Chapter 2

It was then that she realized that her eyes had tears rolling down, but her lips were parted in a smile. Self-mockery was more like it she thought.

"How is it doc?" he asked the doctor.

"Pretty bad! In fact, even for dressing, I should have given a sedative, but it's already late so I just finished cleaning the wound." The doc said frowning. He gave her a tetanus shot and took another saying, "This is a tranquilizer."

"No! No sedatives please!" Khushi said.

"Are you allergic to sedatives?" The doc asked.

"No! I mean yes!" She said. One thing she could not afford to do, was not to be on her guard. And she would let anyone sedate her over her dead body.

"Look Ms., you can tell me which formulation you are allergic to…" The doc insisted.

"All! It …they don't agree with me." Nor I with them! She thought inwardly.

The doctor turned to Deepthimaan and said, "Kunwar she needs to rest. It's...er...very painful actually and I am amazed how she is so very composed." He said looking at her and asked her, "Are you genetically resistant to pain?"

Deepthimaan was in a rare specter, as the lady smiled as her eyes filled with tears and she said, "I experience pain alright doctor. But I am averse to bowing down to it."

The doc shook his head and said, "Amazing! But one thing my dear...high pain threshold levels are not always good news. You understand don't you? Here let me give this mild one… it will sooth the pain and you will be safe" He gave her another shot, and then patted on her hand and left after giving her a prescription.

She looked at the piece of paper and smiled and looked up just in time to see the man in front of her studying her. He simply asked, "Why that smile?"

She smiled and said, "So much about these, that are supposed to be pain killers. Little do they know that, pain can be circumvented but not the scars! They stay." Deepthimaan narrowed his eyes and looked at her! She seemed to be saying something about life, and it didn't take him much to understand that she must have had a bad experience with hers.

She suddenly raised her head embarrassed of her musings and said, "This was not necessary."

"Objection over ruled!" He said waving his hand in dismissal saying, "And I just wonder how you typed and edited all that stuff!"

"Nothing much sir," she brushed him aside and said, "If you have finished here, may I start working sir?"

Deepthimaan was zapped by her audacity.

"No you may not!" He said tongue in cheek and noticed her going still.

"You are going home Ms. Ms.?" He asked her, her name.

"I am Khushi!" She said grimly. Deepthimaan noticed she did not mention her surname. Was she married?

And why was she so very uptight all the time? He had to find out! Don't they do a third party check on their staff? What was he paying for to that premium manpower consultancy that they commissioned to hire employees?

"Excuse me sir?" She fluttered her eyelashes.

"You are going home Khushi." He said.

"No way sir I need to finish the work."

"No! You are going home and taking rest for the day!" He said sternly.

"No sir I can't!" Khushi said lamely.

"Says who?" He asked narrowing his eyes challenging her.

Bloody hell it was his organization and the slip of a lady was talking back to him, and that too when he was trying to be nice to her.

"Says me. Mr. Avadhani will skin me alive…" she caught her tongue just in time…and looked at him stricken.

He was smiling ruefully as he said, "Tough isn't it? Ok Let me talk to your boss" he moved and she too moved in panic pleading, "No! Please!"

"Watch me" he said and simply called out, "Neha!"

The door burst open and Khushi groaned inwardly, as she knew people were hanging just outside curious about why the Prince had come down, and that too to talk to her! "Mr. Avadhani" He said and he pressed a button on the intercom and said, "Suri!" Khushi turned to him and said, "Sir please! I appreciate your concern for your employees! But I am ok! I don't er… want my boss to be upset with me. I …"

"Yes Kunwar ji?" Mr. Avadhani entered into the cabin, before she could finish.

"Avadhani ji let her go for the day!" Deepthimaan's voice boomed in the tiny cabin.

"OK sir! She may take half day leave." Mr. Avadhani was no less.

"NO Avadhani ji! She is going and not on leave. She is going on…" he was about to say sick leave, but somehow he felt she did not like it that way. He turned and saw her eyes spewing venom at him. Suddenly he wanted to see her expression if he were scandalous. He smiled naughtily and said, "Because I say so. She will not be marked for the day, and tomorrow too. She will join back on the day after." Khushi felt like digging a hole and crawling into it.

How very embarrassing!

Raina had told her the Prince was well known for his escapades with women. However, they were with top celebrities and not with any of his staff. And remotely with a Plain Jane like her. She grimaced.

Avadhani cleared his throat scandalously and said, "As you say sir"

The door opened and a very handsome dusky young man stepped in and he smiled and said, "Kunwar?"

"Thank you Avadhani ji! Suri get the vehicle ready" Deepthimaan dismissed the elderly auditor and as an afterthought added, "Suri wait!" He turned to Khushi and asked her, "Where do you stay?"

"What?" Khushi was taken aback.

"Is it nearby?" He asked her ignoring her.

"Ummm…" Khushi stalled replying him.

"Ok! Call home and ask someone to pick you." The Prince was dishing out orders.

She had to put a stop to it, before it went out of hands.

"That's not necessary sir." Khushi said very firmly.

"It is." He replied as firmly.

"It isn't." She lowered her voice a notch, to get the upper hand.

"Believe me. It is. "He hissed and his eyes challenged her to negate him.

"Isn't!" she whispered almost.

"Why are you so stubborn?" He asked her, irritated at her.

Khushi gulped and looked away.

"Can't you call someone to pick you?" He asked her again.

"No sir! I don't want to bother anyone. I shall go on my own." She said very softly.

"The hell you will!" Deepthimaan lost his cool!

Bloody hell he was slogging away and one slip of a secretary was standing and arguing with him about going home.

Khushi flinched and he abruptly stopped and shook his head and said, "Look! You were given a tranquilizer! Ok? So spare this drama! You can't be on your own for God's sake… Now call someone!"

"Ok Sir! I will go by a taxi." She said as he turned to leave and he stopped midway and asked, "Taxi?"

She said, "Yeah!"

"Why? Call someone damn it!" He yelled at her.

She gulped and closed her eyes! There wasn't anyone to call! Little did he know! "Women!" He rolled his eyes and glared at her and said, "Aah! Suri! Inhay ghar chodnaa hai…"

(She needs to be dropped at her home.)

"That's not necessary sir! Thank you" she was still talking when he reached her in two strides dwarfing her, and breathed down on her saying, "I…shall decide what's necessary here at the Corporal. Suri will drop you safely. And now no more arguments! Pack your bag go home. Get well Ms."

He turned looked at the man Suri and said, "Suri…" Khushi noticed that he never spoke one word but the man called Suri just looked at him and nodded as if they were communicating silently and the door closed with a resounding click.

"Neechay parking mein hain…aap aajaayiye."

(I shall wait in the parking area. Please come.) Suri left her staring at the door, through which Raina breezed in.

"What is all this babes?" Raina exclaimed.

"Now please don't start Raina. I am leaving for the day. These are the keys and…." Khushi quickly handed over the work and went down.

Chasing the Rainbow

"Aap kay Kunwar ithnay ziddi kyun hain?"

(Why is your Prince so very stubborn?) She asked SurPal Singh, who she found out was the aide of the Prince from Raina.

He smiled and said lovingly, "Dheeth aur bahuth hi pyaarey!"

(Stubborn, but very adorable too!)

Khushi shook her head and muttered "Fan club!" that's the name she gave to all the women who drooled over him at the Corporal.

"Yes of course! You can't not love our prince you know?" SurPal said in chaste English and she stared at him as he said, "I am an MS in agriculture, Ms. and I am proud be his aide!"

"No wonder!" Khushi grimaced again.

"Yep! You are right. He is so….um… I can't explain it to you but he is what he is - a true prince by any standards. Just that people go by his so called reputation…" he said smiling at her.

"Ok! I am sorry I said something against him. Please drop me at…" Khushi got busy giving him a false address.

As he dropped her she waited and called a taxi and went home. None would ever know where she lived.

A week later…

Khushi lazily put the washed clothes up for drying and looked at the small alarm piece by her bedside. It said half past two. She did every possible chore and even woke up late but could not pass time. It ate at her. She dug up the flowerbeds on behalf of the owner and even watered the plants as well as cleaned the tiny bathroom till its old tiles gleamed like diamonds.

She gave up and packed her stuff in a backpack. She wore her normal attire for an outing. It was carefully chosen for camouflage and went to the opposite side of Mumbai first and then got down and took a taxi to one of the elite's malls to pass time.

Chasing the Rainbow

Thakur Deepthimaan Singh Rathore sipped on his coffee and waited for Eisha Bhujpal. The woman was getting on to his nerves and he was almost about to bid her goodbye. She was good-a nice distraction for him. A no-nonsense woman who minded her own business! They went out together, and spent the leisure time with common friends. The sex was great. But of late he had this feeling that was nagging at him. Everyone seemed to be shallow and he was tired of all relationships. He had his moments and contrary to all his buddies who were getting married, saying it was time to settle down, he thought it was time to get detached. Relationships were well off as long as they were far and few. Friends getting married, was ok. He was happy for them but… Imagine one right under your nose and nagging at you! He groaned. His mom was forever asking him the question and he did not know how to explain it to her. He wanted something that stirred his soul. All women he met and was with, were good no doubt. Some were really very enterprising as they bore his eccentricities too, but he never felt that strong urge to be with someone or rather what they said that he never experienced the fear of losing someone as yet. He treated his partners as his equals and with respect. He never ever felt that he would be lost without them. That was it! He never felt the urge to completely give up on himself for the sake of a woman. No woman made him feel so. Women loved him. He had a natural charm or so they told him. He maintained himself in good physical form and also his bank balance, his lips twisted wryly.

Women swooned over him and he was tired of being nudged by each one of them towards the altar. For him, such a thing happened only if he felt it from inside that he would cease to exist without the woman. Moreover, for him, the feelings and the truthfulness of the whole thing mattered not some piece of paper called a marriage certificate. No woman could ever bring that tumult of feelings inside him, for him to feel the urge to be bound to someone at that level. On the contrary, their shallow and greedy nature turned him off more and more these days, and he would be most often bored or turned off by their artificial shells of pompousness.

His mobile rang and it was Eisha! She said she was held up and was starting and he groaned. He had to meet her and tell her that he was off but he needed to do that in a decent manner. After all they were going together for the past two years! That was the longest fling he ever had… he thought. He intended to do that on the weekend. Just explain to her coz he never made any promises and she understood his free spiritedness, a quality that attracted him to allow her to be his partner in the first place.

As he sipped on his coffee, a movement caught his eye and he looked to his right and saw a young girl sitting on one of the circular sit-outs with a backpack and he smiled. It was a Sunday and people were in a mad rush for shopping and … he turned his face, froze and jerked his head back!

It was her! What was her name? Yes! Khushi! Oh God! She was in a faded jeans and a light blue-checkered cotton shirt that hung loose over her greyish jumper. Her long tresses were secured high up on her head and cascaded down the clutch that held them in a heap on her head.

She looked… she looked… cool! She checked her watch munching on something and then relaxed watching the crowd that was milling by.

She must be waiting for someone. Who could it be? May be her boyfriend or husband! Husband? How could she be married? Why can't she be married…? An inner voice demanded. Somehow he felt very odd! He didn't like the feeling of her being married to someone. He frowned and then jerked back to the present shocked.

Since when was he thinking about all these things!

Rathore you are losing it! He grimaced.

He shook his head and called Eisha and as she lied again that she had started, told her off in a stern voice, and cut the call and walked out to leave.

He noticed Khushi got up too and started walking. She walked a few paces and as he turned to his left vanished to the right and he smiled and walked through and then realized he had to go to the right and walked back to see her retracing her steps and then going to the left.

He frowned. What was about this woman, which was very odd! She was kind of secretive he realized. He slowly followed her and found her going towards the exit. She stopped at the ATM and he realized she withdrew money and then walked out. Deepthimaan shook his head. May be she remembered to draw money after she started for the exit. But… he was not convinced. Years of training under his dad Raja Beerendra Singh ji Rathore, made his natural instincts to cry hoarse!

He got into his vehicle and called Subhojit and said, "Jitey! Run a third party check on that secretary to Avadhani ji…Oh…Yes! Yes! Khushi or whatever is her name, and I want all info by tomorrow. And one more thing as an afterthought! Run her through a profilogist can you? Ok! Category?" He asked him selves and closed his eyes and said 'X'" and cut the call.

That was a code for top confidentiality at the Corporal next only to Alpha, which was used for his parents and sister Sanjuktha.