Part 4

Part 4

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.

Roald Dahl

"Thank god this is over!" Pallavi groaned as they walked together to their tables on the second floor to prepare for the next morning's interview.

"I am never taking another Aryrvedic doctor's interview ever. All that man talked about was constipation, indigestion, loose motion. I mean SHIT! Literal shit! Man, thank god this is over!"

Mahi laughed at her partner's apparent distress over the topic of interview of this morning with the successful Ayurvedic doctor who runs a large company of herbal products.

"com'on it wasn't that bad!" She cajoled. 

"Plus now we know how to depict what aligtment we have simply by looking at our ..uhm.. shit. If it's slightly green it's probably because..."

"Shut up! Just shut up! Arrgh!" Pallavi put both her hands up to her ears. "I am not listening to that again...or I will throw up!"

"Okay...okay!" Mahi laughed. "I was just teasing you." 

"Sure!" Pallavi replied surely. "In month's time - you are going to host the evening show - holding interesting debates on large political issues or bollywood scandals and I'll still be stuck here dealing with shit!"

"I am sorry Pallavi, you are my closest friend and I wish more than anything that we could have got that promotion together, really." Mahi suddenly looked at her friend, closely.

"I mean I will miss working with you of course and laughing with you but, don't give up - soon you will get that promotion too and we will host a show together again."

Pallavi smiled widely at that. " And you can bet on it! The moment I find another banker or any rich, arrogant ass - I am going to tear him from limb to limb on national television and then demand my promotion from Tony." And they giggled together, ready to start their work. 

While Kavya Dubey- the news director of morning show gave her a dirty look as she passed by. After all the woman had done her best to have Mahi fired from the job and had thus failed miserably when Mahi had got an promotion instead and it did not help her ego that after Mahi had got the promotion she had stuck her tongue out at the woman for the whole crew to see.

It was almost 2'o clock when Mahi closed her notebook and laptop and turned around to ask Pallavi, if she wanted to go and have lunch somewhere. "I am starving!" Mahi took her purse and phone and got up.

"Sure!" pallavi organized her own things before they left together.

"So, where would you like to go? The new Chinese restaurant on the next street?"

"Nah! I was more in the mood for some street food. How about a plate of chole kulche? Or samosa?" She suggested and laughed when Pallavi increased her pace, almost at the verge of running after hearing about the treats waiting for her.

"And the pani puri on the way of return!" 

"Amazing! I am already salivating like a dog just thinking about it, walk fast girl!" She demanded as they turned towards the main gate of the studio and in her enthusiasm for food, Pallavi forgot to look where she was going and collided with Anniruddh, the handsome accountant who worked on the financial department and on whom Pallavi had a giant crush since day one.

"Oh I am sorry!" Her foolish friend, blushed bright red when she realized, it was Aniruddh.

"It's fine!" The handsome young man smiled at her, flashing his perfect set of white teeth on his gorgeous face and Mahi had this sudden urge to laugh when she looked at her best friend Pallavi who was practically melting at her spot, with her moony eyes and dreamy expression with which she was gazing at the man in front of them.

Oblivious to that Aniruddh asked, "So, you girls are going to lunch?"

"Yes." Mahi nodded.

"To the canteen or somewhere specific, if I may ask." At that Mahi and Pallavi exchanged looks.

"No, actually we haven't decided yet." Pallavi hastily muttered. Well, they could hardly tell the man that they were salivating after oily and over spiced, unhealthy street food, a moment ago.

"Then allow me to take you both to this new Chinese place nearby that had just opened last week."

"Why not!"

"Sure!" They muttered together, looking awkwardly at each other. And thus, 'Mission chole kulche' was put on hold for that afternoon.

"So, Mahi I heard you got a promotion for the evening show, congratulations."

"Thank you!" Mahi accepted gracefully. "It was a lucky chance, really." She smiled. Although as soon as Kartik Rao's brooding chiseled features came to her mind, she realized, 'It was anything but lucky.'

The new Chinese place, Shanghai bowl was two streets away and they chattered amicably about work all through the way.

But right outside the entrance of the restaurant, Mahi caught sight of a man she never wanted to see again and her feet halted on it's own accord. 

Arjun Rao, was standing near the entrance, leaning on a wall while his eyes were fixed on his phone in hand.

Now that Mahi had stopped walking, Pallavi and Aniruddh stopped too and looked at her quizzically but she simply shook her head in reply. "Let's go!" Well, she could only hope that the man would not look up from his phone and notice her and even if he does, there was a large chance that he wouldn't be able to recognize her.

'Please god! Please! Let him not recognize me...please!' She prayed as they walked by him and into the restaurant. She had had enough about this crazy Rao family. The arrogant ass of an elder brother and the loony and probably a drug addict younger brother, she doesn't want to have anything to do with them anymore.

But her prayer's were all futile because he did notice her despite all and apparently recognized her too.

"Hey, Mahi Acharya, Isn't it?" His smooth voice floated over the crowd of chattering people in the large dinning space and Mahi had no other choice but to turn around and face the man she had bailed out of jail, which was by the way, one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

"Hey!" She inclined her head to one side in mock greeting. "Arjun, nice meeting you....having lunch huh?"

She gave him a fake smile. "Well now I must go, I am a bit busy right now!"

And she whirled around as fast as she could and was at the verge of running away when a strong hand gripped her shoulder. "Mahi please, if you don't mind can we talk for a moment?" 

And Mahi groaned under her breath. 'Shit!' but it wasn't like the bastard had given her a choice, he had asked her to talk in a public place and she could hardly say no without making a giant scene in a restaurant full of people.

"Sure!" She replied without any enthusiasm and then she turned around to look at her friends. "Please go ahead and order, I will join you both in a few minutes."

"look I just wanted to say thank you for bailing me out that night and also sorry for how my brother behaved." He spoke when they had found corner empty enough to hold a private conversation.

"It's fine! " Mahi spoke, counting seconds until she could get rid of this man but Arjun Rao apparently was in no great hurry. "No of course it's not fine, you helped me out and I had promised to give you the full story about my arrogant ass of a brother but of course he had to barge in right that moment and ruin it but that doesn't mean I won't keep to my promise..." He flashed one of his side loped grins but Mahi barely shrugged. 

"Thank you for your offer but I'll have to politely decline it, your brother made it very clear that whatever you were going to tell me, is some kind of family secret and that... I have no business knowing!" Mahi started to leave when Arjun stopped her again. 

"No wait please!" 

"Alright, you don't want to know the story...Fine!" He shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant fashion.

"But at least let me thank you properly for helping me out that night."

"But you already have thanked me!" Mahi was getting restless, for some reason she didn't like this man one bit and all this nonsense talk was making her nervous and she just wanted to leave.

"Have dinner with me on Friday." This was something Mahi hadn't seen coming and she unconsciously took two steps back, trying to come up with a polite excuse fast enough although she just wanted to shout, 'Noo!' on his face.

"I - I am..."

Somehow her facial expression must have forewarned him that she was going to refuse because the next moment he had caught her fingers in a tight grasp. "It's just a charity gala....please come with me as a friend."

"I - I will see if I am free and then let you know." She pulled her hand back as fast as she could. Hell, she would cut her nose off before she went anywhere with this lunatic bastard but right now her sole focus was to get as far away from him as possible and she had a good in linking that if she refused to go with him to this charity gala, he would not leave her alone.

"Here's my card, just let me know." 

"Thank you!" Arjun Rao shouted behind her as Mahi hurried away, her appetite gone. 

For the next three days she cursed herself over and over again for getting herself involved in this mess.

She was a strong independent woman and she was rarely scared by anything but at this instance, she wished she had her brothers with her to scare that crazy Arjun Rao away.

On Friday morning, she called the number that was given on the card, he had provided but nobody answered so she left a message saying that she couldn't go to that charity gala with him because she was busy with work and then finally sighed in relief. 'It was over!' Or so she thought.

But in the evening after work when she came back to her apartment Arjun Rao was already waiting outside her door, wearing a tuxedo and holding a bouquet of red roses with a wolfish grin on his face and a cold shiver ran down her spine.

"Ho-How did you find my address?" She tried gulping down the bile that had rose in her throat as she tried finding her phone in her purse, ready to dial 100 if the need arose.

"Oh, the charming lady at your office told me - what was her name, yes - Kavya Dubey, she was nice enough to tell me where you live after I got your disturbing message that you won't be coming to the Charity gala with me. So, I thought to surprise you here and try to change your mind." 

'Damn that bitch Kavya!' She cursed under her breath, though there was a far greater problem now in front of her.

"Cha - change my mind?" Needless to say Mahi was spooked out, why isn't this creep just leaving her alone? And why has he gone as far as pumping her address out of Kavya? 

'Just to have dinner with her?' No, all of it seemed too unlikely and far fetched and the only reason to explain it was that Arjun Rao had some ulterior motive behind this whole charade.

"Please Mahi come to this charity gala with me." He flashed another of his chauvinistic lop sided grin her way, while handing her the bouquet of red roses which made Mahi even more annoyed.

"I am sorry but I told you that I can't come to your charity gala - I have work...."

"Fine then!" Arjun huffed. "Then perhaps you will agree to have lunch with me tomorrow. " Mahi shuddered, this conversation was going nowhere but she had just started to understand how deep she had got in this shit and she could see no way out of it.

For the next few moments she silently stood there, outside her door with a creep, trying to contemplate her choices.

"Fine! I will come to this charity gala with you tonight only if you promise to never bother me again."

"You hurt me." Arjun gave her a piercing look. "Is my company that bad?"

Mahi didn't reply but he finally relented. 

"Fine then. Come with me tonight and I will never bother you again. " 

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It was almost 9'o clock in the evening when they reached the venue of this charity gala- the five star hotel Dynamics at the centre of Delhi, shinning like a bright star in the night sky.

The valet standing at the entrance took Arjun's BMW to park while they together entered into the wide opening hall consisting of a crowd of rich society crust.

They wandered around togather as Arjun mingled and said hello to people he knew, who were mostly looked like rich, spoilt brats but who was she to judge?

It was a fairly high profile party, considering the number of TV stars and famous sports person she encountered in there, in fact Tony Zacharia, her boss and producer of News Lift channel was there too and Mahi was about to go and say hello when her eyes caught someone else amongst that crowd of people. 

Kartik Rao' s dark eyes were on her and dare she say- that they were furious.