Hey guys,
First of all THANK YOU so much for all your comments, the really are and always will be special!!!!
He who thanks but with the lips
Thanks but in part;
The full, the true Thanksgiving
Comes from the heart.
~J.A. Shedd
I don't know what has gotten into me; I am only getting mush stuff into my head. Some 'chemical locha' has happened, or might be that I am too happy these days (I usually am always happy, just a degree higher these days, of course without a reason). I have to take an appointment with my psychoanalyst, but before that posting this office romance!!!! I can't believe I actually wrote such cheap stuff (but I love cheap things!! He! He!!! I am Chidambaram's sister in money matters, bad joke!!!)
ENJOY!!!!
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Persuasion…
"WHEN it comes to love, instead of expecting things to go wrong you have the confidence that makes relationships work…"
Bani read her 'Sitaron Ke Saath' horoscope by Sunita Menon again before folding the newspaper and setting it down…
Then she closed her eyes and repeated it in her head just to be sure…
The confidence that makes relationships work-she had that… Of course she did… Not that love had anything to do with it.
"Nervous flier?" a baritone boomed…
She opened her eyes. There he was; Jai Walia-the man she had to make the relationship work with. It would just be so much easier if he was a middle-aged, overweight and losing his hair… But oh no…it would be sinister crime to call him that…he was far, far from it…super se*xy…Girls weren't supposed to have X-rated thoughts about their boss. It was written down somewhere, she was sure.
In fact if she were to look in the newspaper again she'd bet there was something in the Agony Aunt column about it.
"No…" And if she was going to spend the next three months being flown in a private jet from location to location around the world, of course for business work, she was going to have to learn how to hold a conversation with him, wasn't she… preferably one without sexual undertones…most of the time when she was with him, she was left tongue-tied or just plane bemused and hypnotized by his deep voice…anything else went for a Bret lee bouncer over her head…
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It was closing to be 6 months she joined Walia Industries…she still vividly remembered her flaming interview with him, she had been fuming as he turned up late, almost an hour…and she was the first interviewee…she had curtly told him that it was very unprofessional of him to do such a thing, and in return had only got a Cheshire cat grin…which infuriated her further, the rest of the interview was boring and went a bit unpleasant, with sarcastic comments pouring on from the either parties…the moment she stepped out of his highly imposing office cabin, she was damn sure she would be rejected outright…with appalled enthusiasm she had again read the classifieds…She was shocked to receive an appointment letter the other day…she was finalized as Mr. Jai Walia's personal secretary…
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Bani pinned a smile on her face. "Is there in-flight entertainment on your jet?"
Jai smiled lazily as he sat down. "I'm sure we can find something to do."
"Like what for instance?"
He lifted his arms, shrugging the sleeves of his dark jacket a little further past his wrists, before resting his forearms on the table. Then he leaned forwards; his dark gaze searching her eyes before he spoke in a low rumble that did all kinds of things for her.
"I'm open to suggestions."
Bani leaned forward too, dropping her chin and looking into his eyes from beneath her long lashes
"Mr. Walia, are you flirting with me?"
"Is it working?"
"No…" A voice in her head sang liar, liar...
"Well then, obviously I'm not, because if I was, it'd be working…"
Don't smile at him for being cocky. Encouraging him is bad. He's been photographed by the paparazzi with 'It' girls and supermodels, for crying out loud…bani scolded herself…
She smiled at him…
"Do you flirt with every woman you meet, Mr. Walia?"
He hit her with a look that made her toes curl inside her shoes…
"Only the pretty ones Miss. Dixit and, it's Jai..."
She tilted her head to one side and pondered the dangers of asking him…
"You're going to be difficult to work with, aren't you? And I'm fine with you calling me Miss. Dixit…"
The edges of his sinful mouth quirked; amusement dancing in his eyes…
"Not up to the challenge, Bani?"
It was being up to a challenge that had got her to where she was now…She thrived on them, sought them out; went looking for a new one the second she knew she was close to winning…
People who knew her might say she was running away but she felt she was simply living life to the full… So he could bring it on as far as she was concerned…
"You're gonna have a bit of a problem with me Jai..."
"Am I?" He leaned back in his chair and calmly folded his arms across his wide chest…
"Yuh-huh — because that universal charm you're so famous for rather infamous for isn't gonna work on me."
"No?"
"No…"
"Hmm," Pursing his mouth into a thin line, he lifted his dark brows
"Do you play chess, Bani?"
She blinked in confusion-what did chess have to do with anything?
"No, but I'm very good with celebrity trivia if that helps any?"
"That explains it. Because if you played chess you'd know you just made a bad move-strategically speaking," he nodded, oh-so-slowly, "because now you're the one who's a challenge."
He smiled dangerously. The man really should wear a warning sign-or bottle all that potent sexuality and sell it… He'd make even more of a fortune than the one he already had from his airlines and real estate and whatever the heck else it was he had… bani sulked…in her mind of course…
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Within a hour's time they reached the helipad, the jet was being prepared to leave…in about a few minutes, they decided to sit in the lounge, either of them thinking whether pursuing each other was a well sought out thought or not…
"Mr. Walia? Your flight is ready to board…"
A stewardess with sleek hair and perfect make-up smiled an "I'm single, ready to mingle" look at him right under Bani's nose-making her regret not doing something with her mass of curls or throwing on more than the minimum of make-up to her girl-next-door features…
But she'd been dashing from her flat to make it to the office on time. Finding her passport came first. Oh well, the benefit of hindsight. She ducked her head to sling the strap of her bag across her body while Jai towered over her; waiting…
Halfway down the deserted hallway he took one long stride, turned and blocked her path
"About this challenge of yours . . ."
Oh wow, but he smelled good. And up close, having to lift her chin to be able to look him in the eye, she was a tad overwhelmed by the temptation to close her eyes and breathe deep…
How pathetic did that make her?????
She silently cleared her throat…
"I wasn't trying to make myself a challenge to you."
"You have."
"Not intentionally."
"Well, intentionally or not, you have…"
He took a deep breath and examined a random curl resting against her cheek…
"And now my universal charm is prepared to take you on…"
Bani grimaced… She really was her own worst enemy sometimes
"Mmm-hmm… Look-"
But she didn't get any further because he'd already lifted a long finger and twisted the curl he'd been studying before allowing it to spring free…
And then he smiled another potent smile as he lowered his head while her disobedient pulse skipped in response...
"You see — I do love a challenge…"
Did he think he could get any woman he wanted whenever he wanted? How did he get his head through doors????? Well, if he thought for one minute she was the kind of girl who would just fall at his feet because he happened to be sex on legs he could just forget-she cursed herself for wading in unknown waters…
His hand moved; fingers threading into the mass of curls at the nape of her neck, curling around the back of her head and holding her still while he proceeded to kiss her until she saw stars behind her eyes…
Was it any wonder he was so successful with women if he could kiss like that? Did he have any idea what her disobedient imagination was doing?
How was she supposed to work with him if every time she looked at him she was picturing him naked and using that talented mouth in other places?
As he slowly removed his lips from hers, she swayed forward on her feet a little, her eyes hooded and filled with "more please" when she looked up at him…
His mouth curled into a disgusting, knowing smile
"Didn't feel a thing, huh?" was his petty question…
Bani swallowed hard, damping her lips with the tip of her tongue as he removed his fingers from her hair
"Nope. Not a thing…" pride consumed her…
Jai nodded…
"That's what I thought…" devil, bani muttered to herself, but he was indeed a handsome one…
Lowering his head, a vague hint of stubble grazing against the soft skin of her cheek, his deep voice stage whispered into her ear…
"Shame-because Valentine's Day is the day for people to fall in love, I'd heard…"
And then he surprised her by gently slapping the newspaper against her chest,
"I'm a Scorpio… Just in case you're into that kind of thing…"
Bani remained frozen long after he looked down at her, chuckled at her expression, and strode calmly down the corridor on long legs…
She took a deep breath, puffed her cheeks out as she exhaled and then looked down at the paper she hadn't even realized he'd lifted from the table…
Okay, so what did Sunita Menon have to say about Scorpio today then???? Couldn't do any harm to look… …
"A challenge may prove more than you bargained for…"
She lifted her head and smiled smugly on her way across the lobby, humming a little tune beneath her breath…Jai Walia may just have met his match...
Let the games begin… … …
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THE END!!!!
God bless
Dhani
P.S.: If anybody wants to add another part, or continuation, most welcome!!! I would love to read them…Any new ideas, anything you want me to write as usual are welcome!!!!
Sonam has asked me to complete her SS: The Great Gambler, I think I will try and do that!!!!
