishore spoke up “ Arre bhaiyya, let
her go. She's too young to be tied down, I'll get Sheena to work on
the Goa project till Khushi gets back” Shashi was not convinced but
gave his ok on the matter; he turned towards Khushi and said “ fine
young lady, in that case get your packing done after the party. I'll
get an afternoon flight booked for you for tomorrow. Let me know the
course details and fees; i'll have it transferred into your account”
Khushi felt a huge weight life off her “ Thanks papa, your'e the
best and so are you chachu!!” she hugged both of them and went to
talk to her mom. Finally khushi had got her wings and she was flying
to Delhi tomorrow...towards a new adventure and unfamiliar
territories...life was never better!
Arnav singh raizada's head was still
bursting with pain, he felt like an orchestra had struck up a
permanent place in his head. He got up lazily and stretched his taut
muscles. Then he quickly changed into his jogging gear and started
walking towards the grand living room. As soon as he reached the
door, his grand mother called him “ Arnav beta, where do you think
you are going?” Arnav turned around to look at his regal yet stern
grand mother. After the death of both this parents, it was dadi who
looked after them. The one person he could never deny anything was
his dadi, he was absolutely scared of her but loved her deeply “
Good morning dadiji, what happened? Why are you stopping me form my
everyday routine jog” Shobhana devi looked at her eldest grandson,
she hated seeing worry lines around his handsome face, such charisma
he had, just like his father. She just hoped that apart from his
looks, he had not inherited anything else from him. Her poor Arnav
had to face too many things at such a young age, she just prayed that
he find the right partner to share his life with him and give him all
the love that he deserves. “ I know what happened yesterday beta, i
can see the bandage on your forehead, or have you forgotten?” Arnav
gave a sheepish grin “ Ok dadiji, i know you know, but seriously im
much better now..plus my early morning jog always refreshes me” his
dadi looked at him sternly and said “ Ok, if it will make you feel
better go ahead but remember you are not going to work today. I know
its sunday and anyways your office is closed, but i don't want you
going to tour all your hotels in the city, is that understood”
Arnav gave a mock salute to his grandmother “aye aye capt'n”
saying this he jogged out of the house.
As soon as he reached his usual jogging
track around the house, he called Aman “ So, did you guys work on
the new quotes? Send them to me immediately for verification. Once i
confirm send it for the tender bid, and this time make sure only you
and the core team know of this” he cut the call and increased his
pace. There was no way he would lose this tender, he needed this more
than anything right now!
Once he got back to the house, he
bumped into the twins “ mama! Your'e all sweaty..yuck” vivaan
exclaimed, Vibha just kept on laughing. Arnav picked up both of them
in either hands and started moving them about, their squeals became
ten fold and all three were breathless by the time arnav stopped it.
“So i heard about the latest stunt you both pulled up on the
governess!” he said with a stern face “ I am warning both of you
again, the next governess is the last one..if not then i will not
hesitate to ship both of you boarding school, is that understood?”
the twins looked at their mama and nodded their heads solemnly, arnav
was happy seeing this “ See, its soo easy..i know you kids are
naughty, but im glad you never question my decisions, i suppose the
new governess will be here soon, so be on your best behavior” he
ruffled their hair and left them to play. The twins had a mischievous
glint in their eyes and they both grinned at their mama's stupidity.
He forgot he always threatened them with boarding school, but never
sent them there...this was probably his 10th
warning...considering 10 governesses had come and gone. They both
walked out on the playground to plan their strategy for project “Quit
governess:No 11”
Yuvraj walked towards the breakfast
table where everyone was already settled, he looked at Anjali di who
was as always lost in her own thoughts. The twins were playing with
their porridge, but as soon as arnav walked towards the table they
stopped, Yuvraj mused about the aura his brother had, somehow
everyone just stopped what they were doing to look at him “ Bhai,
how are you feeling now?” arnav glanced at Yuvraj “ Much better
yuvi, the morning jog did wonders and since our quotes are confirmed
and sent for bid, i'm much relaxed now” Yuvraj looked at his dadi
and said “ So dadi, what time is the new governess getting here? Do
we need to send the driver to pick her up or will she get here on her
own?” Shobhana devi looked at Yuvraj and answered “ No yuvi beta,
i just spoke to her a while ago, she said she will manage on her own.
She is reaching at 5pm tomorrow by Rajdahani which leaves Mumbai at
mid-night tonight. She'll be exhausted, we'll probably only properly
get to meet her on tuesday morning” She looked at the twins fondly
but sternly “ Now you two listen up, i don't want any mischief! I
hope you both understand. I want you to introduce yourself to her and
act like any other normal 9 yr olds do, is that understood?” The
twins looked at their par-dadi and nodded their heads, she was one
lady they did not want to mess with...at least this soon. Arnav
looked at his dadi curiously “ Wait, when did you hire the new
governess? I did not get any profiles sent from the agency; in fact i
just spoke last night to Yuvi about this” his dadi nodded her head
“ yes i know its quick, but i called some of my friends as soon as
the other governess left. I am fed up with these women that the
agency sends to us, i wanted someone who has real experience and has
some good recommendations, thankfully devikaji said she knew someone
very good and she comes highly recommended as well, by the best
families in Mumbai; Khushi kumari she said her name was” Arnav
looked doubtful “ Kumari? What kind of a surname is that? I want to
see her file/profile anything before we hire her..for all you know
she is some low-grade criminal” Dadi looked at arnav furiously “
Arnav beta, as i have already told you, she comes highly recommended
and more than what is written in their profile and bio-datas which is
most of the time false, real experience comes from real work, so i
will appreciate if you close this matter right away” Arnav knew
when not to provoke his dadi “ Ok dadiji, if you approve then im ok
with it, but at least make sure she is an older woman and very very
stern with kids, otherwise she too will run away like the others”
saying this he turned towards the staircase to go to his room.
Khushi woke up early morning on her
usually late and lazy sunday. She got dressed and went down for an
early breakfast. No one was up since the party ran quite late last
night. As soon as she came to the dining area, her phone started
ringing with an unknown number, she picked it up tentatively “
Hello?” on the other end a very elegant but string voice said “
Is this ms kumari? I am Shobhana devi here calling about the
governess job?” Khushi was confused for a bit then suddenly
remember her drama of last night, she had texted this number to
Shobhana devi to call her if required, she replied in pure hindi “Yes
mam, this is Khushi this side” Shobhana devi smiled into the phone
“Good im glad to know that you are an early riser, otherwise who
wakes up this early on a sunday? Anyways i called to inquire about
your travel plan and if you required pick-up?...and so their
conversation went. She gave all the details to the madam and went
about getting all her things ready.
She had a few minutes left to board her
flight to Delhi, after saying her good byes to her parents at her
home, she felt very emotional. This was the first time she had lied
to them to such an extent. She knew they are kind to trust her
completely, but somehow breaking their trust was breaking her up
inside as well. Amongst all her family, Sheena was the happiest to
see her leave..but not as happy as Khushi was to get rid of her for a
few months at least. She had to hand over all her hard work on the
Goa project in the morning, she hated the sly grin Sheena gave her
while taking all her files. Getting back to the moment, Khushi felt
elated...after all this drama she is finally getting to do what she
always wanted, live independently! She called Dipti one last time
before boarding her flight. 'Delhi here i come!' Khushi thought
delightfully.
The Black BMW X5 sped rapidly on
Delhi's clean roads, Arnav was heading towards his office in
Connaught place. He just had a call form Aman about the investigators
and Lavanya's whereabouts. Dadi will be furious if she knows that
Arnav left for office, but what the hell, he had to get this matter
sorted out. He reached his office on the top floor and entered his
cabin; waiting for him were Aman and a man in a tweed suit. He
introduced himself as Pranab Bagchi “Hello Mr Raizada, its an honor
to meet you in person. I will be investigating the quote leak matter
and Ms seth. Right now my intelligence has informed me that Ms Seth
is in mumbai, they could follow her digital footsteps till Mumbai
airport, post which she has disappeared, she's probably using an
alias because of which she is untraceable. As far as the company is
concerned, we are still looking into the matter; we'll start with
your top competitors who have everything to gain if you lost this
tender” Arnav sharply looked at Mr Bagchi “ ASR never loses, get
that right first Mr Bagchi. I'll destroy the company who has played
this underhanded trick on me. Getting my girlfriend to go against me
and my company and sell them our quotes; they have no idea who they
have messed with. Arnav singh Raizada never forgets or forgives”
Saying this he shook his hands with Mr Bagchi and took his leave,
before he walked out he turned around “ Keep me updated with
anything you find out about Lavanya seth and our elusive competitor;
I want to be kept informed about this matter”. When arnav left, Mr
Bagchi turned towards Aman “No wonder the biggest and most powerful
people kneel in front of his. He really is an enigma” Aman smiled
fondly “He's not so bad”
Awesome update
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