The Business Trip (Arshi FF)

Gossip columns

"Hi Karan, it's Khushi. Hope you're keeping well. Can you call me when you see this please? Thanks"

Honestly, calling Karan was one of the last things she wanted to do, but alas, she was left with no choice. She was well aware of the rivalry between her husband and her former colleague turned business rival, but right now, she didn't really care. She didn't have time to wait a few weeks for a phone interview, then another few weeks for a face to face interview. Frankly, she was tired of the rejection. Her desperate need for financial independence had made her resort to this.

After waiting about 15 minutes (but what felt like much longer), Khushi gets a call back.

"Hi Karan", Khushi says softly.

"Khushi..to what do I owe this pleasure?, Karan responds.

Gosh. I can actually hear the smugness in his voice right now, Khushi says to herself. Taking a deep breath and rolling her eyes before going on to explain her situation and ask her husband's former arch nemisis for a job at his firm as an intern/assistant. She hears him laugh on the other end of the line.

"You know Khushi, when I first saw you texted, I assumed it was a butt-dial or something, but this is even better. Is Arnav aware you've come to me for a job?", he smirked.

His question was met with silence and so he continued. "Tell you what. You can be my assistant Khushi. If memory serves me correctly, you were a great PA to Arnav, attending to all of his needs.", he sniggered.

Dear Lord. It took all of the self control she had to not slam the phone down on this intolerable man. Instead, she gritted her teeth and muttered a simple thank you.

"Oh and Khushi? The hours will be long. We've just opened up our factory in Swaroop Nagar so if the job doesn't tire you out, the commute definitely will. Don't say I didn't warn you!", he said seriously.

"That's fine, Karan. I'll take it. Just please send through the contract and i'll sign. When can I start?", Khushi asked.

"Tomorrow, if you're free.", Karan responded.

That was that. She was going to start afresh tomorrow. Truth be told, her mind did wander for a few moments on what Arnav's reaction might be. Would he even..care? She selfishly wondered if the news would make him come back to see her, talk sense in to her. Do something. Anything other than be so indifferent. Nope. This time she wouldn't let the tears roll down her cheek. Plenty of tears had been spilt the last few weeks and it was time for new beginnings now.

Khushi busied herself in exploring her wardrobe for the next few hours. Matching outfits. Matching shoes. Nail polish and all. Readying herself for her new start tomorrow. By the time it came to dinner, she made herself some toast with jam for the third time that week and went straight to bed.

Meanwhile in New York, Arnav was up and running. He had already secured slots at some of the leading fashion shows and his designers were interviewing with all the top magazines in the country, talking all about the summer line. It had been a solid week or so of working 15 hour shifts and Arnav was showing no sign of stopping. That included working weekends, late nights and early mornings.

"Arnav, you're going to burn out if you keep this up", Sheetal reminded him as she sat on his table cross legged. He just smiled and continued working. "Arnav. It's Saturday today. C'mon let's hit the town again! Explore New York a little. Let's hit up the Harmonie Club. I've got some contacts that could sort us out.", Sheetal insisted.

His mind took him back to his honeymoon with Khushi. The promises they had made. Khushi had grown up in a small town and had barely had the means to travel. So he promised her he'd take her to see every country in the world. Sure, it was a wild promise but if you saw the way her face lit up when he made that promise, you probably wouldn't think so. That was all before he ended things at ASR Industries and went solo. He sighed. He had to make things at Blue Velvet work. So he could go back and give it all to her. And so much more. Without feeling like he had failed as a husband.

"Earth to Arnav", Sheetal said while waving her hands in front of Arnav, bringing him out of his reverie. "Oh. Er. Sorry, Sheetal. Honestly, I can't. I've still got to select the outfit for the showstopper, prep for my interview with Ryan and so much more.", Arnav apologised.

"Arnav. Neither are for at least another 2 weeks. C'mon! Let's take a break and have some fun tonight!", Sheetal urged.

Arnav gave in after pausing for a second, sending Sheetal on a planning spree. Truth be told, the reason he was working himself so hard was to avoid thinking about Khushi. The first few days, he was tired of checking all of her social media accounts for a sign on how she was doing. A story, a snap, an update, a like. Something. Anything. Khushi had gone silent. For a girl that was otherwise constantly updating her social media, this was a complete turn.

After the way that she had acted on hearing about Sheetal, things hadn't quite been the same between them. After everything that they had been through, with Khushi hiding what happened with Shyam, he thought she knew by now, that trust was absolutely fundamental to their relationship. He felt like she had broken his trust again by doubting him this way. Yet, he still wanted to know if she was OK.

A few hours later, in the club full of dancing strangers and loud music, Arnav is at the bar and can't help but think he is way too old for this. He'd rather be on a sofa cuddled next to his wife, while she watches Netflix and while he watches her. Before he gets too lost in his thoughts again, he feels a hand on his shoulder and he turns around.

"Hey Sheetal, you having a good time?", Arnav asks. "With you stuck at the bar, having barely got through even half of your first drink, not one bit.", she responds.

"Arnav, are you worried about the news too? 'Cos you know that's why I got you here, right? To take your mind off things a little. If she's having fun, you can have fun too.", Sheetal said with a sly smile on her face.

Arnav just looks at Sheetal confused, with no idea what she's talking about.

Picking up on his confusion, she takes her phone out and shows him, "The headline in today's Vogue India gossip column? Khushi's working under Karan now."