Hi Everyone!
I apologize profusely for the extremely long delay in updating, and thanks a lot to everyone who had the patience to wait to see what happens :) I hope you like this part, and I'll definitely try to update soon! PM's will be sent out later, as I need to get some sleep 😆 and um, if anyone has any suggestions, do let me know, I'm pretty open to anything as I'm completely taking this story one chapter at a time :)
Otherwise, Happy Reading!
~Naina
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Chapter 4:
And her response a distant "Hmm" told him all that was needed. That they both had made a mistake, with the distance between them already growing. Sighing, he looked away out of the window, gazing into the dark clouds that were looming above.
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Soon enough, Preet had come to pick Prem and Heer up from their stranded car, and immediately, he had noticed a change in their behavior. Both of them were unusually quiet, and no matter how much he tried to start a conversation, their responses were limited to monosyllables.
"PB? Heer? Are you guys ok?"
"Hmm yeah. Just drive us back home" Prem replied, his voice distant and cold. And Heer merely mumbled a yes in response, really just wanting to get out of that car, hating every second of her ride home.
And soon enough, when the car did stop in front of Heer's small apartment building, she jumped out of it as quickly as she could, said a quick thanks to Preet, a "Goodbye Mr. Juneja" to Prem and before either of them could respond, dashed up the stairs, away from their sight.
"Gosh. What was wrong with her? She seemed so fidgety the entire ride back" noted Preet as they drove back to the Juneja Mansion, and Prem chose not to even respond, as he didn't know what excuse he could make up for her behavior.
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The next morning, Heer stepped into the office and headed directly to the Daily Briefing Room, rather than going to Prem's cabin. She didn't want to see his face, not so soon anyways. But well, luck was not on her side. Because Prem hadn't shown up and it was already getting late, Gayatri sent Heer up to his cabin to go call him downstairs [hehe the phones weren't working or something...use your imagination!]
She stepped into the cabin to find him staring out the window, his hands in his pockets, his thoughts anywhere but the present.
"Mr. Juneja?" she called out to him, but he didn't respond, he didn't even acknowledge her presence by turning around.
Slowly, she walked up to him, and called his name once again, "Mr. Juneja? Gayatri Ma'am was calling you downstairs for the daily briefing."
And this time he actually did turn around, but he didn't move an inch from his spot. He stood there and looked at her, and did the last thing she expected him to do - begin to apologize.
"Miss Heer. I...I...I just wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. It was uncalled for, and I crossed my limits being your boss" his voice soft and genuinely apologetic.
But Heer interrupts him. Putting a hand out in front of her, she stops him, "Mr. Juneja, there is no need for all of this. Everyone is waiting for us downstairs and so we should get going. Now" she replied, her voice firm and cold.
"But..I just wanted to apologize, I'm extremely sorry. It didn't mean anything at all" he continued, giving her one last pleading look before heading out of the cabin, the door slamming behind him.
Heer stood back, her eyes welling up with tears. Of course. What else could she expect from this man? He hated her. Obviously the kiss and everything that happened yesterday wouldn't mean anything to him. Heer, you're so stupid. How did you ever think you would be the one for him? The one that he would fall in love with?
She hated herself for being so mean to him yesterday, but what else could she do? Did she even have any other option? He was the boss, and she was the secretary. And their relationship would remain strictly professional. She would make sure of that.
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The entire day, Heer maintained a distance from Prem, a distance which everyone noticed, but no one could do anything about. She was doing her work perfectly, giving no one any reason to complain, even though she was working from Ash's cabin.
[The phones are working again, btw hehe 😆]
When the phone rang, without thinking, Heer picked it up, only to hear his voice on the other end. "Miss Heer? I can't find the file from the Mehta's proposal. Can you tell me where it is?"
Trying to avoid going upstairs, Heer responded "Han Sir. I put it on the top right corner of your desk. It's a blue file, and it should be between the contract papers from the NGO deal and the maps for the new site in Manali."
Prem looked around and voila! There it was, exactly where she had told him it would be. But he needed to see her. He wanted to talk to her.
"Good-"
"Heer. Wait. Don't hang up. I also need the files from the Sharma Project, the contract from the Willis Project, and the information for the charity. Can you just come upstairs?"
"Sir, All that should be right on your desk. It should be right next to the Mehta project" Heer answered, exasperated.
"Miss. Heer. I am your boss, and you are the secretary, so when I tell you to come upstairs and help me find the files, that's exactly what I want you to do. Do you understand?" he questioned, fnally his anger bursting as he just snapped at the poor girl.
And once Heer stepped into his cabin, she didn't even bother to look at him. Instead, she began to hurriedly rummage through the piles of papers and files trying to find whatever he needed. When she finally saw everything that he wanted, she literally just shoved them in his face and turned to walk away.
But he grasped her hand and pulled her back towards him before she could step away.
"Sir. Leave me." she said forcefully, through gritted teeth.
"Miss Heer. I am not planning on leaving you until you tell me what is wrong. Why are you behaving like this?" he questioned, his gaze not once leaving her face.
"Behaving like what?"
"You know what I mean. But seriously, why are you not working up here? Why are you getting so frustrated with me? I apologized for yesterday didn't I? I mean it, nothing of the sort will happen again" he pleaded, his voice filled with desperation.
And that angered her completely. She literally pushed him away and glared, her eyes shooting daggers at him as she yelled, "Mr. Juneja. Why does it matter to you what mood I'm in? How does it make a difference at all to you? I'm your secretary and as your secretary, I'm finishing all the work I'm supposed to, not giving you a chance to complain. I'm doing everything you tell me to, so what more can you possibly want? A fake smile? A hug? A kiss? Why can't you just leave me alone?!"
With those words, she exited his office in a huff, making sure to slam the door behind her.
As he watched her retreating back, Prem softly mumbled his response to her questions, "Because I want to always see you happy. Because your mood affects how I feel. Because your smile always brings a smile to my face. Because you meant the world to me. Because I love you Miss Heer Maan. I love you" he ended softly, a smile appearing on his face, as realization dawned upon him of his true feelings.
Even if she hated him, he would do anything and everything he could to bring her back. To bring his old Heer back. To make her love him just as much as he loved her.
Precap: Prem setting his plan in motion!
Edited by Naina2127 - 15 years ago