Dark Night Dawning

Chapter 20

Arnav woke up from the bed as bleary eyed as he was yesterday. Though the mosquito situation had been taken care of by using the net, the heat had made him toss and turn in spite of the fan. As he crossed Khushi's room he saw her sitting in front of the mirror. Khushi had freshly showered and had dressed in a orange Anarkali suit. Her hair was wet from the shower with little droplets dripping onto her collar bone, exposed by the wide neck of her suit; the tight bodice emphasized the shape of her round breasts exposing the slightest hint of a cleavage as she bent forward to apply sindoor in her partition. As he stood mesmerised by the sight of her, her eyes met with his in the mirror. She gasped as he took a step forward ....... Suddenly the doorbell rang!

'I'll get that.' Arnav muttered as turned away from Khushi's room.

When Khushi stepped out, she saw the Raizadas' driver Mohan bringing in two large suitcases and a lap top bag into the courtyard. He handed the car keys to Arnav and took his leave.

'Isn't it a little too much luggage?' asked Khushi curiously, 'And why is he giving you the car keys?'

'Well my 3 piece suits do occupy a lot of space.'

'Why do you need those over here?'

'I can't go to a client meeting dressed in jeans, can I? I have an office in Sheesh Mahal which I plan to use in case of client meetings. That's the reason I need my car. So ---- the keys.' He was talking to her like she was a child. Just then there was another knock on the door. What now? She wondered who else had come to serve the Laad Governor.

It was Suraj at the door. 'Surajji.......please come in.' She realized why he was here and her nervousness increased.

'Khushiji, why haven't you called the office yet? They called me number of time asking me if you were really interested.'

'I.....I misplaced my phone Surajji....I will call them as soon as I find it!' she finished lamely.

'Khushiji, this can't wait any longer,' he said earnestly, 'why didn't you use your husband's phone? Here, please take mine and call them right away.'

'That won't be necessary Suraj,' said Arnav coming back after he had put away his luggage. 'Khushi couldn't borrow my phone because I am on it 24x7. But now that it has come to my notice I will make sure she calls the office and gets everything going. Thank you so much for your help.'

Suraj nodded with a tight smile and was about to leave when Arnav stopped him. 'Hey Suraj, I need another help from you. Can you tell me how I can get an internet connection around here?'

'Sure,' said Suraj in his polite tone, 'I know the guys who helped me set it up in my house. I use it for my business. And you might also want to set up an UPS or inverter. We have a lot of power outages here. I will send them over as well.'

'Thanks again Suraj,' Arnav extended his hands toward Suraj,' You have been a life saver!'

Khushi watched the exchange mutely. She turned around and slowly went back to the kitchen. He was really settling in, wasn't he?

Half an hour later, she was more agitated than ever. She was pacing around her courtyard like a caged tiger. Then she suddenly found Arnav standing in her way, handing her his phone. He had showered and dressed in blue jeans and a white shirt. His hair was still damp from the shower and fell across his forehead, emphasizing the mesmerizing quality of his chocolaty brown eyes. She felt like she was drowning in them until she heard him say something.

'Khushi? Hello? Call the office and confirm your appointment to them.' He had raised his voice as Khushi seemed to be lost somewhere.

'I....I can't,' she stuttered in a low voice, 'it's not as simple as that.'