The Business Trip (Arshi FF)

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The last week had been manic for both of them. Khushi had secured her second job and her signing bonus, however meagre, had left her with just about enough to put a deposit down on her flat. She didn't know if this would be temporary or permanent. Truth be told, she hadn't thought that far down the line. All she knew was that coming home to a large empty house every night, after working ridiculously long shifts, and where every little thing would remind her of Arnav, till the point that she'd end up getting upset about it was not good for her mental health.

With Khushi's working schedule no longer allowing for much down time, all she had was her lunch breaks to catch up on admin. All the legalities of the house move had been completed, with one slight issue. She had to arrange a moving company for her belongings. She knew space was going to be an issue in her new flat so all she really needed was a minivan. She had been in touch with 15 different moving companies and each one was quoting prices that were way out of her budget. "Anything I can help with Khushi?", asked Karan. Khushi turned around suddenly, not aware she was being watched. Her frustration must have been rather evident. Not wanting to let Karan know of the problems she was facing in her marital life, Khushi shook her head in the negative.

"Listen, Khushi. I know things have been busy at the factory. I probably don't say this enough, or well, at all, but you're doing a great job with it all. I know the hours have been long, and I'm sure it's taking its toll. So let me help you out if I can", he responded.

Sensing Khushi's hesitancy, he looks over to the book that was in her hand. A phone directory? Who even uses a phone directory in this day and age, Karan thought to himself as he glazed over the page she was on before Khushi shut the book.

Khushi spoke up before Karan began to coin theories of his own about why she wanted to move out. "I found a place closer to work. It takes forever to get in and I'm always watching my back at night. It's just temporary till Arnav gets back.", Khushi blurted out. "And so you need some help moving stuff?", Karan asked as he glanced over the page she was on before Khushi shut the directory. "Yeah, but I'll find someone, don't worry.", she said brushing him off. "Erm, Khushi. The perks of running a fashion business is that we always have a cargo truck available. Plus we have deliveries from South Delhi to the factory in Swaroop Nagar every few days so it won't be out of the way either.", Karan concluded, knowing she would refuse otherwise. Khushi paused, feeling awkward asking her boss for a favour, "How much will it cost?", she asked softly feeling slightly embarrassed. Karan smiled, "consider it an employee benefit. Apparently I don't give out enough of those, as per google reviews on the company.", he joked. Khushi thanked him and agreed a date for her items to be collected, before realising her lunch break was already over and she hadn't even had a chance to eat anything thanks to the stress of the move.

Speaking of stress, Arnav was running solely on coffee at this point. Actually, that's a lie. He wouldn't admit it but he had even given in to a can of Red Bull everyday to keep him going when his brain struggled to function any longer after even coffee stopped working. The day had finally arrived where the final draft product would be presented to Rohan Sen and he was determined to have minimum changes made to his final product.

Throughout the last week, with him working at full capacity, Sheetal had been there for him throughout. Sometimes that was with a black coffee in her hand at 6am because he'd skipped breakfast and other times it was giving vital inputs on the style of the dress and being available to model the numerous designs before the final dress was finalised. She had been his chef, model, advisor all in one, he thought gratefully.

The last week had kept him so busy that frankly, he had little time to think about much else other than this collab product. Marketing had been in touch on ways to announce the product, legal had wanted to check for any copyright infringements and profit sharing agreements and HR were on his case to approve overtime payments for the designers working extra hours the last week. He barely had a chance to breathe, but he hadn't forgotten the promise he made to himself about Khushi once this draft was approved today. They had a lot of catching up to do and he'd explain it all, he thought reassuring himself.

Rohan Sen was due to arrive at 3pm and Arnav had sent everyone off on tasks to ensure it was all in place. Just as Arnav was going through his checklist, Sheetal walks in. "Arnav, it's all under control. You've got this.", she says, providing him with some much needed reassurance. "Shit! I forgot to order catering for when he arrives with his team!", Arnav exclaimed, annoyed at himself for not remembering. "Uff! Calm down, Arnav. I've already placed an order at Chloe's for sandwiches, drinks, fruits, cookies etc. Rohan is vegan by the way, so I placed a special order for him.", she informed him. "Ahhh Sheetal, you're an absolute lifesaver!" he exclaimed. "I know and I also know you're going to ace this meeting after which you're going to keep your promise and we're going to celebrate in style", she reminded him. Arnav nodded and smiled, crossing his fingers that all goes well.

Three gruelling hours later, the final draft version was finally approved with a few more changes than what Arnav would have liked, but he'll take it. He waited for Rohan to leave before he punched the air in triumph. "Finally Sheetal! All that hard work, the long hours, all worth it! I mean you looked amazing in the dress. Also, he even complemented those vegan sandwiches.", he said looking at her with a smile. "Never had any doubt, Arnav! And now that i'm all dressed up with my hair and make-up done, it'd be a waste if we didn't go out and celebrate", Sheetal said reminding him of his promise. Arnav laughed, of course she hadn't forgotten!

All he really wanted right now was to sleep for 24 hours straight. But a part of him wanted to go out and celebrate. After all, wasn't this the kind of break he was looking for? Precisely why he had moved half way across the world away from home, away from his wife, so he could be exposed to opportunities like this in NY. And now it was finally a reality. So he gave in without much hesitation this time. "I'll pick you up at 8pm sharp.", Arnav informed her with a cheeky smile. "Ha ha! Very funny, Arnav! Pick me up from next door yeah?", she joked.

"You look great!", Arnav complimented her as they stepped out, bringing a smile to her face. Once they got to Kimchee, Sheetal headed straight for the bar and dragged Arnav along with her. He ordered a bottle of Dom Pérignon to start the night, which was followed by two glasses of Malibu with pineapple juice, a double vodka coke and a glass of red wine. Mixing drinks was always a bad idea, but Arnav didn't care much at this point, the drinks kept coming and he didn't question from where, he just wanted to celebrate.

By the time they both made it to Levant, Arnav was already in a jovial mood thanks to all the alcohol. Sheetal ensured that Arnav's drunken self didn't cause too much of a commotion at the entrance or they'd be denied entry to the club.

Arnav was done with drinks for the night. The last thing he wanted was to be throwing up in some corner of this upmarket club. Just as he was about to ask for a glass of water at the bar to sober up, Sheetal drags him again, but this time to the dance floor. It was no hidden fact that Arnav had two left feet but he stayed because he felt like he owed Sheetal at least this much for all that she had done for him.

"Aren't you hot in your blazer, Arnav?", Sheetal asks him in the middled of the dance floor, talking in his ear so he can hear her in the loud club. He nods, takes off his blazer and puts it on the table they had reserved. "Uff yaar Arnav, who wears all their shirt buttons up to the top in a club?", she asks while she takes her hand and starts loosening his buttons in the middle of a packed dance floor. She then leaves her hands on each side of his shoulder and continues to dance in close proximity. Arnav looks at her strangely but brushes it off given they're both probably a little tipsy at this point. Sheetal then takes his hand and places it just below her hip and before Arnav has a chance to respond, she leans in and kisses him.