Khushi was brought out of her thoughts by the ringing of her phone….

K:hey!

Other Side :…………

K:ya… All ready!

Os:…….

K: kya partner…. of all the people in the world I thought atleast u know me……. u think this interview will scare me??.

Os : ……….

Ķ: ok! I will try to act nervous….. I rly rly want this job…. don’t I? …..

She chuckled saying this…. this is gonna be fun she thought

Os:…….

K : no…. I have a party to attend tonight!

Os: ……

K:hmm. ….. I know…. tc!

#############################

She had walked into the office with a nervous expression. She was waiting to be called in for the interview. She kept on fidgeting with her dupatta …. she knew that the place had cctv… and probably they were being monitored. … she use to do that…. It gives us an idea about the person.

()

Aman: u may leave now…. will inform the results later….

Khushi : thank u sir!

She started walking out but stopped hearing arnav’s voice.

ASR: Miss Gupta! This is a fashion house and if u r gonna work here then u should dress accordingly!

Khushi turned around with a confident smile playing on her lips.

Khushi : ” I know this is a fashion house AS…. Sir! But I guess it’s my work that should matter and not my looks…. its the clothes I design and not the ones I wear that counts…. and Sir I prefer being called Khushi….”

Arnav replied irritated: ” and I DON’T prefer knowing my employees by their first names GUPTA!”

She stiffened at the comment. She lowered her head …. murmured a low acknowledgement and walked out of the room immediately. She chided herself. The whole nervous thing went down the drain. But what to do……. nervousness was not something in K’s blood. Khushi! It’s Khushi and not K… better get that into your stupid brain girl….

To hell with the new work…. she had to relieve herself of these things and the party tonight is the best idea! She went back home to get ready.

###########################################

It was one of her college frnd’s engagement party…. well party after the engagement with only the youngsters, that is… There were not many from the college becoz they had studied abroad and most of their classmates were obviously foreigners…. they will be here only for the wedding…. but there were others……. the bride’s and groom’s cousins, their frnds from the town….. and they had a blast time….. and she wanted to enjoy without thinking anything… not AR……not KARMA…. nothing…..

It was quite late when she finally decided to go home… the party was over…. Most of the guests have already left… the few remaining were totally drunk….. she was standing in the parking lot waiting for her driver. She had asked him to go back after he dropped her in the evening. But he was supposed to be back by this time. And the stupid was not even answering his phone. She was getting angry by the minute . A new sports car zoomed through the road and came to halt right in front of her.

The passenger side windows was lowered to reveal a handsome guy behind the wheel.

“Need a lift?”

She gave him a charming smile. She could see that he was checking her out. She couldn’t blame him. She knew how hot she was looking in that black short dress of hers.

She had already seen this guy staring her during the party . She chuckled remembering how she avoided him… not even giving him a glance even after feeling his hot gaze on her.

K : “new ride?”

“Right out from the showroom!!!”

K : "hmm… not bad!”

“Wanna go for a ride?”

K : "not rly!”

She said getting into the car.

There was silence in the car for a few minutes because he was still confused by her reply and she didn’t want to start a conversation.

“U know…. its rly dangerous for a beautiful girl like u to stay all alone at this time of the night!”

She smirked. “I know how to take care of myself!”

He smiled at that. "pepper spray?”

K : "not rly! I don’t really want ‘things’ to keep myself safe…. I'm gud with my body alone.”

He chuckled at that.”That u surely r!!!” He kept his had on her bare upper thigh after changing the gear. “Where to…….?”

K : ” KR Resorts! 2km to the right!”

“I know were it is…. but y there?”

K : "I thought u wanted to be with me…….. guess I’m wrong…. its ok just drop me there!”

“No! I mean….. I want to…..” his grip tightened.

She placed her hand over his… guiding it higher. He quickly took his hand away and shifted in his seat…. It was getting difficult by the minute….. He didn’t want his brand new car to end up against any tree….. It was getting hard to concentrate when he was getting harder by the minute…..

K : what happened?

She asked making the most innocent face she was capable of.

She was dangerous! He knew that by now.

Was he regretting the decision? No! Not at all! Rather he was waiting to get inside some closed doors.

###############################################

She woke up with a yawn. .. she was feeling rly lazy.. After the long night….. she was sure that she saw light tints of orange in the sky when she was finally let to sleep…. not that she is complaining…. rather she enjoyed the night… her hands went to the digital clock in the night stand to check the time. She knew every inch of this room. It was her private suite after all. 8.30! Her eyes flew open. She needed to be in AR by 9.30 that is not gonna be an easy task. She had to travel all the way back to her home to get dressed for the office and then back… both were in opposite directions….. She did have clothes here but only the K types not any Khushi types…. she looked at herself…. partially covered by a blanket…. hair all dishevelled…. sweaty and sticky…. and the man responsible……. nowhere to be seen….. she ran to the washroom taking some clothes from the cupboard. She came back to the mirror to ready herself as Khushi… she only had to change her clothes after going home. That’s when she saw the note stuck to the mirror.

‘Hey sleepy head….. thanks for the wonderful night… I know u enjoyed too…. and I love the smirk that is on ur face now…… I wish I could be there to see that…. but what to do…. work calls… bye! See u soon???’

Work calls! God girl u better make a run for it…. THE ASR is known for his short temper and he is not gonna spare u if u r late on ur first day…. and that too after last day’s performance.

She had got a confirmation call from AR while she was getting ready for the party. She was waiting for the call…. but what she wasn’t expecting was a demand to join the next day!

She was late…. even the 10 mts mattered for the great ASR. And her bad luck… she ran straight into the man… who was just coming back from from the conference hall. The conference on STARNIGHTS! She knew…. she wanted to be there at the conference….. to know the plans….. but that was not possible even if she was early…… she was just a new employee here…. how could she attend a confidential meeting. ….. soon! Soon u'll K! She relaxed herself….. more serious things for the time being…. she had collided into her BOSS and now he was giving her THE ASR LOOK….

K:” woh. .. woh. .. Sir. … main….. woh mujhe maaf kar deejiye…. woh main…..” (sir... I... Pls forgive me... I...)

Asr:”what the! don’t u have eyes? And Care to tell me why u r late GUPTA?”

K : "woh… woh. …” what in the hell was she supposed to tell him….. that she got late because of….. “sry sir! I guess I overslept! ”

Asr: "u think?!”

The conversation was interupted by a third person.

“Gupta?! The name sounds familiar…. but where…..”

Ok! Now she really panicked at that. Of course the name is familiar Guptas were famous in the business world even though the name always came with their long time partners… It was not rly that the name gupta alone came out at anytime… and in the present…. the partners were concentrating in the international business…. leaving everything here to the heirs…. she did manage some of the work…. but it was her bhai and bhabhi who were looking after all that…. because she was rather busy with her own dreams….. but what to answer this man right now….. she didn’t need to answer because ASR bet her to it.

ASR: "gupta is a common surname Mr.John. and there is no way u would have met her before…. she is from lucknow…. and this is the first time she is out of UP! So…..”

John:”I guess u r right ASR! ”

Of course he had met her before…. 4 yrs back to be precise….. He was there at her bhai’s marriage… and her father had introduced her to him….. but like everyone he too doesn't think the name gupta alone…. but always with his best frnd’s name…… she smiled at the memory of 2 of the most imp men in her life…. they were in UK now…. together as always…. and she have no idea how they will react if they come to know about what she was doing these days…… but right now she had a task in hand and she felt the need to qn the man in front of her talking animatedly with his managers and associates even though she knew what the answer would be.

K : "how do u know….. All that about me…?”

Asr: "ur address is in the cv. … and I do a thorough background check before appointing someone!”

She smirked an unseen one. Ya right the fake cv!

K: "sir..”

###################################

Aman: "this is ur seat K. . Khushi? I can call you…."

K:”u can…. pls… pls call me Khushi. … Sir. ..”

Aman smiled before replying:”and pls call me Aman…..”

K : "sure ur boss won’t kill me?”

Aman:”na… not u atleast! ”

K: "ha?!”

Aman: "er… nothing!”

Khushi’s phone rang right then and she excused herself.

K: “hey Ra…”

OS: “….”

K: “sry….. i forgot…..”

OS: “….”

K: “ya…. settled!”

OS: “……”

K: “kya partner? u know that this is just a temp setup.”

OS: “……”

K: “i cant! its just my first day here! if anything goes wrong now, the first suspicions….”

OS: “…..”

K: “ya right!…. will call u later….. u have no idea about my BOSS….. no idea how he will react if he sees me chatting on….”

She said chuckling. “i cant afford to get fired u know!”

OS: “….”

K: “bye!”

her intercom rang right when she cut the call.

K: “yes sir! will be there in a min”

###########################################

ASR: “Gupta! We have to design bridal wears for the upcoming show…. I saw a few among ur resume…. work on it and show me when u r finished….”

K: “thank u sir!” Arnav raised his brows questioningly. “for trusting my ability!” she completed.

ASR: “oh no! dont get any hopes…. i just want to know how u work…. and dont think that i am gonna use ur designs! I have got professionals here for that! just take it as a training!”

he said in a no nonsense tone.

Khushi gave a meek aknowledgement and turned around to leave.

She smirked as soon as her back was to him. ‘hmm… professionals ha? ur professionals r nothing in front of my works…. And Mr.Raizada my works WILL represent AR in that show…. I cant remain a mere employ here…. I’m quite busy for that!’

##############################################

Khushi knocked at ASR’s cabin an hr after the lunch break.

Lavanya and Aman were there with him.

ASR: “we r in the middle of a serious discussion…. whatever it is, make it fast!!!”

K: “Sir, u asked me to come to u once i finished my sketches!”

ASR: “u finished them?” he looked surprised.

Khushi handed over the paper’s. “not actually sir… its just the rough sketches…. its not just the designs that brings out the beauty of the dress…. we will have to see to the colours we use too….. a wrong combination of colors can ruin a dress even if the designs r out of the world…. i just wanted to confirm with u before i started….. i was thinking we cou…”

La: “hey Chamkili… U r lecturing us about colors…. i dont think we would want ur suggestions…. ur clothes r enough for us to guess ur color sense! Get out now! We have a show in less than a month and we have a lot of work to do!”

ASR: “MISS. KASHYAP! This is MY cabin and not urs! u r not the one to decide who stays and who not! and Gupta you were telling something!”

Khushi was struggling to contain her smirk.She was always confident about her designs… She always made her space with those!

K: “sir!… about the colors… i was thinking that we could move a bit out from the traditional colors of bridal wear…”

LA: “BRIDAL WEAR? y the hell r u working on bridal wear.”

ASR: “becoz she is the designer for the upcoming show!” Arnav was getting irritated.

The other 2 looked at him amused.

Arnav passed the designs to the other 2.

K : “er… sir… i….”

ASR: “WHAT!”

K: “sir, actually i didnt do these for the show! these r just basic designs… we will have to do more intricate ones for the show. I will work on them right away!”

It was Aman who replied. “these r basic ones? wow! and u did this within a couple of hrs……. WOW!”

ASR: “I should say…. u r pretty good with ur hands….”

LA: “but ASR, how can we… she’s just a newbie and then KARMA…. we can’t afford to lose to KARMA…. Mr. K will be using his best designers to downcast us!”

ASR: “Miss Kashyap, i know she is new here…. but look at her work…. ”

K: “i wouldn’t worry about KARMA…. They r not taking part in the show!”

La: ” how do u know?”

K: “being in this field requires us to keep track of our competiters…. and dont worry i dont rly say something that i am not sure about…. unlike u.”

LA: “what do u mean?”

K : “well…. u just said Mr. K! r u sure that K is a man? K can be a lady as well!”

“She is right!” Arnav said. “its best we dont talk about someone we dont know… and K… that someone is still a mistery! and then KARMA not participating is news to me as well… guess i too need to keep better track about AR’s….. COMPETITERS…. that’s not the word we usually use for KARMA…”

La: “but ASR… We shouldnt take any chances….. and i dont think that this CHAMKILI is good enough.” she said giving a disgusting look to Khushi.

ASR: “now u r questioning my decisions?…. do onething u and ur team work on some…. and Khu… Gupta will work on her’s…. lets just see which turns out better…. we will finalise those…”

###########################################