~ CHAPTER SIXTEEN ~
Nandini felt the wind knock out of her guts as her waist slammed hard against a warm, rocky, rugged surface. A strong arm had bound around her midsection and locked her securely in place. The first thing she knew was that she was gawking into his chest, of course, covered up with a dark shirt and yellow blazer. And that very minute she felt like she could run down the escalator and out of the mall!
With immense effort, she tipped her head up... Up... up... and up... Till she finally reached the beginning of this towering figure's face. Manik Malhotra. She felt like a midget in front of him. This guy was as tall as a skyscraper! There seemed to be no limit to his sky!
Manik looked very grim and uncomfortable as he held onto her. Their eyes met for a moment but didn't take long to dart away in other directions. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that his ears were red hot.
Nandini felt very awkward and blushed a deep shade of scarlet. She started to become increasingly aware of the heat radiating from his ripped body into hers. This would have been a weird fantasy come true. But thanks to that silly phone call and a lot of other incidents, this peculiar feeling had long gone extinct. Right now, the need of her hour was to evaporate into thin air! She could say that Manik too probably felt the same. Because, he let go that very instant. Now all what was in contact was his hand wrapped gently around her wrist.
"From the looks of it, you don't seem to be a fan of escalators," he said in a low sarcastic voice and cleared his throat.
The contended smirk on his face made her feel even more miserable. "I do get a bit nervous," she replied in an equally low and defensive tone.
"A bit?!!?" Manik had his eyebrows raised and face contorted in utter amusement. He let out a low chuckle and looked away as they continued to descend.
Nandini squinted at him for a moment and looked away with a pout. This idiot! What the hell does he think of himself? Who does he think he is? Prince of Persia? I hate the way he makes those faces at me! As if the rest of us are all fools!
"We're there - there - there!" Manik rang out in alarm.
Like bullets, Nandini's arms shot out and clutched onto the railings with her dear life. "Shit!" she shrieked through clenched teeth and noticed that they still had a bit more to go. They weren't at the foot yet. She had just been had!
Manik bursted out laughing.
"That wasn't funny!" she snapped angrily.
"Gawwwd," he breathed, "sooo scared! Of an escalator? Un-buh-lievable!"
Nandini struggled to keep her cool as she looked away and gnashed her teeth furiously.
"Alright see, now we're really there," he snorted and pointed out.
Well, this time, he was serious. Sure enough, they were drawing close to the landing platform. Nandini began to tense up. Her muscles went rigid as she readied herself to make a touchdown. You can do this Nandini, she assured herself, you can do this. You don't need anyone's help. You don't! You especially don't need the help of someone who ridicules you.
"Whooop!" Nandini spun her arms madly and threatened to skid off the runway as she made a landing. But one sharp tug from behind and she was slammed against Manik's rugged frame once again.
He nodded his head whilst displaying a wide, sarcastic grin. "Wow, where do you people come from," he muttered under his breath and made his way out of the mall whilst Nandini tried to recuperate from the shock she just received after her escalator descent.
Without wasting anymore time, she rushed out of the mall and hurried back to her office. She swiped her keycard against the electronic and tried to push the door open, but ended up getting smacked against it instead. "Awoow God! Now what?!!?" she growled angrily, "what's wrong with this stupid card now? Why isn't the machine reading it?"
She swept her access card through the reader relentlessly but the damn thing just didn't respond!
"Because..." said a voice from behind her, swiped a card and unlocked the door, "you're using your debit card."
Nandini whirled around. It was Manik with his own electronic access card.
"Seriously girl," he smirked, "wake up and smell the coffee." Saying this, he carried himself into the department in his usual delicious stance. It gave Nandini the impression that he was always perfect and she was a dim-witted dumbass.
"And by the way," he paused for a moment, "when are you going to turn in the cheques?"
"In a while," she said quietly.
Manik raised an eyebrow and glanced at his watch not to know the time but to give her an indication that she had long crossed her deadline. "You're late," he reminded.
"I-I know, but I need more time," she said in a distressed tone.
"You were supposed to turn it in a very long time ago," he snapped, "and I'm warning you. If I don't see those cheques on my table in the next thirty minutes, you're so screwed. Get it?"
Nandini just sighed. "Yes."
Without another word, Manik strode off to his cabin confidently.
Nandini just stood there and took a long weary look at her card... debit card... with which she had been foolishly trying to access the office. She couldn't help but notice this growing urge to smack herself senseless. Really, what's wrong with me? Have I lost it? Maybe I need to see a psychologist. I must be losing my marbles. Oh God, just kill me.
But there wasn't any time left in her deposit to stand around and brood. She had to get this job done by hook or crook in the shortest stipulated time! And the more she thought about the time she had in hand, the more her muscles seemed to go haywire.
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