Haughty or simple?
Part 1 Haughty or Simple?
Varun was driving the car with no interest.
“I don’t like this Aman”
“It’s for Kashyap, sir. He genuinely wants our growth”
Varun looked at Aman disappointedly.
“From the time, she appeared in an ad, the controversies about her are coming on and on…! She is rude, Aman. She should not have entered the modeling field if she doesn’t want to be touched by anyone. This is how the modeling field works. How could she raise her hand to anyone? If she keeps on hitting people then, she can’t be stable here”
“Do you want her to be stable here?” Aman teased.
Varun glared at him which made Aman grin.
“We can’t disappoint Mr. Kashyap. He helped us to stand in the field. How could we say NO to him?”
“I will say… I know how to handle him without hurting him”
“Ok, then… you and Kashyap… I’m out of it”
Aman leaned on the seat.
“Is not the girl looking sweet? You too wanted to use her in our ads when her first ad was released…” Aman tried to convince him.
“She looked fresh and different. So, I thought to use her in our ads.”
“By the way, Varun, however, you are not going to give heed to the models. Then why are you bothering to work with her?”
“I’m not bothering about me but about my flirtish friend. I don’t want him to get slapped” Varun looked at him with a taunting gaze.
Aman looked down making a face. Varun smirked at him.
“Won’t you get to sleep if you don’t taunt me?”
“I don’t know what you get flirting with girls”
“It gives me a kind of joy… Life is to live. It’s like ice cream. We should eat before it melts”
Varun nodded his head from left to right.
They reached Kashyap Agency. Mr. Kashyap’s PA saw them and came to them.
“Sir is waiting for you. You can go”
Varun and Aman nodded ok and went to the first floor. Kashyap’s room door was not fully closed. Varun was about to enter in but stopped, hearing his name uttered by Kashyap. He was talking about him but with whom? Varun slowly peeped in and saw him on call. He gestured for Aman to be quiet.
“I want you to do the ad because it’s Varun’s company. I told you about him”
“…………”
“He is the nice gentleman I have ever seen”
Aman looked at Varun who was suffocating.
“You will be safe in his shadow. You can consider him and me the same”
“See, how he trusts you!” Aman said.
“With whom he is talking?” Varun asked.
“That’s what I too don’t know”
Kashyap disconnected the call. Varun knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Kashyap said.
Varun entered with Aman.
A man in his early fifties smiled at them. The name board *Lalith Kashyap* had been kept on the table in front of him.
“Hello, Sir…” Varun greeted.
“Hi, young man… take your seat. Just now, I was talking about you” Lalith smiled.
“With whom, sir? No one is here…” Aman ran his eyes in the room.
“No, no, I was talking on the phone with Anaya”
“Anaya? You mean Anaya Gupta?” Aman asked controlling his eagerness.
“Exactly… She is ready to quit the field because no one is gentle here. That’s why I said about Varun. I want her to meet Varun. Then, she won’t think about quitting”
Aman smiled at Varun who looked awkward.
“she is a nice girl Varun… but, a little rude. She doesn’t like flirty people. that’s what creates so many problems…”
“But, this is modeling field… these things are so common here. She should understand that” Aman said.
“She is not that kind, Aman. That was why she wants to quit but I don’t want her to do that before working for Varun. I’m sure she won’t complaint”
“Yes, sir, you are right,” Aman said with pride.
“But, YOU (he stressed) should not go in front of her” he taunted.
Aman scratched his head sheepishly.
“I just am kidding but be careful…”
He smiled.
“She is my daughter’s friend… just like, my daughter. Very good character. I want her to be safe. That’s why I recommended you”
Varun didn’t know what to say.
“I invited her to the Primary Awards function. She will come there. I will introduce you to her. Just work with her for some days. If you like her, you can continue”
Aman was looking at Varun to know how he was going to avoid working with Anaya but to his surprise,
“Ok, sir… we will meet her tomorrow,” Varun said.
Aman looked at him dropping his jaw. He wanted to say, WHAT THE… but he controlled as Lalith was with them.
“That’s good… you know she is one of the nominees of the FRESH FACE OF THE YEAR award”
“Is it?”
“Yeah…”
“Of course, she looks so fresh…” Aman said with a cheesy smile.
Lalith looked at him with a warning gaze.
“No no, sir… I just said the truth… nothing other than that” Aman said.
“That will be good for you” He nodded his head in a warning manner.
“Ok, sir. We are leaving” Varun said.
“Ok, young man… will see you tomorrow”
“Ok, sir”
They came out and walked to their car.
“What happened to you, Varun? You were in full swing to avoid her before meeting him…? but you became speechless after seeing him?”
“He trusts us… he thinks she will be safe with us. How could I break the trust? Is not it about our respect?”
“That was what I too told you but you ignored it”
“Leave it… we will work with her for only one ad and then we will avoid her… won’t we get any excuse to do that?”
“Yeah…”
“But, I warn you, keep your distance from her. If she complaints about you then I will kill you”
“I’m going on holiday… is it enough?”
“Why? Can’t you be shutting your flirty mouth?”
“Sorry, Varun. Murder me instead of asking me to shut my mouth in front of a beautiful girl”
“I will surely murder you if you dally with her”
“Ok ok… I will try to keep my mouth shut not because Kashyap sir wants it. it’s because I don’t want to see you as a murderer” he pretended like sniffing.
“How will you see me being a murderer after I killed you?”
“My soul will see you,” he said with a pang of fake sadness.
“Stop acting like a nice guy. Idiot… always, roaming behind girls…”
“This is the great insult to Aman Mathur. You are going to see the new Aman in front of Anaya Gupta. Mark my words”
“Let’s see…”
The next day
Varun was waiting for Aman sitting in his car, outside of Aman’s villa, looking at his wristwatch again and again. He was losing his patience as Aman was taking time. He got down from the car and walked inside his villa. He saw him admiring himself, standing in front of the mirror. Varun rolled his eyes. Aman saw him and grinned his ear to ear.
“Let’s go”
“One minute…” he adjusted his tie’s knot.
Varun advanced to him. Clutching his tie, he started walking pulling him.
“Varun, I don’t know you are so jealous of me… you spoilt my tie”
“shut up… I was waiting for you for more than half an hour”
“We are going to an award function damn it. The auditorium will be filled with colorful chicks”
“I think you are going to get a slipper shot for sure”
“I won’t because all the girls are not grumpy chicks like Anaya Gupta”
“Stop calling her chick. Mr. Kashyap will get upset with us”
“Am I saying that in front of her? No… It will remain between us” he winked.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you,” Varun said wearily.
They reached the vicinity. Parking the car, they walked in. An organizer took them to the table that Kashyap had reserved for them. Varun and Aman took their seats.
As Aman said, the auditorium had been filled colorfully.
“Wow… what a warm climate!” Aman said.
“We are in an air conditioner auditorium,” Varun said.
“It doesn’t matter. Seeing the colors themselves I feel warmth…”
Aman said running his eyes on the models and actresses with the dizzy smile.
“Where is Anaya Gupta?” Aman asked, searching for her.
“She would be in the award winners section… wearing a dazzling outfit with half an inch of make-up,” Varun said.
“Yeah, after all, she is a nominee,” Aman said.
The function started. The awards of the various category had given. The awaited moment of FRESH FACE OF THE YEAR came. More than the nominees, Aman was curious to know who was the winner. The winner was announced, as no one expected, Anaya Gupta won the award. All the eyes were accumulated on the pathway to the stage. A mild commotion raised when Anaya Gupta appeared on the stage in a simple knee-length half-white sleeveless gown with slight make-up. That was the first time, a model received an award with a so simple outfit. Varun’s eyes denied moving away from her as she was beyond his assumption.
To be continued…
