Then Rivals, Now Lovers.

10. Belong To Me.

***Siya's POV.***

"I must say you are the most beautiful and talented woman I have ever seen." Ms. Vardhan says and I smile.

"Thanks for the compliment, Ms. Vardhan. But you are no less either." I say.

"Oh please, Siya. Don't be so formal. Please call me Kirti." She says.

"As you say, Kirti." I say.

"That's more like it. So I was thinking maybe we could work out a deal which would benefit both of us equally and I have heard that my deal can make you the CEO of this company. So I will try my best as I would like to see another woman becoming a CEO. You have my unconditional support, Siya." She says, putting her hand on mine.

"Thank you." I say, "But that's not exactly true. You are important, I agree. But every project I handle is important to me. I am not biased, you see."

"That you aren't. And that is your best quality." She says.

"Let me give you a tour of the company. Shall we?" I ask and get up.

"Sure, sure." She says and follows me.

Kirti is a very charismatic person but also a very ethical and strict boss too. She has been nothing less than courteous and pleasant to us all, but somehow I feel she is reserved towards men. I don't know why. Still, it doesn't concern me as long as we have a good business relationship and she doesn't insult men in my team without valid reason.

I was about to take her towards the conference room when the door opened and there I saw Nidhi and Karan, talking and laughing together. When did she come here? I mean wasn't Karan saying that they have yet to contact her, then how come in just one day he managed to invite her here?

"Oh, sorry." Karan says, but when he sees me he introduces us, "Siya. Meet Nidhi Bakshi. And Ms. Bakshi meet-"

"Siya! We have met before." Nidhi says with a gleeful smile of hers.

"We have?" I ask.

"Yes. Remember two years ago... in that event where you lost in a tug of war against me?" She asks with a smile.

"Ah! I remember now. And later on, how you didn't fulfill your promises that you made to those people who were in your team." I say with a smile.

"Well, they came to my team for money, not the belief." She says with a smile.

"Well, money lures people a lot and so do favors more than belief." I say.

"Only if only they were lured by belief, I might have thought about fulfilling my promises." She says.

"Well, some people can't afford to have beliefs. They need money." I say.

"Well, I can't help but agree on that point with you, Siya." She says.

"Hi, myself, Karan Nanda. And you must be Ms. Kirti Vardhan. Nice to meet you." Karan says suddenly coming between us.

"Same here, Mr. Nanda." Kirti says.

Introductions are made and I can't help but notice how Karan welcomed Kirti and she actually responded to him well. Why do all the women he ever meets respond to him so... good? He is a gentleman. I know that but still... They were talking about business and I felt a stare at me. I look back at Nidhi, who looks at me for a few seconds then smiles widely.

Oh, no! What's cooking in her mind now?

"It was nice to meet you. Even though we are competing, all the best for the deal." Karan says.