Chapter 9

First of all, thank you everyone for appreciating the last few chapters and posting such beautiful comments.  I have finally been able to write the next chapter.  
Happy reading everyone!  :)

Chapter 9

Please note I retain sole ownership of all the works of fiction on this blog so please do not reproduce or alter my work and claim it as your own.

NK had once again tried to have Arnav hang out with his friends, but Arnav's moods and temper were both off today. He simply wouldn't hear any of that.  Arnav proceeded with dinner, not speaking unless an utmost need may arise. Vikas and Manorama also sensed the uncomfortable silence during dinner, but both chose to dismiss it as work stress. Arnav sneaked out of everyone's sight after dinner and went to his room.

Arnav simply had to analyze his thoughts calmly, and for that, he needed complete silence. He needed to think about someone, a certain Khushi Kumari Gupta. Yes, he had met her yesterday even, but today was something different. He had his actual direct conversation with her, in fact many for that account.  Presently, Arnav was confused, and it was not because of her, instead it was because of himself. He couldn't understand why whatever she said in a fit of anger reached his heart and made him realize that he was treating others wrong.  He didn't understand why he couldn't stop himself from admiring her cute face in spite of all the anger he was assuming towards her.

Most of all, he didn't understand why, when he knew that she would be leaving, he wanted to meet her himself. He could have just called Aman and let it him know about the meeting tomorrow, but it was like he simply couldn't stop his feet from moving in her direction. Another trigger was also when he saw Aman and Khushi talking through the glass wall. A sudden pain stung his heart, and he raced out of his cabin to be with her with an excuse for the meeting.

Arnav was lying on his bed, a hand under his head, while the other rested on his side. He was looking up at nothingness on the ceiling. He couldn't understand why she even mattered to him. For the most part of the day, he felt that his attitude was the only thing that helped him to keep his sanity playing in front of all.

When Khushi first came in his cabin to hand over her assignments, he was genuinely impressed by her work. Even though her resume showed that this internship is the only actual job-like work she has ever done in her life, her assignments showed otherwise. She did her job as a pro. None of the other interns were able to finish the tasks assigned in such a short period of time, but she had. ASR had always appreciated people who actually made true efforts towards whatever job they may be doing. And then once again, when he had been looking at the next batch she was doing at her desk, he was surprised to see her almost half-way done with that as well. If it hadn't been for his ego, he would have, just maybe, let down his ASR mask and praised her work. But ASR's image simply couldn't have handled that and he obviously wouldn't have wanted anyone else in the office to find out. But somewhere, deep within him, Arnav knew that she is just as dedicated towards her work as he is.

BEEP! BEEP!

Arnav, subconsciously, reached for his phone at the side table. If Arnav had been in his full senses, he would surely have been surprised to be receiving a message at 10:30 pm. But of course, Arnav's senses were a bit flustered since the past few hours. After all, that's why he had been trying to analyze his thoughts since the past half an hour. Arnav looked at the screen of his iPhone: Message from Group Work. Arnav had, just the day before, added all the contact information of the employees into his phone and saved it in a group “Work.”

Aman, you surely are going to get more work tomorrow for disturbing me this late.

Arnav opened the email he had received, only to discover that it wasn't from Aman, but a different employee, kkg_intern@extreme.ibm.org .

KKG? An intern? Who would that be?.....Wait....could it possibly be....?

Arnav suddenly sat up on his bed and tightly held the phone. As realization dawned upon him, he immediately opened the emailed to reveal the contents:

From: kkg_intern@extreme.ibm.org

To: ArnavSinghRaizada@extreme.ibm.org

Subject: Questions :)

Good Evening, Sir.

You mentioned this afternoon that I should send you all the questions I may have other than already answered from you. Well, I do!  Actually, a lot of questions.

1. Why are you so obnoxiously rude to everyone? Is it a habit or a choice?
2. When was the last time you smiled? Do you have a set time to smile, laugh, etc, (like that one guy I saw in a serial few years back) ?
3. Is work your passion, your obsession, or simply a way to be able to rule over people?
4. Why do you torture poor Amanji the most? I mean to say that there are so many other employees, aren't there? And yeah, I do know that he's your assistant. But give the poor guy a break! You are a new adventure for him as well.
5. If you had to pursue acting, would you love to play the role as "Laad Governor" or "Raakshas"?
6. Do you think the British left you here to rule all Indians on behalf of them after they left the country?

Well, I would be awaiting your reply to these questions. I do have a list of other questions I want to ask, but I would just like to set up a foundation with these. :)

Thanking you sincerely,

Khushi Kumari Gupta

Intern at IBM

“WHAT THEEE!!!!!!!” Arnav almost shouted at the top of his voice. Surely his frustration had been increasing while reading each line, but it had to erupt, didn't it?

Arnav clicked on “Reply” and typed rapidly on the phone screen and clicked the “Send” button. A few curses began to emerge from his mouth, at a low volume just for the sake of the silent night.

Khushi had been pacing around her room from the time she sent the message. Khushi had purposefully waited till past 10 to start on her mission.  It wouldn't have been any fun earlier.   It took her another 30 minutes to finally think through all the questions she wanted to write to him.

That Laad Governor must have received the messages by now. Hey Devi Mayyia, I wish I could see his expressions right now. He must be erupting like a volcano right now. But he deserved all this after the way he had been treating everyone today. And I haven't even asked anything inappropriate. I honestly do want to know all that. But why hasn't he replied yet? I hope he isn't going to wait till tomorrow to blast me for this.

On the cue, Khushi's phone vibrated in her palm. She instantly opened up the reply email.

From: ArnavSinghRaizada@extreme.ibm.org

To: kkg_intern@extreme.ibm.org

Subject: Re: Questions :)

Work related questions, Miss Khushi Kumari Gupta! Not nonsensical questions!

Your BOSS,

ASR

Khushi's jaw dropped slightly before a surge of determination ran through her system. She typed on her phone fiercely and hit the “Send” button. Khushi's lips were in a tight line with her nose and ears turning slightly red.

BEEP! BEEP!

From: kkg_intern@extreme.ibm.org

To: ArnavSinghRaizada@extreme.ibm.org

Subject: Re: Re: Questions :)

My questions are not NONSENSICAL! How can you say that? These are questions any normal human being would ask any other normal human being by the kind of first impressions set by you, BOSS!

KKG

Vibrate~~Vibrate~~

From: ArnavSinghRaizada@extreme.ibm.org

To: kkg_intern@extreme.ibm.org

Subject: Re:Re:Re: Questions :)

When did I ever say that you are a normal human being? In fact, I don't think you are even capable of being anything close to normal.

ASR

BEEP! BEEP!

From: kkg_intern@extreme.ibm.org

To: ArnavSinghRaizada@extreme.ibm.org

Subject: Re:Re:Re:Re Questions :)

I don't care whether you consider me normal or not, but you surely are not a human being. Forget normal. You just look like one!

KKG

Arnav gripped the phone tightly in his palm and closed his eyes to control his temper.

How dare she? Fine! If that's what she wants!

He dialed Khushi's number and waited for her to pick up the call.

Khushi was burning in anger. 
How dare he? He may be my boss but he has no right to talk like this!

The sudden, constant vibration of her phone jerked Khushi out of her thoughts. She kept looking at the screen.

Arnav Singh Raizada calling....

She didn't know what to do. The call eventually ended by itself. She breathed a sigh of relief, but her phone vibrated once again to show a new message.

From: ArnavSinghRaizada@extreme.ibm.org

To: kkg_intern@extreme.ibm.org

Subject: (no subject)

Scared much? So, I was right. You are all for talk, but nothing for act!

ASR

Arnav finally had a smirk playing on his lips, content with the message he had recently sent. But the ringtone of his own phone ruined the moment. Arnav knew, without even looking, who would dare to call him. He picked up on the third ring and held the phone close to his ear.

“How could you? What do you think about me? Who are you to say anything about me? You know what? I was the one who was right because you are really not a human being. All you care about is your ego and.....”

“SHUT UP! If it hurts so much to hear about yourself, how do you think I felt about what you wrote? Do you think I enjoy being the way I am? I am who I AM for a reason. You cannot say anything about me without knowing me. Is that understood? I said IS THAT UNDERSTOOD, MISS KHUSHI KUMARI GUPTA?”

For once, Khushi was at a loss for words. Not because she was scared of his anger, but because she was seriously affected by the intensity of his words. She knew he was right. If she felt bad, even he can feel bad. How could she forget such a simple thing in her childish act?  She knew that she had to apologize, after all, this was her mistake. A mistake she shouldn't have committed, ever.

A constant beep tone entered Khushi's ears as soon as she came back to reality. Arnav had long disconnected the call, without waiting for her response. Khushi's eyes filled with tears as she continued to look at the screen of her phone.

After Arnav finally said the last word, he was waiting for an argument from Khushi as always, but he instead received silence. A complete silence. A silence which convinced him of the intensity of his words. He had said something he would never say to anyone else. It was simply not what ASR would do. It was what Arnav would do, and he was never Arnav with anyone, besides himself. How could he have said this? Moreover, why did he say it to her? How was he able to?

The few seconds turned into minutes as both simply stilled in their positions, pondering over the last few minutes.

He had been looking at his phone again and again.  Hoping she would call back to bash him.  Wanting to call her back.  But he simply couldn't do anything.  Arnav finally laid back on his bed and closed his eyes, even though sleep had already eluded him.

Khushi sat on the edge of her bed and kept looking at her phone again and again, in the hope that maybe, just maybe, he might call back. She knew he wouldn't, but she still hoped that maybe he would. Just once. Khushi didn't realize when she fell asleep, in an uncomfortable position, on the edge of her bed, but she only knew that she had hurt him.

The next morning – 7:45 AM @ IBM:

Khushi was already waiting at the main entrance of the building. She knew that both of them had to prepare for the presentation for today's meeting. She was supposed to be here at 8:00, but she simply couldn't wait that long. She had woken up as the first rays of the sun entered her room. After quickly dressing up, she had prepared a small size rainbow cake for Arnav. It had always worked with Payal whenever she would be upset. But, she still knew that it wouldn't be enough for him. As Khushi stood near the door with her purse hanging on her left hand and a small box in her right hand, she saw him striding toward the building from the parking lot.

Arnav had only finally drifted to sleep around 2:00 am, while his alarm clock woke him up at 5:30 am. As he was jogging, his mind went back to the occurrences of last night. For some reason, he just couldn't stop himself from feeling guilty. He had always judged a person from one glance and he had judged her as well. He knew that she was innocent, but crazy, naïve, but childish. He knew she didn't mean anything she said to him, then why did he react in such a way? She didn't know anything about him and it definitely wasn't her fault for any of this. She was simply joking with him, trying to annoy him for the past day. Then why did he burst out on her like that? Was it because he wasn't able to tolerate such words from her? But why did Khushi Kumari Gupta matter so much to him? He had dressed up and left KM before anyone could woke up. When he got to IBM by 7:35 am, he simply sat in his car, without moving. He was nervous to go in front of her. In any other circumstances, he would never accept that he, Arnav Singh Raizada, could be nervous, but the truth was that today he was nervous to face her. He finally got out of his car, assuming that she wouldn't be coming until 8:00.

As he walked to the building, the vision in front of him stilled his movements. There she was, standing in all her glory, with a worried expression gracing her snow-white complexion.  She was looking down at her feet.  Dressed in a white blouse and a black skirt, she looked too glamorous for her simple dress. Just by seeing her, a wave of calm wind went through Arnav's heart. Somehow, her presence seemed to be soothing his troubled heart. He simply stood there, admiring the vision in front of him.

Khushi was getting impatient while waiting, when a cool wind rushed toward her direction. She looked up and found Arnav standing few feet away, staring at her. Was that a smile on his lips? A hint of smile began playing on her lips as well. His smile sure was very rare, but it was a sight like no other. His smile was cute and adorable like a baby's, yet charming and enchanting for sure.  All her worries and guilt were set aside because she could only see that smile. How she wanted to do everything in her power to keep that smile brightening his face always? Why doesn't he smile always?

 Do you think I enjoy being the way I am? I am who I AM for a reason.

The memory of his words from last night brought Khushi back to her senses. She knew that he had been hurt in some terrible way to make him like this. Her face hardened once again with the guilt seeping in. She looked away from him. She couldn't look at him and show him her torn face. She needed to apologize. After seeing his smile, she earnestly wanted to make up to him and bring that smile back to his face.  The smile that wasn't a major part of him anymore.  The smile that she wants to see on his face for as long as eternity may be.

Arnav had completely lost track of time, losing himself in the innocence and purity dripping from her face. But he felt something changing in her eyes, something that hardened her serene facial expression. Before he could read what was in her eyes, she looked away. He felt disappointed. But right at that moment, a voice came back in his mind.

How could you?

Even though she had said these words for other reasons, these words only seemed to be haunting him. Her words made him feel guilty for behaving so badly with her. Her words felt as if they were accusing him. Arnav looked away from Khushi and closed his eyes. Moments later, he regained his composure and opened his eyes with a new determination. There wasn't really anything that Arnav Singh Raizada couldn't do. If he has been at fault, he will be the one repenting for it. He will make it up to her.

Arnav's look for the new day: Arnav
Khush's look for the new day: Khushi

So, how was it? I tried to write it bit longer than usual. Tell me what you think about and leave me all your lovely comments below with your IF name.
The credit for Khushi's question # 5 and # 6 goes to Ravneet aka TouchofArhi aka RavneetKaur1PM.  She's the one who suggested those two questions for the update.  Also, the email ids are a work of pure fiction. 
An important note: I won't be updating tomorrow. Busy busy.  The next update may be the day after (Friday) or surely over the weekend!  Thanks to all!