Hi everyone! I've been saying sorry quite frequently today, but i'd like to say it again...I'm very sorry for updating so late. I'd then also like thank you all for your very sweet comments. They've all brought a HUGE smile to my face. Sorry for not personally replying to them. I'm sure you'll perfer this chapter instead😉😆. I hope to read your feedback soon! Hope you all like it!
Chapter 3
"How do you know what kind of person he is? He could be a serial killer for all you know" said Heer as she took a step away from Prem, "I'm not working with you guys on this. You can't make me."
"Oh yes we can. I'll call your dad and tell him everything. Then he'll give you the choice to either stay here and work with us or to go back to Punjab. I'm sure after everything that happened last weekend, you're family would be more than happy to have you back" Sahej said as he smirked at her.
"You can't do that to me" said Heer uncertainly.
"Oh yes I can and I will too" said Sahej, "So what do you want to do…work with us or to go back to Punjab?"
"I…uh…I…um…You know I hate you Sahej!" said Heer in frustration.
"Thank you sweetheart, I love you too" he replied with a grin on his face, "So I guess you'll be working with us now".
Heer sighed and muttered a simple "yes" before she headed out of the hotel with Akki and Ash trailing closely behind. As soon as Heer was out of sight, Sahej turned back to the two gentlemen, still grinning.
Preet smiled at him and asked "Where'd you find a personality like her?"
Sahej smiled and said "We're actually childhood best-friends along with Ashlesha. The 3 of our father's were best friends even before we were born, so the legacy lived on."
"I like her. She's quite dramatic" Preet said, but saw the expression on Sahej's face change and quickly added "in a sisterly way".
"Are you sure she'll be able to handle all this. I hope you don't have her working on this project just because you're best friends. I like upmost professionalism" Prem said in a monotone manner.
"Don't worry Prem. She's had to work her way to her current position. She wouldn't let me just give her the position. She's quite hardworking, experienced, trustworthy and knowledgeable. You'll be quite surprised to find she has another side to her personality than the one you've come across" Sahej said as he smiled at an unsure Prem.
Prem stood there with doubts in his mind. He wasn't sure if going ahead with project was a good idea anymore and he was definitely not looking forward to working with that brat.
~~~
Thursday, August 11th
It was early in the morning as Heer jogged vigorously on the treadmill at one of the most elite gyms in Manhattan. This was one of those moments where she was able to be out in public and not worry about having her bodyguard with her despite the fact that Akki was on the other floor doing his workouts. Heer slowed down her pace as she prepared herself to stop. As she stopped she grabbed her water bottle and started walking towards the locker room. As she opened the top to drink the water, someone turned around bumping into her and causing the water to spill onto her clothes. Without looking up she said "Prem" with a sigh.
She looked up and saw Prem standing in front of her with a not-again look. Before he could say anything she dramatically whined "not again! What did I ever do to deserve this?!"
As Prem went to reply back, Heer cut in once again and said "if you're going to say sorry, then it's okay. I'm used to it now. If you weren't going to say sorry, then don't bother saying anything at all. I don't want to know".
"Excuse me. Can you be quiet for a minute" cut in Prem, "I wasn't going to say sorry. You were the one drinking water as you walked, so it's your fault that the water spilled on your clothes. I was just going to say to watch where you're going."
"Well EXCUSE ME, but you were the one that bumped into me so it's your fault all this happened" said Heer.
Before Prem could retort back, they heard someone say "well, well, well, look at who we have here. My gorgeous ex-fiance Ms. Heer Maan"
Both Heer and Prem turned around to find Sameer walking towards them with a huge smirk on his face. Heer rolled her eyes and muttered loud enough for both men to hear "haan, tu aja aja. Bas teri hi kami se"
"Did you say something darling?" Sameer asked in a sarcastically sweet manner.
"Yeah, I said well, well, well, look at who we have here. My dirty, old, two-faced pet rat" Heer retorted, "By the way, what are you doing here and that too alone? Where's your stupid, good-for-nothing wife? How come she's not here with you or did she let you loose to go trap another innocent girl for her money."
"Heer sweetheart, why do you keep such bitter feelings in your heart?" asked Sameer, as he tried to get on Heer's nerves.
"Who says these are bitter feelings? This is my love for both you and your wife. I agree it is a bit different from how other people show their love, but I'm Heer Maan and everything related to me is unique."
"Oh really? How about you show me these bitter feelings over breakfast or maybe over dinner?" Sameer said as he inched a bit closer to her. Heer however, stayed rooted in her position as a smirk formed on her face, which confused Prem. Sahej had told Prem a bit about Heer's past the previous night and as far as he knew, Heer was supposed to loath this guy. His confusion increased when Heer shot a glance at him and winked before moving closer to Sameer. She looked Sameer straight in the high with an ear-to-ear grin on her face before saying "you want me to share my feelings over breakfast or dinner? I told you I'm unique, so I'll express my feelings to you in a unique way as well". She took another step closer before she gifted Sameer with a punch in the face. Everyone in the gym froze and Prem stood there with an open mouth.
"Do you want me to express my feelings even more? I'd be more than happy to" Heer said sweetly as she smirked at Sameer, who was in a great deal of pain, while moving back towards Prem. In anger, Sameer started advancing towards Heer, but Heer wasn't afraid so she stayed rooted in her spot. Prem had a feeling that Sameer would hit Heer and he didn't appreciate men hitting women so he cut in saying "Rela…" but Heer grabbed his hand to stop him without looking at him once. Sameer continued to move towards her, but before he could do anything Akki stepped in between them.
Akki looked Sameer fiercely into his eyes and said firmly "DON'T. YOU. DARE. GO. NEAR. HER". Before anyone could say anything Akki called the gym security over and had them usher Sameer away. As soon as Sameer was out of sight, he turned to face both Heer and Prem.
"And this is exactly why your father doesn't like you to stay alone. You always get yourself into trouble" Akki said furiously.
Heer sighed and said "Chill. I could have handled everything perfectly fine without your or anyone else's assistance."
"Yeah I can see how you would have perfectly handled the situation or should I say how perfectly you would have made it worse" retorted Akki in anger.
"Relax Akki. Even if it did get worse, then I still would have handled it. Why do you think I learned gatka and martial arts for so many years? So I could use it when needed" replied Heer.
Akki sighed and replied "It's useless arguing with you"
"You just noticed now" muttered Prem, which was heard by Akki and Heer.
Heer turned to face Prem with her hands on her hips and an eyebrow raised saying "And what are you doing still standing here? The show's over. You can leave now. I don't want to have to see you, more than I'm already going to"
"Fortunately, I'm not interested in seeing you either" said Prem as he headed off towards the men's locker room, but before leaving Akki stopped him.
"Hey, thanks for trying to help her out" said Akki with a sincere smile on his face.
Prem smiled back and then turned to leave, not bothering saying anything as he knew Heer would retort back. Heer stood there glaring at both the men's exchange and was definitely not pleased.
~~~
It was well after lunch, as Heer sat in her cabin looking out the window at the Manhattan skyline. Suddenly she heard a knock at her door and spun her chair around to find one of Sahej's assistants standing there with a box of previous magazine issues in hand.
"Took you long enough" said Heer as Melanie placed the box on her desk.
"Sorry hon, I got caught up in running the boss's errands and you know how he is. He's always irritated if things aren't done then and there" Melanie replied, as she headed back out.
"It's the stupid fools childhood problem…being bossy and making my life miserable" Heer said with a as sigh as she got back to work, "life sucks…better yet, Sahej sucks".
~~~
After working for what seemed like ages, Heer was finally relieved when Melanie came into her cabin again.
"Sahej sir wants you in his cabin right now. He said that Prem sir will be arriving shortly and he wants you to give them an update" Melanie said with a smirk.
Heer rolled her eyes at the piece of news and then said "Okay, I'll be there in 2 minutes and by the way, may I ask why you're smirking at me?"
"Of course sweetie. Ash was telling us about your little encounters with Prem sir and right now everyone is waiting to see what happens in this one" Melanie replied with a grin.
"Oh how lovely" Heer said with sarcasm evident in her tone and quickly returned back to her dry tone saying "Okay, you can go now. I'm coming"
As Melanie left, Heer sighed and gathered up her papers and quickly headed out of her cabin. She had barely stepped out of her cabin, when she felt herself collide with someone hard, loose her balance and then fall on top of them. When she opened her eyes she found herself on top of Prem. Without giving them a chance to react, Preet suddenly sat down beside them with his camcorder in their faces and started recording.
"I can't believe I actually got all that on camera! That's the best collision I've ever seen!" said Preet as he caught the shocked expressions of Prem and Heer on camera, "And here you were PB telling me that there's nothing worth recording here"
Heer looked from Preet to Prem below her and quickly tried to get off of Prem, but was pulled down.
"Get off of me!" said Prem, as Heer rolled her eyes and retorted "Are you blind? Did god give you golf balls as eyes? Can't you see my hair and necklace are tangled to your coat?"
"Well, then untangle them and fast!" said Prem as people from the office started gathering around. Many of them had already heard of Prem and Heer's previous encounters and were quiet amused by the drama going on now.
"Are you out of your mind PB? A beautiful girl fell on you and you want her to get away from you as soon as possible? Sometimes I doubt if you're…" Preet started to say, but was cut off by Prem, "Don't you DARE say another word! Now help us get untangled"
"Sorry PB, but if I help you, then who'll record all this and show mom and nani!?!" said Preet as Heer yelled "AKKI!!!!!!!!!!"
Out of nowhere, Akki and Ashlesha appeared from the crowd.
"Oh my god! Heer, what are you doing down there?" asked Ashlesha as she kneeled down along with Akki.
"Prem and I are having a picnic down here. Want to join us?" said Heer sarcastically.
"Really!?!" asked Ashlesha, but before Heer could retort, Akki said "Can't you see her hair and chain are tangled up with his coat. Here let me help you"
As Akki tried to free Heer from Prem, Prem stared up at her and noticed that she was quiet different than most girls. She contained that simplicity and beauty that many girls had lost in becoming ultra-modern, but one thing was sure…her attitude and behavior was incomparable to the girls of this world. Heer noticed him staring at her and said "Why are you staring at me?"
"God gave me eyes and I'll stare at whatever or whoever I want" Prem retorted, but Preet was quick enough to add "Don't worry, he'd never check you out. PB doesn't check any girls out. The day he does, will be the happiest day for my mom and nani" as Heer tried to suppress a smile, while Prem glared at him, "But just wait until I show them this video."
"You are not showing them this video, Preet" Prem said sternly as he laid there on the ground with Heer on top and Preet, Ash and Akki sitting around them.
"Okay, for you PB, I won't show them" Preet said seriously, but then a smirk quickly formed on his face, "I'll show Praneet instead!"
"NO!" Prem said quickly as well as sternly, "I'll hurt you, but I won't let you show her!"
"Who's Praneet?" asked Heer and Ash simultaneously.
"Our younger sister" replied Preet, "If she sees this video, she'll tease him way more than me, so she'll definitely going to see this video!"
"Preet, you will not show her this" Prem said as his irritation escalated.
"Oh yes I will and you can't stop me!" Preet said in a teasing manner.
"Preet!!" Prem said a bit more sternly.
"Oye, you can both stop now and Akki, please, this isn't rocket science. Just untangle the damn thing already!" Heer said annoyed. Finally after putting in a lot of work to get the two free, Akki was finally able to untangle Heer from Prem. Heer quickly got up and glared at Prem as he did vice versus.
"Well that was quiet enjoyable" said Preet as he continued recording the pair, as they glared at each other. Before they could start arguing again, Preet cut in and asked "Well, since we're both headed in the same direction, you wouldn't mind me escorting you, would you?" as he held out his arm for Heer to take. Heer hesitated for a moment until Preet said "Of course I'd be escorting you like an elder sister to me" which made Heer smile as she took his arm and said "One brother is the devil and the other is a complete angle! Preet, you're very sweet! I think you'd make a great pair with my younger cousin Meher"
"Meher?!?" Preet said with interest evident in his voice.
"I'll tell you about her later" said Heer as they both headed off towards Sahej's cabin, while the crowd dispersed, leaving Prem standing there with Akki and Ashlesha.
Prem sighed and said "This is definitely going to be a long day"
~Deepika
Jhanak
