The minute she stepped in she felt a familiar gaze on her back... and a scent wafted into her lungs again...
It was Armani...
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Her nerves chilled on that thought...
Especially when she felt a piercing gaze on her back...
As the mirrored doors of the lift closed she saw Arjun leaning on the side of the lift looking straight at her...
Clad in a seksy black shirt and cream colored pants... his blazer on his hand... his black hair swept back... and maybe he just trimmed his stubble...
She turned back to see his intense eyes add a mischievous glint on meeting her brown ones...
"Who do I meet here?" he led out a husky laugh...
"World is really small na... agar main ghalat na hoon toh kya tum mere peecha kar rahe ho?" he grinned...
She just looked aside and waited for the damn lift in going 10 floors up...
"Excuse me... it isn't exactly polite to ignore a person in front..." Arjun told her...
"Aapne ek ghalat faimi door kardi Mr. Singhania.." Sakshi told and turned her head towards the other side...
My... she did have impressive and beautiful collar bones... he slid towards her and inspected her top to bottom... she had changed... first of all she seemed to lost quite weight... her hair was little longer , her glasses were same though... and more over she did look pretty...
"Aur bhi ghalat faimi door karna baaki hai na..." he smirked at her..
Sakshi immediately went to the other side of the life "Mera matlab tha ki mujhe laga tha ki aap samajdar hai yeh samajhne ke liye ki I am not here to socialize with people..." she snapped...
"Uffo... ab toh gussa chod do Sakshi!" Arjun grinned...
"Miss Anand would be preferable" she retorted... wow... boy did she have fire!
They sunk into silence again...
Sakshi kept on cursing Ayesha under her breath... "Kya kaha... Singapore main! Aur hain yaha!" she grumbled...
"Tumhe pata tha ki main SIngapore jaane waala hoon... meri khabar rakhti ho kya... interesting..." Arjun gave a devil look from the other side of the corner...
"Woh baaton baaton main Ash ne batayi... and why would I be interested in you?" Sakshi said and looked at him for an answer...
"Really Miss. Anand... tumhe nahi pata ki koi bhi ladki mujhe pe kyun interested hogi?" he said and started stepping towards her... coming closer and closer to her...
Sakshi was baffled for a few seconds...
"Tum jaha ho waha khade raho... paas aane se naahi sawaal na jawaab badal te hain... and I didn't ask about everyone... maine bas apne baare main poocha tha... intimidation does not work on me..." Sakshi cut him...
"Okay! And about intimidation... am sure it works on you... tumhare gaal muft main toh laal nahin ho rahe hai..." he winked..
That damned handsome devil!
"Iss mudde pe mujhe baat karne main koi interest nahi..." she said curtly...
"Yeh gussa karna tumhara childhood problem hai kya?" Arjun asked Sakshi...
"Duniya main time pass baatein karne ke liye aur koi insaan baaki nahi hai kya?" she said... their eyes meeting for a flick of a second...
"Kya tum specially mere taraf aise behavior laati ho kya?" Arjun asked getting amused by her reaction...
"Logon ke saath waise behaviour liye jaata hai joh woh deserve karte hai..." She told him...
"Aha! Matlab... I do deserve this beautiful anger of yours ..." He grinned again...
"How is anger beautiful?" She asked him...
"Not any anger Miss. Anand... your anger... aur beautiful as cause when you are angry tab..." Arjun slowly put his gaze on every muscle on her face...
Sakshi tensed up by his heated gaze... she started feeling suffocated in this lift... finally it reached 13!
"You know what... sochte raho... Raina ke saath yeh baatein kaam main aayenge... wait uske saath baatein kam aur woh kaam zyaada na?" Sakshi muttered and literally ran out of the lift...
Arjun shook his head at her response... he followed her as well... he asked her "Arrey Miss. Anand... yaha aayi kyun ho?" he looked at the perfect manner in which her hips swayed left and right in perfect sync...
Hmm the air of attitude blend with humility.. and with a prefect twist of innocence and anger... "Nice combination..." Arjun grinned
Sakshi didn't even turn back and ran into the corridor... searching for the executive hall...
Arjun smiled to find Sam looking at him... "Kya hua? Itna has kyun raha hai? Waise forget that - under any circumstance am I letting Ayesha work under me... paagal bana degi woh mujhe!" he complained...
"Sam... please... she is very good... trust me...acha sun I gotto go... dad has called me to hall... byee!" Arjun thumped Sam on his shoulder and walked...
Sam grumbled "Saari life yeh Arjun mujhse Ayesha ko babysit karwaega kya? Pehle jaha pe bhi milo ghar pe drop karna... Damn It! What the hell is wrong with females!"
Sam patiently waited in his cabin when he heard a knock... "Damn it! I mean come in!" when Ayesha came in... wearing a short formal white dress with stilettos...
"Hi Sameer..." She said with a smile...
"It's sir..." Sameer snapped at Ayesha...
"A very good morning SIR! So SIR I wanted to know on which projects do I have to start working on..." Ayesha answered him with a dead face... standing...
"Sure... but then tum baith sakti ho chair pe.." Sameer said...
"Kaunsa waala SIR, left one ya right one... ya phir on the one that is there near the door.. aapke permission ke beghair main kaisi baithoon..." Ayesha gave a cheeky grin...
"That's not funny... ek ghanta shuru nahi hua aur tumhari nakhre shuru! Waise main sochoon... Damn It! irrespective of the fact that you are looking pretty today... aur koi change kaise aa sakte hai!" Sameer answered while picking up the files and passing them to Ayesha...
"Oh wow... actually SIR aapko yeh baat notice main aayi that I am looking pretty today! Yeh toh miracle ho gaya! Before you either start Damn It! or project work SIR I know ki four deals are there and I will look into it..." Ayesha cut off and snatched the files from him...
"Please Ayesha don't even try to flirt... tum waise bhi bohot bhayankar lagti ho in those wacky clothes and what you wore today is a bit... bit better than your other wise clothing sense!" Sameer smirked at her...
"SIR... you are way too old for me to flirt with... aur mere din itne bure bhi nahi aaye jo tumse nain ladaun! And I think that being one of the Board Directors tumhara dhyaan company, stocks aur Bhai ke saath dosti main rehne chahiye... not on my dressing sense..." Ayesha glared at Sameer...
"Did you just call me a budddha?" Sameer looked at a smiling Ayesha..
"Wow aapne toh abhi accept kiya!" Ayesha grinned...
"Agar tum Arjun ki behen na hoti toh I would have kicked you out... sirf reference se iss company main aayi ho tum..." Sameer almost shouted at Ayesha...
Ayesha was about to leave when she heard that "reference" part...
She turned around and gave a deathly glare to Sameer...
By the look on her face Sameer was sure that maybe he said a bit too much...
She took slow tentative steps towards Sameer and said in a cold voice "Agar tum mere bhai ke dost na hote toh by now not only would have I rejected this offer but also tumhare iss gore chitte Rajasthani mukh ka bharta banati..."
"And SIR, I don't need reference... under any circumstances I could have got an equivalent job... just don't point on that - again... aur yeh four deals ki links and contacts... ek hafte baad dekh lijiyega... table main zaroor hoga... Bye SIR!" Ayesha stormed out of the room...
But Sameer caught her hand and she crashed against his powerful chest...
She looked into his fiery eyes for a minute... and she felt a jingle at his grip
However he looked at her smoky eyes and said "Mere saamne apna rob mat jataana... remember that you are below me..." he growled and tightened his grip on her hand...
Ayesha turned off her "just looking at Sameer" mode to angry mode and told back "Aur dare you catch my hand without my permission... you get that.."
She walked off in a huff...
"Hokie... (okie)" Sameer said and sat on his chair... continuing his affair in business!
Outside the Cabin
"Arrey Ash... apne aap ko Bharat Maata bana diya kya? Haan.. so toh hai.. par haila... 4 deals that too today evening! The only person to help now - Sash!" Ayesha panicked and searched for Sash...
When she heard about Arjun being in the office...
"Hein.. kal shaam toh Bhai should have been in home... office... Ash bhaag.. kyunki ab toh Sash teri band bajaane waali hai.. arrey real waala Bharat Maata! Kya karoon... ek taraf Sameer ke saamne ego... dusre taraf Sash ka jwala! Gayo!" Ayesha decided to go to one place now - home...
Executive Hall
"Miss. Sakshi Anand?" A deep voice called her in...
A fair middle aged man... tall and had an air of authority... his eyes is what struck Sakshi... "yehi hai Pratap Singhania - for sure! aankhein bilkul Arjun ki tarha!"
"Yes Sir! It's a pleasure meeting you... and" turning to another side... a slightly leaner figure... his hair was neatly parted... clean shaven... she had seen him... oh yes! Damsingh Rahtore!
"you as well sir.." she flashed her smile and greeted both of them... just as Ayesha had said.. true both of them were very elegant and professional, in short just not like Arjun!
"So Sakshi... when you came here how many coffee cups did you see?" DR (i would be referring them with initials as of now...)
"Aha! Trick one in interview!" Sakshi smiled...
SA : Sir I saw just as many as you saw... and that would be total of 387 cups...
DR and PS grinned at her reply...
PS (smiling) : If I say that they were less.. or more... and how can you be so sure about your information?
SA : Sir, at the moment I just spoke about the cups being in use... surely some of them might have been in the dustbin... I couldn't have counted them... and then there might be more people who have just taken their coffee cup while I am speaking to you at this minute... so counting that would be slightly difficult... If I am wrong then sir we can leave and count ourselves... personally...
DS & PS smiled broadly at her response...
PS : Tum toh Akbar Birbal ke stories bohot padthi hogi? Tum toh Birbal se kam nahi lagti phir!
SA : Sir iss sawaal poochne ke liye ab ne bhi Akbar Birbal padhe honge... aur aar humne jawaab Birbal ke tarha diya hai... toh aap bhi Akbar se kam nahi..
DR (smiling) : Flattery is one side Sakshi... Akbar was a great man... we are no where close to the king...
SA : Same thing sir... neither am I near Birbal...
PS (chuckling) : So why should we hire you? Tum main aisi kya cheez hai jo un logo main nahi hai?
SA : Bas ek aadat hai meri...
DR: Kaisi aadat...
SA : I don't deliver until I deliver the best...
PS (impressed) : Agar hum kahe ki baaki ke log ne bhi yeh kaha toh? How does that make you different?
SA : Shabd ek ho sakte hain sir... andaaz nahi...
(They have already seen her educational qualifications and everything...)
DS & PS : Well we'll call you as soon as we are confirmed... have a really good day Sakshi!
SA : Thank you so much sirs...
PS (gets a call) : Haan.. bolo.. abhi... sure... fine...
DR : Kya hua Prattu? (whispers)
PS : (whisper back) beta the great Dam... waise I guess she is selected...
DR : Sakshi please wait for a minute...
SA : Sure sir...
"Well Sakshi... first of all congratulations... you have been selected... yes as the Secretary of Vice President... so I would like to meet you our Vice President..." PS smiled...
"Sure." Sakshi smiled but could barely control her tears of happiness... sniffing a bit and controlling herself she shook hands with Damsingh Rathore...
"Yeh.. aankhon main aansoon?" DR asked...
"Kuch nahi Sir... when I will prove myself worth this happiness then I will say..." Sakshi's eyes glistened in moisture...
"Waise Miss. Anand... naya Vice President ko dekhne ke liye palat na padega..." a rough masculine voice entered the hall...
ANd precisely that's when Sakshi's phone rang...
Tera dhyaan kidhar hai...
O tera Hero idhar hai...
Tera dhyaan kidhar hai...
Toh Palat na...
Tujhe itni bhi khabar hai ke tera Hero idhar hai...
Sakshi turned around to find him leaning on the door... her jaws touched the floor...
He took slow seductive steps and flashed his grin to her and stood between Pratap Singhania and Damsingh Rathore...
"Kal hi hua yeh baat... Rathore Sir and Singhania Sir are the owner and Co - owner of this company... so Sameer and I have been promoted as Vice Presidents of this company... and Miss. Sakshi Anand.. you have been qualified as my Secretary... Congratulations..." he smiled and gave his hand forward...
"NAHI, NAHI, NAHI, NAHI..." Sakshi gulped her saliva... ASH... teri aisi ki taisi!!!" she screamed... hehe in her mind...
"Not working with devil... working under the devil!!!" she shuddered and looked at him in shock...
"Dam... kuch toh choot raha hai..." Pratap said...
"I know Prattu..." Dam said and cleared his throat...
"Well Sakshi... tum Arjun se baatein kar lena... aur haan here is the contract!" Pratap said and left the hall with Dam...
Sakshi came to reality and took the contract paper... the salary was 60 K dollars... okay.. that was something...
She transfixed her gaze on the still open hand of Arjun...
She smiled and gave her hand in his...
His hands had the feel of velvet... but strong...
He enjoyed the flutter of emotions on her face...
As he gripped her hand tightly.. he felt the blisters on her palm... his fingers slightly grazed them... she looked at his eyes for a minute... his orbs seemed to be confused and asking her genuinely.. barely was there any sign of mock... but rather concern... she bit her lips subconsciously and that's it... instead of concern she found him staring at her pouty and full lips...
He had never felt these kind of callouses on a woman's hand... wasn't a girl full of make up and beauty... isn't she full of perfumes and dresses and being on the cover page... and all that she wants to be is kiss the most handsome man and be famous... in short all she does in the name of love is wear a gorgeous lingerie but here there is someone who was changing his viewpoint on what a woman is... she bit her lips and his focus went over to her pink and soft lips...
He needn't had to touch to know how soft they could be... it was almost delicious... like a perfect strawberry mousse... soft and melting... best that he should try and rub across her lips.. touch them with his fingers... no.. taste them... with his expert lips...
Sakshi could feel the intensity build and jerked her hand out of his grip.. which brought him back to his senses...
"Did I just think of kissing Bharat Maata! Nahi... ab toh maata cut karna padega... Madam India is better..." Arjun thought puzzled and decided to play a little game with her...
Sakshi tried to remove her hand when... wait... it was stuck.. WHAT...
She looked at him... furious... "Haath chodo mera!" she grumbled...
"Aha... tum meri secretary ho... "please" add karo sweetheart..." Arjun said politely...
"Oh Please! Add your "sweetheart" to ur Raina...!" Sakshi pulled her hand away and wast about to leave...
"By the way... what did you mean in the lift by ki main Raina ke saath "woh" kaam zyaada kar ta hoon?" Arjun followed her and asked...
"Sir.. main aapki secretary hoon.. I am bound to answer every question related to business ya professional life... not private life..." Sakshi answered and headed towards the washroom...
"Miss. Anand... waise... you are sure that you never mix professional and private life?" Arjun looked at her carefully...
"Aapka real question kya hai?" Sakshi looked at him carefully...
"Well... what do you think about mixing business with pleasure?" he winked at her...
"Sir... I don't think ki aapko pleasure ki koi bhi kami hai jo business ko iske saath mix karna padega... if you want to continue this conversation - might as well speak to the wall..." Sakshi replied in a straight face...
"Thank you for the adivse... sometimes aisa lagta hai ki main apna waqt zaaya kar raha hoon tumse baat karne main..." Arjun mumbled...
"Waqt aapkka nahi mera zaaya ho raha hai... agar koi important cheez ho toh feel free to call me..." Sakshi retorted and went into the washroom...
Turning behind to see Arjun standing... "Aao.. ab washroom ke andar bhi aao!" she grumbled and walked straight towards the elevator...
"Arju.. Sir! Mere peecha kyun kar rahe ho!" she said the minute they were off the elevator...
"Sakshi... aah sorry.. Miss. Anand... mujhe meeting ke liye jaana hai... tumhe aane ki zaroorat nahi... car will be waiting for me... aur haan suno... in 10 days we are having clients from our rival company... make sure ki the presentation is a crack shot..." Arjun said...
"Rival comany ke saath deal?" Sakshi asked while they both headed out of the office...
"Miss. Anand... rival company ko khareedne ki mann hai mera... uski deals phir humari..." then coming closer to Sakshi... "aur phir dushman ko khareedna ho toh pehle usse dosti toh nibhani chahiye..." he looked at her and gave a lopsided smile...
"Sir... the car has come..." Chandrakant informed...
"Theek hai - Miss. Anand.. yeh hai Chandrakant Patil... basically my right hand man... he will brief you with everything as of now..." Arjun informed and said bye... giving a little dramatic au revoir to Sakshi...
"Mr. Patil... by chance agar main aapki boss ka the end kar doon... toh phir aapko bura nahi lagega na?" Sakshi muttered and Chandrakant smiled a little...
"Ma'am aap usse kabhi maar nahi sakegi... no.. not that he is invincible... it's because kahi na kahi aap ko bhi yeh chedne waala attitude pasand hai... bhai life of opposites!" he thought looking her her focused gaze on Arjun...
Chandrakant turned to see that the clock's hands showed the time to be 11.3o... exactly the time when the receptionist Rosy would reach the office for her 2nd shift...
Sakshi giggled loking at the minute distraction that Chandrakant had... telling him bye she went back to her home...
And called up Ayesha " ABBEY, TU, TERI AISI... TERI TOH MAIN... ULLU DE PATTHI!!! SINGAPORE KABSE LONDON BAN GAYA!!!! " Sakshi's voice screamed on her phone...
Ayesha immediately got up from the sofa hearing that... "Isliye main sochoon ki tune office pe meet nahi kiya... sorry sorry sorry yaar kal laga tha ki Papa, Dam Uncle aur Bhai shaadi ke baat karne aaye the..."
"Haawww!!! Tu Sameer se shadi kar rahi hai!!!" Sakshi exclaimed...
"Oye! Tere muh pe kide makode! I thought they came for Bhai's shaadi... mujhe thodi na pata tha ki bhai wld get promoted as Vice President!" Ayesha complained...
"Waise Sakshi... help chahiye..." Ayesha said...
"Bol..." Sakshi said...
"Woh..woh ek hafte main 4 contacts chahiye.." Ayesha said...
Sakshi spat out the water she was drinking... "Are you crazy!!!! 4 contacts in one week... Do I seem like Ratan Tata!!!"
Ayesha then recounted the entire thing (well not the staring part though)..
And Sakshi too recounted her whole story... regarding the interview and all... (obviously editing some part)...
Thus the night went like this and they somehow winded off to get ready for the next day...
The entire week passed in a hurry...
Literally...
Ayesha and Sakshi worked round the clock - one to complete Ayesha's project.. and two to complete Sakshi's presentation... as for the distracting Mars and Jupiter
One week later...
"Sakshi... please... kal shaam I have to submit... I really need your help in submitting these reports.. dekh teri presentation bhi khatam ho gayi... and bhai was out for most of these days... please come home today!!" Ayesha pleaded on the phone...
"Theek hai Ash... am coming..." Sakshi said and took her bag... finally reaching the house...
"WOW!!" her mind blasted on seeing the front...
However a car was just behind her...
Sakshi turned to see bright lights on her...
A car was about to hit her...
"NOOO"
She screamed and collapsed...
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Precap : "Hey beautiful... that was really amazing..." a tall man with sharp jaws and a handsome figure held her hand...
Slipping her hand away Sakshi muttered "Thank you Mr. Khanna..."
"Hey.. khaa nahi javunga tumhe! Aur kya main 80 saal ka budha hoon! Call me by my name..." he gave a killer smile and hugged her...
Sakshi gave a faint smile "Am sorry par main aapko itna nahi jaanti ki main aapko aapki naam se pukaaroo... now if you can excuse me.." he stepped back with mannerisms with a wide smile on his face...
His card dropped on the floor and the name read Sikandar Khanna
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Chapter 5
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