TIED (ON HOLD)

PART I Chapter 1: Dreadful Parties

PART I 

Chapter 1

Dreadful Parties!

A sudden hush filled the hall the moment Aayushmaan stepped out of his office. His eyes – set on the distant wall - narrowed a little, his face void of any other expression. He crossed the hall briskly; hands tucked deep into his pockets.

A sudden bark of laughter had the hair in his arms stand and ears burning. He refused to react and walked faster before pushing open the door to the MD's office.

He wasn't surprised when the hall filled with life the moment he let the door close behind him. Breathing a sigh of relief, he paused, and looked around the unoccupied office that belonged to the MD's personal assistant.

He frowned, something didn't feel right – he ran a finger along the tabletop, his finger pausing near a photo frame that held the picture of the girl with an older woman who looked just like her. He lifted the frame to wipe off a smudge on the top corner and put it back gently. His frown deepened when he noticed that the flower vase beside the frame was empty today. It was then that it hit him. It was simply too clean and sterile to be Ahilyaa Joshi's office. With all the clutter cleared out, it almost felt like someone had sucked the life right out of the room.

He peeked out of the window by the door and there she was; the center of the chaos, the loudest of them all. Her hands moving animatedly, she held all the staff at Mirage Creatives enthralled and they were hanging on to every word, bound by some magic she created. He didn't know if he was amused or felt envious of her ability to hold a whole room of people captive.

He was still staring when Ahilyaa paused mid-sentence and turned sharply. He took a startled step back when she looked directly at him from across the hall and, rushed towards Sharad's office. When laughter rang in the hall, he was almost sure they were all laughing at him.

Sharad looked up startled. "Oh, hey buddy. You can come in, and slam my door anytime," he said with a straight face, closing the lid on his laptop.

"You wanted to see me." Aayushmaan stated, his tone hinting on accusation.

Sharad watched his friend walk to the window, and rolled his eyes. "Sorry I made you leave your precious cocoon." Sharad said cheerily, stretching his limbs.

"I have work to do." he murmured, rolling his tense shoulders.

"No, you don't. You just have to wipe off that scowl before we head for the party."

Aayush turned sharply, his eyes suddenly so wide that it was almost comical. If Sharad didn't know better he would have started laughing right away. "Party? What party? I'm not going to any party, man. I have a ton of work." He raised both hands, taking a couple of steps back.

Having already predicted his reaction, Sharad raised an eyebrow, "Your boss says you don't have work," he pointed at himself, and continued with a smirk, "which means you don't. And it's not a request, Aayu. Everyone's going, and so are you. No exceptions."

Aayush swore under his breath, and glared at his friend. "You can't force me." He gritted out.

Sharad yawned and checked his watch. Aayush made a face, rubbing the back of his neck, "Do I have to go? I mean... no one will miss me. Besides, we just went to that college reunion thing a few months back." he tried, and when his friend just gave him a blank look he added as an afterthought, "I also have a blaring headache."

Hands behind his head, Sharad leant back on his chair, "Won't you even bother with a new excuse? You've been using that since the first day of college and it never really worked on me."

Aayush huffed, crossed his arms, "Fine. Here's a new one. I'm dying... like really fast." Sharad propped his legs up on his desk, his eyes glittering with barely contained laughter. "Not enough, sir?" Aayush said louder. "What if my kidney exploded and I had to get a new one? You wouldn't let me be even then?"

Sharad smiled wide, "Ah... that could get you out. But now you just have thirty seconds to go get your coat before I start hitting on you Aayu, and I won't stop till I get my way. So, don't say I didn't warn you."

Aayush's lips twitched, but his frown deepened. "Did my 'boss' just threaten me of sexual harassment? I should go file a police complaint, right? Sir?" he mocked.

Sharad laughed, and jumped to his feet, "Cheeky." He said, putting on his coat. "You know, for a recluse, you can be pretty funny. And I must say," he paused, letting his eyes roam up and down his friend's body, "you're even easy on the eyes. I bet you'd have admirers lined at your front door if you stopped being such a Kanye and smiled once in a while."

***

Ahilyaa was bored. The party was fun for a while, but it died down pretty quickly. She had talked to literally everyone - well.... except a certain someone - and had run out of jokes pretty quickly. Her co-workers were now standing in clustered groups, gossiping about the others. And that's where she lost her charm. She grabbed another drink from a passing waiter, and looked around the place for someone interesting.

There was the boss, her favorite person of them all, but he was busy yelling at someone on the phone. She eyed the two people standing a little away from the gossiping groups, and decided she wouldn't bother them, not even to tease them. She chuckled to herself, sipping on her drink.

It would be fun to have an office romance, she thought. Too bad she never found anyone a least bit interesting in all the years she was personal assistant to Sharad.

Her eyes zoned in on the lone figure standing at the darkest corner of the bar with a drink in hand, looking all suave and mysterious in his perfectly tailored blazer and slacks. His gait confident, head held high and nose up in the air, he excluded an arrogance that was palpable. If Aayushmaan Singh Rana – the Head of Art and Design wasn't such a high handed snob, maybe – just maybe - she would be attracted to that chiseled face.

As if he could hear her thoughts, he looked across the hall, and directly at her. She couldn't turn away fast enough. His hooded eyes, face half hidden in the darkness sent all kind of wrong vibes.

"Nope. Not even a little attracted." she muttered under her breath, wiping her palms on her brand new jeans. Good looks didn't earn him any points in her books. He was such a creature that could just look at you and make you feel invisible, like a pest or something. There was something in the air around him that suffocated her. He sucked in the air she desperately needed, he made her forget her words, he made her knees buckle in fear.

"Ahilyaa!" Sharad called. She started smiling, relieved that he was finally free but it didn't last long. Before she could even lift a hand to wave, she realized someone else had already occupied her boss's side.

Cursing under her breath, she turned in the opposite direction instead. She could party alone if she had to.

"No snob can take this away from me. It's my day." she muttered under her breath.

***

Thank you for giving this a chance. This is the short beginning of a new journey. You can call it an #arranged marriage story, but I am hoping it will be much more. The characters are alive in my head and Aayush and Ahilyaa are exact opposites in every sense of the word. They have the power to either complete each other or destroy each other.

What do you think about them from the first chapter? Do you like them, hate them, are you indifferent? 

Your COMMENTS, VOTES, CRITICISMS will be welcome with open arms!