Chapter 28

The next morning Khushi was up bright and early. She got ready quickly and went down to discuss tonight's menu with Jiji. Arnav was already up but he had gone for a quick jog. She headed downstairs to find the entire family at the breakfast table.
NK: Good morning Khushiji. I hear that your friend is coming over to dinner tonight.
Khushi: Yes Nanheji. Rohan is a family friend and Jiji and I know their family well.
NK: So um are you inviting any other friends tonight?
Khushi: No I haven't invited anyone else. What other friend were you thinking of?
NK: I was thinking, just a suggestion, that you maybe you could invite Maya over for dinner as well.
Khushi broke out into a smile, ready to tease NK. But she should have a little fun with him right?
Khushi: That is a great idea Nanheji! Maybe I can tell Rohan to bring her, almost like date. What do you think of Rohan and Maya?
NK's face fell and he tried to think of the Hindi word to describe his heartbreak. Haramzada! I'll be haramzada!

Khushi: Not  haramzada but Ghumshuda. So you want me to help you with Maya? I think you and Maya are perfect! Leave it to me Nanheji and I'll handle everything.
NK: Ok Khushiji. But remember don't tell anyone in the family.
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Arnav came down to breakfast to see Khushi, Di, and Payal engrossed in conversation. He put some butter on his toast while listening in.
Payal: Ok Khushi so you will come early today right? Since Rohan loves your cooking , you should make a couple of dishes. Di and I will handle the rest! And you're making jalebis right?
Arnav listened to the ladies halfheartedly. His mind was focusing on the fact that Khushi was planning to come home early so she could cook for Rohan. His wife cooking for another man just irked him to the core.  This would simply not do. HP and OP were perfectly capable of cooking a decent meal. Khushi was a great cook and after enjoying her food he would only crave to come over more and more. His family was no better who welcomed additional company with open arms. He would have to intervene and change the plans slightly.
Arnav: Khushi are you ready? Shall we leave?
Khushi: Yes I am ready let's go. Oh and I am coming home early today so I'll have the driver come up and pick me up.
Arnav grumbled to himself. Great – just exactly why I hired a personal driver for you. So he could bring you home early to cook for another man!
Khushi – Huh? Did you say something?
Arnav – Nothing at all! Let's go.
Khushi could have sworn he had said something under his breath, but she let it go as they headed out to work.
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Arnav sipped his black coffee while leaning back in his chair. So let's make their dinner guest feel welcome, he smirked. He called up Di.
Anjali: Hello! Chotte – everything ok.
Arnav – Everything is fine Di. I wanted to talk to you about something important.
Anjali – Sure, go ahead.
Arnav – You know Rohan is a really nice guy and he has always helped Khushi's family in Lucknow. He is completely alone here. Last time we met he confided in me that he was interested in getting married. But his family is busy planning his sister's wedding in Lucknow and he has no family here in Delhi..
Anjali – That's sad Chotte.
Arnav – Well you and Nani know so many people in Delhi. I was thinking why don't you both have some pictures and proposals ready for him.
Anjali – Really Chotte?  We know so many good girls! This will be so much fun Chotte!!
Arnav – Just don't mention it to Rohan that I said anything. I don't want him to feel that I betrayed his confidence. You know he might even be kind of shy about the subject, but just be persistent. It's for his good afterall.
Anjali – Don't you worry about a thing! Your Di will take care of everything!
Mission accomplished! He was actually looking forward to this dinner now. Now on to the more important task, Khushi. He had to find a way to keep her busy so that she wouldn't have time to cook. The servants could easily manage. He couldn't exactly go around seducing her everyday at work, although the thought was quite appealing. Another idea popped into his head and he called Aman up to his cabin.
Arnav – Aman what's my schedule for today?
Aman – ASR you have an important meeting at 11 and then a conference call in the afternoon.
Arnav – Who is the morning meeting with?
Aman – It's an important meeting with the Chopras..
Arnav – Hmm move the meeting to 4 o'clock. Also go and tell Khushi that she needs to sit in the meeting this afternoon. But, don't let her know that I changed the meeting time. Ok that's all for now.
Now that this was taken care of it was time to get some work done! 
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It was now lunchtime and Arnav had been relatively busy all morning. He hadn't heard much from Khushi. He decided to call and see if she wanted to join him for lunch. She hadn't eaten so she said she would head over.
Arnav: You must have been busy this morning?
Khushi: Well not extremely busy. Why do you say?
Arnav: I thought you couldn't wait so long until lunch, you do get hungry very quickly.
Khushi slapped him playfully and smiled as she started to assemble plates of food for them. Arnav was happy to see her smile. He had been quite worried after yesterday's conversation. He couldn't bear to see Khushi unhappy.

Arnav: Are you ready for the meeting Khushi? It's an important one you know!
Khushi: Yes I am. I can't believe that they postponed it though, today of all the days. I wish I could have skipped it.
Arnav: Mrs. Raizada isn't allowed to skip meeting, unless of course you can't handle being the co-boss.
Khushi: Nonsense Mr. Raizada. I am perfectly capable. I handled the models better than would have.
Arnav: Oh really? Better than me eh?
Khushi: They probably would just spend the day drooling after Arnav Singh Raizada!
Arnav: I have had very successful fashion shows with those models. We'll see how yours is.
They continued to tease each other for the duration of the lunch. Truth be told, he loved this feisty Khushi! She was such a breath of fresh air and never afraid to speak her mind. Lunch had been fun today. He would make it a point to do it more often.
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Finally the meeting was over, as Khushi let out a sigh of relief. She had been upset that this meeting time had been changed and supposedly it has been important that she attend as well. Since she had made a commitment to the company to take her role seriously, she had reluctantly called up Jiji and asked them to take care of dinner preparations. It was close to 6 and at least she would have time to make some jalebis before Rohan and Maya arrived.
When they arrived home Khushi went up to get ready. Arnav had gotten stuck on a phone call, so he was outside in the car for a couple of minutes. As he headed back inside he ran into Mamiji.
Mamiji – Arnav bitwa – Hello Hi Bye Bye! What iz the hurry? Tell me about this Rohan
Arnav – Mamiji, Rohan is a nice guy. You know he is in the publicity business. He often deals with very famous models and even movie stars!
Mamiji – Hai! Movie Shtars? No one told me!
Arnav – Yes Mamiji. He could easily introduce to lots of famous celebrities. But you must keep this is a secret. He can't exactly take the whole family now can he?
Mamiji – Are's secrets..

Arnav winked at her and left her dreaming about meeting movie stars! Ahh this day was just getting better and better. He was actually eager to see Rohan getting special treatment from his family.