Chapter Three - The Bastard and The Klepto

 

A/N: There seems to be a misunderstanding. Akash is not discontent with his life. He was merely in a bad mood that particular day.

 

Chapter Three

 

If night had been a woman, today she would have made every man hit the cold shower, thought an unusually reflective Khushi. She was right - For it was a beautiful night. The stars seemed to twinkle with unusual vigour; the air... warm and summery felt fresh, the moon seemed a little less intimidating. It was a sultry night, seductive in her own sweet way.

 

The yellow orange Lamborghini cut its way through the light traffic with surreal ease. The tinted window was rolled down, letting the lovers of cars and the lovers of beauty ogle shamelessly. Khushi could hear the little girl in the auto tell her father how beautiful the didi in the orange car was. She could also hear the car-loving pedestrian mumble about her car’s many virtues in a voice a devotee usually reserved for God.

 

Dressed in a stunning black gown and her hair in a sophisticated chignon, Khushi looked a like a worthy rival to the beautiful night. Her sharp, hazel green eyes shone brightly and her face, in the moonlight, looked beautiful. Normally, Khushi’s beauty made the prettiest of women look ugly, today its radiance beautified everybody it fell on. Khushi smiled affectionately at her right leg peeking out of the daring side split, right down to her red ice pick heels. Traffic was light, the night was young and Khushi felt, and rightly so, beautiful. Oh yes, somebody was very happy.

 

Ten minutes later, she parked sharply outside the venue, and put her right leg, with its ice pick red heel, out.

 

It was this vision of perfection which greeted Akash as waited for a fashionably late Khushi to make an appearance. A beautiful sports car halting smoothly, and a fair, healthy leg stepping out of it. The first thing Akash noticed how shapely that leg was. Beautifully toned, like the legs of a dancer. The second thing he noticed was a small scar on the thigh. An ordinary man would not have noticed it, but Akash, famous for his ability to read deal papers upside down, zeroed in on the slight beige line marring the otherwise smooth leg. A stickler for details, our Akash was. You had to be one when you were Shashi Gupta’s right hand man.

 

The body which followed the rest of the leg was equally beautiful. Akash felt something squirm in him, like a hot prickly sensation envelope him when Khushi stepped out of the car. The first thing he noticed was her firm and ample cleavage, cleverly playing peek-a-boo underneath the halter. His eye slid down from her cleavage to her tiny waist, right down to the bold leg, in its red shoes standing out. Out of all the letter bombs, with the dominatrix syndrome in them, Khushi had to be the most beautiful one.

 

“If you’re done wondering if I’m the same girl who was caught driving drunk with vomit stains on her dress... may we proceed?”

 

Akash felt himself flush. He was lucky it wasn’t too light outside. Nevertheless, he offered his arm to Khushi and felt oddly happy when he felt her light arm place on his. They linked hands and walked towards the doorman, who studied their invite and let them in quietly. Suddenly, as they stepped inside, Akash felt this strange whim, which alternated between kissing her senseless, dancing with her and giving her a slap. He began to wonder if Khushi was a witch.  

 

* * *

 

It had been two hours since Akash and she had stepped in. She had promptly disentangled himself, and had left off to strike a conversation with a few business associates, instructing with soft nod, for Akash to do the same. The party had been what a business party usually is- Women pretending to enjoy the wine, when they clearly could not differentiate between Pepsi and Coke, men alternating between business talk and eyeing for the next potential mistress. Khushi was, if truth was to be told, bored out of her mind. She had done the needful. She had complimented the women generously. Just a silent bargain between their husbands and her. It was a simple deal. She shower love on their wives, they shower their love on the deals.

 

She delicately raised the silver goblet to her red lips. 1884, the waiter had boasted, before plying her with the wine. She looked around, searching for Akash. Just another hour, and they’d go.

 

“Ah, Ms. Gupta?”

 

She whirled around then, surprised to hear a young masculine voice in this party. She had not known there would be anyone here except her and Akash, who was the other way, deeply absorbed in conversation with the Mehra twins.

 

“Mr. Raizada? What are you doing here?”

 

“Me?” he replied with a smile. “I’m here to find out a way to ruin the Gupta Empire”

 

She smiled at the cleverly veiled challenge.

 

“Good luck with that Mr. Raizada. I’d love to see how you get rid of your... obstacles”

 

“I’m sure I can figure out a way”

 

“I wager you won’t”

 

The score, being tallied in both their heads, now read 2 all.

 

Arnav stepped next to her then, aware of the gossip the single step had stirred up. He stuck out in the sea of old, spotty men. A manly six feet tall with broad shoulders, his nut brown complexion glittering under the chandelier, he stood there- the tall, dark and handsome next to Khushi, waiting for her to initiate conversation.

 

“I heard about your father’s new girlfriend, Mr. Raizada. Congratulations. This would be your... fourth potential step mother?

 

“Oh no, Ms. Gupta. It would actually be the fourth woman walking into my room naked, begging me to have sex with her. Yes, I’m the bastard who steals his father’s women”

 

Akash approached them then, saying it was time to go home. Khushi smiled at him, and asked him to go ahead. Then she turned around to Arnav and smirked.

 

“And I’m the klepto who steals her father’s man”

 

Khushi swayed away then, aware that Arnav’s eyes were on her swinging derriere. Arnav raked a hand through his hair, and picked up some smoked salmon from the blushing waitress, who had approached him with a hopeful look in her eyes. He smiled and showed his appreciation to Mr. Wadawasi, who seeked him out to ask if he was enjoying the party.

 

The final score read four all.