The Contrivance-5

5

“…and the award for the best businessman of the year goes to…. Any guesses?” The celebrity anchor smiled at the audience.

“ASR!” The crowd cheered, and the anchor announced, ”You are right! The award goes to Mr. Arnav Singh Rajwada! For the third consecutive year and I request …the hon’ble minister of commerce to give away the award to Mr. Arnav Singh Rajwada!”

Amidst applause, Arnav walked on to the stage received the award and as usual refused to give a thank you speech and when the anchor prevailed took the mike and turned towards the audience. The crowd cheered and broke into applause and his eyes searched the VIP stand as he said,” Thank you! All you lovely people there” and kissed the trophy and turned again handing over the mike and then he saw her standing up and clapping along with the others.

The Contrivance

“ And the cut off? Ok! But I won’t be responsible for your part of the black money. My part I shall convert but yours I don’t want to deal with. Ok then. Deal set. Thanks and good night” he cut his call and looked at an annoyed Khushi who had been waiting for over two hours for the call to be finished.

Mr. Rajwada… she started only to be stalled by him as he said,” Just a second. I am famished and let me eat first.”

“You…?” She could not go further as he smiled ruefully saying, you can’t blame a man who works as hard as me for being hungry. Can you?

Have another coffee” and ordered for one without waiting for her to agree for it.

Khushi sighed and looked at him, as he ate his dinner with relish.

The last three hours were by far the most eventful three hours of her life. As soon as he left for receiving the award, she opened the packet he threw in her lap with trembling fingers and noted the contents as cold fear gripped her heart. News clippings and a few snaps spilt out of the envelope. She had stared horrified at the contents.

It was the Namitha Punjal murder case. That which shook the nation with many bigwigs involved. If the news clippings unarmed her, the photos made her go speechless. They were those, which had never seen the light of the day, and she just gaped at them open mouthed. She broke into cold sweat, as the grotesque scenes stared into her face one after the other …

“HellO?” Arnav’s waved his hand across her face making her come back to the present as he asked,” How about a night cap with me?”

“Lets talk about the deal” Khushi said coldly.

“Ok! As you wish my lady” Arnav said grimly and said,” Not here. We shall go to my farm house in Karjat.”

“No!” She said firmly.

“What?” Arnav was taken aback.

“I said No.” She repeated.

“Since when do you think you have a say in all this?” He demanded.

“Since the beginning.” She said and Arnav thought she was pale.

“Oh! Is that so? News to me” he quipped sarcastically.

“Listen! What do you want? Its evident that you want something. Do you…? She paused, gulped hard and looked around lowering her voice asked,” Do you even know what you gave me?”

He smiled then!

And what a smile it was!

It took her breath away as ASR never smiled, or so she had heard. But when he did she realized why he never smiled.

It was lethal! The chiseled features on his face, which was carved out of stone, gave way to a radiance that was unparalleled. She held her breath as his face transformed completely with that smile and made him look entirely different from what the world branded him as-A ruthless Deal Master!

“I just happened to give you the nomination for the best Journalist Award for the year 2016.” He said coolly.

“Why?” Khushi asked him.

“Lets say, I play fair” was his reply.

“What do you want?” She asked him.

Arnav looked at the woman seated opposite to him and she was thawing and rising to the bait. He thought she would be easy. But she played hard to get, which he knew was only to entice him.

He knew!

All these so called emancipated career women needed the right amount of cajoling and at the end it was greed that won over everything else hands down. Even relationships were deals! Individuals bargained hard for what they wanted. He learnt it the hard way. It was more of ‘what’s there in it for me and what’s there I can get more out of the game’ You match the price and you buy your fill. The lady was very talented and was very ambitious. He had a back check done on her, and she was very careful in her dealings. One thing that was strange in her dossier and which attracted her attention was, there was no connection what’s so ever with any man. It was strange. In her line, and that too being a single woman living in Mumbai, she did not have even one connection with any man.

Very odd!

Either she was ultra discrete, which was not likely, as the agency he hired was top notch, or she had some phobia or aversion to men. He checked about her professional competence and guessed that she wanted a break badly to reach the top rung and just provided the right ammunition and here she was standing in his firing line.

“I said we will speak at my farm house.” He said.

“Sorry” she said. “I don’t go to farmhouses.”

“Oh! But I do!” He quipped.

“Then you proceed. After you reach there you let me know. I will call you.” She said boldly…taking a deep breath.

She was actually shaking in her shoes. She was shit scared.

Such a big case and it was not easy to publish that.

“Are you kidding me K?” He asked her.

“Er…”  she hesitated.

“It’s my way or no other way.” He made it clear.

“Think about it…”he prodded her.

“I… can’t go with you.” She said looking at everything at the table but at him.

“Why?” He asked her.

“Co…..co…..oz…” she stuttered…

“You are afraid of me.” He completed the sentence for her.

“You? No way?” She denied crushing her dress with her fingers so tight that she was sure the wrinkle-free material would show creases.

“Or….let me guess…. are you scared of men by any chance?” He mused throwing his head back and studying her reaction.

“It came bang on as she panicked and said,” Offf ccccourse…. NNNNooottt!!! Why should I be?”

“Coz you are scared of men.Period.” He made a statement.

“I am not!” She denied.

“Then prove it to me!” He challenged her.

“I don’t need to.” She said squarely.

“You must!” He prevailed.

“Says who?” She was enraged and he noticed how her eyes shone with anger.

“Says me.” He said very coolly.

“Who are you to…” She started but stopped….as he caught her hand tightly across the table and said, ”Stop this nonsense and let us finish the terms of the deal.”

“Exactly my point.You are the one who is beating round the bush” she accused him.

“We can’t talk here.” He said irritated.

“Why not?” she demanded.

“Coz…we can’t” he hissed looking her. “You know we need to be discrete about it.”

“I….”She did not know what to say.

“Think about it K. Just in one shot you will be what you would never even dream about- even if you slog for the next ten years.” He lured her.

“But… why would you do that? Help me out so much?” she asked him.

“Coz I need something in return.” He said.

She enquired with her eyes and he said, “ Farm house!”

She shook her head and said, “ Are you so stubborn all the time?”

“All the time” He purred making her to shift in her chair in panic.

“Ok! You will behave …iiiiiiifffff….. I….go with you.” She said finally mustering up all her courage.

It was confirmed! He thought staring at her cheeks that were sheet white and her knuckles that were white and about to break with the pressure applied on them, as she held her side of the table, with both her hands.

She was shit scared of men.

Just what he wanted!

He had to marry the woman! What fate!

“You must know as a leading journalist that I don’t accept terms K. I dictate them for others to follow.? He said smugly.

That meant…he would… Oh no! Khushi froze.