Not A Simple Engineer Boy!

Thirty Six: Ignition Theory (Part 2)

"Yay!", Rashi exclaimed, "Oh my God! Krithika and Priya are going to dance in the final round.", her face was plastered with glee.

"Or with each other.", Priya said as a matter of fact, "They are going to choose randomly, so the probability is not that low for Krithika and I to end up as partners."

"Now, that would be awesome.", Rashi still had her starry eyes on, "Imagine, if you both pair up and win, it will be devastating for those people.", she pointed towards a group of people who were probably the board members.

"It's not like we are going to get any price.", Krithika shrugged, "I just wanted to beat my senior, that bitch, in that game and accidentally won it."

"Hey! Keep up with the spirit, that's all we need.", Rashi concluded as she rushed past a few people to help herself with some dessert.

They heard the call for winners to assemble at the center of the hall. It felt intimidating to be around the elite group of people, the ones who were the reason why her bank account received a decent sum every month.

Every eye was on them as the pairing started. She knew only four people from the list- One of her colleagues with whom she had partnered in the earlier round, Priya, Satya, and him. She would be happy to be partnered with anyone except him. It was an odd feeling, her conscious-self wanted to be as far away from him as possible and she prayed for luck to support her.

Yet somewhere in her subconscious, she wanted the night to be unlucky.

She saw Priya getting paired with another employee of the Xhasis. He looked handsome with his soft smile as he took her hand and stepped over the paper. Satya was already paired with her colleague. What a luck!? She could see how excited she was to be with their idol. It's not an everyday event where you get to stand next to your boss and dance with her.

"Ms. Krithika Ashok from the Logistics Management Department and...", she heard someone call her name, "Oh my, now that's the name we all have been waiting for so long. Everyone, here's our handsome boss, Mr. Xavier Lucifer Joseph."

Unlucky start of the new year, isn't it?

She cursed under her breath. This wasn't going the way she wanted it to be. Why was her luck playing with her life? Realizing that she was standing still in her spot, she slowly moved to a vacant space with paper and stepped on it. She looked around as everyone stared at her.

Sweet Lord Muruga!

She knew at that moment almost every woman in the hall wanted to burn her to a crisp. Those were not plain stares, but venomous glares spitting fire to torch her alive. She dropped her head down and tapped her foot nervously on the floor. After a few seconds, she realized there was no sign of Xavier yet.

Probably he went to his home, tired of these rubbi--

As on cue, she felt someone standing close to her and she closed her eyes, trying to wake up from the nightmare. When she opened her eyes, nothing had changed. Her eyes were welcomed with the sight of the devil. And wait, did he divest himself of the jacket? Why were her hands feeling sweaty?

She swallowed as her eyes roamed over his taut broad shoulders and plains of chest. Why would one wear a t-shirt so freaking fit? She fixed her eyes diagonally on a point somewhere between his right chest and his right arm. It was too risky to see straight, the sight of his skin peeking out of that open neckline was too inviting.

"Ah, you are my partner.", his deep voice startled her but she didn't dare to face him.

They both stood apart, almost two feet away from each other as the paper beneath them allowed enough space. She thought it would be better to step out of paper during dance and fail. That way she could save herself from getting closer to him.

"Are you fine?", Xavier's question cut through her clever scheming and she nodded, not knowing what his question was about.

After every player was paired, the orchestra started playing romantic songs and she absent-mindedly moved her body from left to right. Her head had dropped down in the process as staring at Xavier's arm also proved futile in resisting her attraction.

"You are an awful dancer, sweetheart."

What the--

She felt heat creeping up her cheeks, whether it was the result of her being insulted or the way he called her 'sweetheart', she didn't know.

"At least look at me.", his voice commanded.

No, don't... Just step out... Don't look at him...

Look at him, now!

Agreeing to her subconscious, she tilted up her head and regretted every bit of it.

--

A/N

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