Chapter 8

Chapter 8

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Arnav sat down on his chair and ran a hand over his face.

“The first assignments of the interns were to be handed over to Mr. Wick.”

“Mr. Wick?.....Sorry.”

Arnav sighed harshly.

“He is the editor-in-chief. As I was saying, when I received the assignments yesterday, I didn't had enough time to go through them. Right then, Mr. Wick showed up and he himself went over all the assignments. He chose you as the leader of the team Extreme and you would be working in league with all of us. Now, Miss Gupta, did I make myself clear?”

“So you mean that I got chosen amongst all four of us?”

“Yes.”

“Yeppppeeeeee!”

Arnav raised his eyebrows as if to say this-is-so-not-your-house.

“Oh sorry! So, does that mean that I will be working with you directly?”

“Yes.”

“So no Amanji to play an in-between role?”

“What the?!” Arnav again sighed. “No, he will be assisting you though when you need him. He will also be working WITH you.”

“Oh, fine then. And also, do I still stay at my cubicle or do I have to be shifted someplace else?”

“No, you stay there. You will be informed where to be present for any meetings etc.”

“Okay. But I still am an intern in IBM, right?”

“Yes. If you have any more questions, Miss Gupta, ask Aman. I have work to do now.”

“Just one last question?”

“Ask.”

“Does this mean that you cannot disqualify me, no matter what the circumstances may be?”

“Yes, you would need to be present for the program.......(Arnav suddenly looked up to find Khushi grinning from ear to ear.) Miss Khushi Kumari Gupta, I am still your boss and you would still have to behave and I can still severely punish you if not disqualify you. Is that understood?”

“But you cannot disqualify me, right?”

“Miss Gupta!”

“Yes or no?”

“I think I made myself clear. Now LEAVE!”

“Oh cmon, can't you say yes just to make me feel nice?”

Arnav gave a bewildered look to Khushi.

“What??? It's not like I am asking you to wear a shirt with Tom & Jerry drawn on it!” Khushi said while rolling her eyes.

“Who are they?” asked Arnav, since he had never really paid attention to cartoons during his childhood.

“Don't you DARE tell me that you don't know who Tom & Jerry are!”

“Miss Gupta, don't YOU dare talk to me like THAT! I am....”

“My boss, of course, I won't forget that. And I don't like Miss Gupta, can't you just call me Khushi?”

“ENOUGH! LEAVE RIGHT NOW OR ELSE YOU'LL REPENT BEING CHOSEN AS THE LEADER!”

Hearing his steel-like tone, Khushi quickly got up and ran to the door and to her cubicle, without even once glancing back. Everyone else in the office suddenly shot their eyes up as they heard a sudden clattering of heels to see Khushi literally running to her cubicle. From her looks, everyone expected Khushi to have faced the wrath of ASR, but of course, no one really knew what actually happened.

A shrilling ring of a phone brought everyone back from the staring game and turn toward the voice. Aman quickly held the phone up to his ear and in the pin-drop silence that prevailed the office at the moment, everyone heard a voice loudly and harshly saying, “GET IN MY CABIN RIGHT NOW!”

Aman quickly placed the phone down and sprinted toward the cabin, having had enough for the day already. While re-stabling his breath, Aman knocked the door only once to hear “Come in” instantly. He entered the cabin and saw ASR furiously typing at his laptop.

“Sir, you called me?”

Arnav shot a deadly glare to Aman.

“If you are standing in my cabin, with my permission, and upon my call, then I think the answer to your question might just be a Yes, right?” Arnav said in a steel-cold tone with a hint of sarcasm.

Aman gulped, noticing that ASR's anger had shot up incredibly since his latest encounter and somehow, he was already able to connect a certain Khushiji with it.

“Sorry, Sir. I am really sorry. I didn't mean to....”

“Just shut it! I don't need another session of sorrys. Just tell Khushi to be here at 8:00 am tomorrow and dismiss her for the day. She can take the next batch home if she wants to, otherwise she can do it tomorrow afternoon.” Arnav said in a nonchalant and a firm voice as he continued to type on his laptop.

Aman jaw dropped open, but he quickly closed his mouth before ASR could look at him. He went out of ASR's cabin, lost in his thoughts. 
Sir wants Khushiji to come early tomorrow and he is letting Khushiji go home EARLY? Wasn't it Khushiji who came out of his cabin, running and scared? And on top of that, he called her Khushi instead of Miss Gupta? Am I missing out on something?
Aman subconsciously walked to Khushi's cubicle while scratching his head to understand the current situation. Khushi was writing an analysis on one of the reports when she saw a very confused looking Aman approach her. Khushi placed her left hand on her cheek while supporting the elbow with her desk, while her right hand sat on the file with the pen entangled in her fingers.

“Amanji? Did you need something?”

“Khushiji, Sir wants you in the office early tomorrow morning.”

“Did he say when I should be here?”

“8:00 sharp. Also, you have been dismissed for the day. But you can take the next batch with you or finish it in the afternoon tomorrow.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you Amanji, but are you okay? You looked pretty confused when you came over.”

“Yes, I mean, no Khushiji. I am fine. I was just....”

But before he could finish, he saw Khushi's eyes go wide open and she immediately stood up and her warm smile was replaced by slight intimidation. Aman turned around to follow her gaze and found himself looking at ASR, who stood directly behind him with a firm expression.

“Sir, you should have called me. I was just informing Khushiji about....”

“I know. Get back to work. I'll manage her.”

Manage her? Khushiji is such a nice and a friendly person. What does Sir mean by managing her? What is there to manage? I must just be tired of being worked up from the entire morning or maybe Sir is tired after doing all that yelling. Yes, that must be it.  Aman thought while leaving the two alone and walking to his desk.

~*~

Manage? What did he mean by manage? Am I some sort of uncontrollable animal that needs to be managed? This Laad Governor, what does he think of himself?  Khushi thought while glaring angrily at Arnav, who by now was actually looking at the file on Khushi's desk to see how much work was left.

Arnav looked up to find Khushi glaring at him.

“What?”

“You were here to manage me, so go ahead. Even I want to see how you manage me.” Khushi said in a low-whisper so only Arnav could hear her.

“What the?!!! That's not what I meant.”

“Really, so what exactly did you meant, SIR?”

Arnav closed his eyes to control his temper and spoke in a calm but firm voice.

“I have a meeting with Mr. Heinlein at 11:00 tomorrow. You need to be in at 8:00 to prepare the presentation. Mr. Heinlein is one of the investors for the project. And if you have anymore questions, email them to me. Get my email from Aman.”

Arnav turned around and quickly paced to his cabin, not wanting to answer another parade of questions and without looking at Khushi.

Khushi sighed irritatingly and began muttering under her breath. She quickly cleaned her desk and placed all the files in her bag to finish up at home. She went to Aman and got ASR's id. After Khushi left, Aman still was clueless to the turnout of events, and it was not until another one of his visits to ASR's cabin that he actually found out what was happening. ASR had asked Aman to prepare an official letter stating Khushi's acceptance as the leader for Extreme and have it mailed to her address. As Aman left for his desk, he finally had his usual grin pasted on his face, happy for the friendly Khushiji and for himself, since the confusion clouding his efficient brain had finally cleared.

Khushi got home in a frustrated mood, but her face brightened up as soon as she saw her family sitting together, warmly smiling at the childhood videos of Payal and Khushi. Since everyone was busy with the movie, no one noticed her walking in. Khushi sneaked up behind her Bauji and held her hands to his eyes, blocking his views.

“My Gudiyaa!”

“Baujiii, how did you know it was me? I didn't even make noise.” 
Khushi pouted while pulling away her hands and coming in front of everyone's view. Her parents and Bauji laughed at her antics. 
 “Princess, no matter how much you try to hide, your soft hands and your childhood habits are very hard to forget.”

Khushi grinned at her Bauji and hugged him.

“But how come you are home so early today, dear?” asked Amar.

“Actually, I have some great news for you all. But I'll only tell if Maa promises to make me three different types of pakodas today.”

“I surely will if your news is worth it. Now don't be a drama queen and tell us.” Garima said while looking at her daughter fondly.

“I got chosen as the leader of the Extreme team, which is the interns team for the entire program. And as for my coming early, I have to be there by 8 am tomorrow, so I got off early. I am going to do a presentation for one of the investors of the new project.”

The entire family, minus Payal since she was away on her job, were elated by the news. After a shower of kisses, hugs, wishes, and blessings, Garima set off to the kitchen to prepare snacks for everyone, Khushi went to her room to freshen up, and Bauji and Amar went ahead with watching the childhood videos. Khushi joined her Maa in the kitchen and both brought the snacks out for everyone. Sure enough, three different kinds of pakodas were present: paneer pakodas, mix-veggie pakodas, and bread pakodas. Afterward, Khushi went to her room to finish her assignment. After giving the finishing touch to the reports, she was about place everything back in her bag when Payal's voice came from behind.

“Khushiiii, Maa just told me about it. Congratulationsssss!” Payal said while entering the room. Khushi stood up and hugged her sister.

“Thanks Jijiiiii.”

The two sisters chatted the entire time until their mother called them in for dinner. Finishing dinner, both sisters went back to their respective rooms. Khushi quickly prepped her stuff for the morning, not wanting to end up being late. Just as she was placing her files in her bag, a shiny little card caught her attention. It was ASR's business card with his contact information printed in a stylish, yet an elegant way. A mischievous glint flashed in Khushi's eyes and her lips curved up in a naughty smile.

So, how was it?  Leave all your lovely comments and your views with your IF id below. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for what kind of questions you want Khushi to ask Arnav, include them to your comments. But Khushi will also be doing her Sankagiri with Arnav's id. *Hint*  :)