Solace

Chapter 41

"Tell our designer to meet me in 5 minutes", Karishma instructed one of the employees as he approached her along with Amit.

Before Amit could answer, the other man replied, "Haseena? God she is so carel...", but his words remained in his mouth as he saw Karishma glaring at him.

"Ji", Karishma said in a firm tone. He glanced at Amit once who gave him a "you are so gone" look, very well aware of her boss's protective nature for that certain person.

"Haseenaji", Karishma corrected him while he continued to give her a puzzled look. "Apki chacha ki beti nahi hai woh, jaise naam le rahe hai!" she added, shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

"Ji.. matlab Haseenaji ko.. I will go and inform her", he said in a fearful tone before escaping the place hastily.

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"Inn logo ko saans lene ka toh fursat hota hai nahi, lekin inhe niharne ke liye waqt hi waqt hai, wah!" Haseena murmured to herself, infuriated at her colleagues' not so decent staring session from a few minutes ago when someone informed her that she was asked to meet Miss Singh urgently. She felt her cheeks heating up once again at the mention of Karishma's name. She took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts in order to face "Miss Singh".

"Apne hume bulaya tha?" Haseena asked, entering the cabin where Karishma was seated with Santosh.

"Ji bilkul", Karishma replied. While Haseena and Santosh exchanged a smile, Karishma handed her some files, "It's one of the plans we thought for the site. Ap apni designs ke hisab se coordination kar lijiyega."

Haseena took a glance at the file for once and said, "Okay."

"Thank you", Karishma said plainly and got busy with her work.

A layer of disappointment appeared on Haseena's face for a brief moment as if she was expecting to hear something more than this but soon composed herself when Santosh indulged her in a light conversation. Karishma seemed to pay no heed to them until Haseena finally left, although she had all her attention on the latter and could repeat every word she uttered.

"Continue with the facade for now, Hasi. But I can see through it", Karishma murmured under her breath, staring at Haseena's retreating figure.

"Kya chal raha hai ?" Santosh asked as she witnessed the whole scene unfold in front of her. Karishma looked back at her casually as Santosh continued, "Tum abhi bhi kal raat ki baat ko pakad ke baithi ho?"

"Exactly", Karishma replied, winking at her.

"Urghh, how are this two similar!" Santosh groaned in irritation as the little incident from last night flashed her mind.

Around 11 pm, Karishma entered the hotel and went directly to Santosh's room to let her know that she was back from the party as per her strict instruction but found her busy in a video call with Cheetah.

"Thikse khana to khata hai na tu?", she heard Santosh saying and decided to wait until she was done with the call. "Aur ek baat, woh teekhiwali vada pav toh bilkul mat khana. Yaad hai na pichli baar kaise bimar pad gaya tha tu", Karishma settled herself on the couch while Santosh continued with her strict instructions. "Aur waha koi bhi nahi hai tera khayal rakhne ke liye", the immense care and love beneath her strictness, didn't go unnoticed by Karishma.

"Tumhe meri fikar rehti hai na?" Cheetah asked from the other side of the call and Karishma could feel the huge grin on his face just by hearing his tone.

"Haan phir!" Santosh was quick with her response. "Ab Mumbai jaise sheher mein tu apne dimag ke sahare kaise guzara kar payega!" Santosh taunted him but Cheetah began to admire her, disregarding her sarcastic remark as they finally ended the call after a few more minutes.

"Aj time se ayi ho tum!" Santosh said, turning to face Karishma, "kya baat hai!"

Karishma nodded while Santosh took a seat beside her. "Janbujh ke karti ho na yeh?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Kya?" Santosh asked cluelessly.

"Yahi jo tum apne pyaar ko nazar andazgi ki naqab mei chupake rakhti ho!" Karishma spoke dramatically, twisting her eyebrows with a smirk.

Santosh was taken aback by this sudden query as Karishma's grin got wider. "Aiss..aisa kk..kuch bhi nahi hai!" She tried to cover up but fumbled as if someone had caught her stealing in broad daylight.

"Sach batao", Karishma asked gently, "What's stopping you?"

"Pata nahi", Santosh just hid her face between her palms. Karishma thought not to push her further rather put her hand around Santosh who instantly leaned her head on her shoulder, hiding her uncertainty in the cocoon of her sister's embrace.

"Kuch bhi ho, humari Cheetah bhaia ki love story toh set hai", Karishma teased Santosh with a naughty grin.

"Tumhe sharam nahi aati apni behen ki setting karane ki baat kar rahi ho", Santosh said, faking her anger.

"Agar koi aur tumhe set karne ki koshish karta toh zaroor uska tang tod deti", Karishma said, her demeanor laden with protectiveness. "Lekin Cheetah tumse bohut pyaar karta hai and you love him too, so..", she continued as her stern expression changed into a smile. Santosh was going to open her mouth to dismiss her claim but Karishma cut her off, "Ab natak mat karo mere samne. Mai Cheetah nahi hu!"

Instead of firing back Santosh sat there with an upset layer on her face. Karishma noticed that and asked, "Kya soch rahi ho?"

Santosh glanced back at Karishma once before saying, "You see how I have been very indifferent to him, uski feelings ki kadar nahi ki..'', hesitation and uncertainty was very evident in her voice as she paused, "Lekin usse koi kadar karnewali mil gayi aur woh mujhse dur chala gaya toh!"

"Waise milni toh chahiye taaki tumhari akal thikane aye", Karishma provoked her deliberately.

"Karuu", Santosh chided, throwing a pen at Karishma in anger who burst into laughter.

"Accha baba sorry", Karishma said, trying to control her laugh and Santosh left the room, stomping her feet to the ground.

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The intensity of the glaring sun rays lessened with the soothing arrival of the afternoon. Karishma was going through her emails, sitting still in her cabin when the sound of opening her door was heard and she averted her gaze at it.

"I was late, toh socha apne boss ko sorry bol du", Kashish said with a sheepish smile, gesturing towards the coffee cups in her hands.

"Bas aise hi sorry bola kijiye", Karishma responded playfully as she helped her with the cups, settling themselves on the sofa placed at the left corner of the cabin. With every sip of the coffee, their conversation flowed naturally, mirroring the comfort of their newfound friendship. But unknown to them, a pair of eyes watched them from distance, with a growing uneasiness lingering in them.

"Humare haath mei file thama ke khud aramse baithke coffee pe rahi hai", Haseena muttered, her voice echoed through the eerie silence of the empty restroom.

"What exactly are you complaining about? That she was having coffee or she was having coffee with someone else?" an annoying voice in her head questioned. "Admit it, you are as possessive about Karishma as she is about you", the voice asserted once again but Haseena was quick to dismiss it. "Just because you hide it under the surface?", the voice scoffed. Haseena splashed cold water on her face in an attempt to subside the whirlpool of emotions surging through her but in vain. "When did they become so close!" She thought as a sense of jealousy started to loom inside her. And much as she wanted not to acknowledge this but she hated Kashish's presence around Karishma, the way they talked and laughed as if they had known each other for an eternity.

Occupied in her thoughts, Haseena failed to notice someone's presence behind her until they came close enough for their body to have contact, making her flinch. She turned around to face the person and didn't know if she should feel relieved or anxious to see her at this particular moment.

"Aap..", Haseena asked, which came out as a mere whisper…

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