Haughty or simple?
Part 1 Haughty or Simple?
Arnav was driving the car with no interest.
“I don’t like this, Aman”
“It’s for Kashyap, sir. He genuinely wants our growth”
Arnav 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 modelling field if she didn’t want to be touched by anyone. This is how the modelling field works. How could she raise her hand at anyone? If she keeps on hitting people, then she can’t be stable here”
“Do you want her to be stable here?” Aman teased.
Arnav 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.
“Isn’t 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 of using her in our ads.”
“By the way, ASR, 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” Arnav looked at him with a taunting gaze.
Aman looked down, making a face. Arnav 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”
Arnav 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”
Arnav and Aman nodded okay and went to the first floor. Kashyap’s room door was not fully closed. Arnav was about to enter but stopped, hearing Kashyap utter his name. He was talking about him, but with whom? Arnav 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 Arnav’s company. I told you about him”
“…………”
“He is the nicest gentleman I have ever seen”
Aman looked at Arnav, 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?” Arnav asked.
“That’s what I, too, don’t know”
Kashyap disconnected the call. Arnav knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Kashyap said.
Arnav entered with Aman.
A man in his early fifties smiled at them. The name board *Lalith Kashyap* was on the table before him.
“Hello, Sir…” Arnav 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 Khushi”
“Khushi? You mean Khushi 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 Arnav. I want her to meet Arnav. Then, she won’t think about quitting”
Aman smiled at Arnav, who looked awkward.
“She is a nice girl, Arnav, but a little rude. She doesn’t like flirty people, which creates so many problems…”
“But, this is modelling field… these things are common here. She should understand that,” Aman said.
“She is not that kind, Aman. That was why she wanted to quit, but I didn’t want her to do that before working for Arnav. I’m sure she won’t complain”
“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. Excellent character. I want her to be safe. That’s why I recommended you”
Arnav 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 Arnav to know how he was going to avoid working with Khushi, but to his surprise,
“Ok, sir… we will meet her tomorrow,” Arnav said.
Aman looked at him, dropping his jaw. He wanted to say, WHAT THE… but controlled himself 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 told the truth… nothing other than that,” Aman said.
“That will be good for you” He nodded his head warningly.
“Ok, sir. We are leaving,” Arnav said.
“Ok, young man… will see you tomorrow”
“Ok, sir”
They came out and walked to their car.
“What happened to you, ASR? 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 avoid her. Won’t we have any excuse to do that?”
“Yeah…”
“But, I warn you, keep your distance from her. If she complains 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, ASR. 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, okay… 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, sniffing.
“How will you see me being a murderer after I kill 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 Khushi Gupta. Mark my words”
“Let’s see…”
The next day
Arnav 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 his time. He got out of the car and walked into his villa. He saw him admiring himself, standing in front of the mirror. Arnav rolled his eyes. Aman saw him and grinned from ear to ear.
“Let’s go”
“One minute…” he adjusted his tie’s knot.
Arnav advanced to him. Clutching his tie, he started walking, pulling him.
“ASR, 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 Khushi 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,” Arnav said wearily.
They reached the vicinity. Parking the car, they walked in. An organiser took them to the table that Kashyap had reserved for them. Arnav 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,” Arnav said.
“It doesn’t matter. Seeing the colors themselves, I feel warmth…”
Aman said, running his eyes on the models and actresses with a dizzy smile.
“Where is Khushi 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,” Arnav said.
“Yeah, after all, she is a nominee,” Aman said.
The function started. The awards of the various categories were given. The awaited moment of FRESH FACE OF THE YEAR came. More than the nominees, Aman was curious to know who the winner was. The winner was announced, and as no one expected, Khushi Gupta won the award. All eyes were on the pathway to the stage. A mild commotion was raised when Khushi Gupta appeared on the stage in a simple knee-length half-white sleeveless gown with slight makeup. That was the first time a model received an award with a simple outfit. Arnav’s eyes refused to move away from her as she was beyond his assumption.
To be continued…
