Game of Blogs: Story6d | Chapter 11 | Aryan's Magic

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Chapter 11 - Aryan's Magic

Read the previous part of the story here.
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Chapter 11 | Aryan's Magic

24 Carat Apartments 

When Jennifer stepped down from the taxi near Tara’s apartment complex, she was unsure of her next step. 

On an impulse, she had grabbed her bag and strode out of the office. But now, standing in front of the apartment, she was feeling foolish. What would she do, go up to Aryan’s flat, ring the doorbell and ask, ‘Dude, what is your relationship with Tara?’

Even the thought made her feel silly. She had to think about her next step. She was still trying to understand why Tara had chosen her to do this detective work on Cyrus. Shrugging her slim shoulders, Jennifer made her way to find Aryan’s flat number.

The watchman turned helpful when Jennifer slipped a hundred rupee note and smiled her sweetest smile. Finding the flat was easy. What was not easy was deciding what to do next?

She made note of the address in a note book and went to check out the flat’s parking slot. In all probability, Aryan would be out at work and there wouldn’t be any vehicle parked. She was in for a surprise when she saw a bright blue Volkswagen Beetle parked cozily in the slot. Obviously, this Aryan had some pricey taste. Jennifer ran a finger over the car and clicked some pictures.

When she straightened up, Jennifer felt someone standing behind her. Startled, she turned around. 

A man was leaning on a pillar, watching her intently, a smile playing on his lips. He was wearing sun glasses and was dressed in a steel grey suit. Hands in his pockets, he looked ready to walk the ramp, the next minute. His perfume was heady. He removed his sunglasses and considered her with his sharp, grey-brown eyes. With a smile playing on his lips, he asked, ‘Hello Miss, do you like my car?’ 

Oh, what a voice, Jennifer thought. She had noticed how smoothly he had conducted himself. 

‘Hi, err, yeah! I am sorry. I just couldn’t stop myself from clicking pictures. The Beetle is my favourite car,’ Jennifer stammered. Her mind was going on overdrive trying to think of a smart response.

‘It is alright, I am sure, a pretty lady like yourself can’t mean harm’ Aryan said, smoothing his perfectly cut suit. Jennifer felt stumped. She hadn’t thought of being discovered. She smiled.

Aryan came closer, extended his hand and said, ‘May I have the courtesy of getting to know you, Miss?’

‘Hi, I am Jennifer. I was visiting a friend and happened to see your car.’ Jennifer managed to say and smiled.

‘Aryan Ahuja, it is my pleasure Miss,’ Aryan said his voice smooth as silk holding Jennifer’s hand a second longer than necessary. Jennifer felt floored by the attention. She had had her share of male fans but no one close to as good looking as Aryan. Her heart did a small flutter.

‘May I drop you somewhere, Miss?’ Aryan asked, opening the passenger side door and smiling at Jennifer.

Jennifer saw this as an opportunity to get closer to the truth about Cyrus and the connection between Aryan and Cyrus. She nodded and thanked the man profusely. Aryan was a true gentleman and stood by holding the door while Jennifer settled down. He closed the door softly and strode towards the driver side. 

He got in smoothly and reversed the car out of the slot. The man was smooth and hot, Jennifer decided. She felt her knees go weak.    

The ride was a bit long, as there was a lot of traffic at that time. People gawked at the swanky car. Jennifer felt overwhelmed at all the attention. Aryan was making polite conversation. Jennifer decided to pitch in and do some digging.

She asked, putting on her best smile, ‘So, are you from around here? You look new.’

Aryan looked at her, smiled, and shook his head, ‘No, I am not from here, I 

shifted a while back.’

He continued, ‘I have some important unfinished business here, I need to close a chapter.’

Jennifer felt a shiver going down her spine. Suddenly, the man’s face had hardened and she could see his facial muscles clench. He was certainly angry or some memory had made him mad. Well, interesting, she thought.

And suddenly as it had happened, Aryan’s face softened and he smiled. Jennifer sighed softly, and said, ‘Oh, ok. Oh, I almost forgot, I will get off here, my office is close by.’      

‘Oh, is it so? In Mahindra Towers?’ Aryan asked, his eyebrow raised quizzically.

‘Err, yes, I work for Happy Advertising.’ Jennifer said.

‘Aah, interesting, small world, must say,’ Aryan said, smiling. Jennifer tried to read the expression on the man’s face. His face was taut, and she couldn’t understand what was running on his mind. He smartly pulled over and unlocked the car.  

Jennifer got off the car, her heart missing a beat, when Aryan lightly touched her arm.

She turned.  

‘Nice meeting you Jennifer.’ Her name sounded like honey on his tongue. And he pronounced it very cutely. Jennifer felt a strong attraction to the man.  

She smiled, ‘Yes! Same here, thank you so much for the ride, I thoroughly enjoyed it,’ Jennifer said, gushing. The Beetle still had her fascinated. The man looked so hot. Was he married? Jennifer found herself blushing. ‘You are most welcome, Miss. See you around,’ Aryan said.

Aryan waved and drove off. He saw Jennifer watching him go, in the rear view mirror, and knew he had had a devastating effect on the girl. He smiled. He always had that effect. Except on one; His smile faded, giving way to a dark sulk.   

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Jennifer returned to her cubicle, overwhelmed by her short adventure. Her mind was full of Aryan and Cyrus. Was Aryan Shekhar and Tara’s classmate? If so, why had Tara ignored him earlier? There was something more happening than what hit the eye. She had to dig deeper to unearth some clues about Aryan and how Cyrus knew him. She wondered if Aryan had deliberately found a flat in Tara’s apartment.

At the office, Jennifer realized that a few people from the design team had looked out for her. She met up with them and noted their requirements. Some were color changes, some new requests. Jennifer sighed.    

Suddenly, this whole 'detective' work seemed very exciting. Tara pinged to check if Jennifer had found something. Jennifer told her about Cyrus' blogs but hid the adventure part. 

She decided to do some sleuthing. She started piecing together whatever she had learnt that day. Somehow, after some thought, she realized that Tara knew Aryan very well and there was something that Tara was hiding. She would speak with Tara later. She wanted to find out if this Cyrus knew Aryan well or vice versa. Somehow, she wanted to find out why Aryan had this kind of keen interest in Tara as well? And, had he meant Tara, when he had said 'close a chapter' in the car? 
      

Suddenly, her mobile phone came to life and Jennifer jumped. She spoke softly, not wanting to let people hear her conversation.

Her mind distracted, Jennifer logged into Facebook.

She smiled when she saw Cyrus’ message in her inbox. Cute!

She replied, ‘Hey Cyrus, happened to read your blog, must say, I am super impressed. Can we chat sometime, get to know each other?’

Cyrus was online, checking out Jennifer’s profile page. He smiled after reading the message. Jennifer went online and pinged Cyrus. While they were chatting, Jennifer noticed a new friend request on her profile page. Curious, she clicked and gasped. Her cheeks went red, ‘Aryan.’

She turned around to check if anyone was looking. None.

Her heart was beating loudly. She accepted the request. Soon, unexpectedly, she got a ping. Aryan!

‘Hey Jennifer’. 

‘Hi Aryan, thanks for adding me,’ Jennifer smiled and typed. 

She kept looking over her shoulder. She was scared that Tara would see her chatting with Aryan.

Cyrus had sent her a link to his latest blog post. Interesting. Jennifer smiled.

Two men, one super-hot, the other, a cool whiz, were vying for her attention. Jennifer sighed. She had work to do. She was supposed to dig stuff out from this Cyrus character, not romance the hot hunk Aryan. 

Shrugging, Jennifer told Aryan that she had a meeting to go to and logged off. She texted Cyrus and asked him to add her on WhatsApp. He immediately did, to Jennifer's surprise.  

In the meeting, Jennifer kept thinking about Aryan and Cyrus. Wasn’t it a bit too fast? Almost as if Cyrus was very keen to befriend her. Well, let us see. Her mind kept returning to Aryan, his manly smell, and the way he had swayed her off her feet. The guy was a charmer alright. Even if he did that to all the women he met, it was nice to be treated like that. Jennifer smiled. Aryan was definitely cute! 

When the meeting got over, Jennifer crossed Tara's cabin. Immersed in her phone, Jennifer missed Tara's wave. Tara was mildly amused to see a usually bubbly Jennifer, silent and lost. She felt more amused when she saw Jennifer smiling to herself. 

She tried hard not to connect what she had witnessed an hour ago with Jennifer's lost look. 

An hour ago
Tara had been looking out for Jennifer. She happened to peer through her window when she saw Jennifer getting down from a very familiar looking Beetle. Tara took a few seconds to realize that Jennifer had got down from Aryan's Beetle. Tara's favorite car was the Beetle and her favorite color, Blue. Well, to speak of coincidences. 

She had to find out what this Jennifer was doing with that man. 

'Jennifer, may I speak with you?' Tara came up behind Jennifer and lightly tapped the girl on her shoulder. Jennifer turned. Tara caught a glimpse of what Jennifer had been immersed in: Aryan's facebook profile! What was this girl doing? Frowning, Tara, turned and walked back to her room. 

'Sure, Tara, give me a minute,' Jennifer blurted. Tara noticed the change of color on Jennifer's face and decided to chill. Jennifer walked in after a few minutes.    

24 Carat Apartments | Aryan’s flat

Hmm. Aryan sighed, this girl Jennifer, was quite a looker. He had felt mesmerized by her. For the past few years, he had been so immersed in his work that he had had no time to use his charms on any woman. He wanted to have some fun now.  

Read the next part of the story here. 

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