My New Boss - Season 3 - Part 2

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Chapter 2



Arnav’s POV


Khushi Gupta storms out of the Cabin leaving me and Dad alone. I still can’t believe the world is so small. The gorgeous dominating woman I met last night in the club works in my Dad’s office as a COO and soon she is the one Dad’s going to announce as the CEO of the company. Why am I here then? What’s my role?


“Arnav..” Dad’s voice breaks my trance but I don’t let him speak.

“You are giving the reins of this business in her hands? Really, dad?”

“Why not? Only because she is a woman you think she can’t run this company?”

“That’s not what I meant” I snap. “But why her?”

“Why not her?” he debates.

I am losing my control.

“You need a reason? Fine. I will give you two. First. I don’t like her a bit. Second, I am your son which means I should be the one getting that position, not her.”


Dad goes silent for a minute. I hope its to redecide on my words and take the right stand.


“Why don’t you like her? You have just met.”


Damn!! He wants to dig this matter?

“We met last night in a club.”

“Really?” he smirks. “Good. Khushi needed that break. She’s always so busy working hard that I really worry of her boring personal life. She needs to get a life… I am glad she went to a Club last night.”


What the hell!! What is he talking about?


“Dad, here I am discussing about me… not her.. Do you understand my point? Or is it that you don’t want to even try?”


He reaches me and grips my arms.


“Arnav, you are my son. I have ful faith in your instincts and capabilities. But the way I trust you, I trust Khushi as well. She has given this company her six years and not even a single time she’s failed. Do you know what great achievement that is? She is genius in everything she does. I’m sure you will learn it from her as we go ahead.”

“I… I will learn from her?” I let out a sarcastic chuckle.


He nods and smiles.


“Yes. This Company is new for you. Khushi knows AR Group better than even me. So, you are going to be with her, full time and make sure you learn everything about our company and clients and projects. I am getting old Arnav. Once you get a grip over all this, why CEO? I will give you my position and I will retire. You will be the Boss then and I know you and Khushi will run the company well and take it to new heights.”


I am clueless for a moment. It’s not about the position. I am okay to work at the lowest level here but never under the supervision of Khushi Gupta. Seems like Dad is over impressed by her and he won’t change his decision for anyone. Not even me.


“Fine” I agree. “Whatever you think is the best, I am with you.”


His contented smile brings a smile on my face too.


“Great then, lets do this..”


***********************

The whole day I am busy being introduced to the board members and some important people of the AR Group. Though Khushi Gupta has taken the tag of the new CEO, I am still the center of the event as no one had ever met me so far. Obviously, they were aware Ayush Singh Raizada had a son who stays in London. But none of them believed he would return to India ever and handle his father’s business. I didn’t have that in mind either. Call it destiny or whatever, that when I talked to Mom about it, she happened to agree without much drama or throwing tantrums. It was weird but I suppose she knew I was missing Dad. All these years I have yearned for his love and support. Not that she never let me talk to him. Despite their bitter divorce, I was always allowed to be in touch with both. Dad came once to London every year to see me and stayed for a month. But this wasn’t enough. I wanted to see him every day as I see mom. Wish, I could ever see them both together and not share my time in parts like this..


“Arnav, meet Mr. Roy. His team handles all our legal issues.” Dad introduces.


I quickly shake hands with him and like every time, my eyes glue again on Khushi Gupta who is meeting and taking wishes from other heads. The winning smirk on her face, especially knowing I am watching her, is enough to boil my blood.


********************

Khushi’s POV


I am home!! With the tag of a CEO but there’s no one whom I can share this joy with. Despite staying in a Penthouse at one of the posh building in Delhi, I am alone. I always was. That’s fate. I always thought what it would be like if that accident hadnt happened six years ago? Life would have been so different.. so effing pleasant and uncomplicated unlike it is today. Anyone in my place would have cringed to face life again after that incident but I didn’t give up.


I walk straight to my bedroom where a huge picture hangs on the wall.


“I am a CEO now..” I say, looking at it. “Thanks for being there with me all the time…”


Wish the picture could speak.. I so damn wish it could!! I throw my purse on the bed, and taking out my sandals, I get to the bathroom for a shower. As the hot water slides down my body, I remember the heated gazes which Arnav Singh Raizada threw all the time since we met.. He’s one man I dislike the most so far and it’s not even been 24 hours that we have met. Why is he here? Why now? And how’s he coping up with my CEO tag? Will he retaliate? I have heard from Ayush Sir that from tomorrow, Arnav Singh Raizada will be my shadow. He is going to learn everything about the company from me. Interesting. It will be fun taking care of his arrogance, my way.


********************


Arnav’s POV – Next Day


I am getting ready for work the next morning. Dad is already down and having breakfast. I had a few calls to make so I winded up eating and came back to my room. The last call I make is to my Mom who’s been trying to get in touch with me since yesterday. She’s got to know about the CEO which Dad has announced and is unhappy.

“Mom, calm down.”

“Don’t even think I can calm down knowing how he is treating you there, Arnav. Why did he even agree to have you in his company when he wanted to give the business rights to someone else?”


She has every right to ask so but no point now.


“It’s okay Mom. Dad knows what he is doing. I am sure he wants the business in good hands.”

“That’s not the point,” Mom rebukes. “He chose someone else over his son. That’s exactly what he’s always been doing. Choosing others over his family.”

“Mom” I interrupt not willing to go back to their history. “It’s my first day in dad’s office after yesterday’s announcement. Can’t be late. You take care of yourself and will call you later. Love you..”

“love you too, Arnav. Just.. stop covering up his mistakes. You do that a lot..”


I laugh. That’s true. I always cover up for them so that they don’t fight again with each other because of me. Speaking to her for another minute, I disconnect the call and head out.


*********************


I have loved complicated subjects and Khushi Gupta is one of them to me. She has a hunger for power I need to know why? I have been around with women of her age but they were anything like her which piques my interest in Khushi all the more. Dad’s made a wrong decision again by making Khushi Gupta the CEO of this company. But I won’t let her own that title for long. It’s me she’s dealing with this time. She can fool my father, not me. One mistake and that’s all I need to get her back to the old position.


“I think Arnav doesn’t agree with me here,” Khushi’s voice breaks my trance.


We are in the conference room, with almost 20 top heads of the company, attending a presentation which the new CEO Khushi Gupta is presenting, and she just caught me not paying attention to it. Not a great scenario!!


“So, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada. What do you think about this prospect? Should we invest in this product or..”

“I don’t make such decisions just over a presentation, Miss Gupta. I need more statistics than the ones you have shared.”


Take it now, Khushi. Hope I have made her speechless. She grins! Damn her!! Why the hell is she grinning?


“No problem, Mr. Raizada. You are new to all this. So, decision making can be hard for you, not me!!” she mocks.

She then turns to others.


“We are investing in this Product. I’ll ask Aman to arrange my meet with them and handle the rest of the formalities. Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen, for attending this meeting at such a short notice.”


She waits for everyone to disperse but her eyes never leave mine. That’s because I too haven’t dropped my gaze from her yet. When everyone else is off the room, I rise to my feet.


“You can’t speak to me like that Miss Gupta.” I command. “You might be the CEO of this company and..”

“And you are my junior” she interrupts me with a smug smile. “Fresher too in the company.” She adds.


This woman!! How I hate her!! She takes a measured stride to me and just when our toes touch, she stops. Just the way I did the other night in the club.


“I have slogged in this company to make my identity Arnav. Only because you have the Raizada tag behind your name is not going to pull me down.”


Is she threatening me?

“Well then Miss Gupta. Let me see how many days you stick to this attitude of yours.” I challenge her.

“Challenges?” She lets out a mockery laugh and then pauses to glare at me again. “Ask anyone in this office how much I love challenges. No one has ever won against me.”

“That’s because you were never challenged by ME.. This time your overconfidence is going to break big time..”


She clenches her jaw and that’s when I stare at her nude lip gloss!! She has sexy lips. FOCUS, Arnav!! Lifting my gaze from her lips to eyes, I give her the best of my smile. She doesn’t smile back. I have never seen her smile. Neither I am interested in. Taking a step back she hands me a file from the table.


“Go through the contents of this. Aman will tell you when we have to meet the Clients tomorrow”.

“We?” I repeat curiously.

“Unfortunately, its We who will together meet the Client. I don’t want to upset Sir and its his strict orders to take you everywhere I go.. Like my Tail..”

My jaw tightens. Did she just call me her Tail? Damn you, Miss Gupta. And with that mocking statement, she is off the conference room. I stare at her retreating back until she’s out of the door and then gape at the file. Wish I had taken the decision to work with Dad, 6 years before. Things would have been different.


**********************

Khushi’s POV


Lavanya is here for dinner and I am more than glad to host this for her at my penthouse. She’s the only one I have around who’s always the best listener of my office gossips.


“OMG.. He’s Hot.” She says putting her fork down in the pasta while staring at the picture of Arnav Singh Raizada on her smartphone.


When I told her about my recent conference room challenge with him, she googled this man to see who I am dealing with.


“He’s not Hot.. he’s Smart. He knows whom he’s dealing with and yet he has that audacity to challenge me. But poor him, he’s going to fail big time.”


Lavanya puts her phone down.


“No ways, Khushi. It’s a sin to let a man like him lose. Just look at him.”


She shows me his picture on the internet. Arnav is in a business suit, shaking hands with a foreign man.

“It’s written here, he’s made some security software and sold it to the UK government, earning billions at such a small age. Can you believe it? I mean, he’s not really dependent on his father’s business yet he is here.. Wow..”


Wow??? Maybe. So what? I push her phone away.


“I didn’t invite you for dinner to talk about him.”


Lavanya rolls her eyes.


“Fine. Lets talk about you then. Did you talk to –”

“No” I swallow. “I didn’t and you know why?”

“Oh come on Khushi..” she holds my hand over the table. “Don’t you think you are dragging it for too long? What if he loses interest and..”

“He won’t” I smirk sipping my wine. “I know he won’t.”


She rolls her eyes at me.

“You need to change the way you are dealing things presently Khushi. Life doesn’t work like this. You have to calm down and take things lightly. Not everyone out there is ready to pounce on you or your success. Start trusting people and only then they will trust you back.”


I know why she said that. I have always had these trust issues from long but the way my life shaped up the last six years, it only worsened.


“I will try” I don’t mean it but I say to end this conversation and thankfully it does.


To be Continued.

NEXT PART

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