TWO HALVES OF A WHOLE

2. THE SPECIAL GUEST

"To Annlin, for the huge success."

"Cheers." Everybody raised their glasses and cheered with Ms Sharma.

Ms Arundhati Sharma, the former CEO of 21Story, the clothing line of the Sharma group of Companies, is my mentor, greatest critic, and personal therapist. Our first-ever project was with her. Being new and young to this industry, she was the one who guided me whenever I felt like giving up. She always told me that she could see herself in me. She stepped out of the CEO position a few months back and handed her position to her daughter-in-law, Maya Sharma.

"Music." The sound of DJ interrupted my daughterly thoughts about her.

"You seem lost." Ms. Sharma asked, sitting beside me.

"No. I'm good." I said, adjusting my dress. She was right. My eyes were going to the entrance now and then. And I didn't even touch my glass of wine placed for me. And I couldn't even bring myself up on the dance floor. It is my success, my party and my fucking day. What is wrong with me?

"You are terrible at lying, Nilin. And you know that."

I let out a chuckle and also felt warm hearing the name she always called me. She didn't ask anything further but told me to get on the dance floor and enjoy MY day. So I did. I didn't dance. I listened to the music, slowly closed my eyes to feel the vibe by moving along the music and forgot about every pair of eyes watching me the entire night.

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After enjoying a few songs, I was going back to where I sat earlier when I suddenly collided with something hard. I looked up to see what it was when my eyes locked with a not-so-familiar but still familiar magnificent pair of blue eyes. Roshan Davidson ~ inches away from my face with a square-shaped one with angular jaws, chiselled cheekbones, perfect lips, deep-set eyes and a trimmed beard. It is rare to see blue eyes in this country. And here he has the rarest shade of blue I have ever seen.

"Waiting for me, wasn't you?" He asked in his deep, husky voice, bringing my lala thoughts from his eyes to his voice. Someone passed by us accidentally hit me when I realised the position in which we were standing. His hands are on my waist, and mine' are on his chest. I freed myself from his hold immediately, ignoring the shiver I felt in my whole body and looked up again, only to find him glaring towards the way the man who hit me went. I watched him in the meantime. He is wearing a full black suit without any tie. The first two buttons are open, giving everybody a slight view of his well-built chest muscles, and his ripped arms and legs were sublimely fitted in that tailored suit. I am still shorter by inches than him in my high heels. His black hair was neatly set. How can somebody be so flawless in a suit? Ah! Stop, Annie.

"You wish. And when you meet someone, you are supposed to say Hi, a Hello or something close to it. Never mind, I forgot that you and your people lack basic manners." I said to distract myself more when he turned his face to me.

"Hi!"

I nodded, and suddenly, I realised what he said. Did he say hi to me? I was shocked, to be honest. First, I wasn't sure if he would come or not. I was mostly expecting someone from his company, maybe the guy who came to our company the other day. I regained my composure and said a formal greeting in return.

"Roshan Davison," He forwarded his hands, and I placed mine in his huge, rough hands.

"Annlin William." I tried to say firmly by lightly shaking his hands.

"Do you know what an appointment is, Mr Davidson?" I sarcastically asked. But his face remained neutral and shut. So I continued.

"Look, Mr Davidson. I want to make one thing clear. Not every company works the way you want them to work with. So next time, whenever you want to work with one of them, make sure that yours follow at least the basic procedures." I said, still annoyed about the appointment incident.

"I know." He said after a few seconds of silence, making me take aback. What the hell? What did he mean by 'I know'? I tried to mimic the tone in which he said that in my mind and huffed when I failed.

"Congratulations on your success." Again, the husky, ocean-deep voice.

"Thank You," I nodded genuinely and then, just like that, he walked away. Yo Mr. I'm not done talking to you. Urghhh! This man! He also lacks communication skills. A typical grumpy businessman.

I slowly turned my face to see if anybody had seen us, and that's when I realised that everyone stopped enjoying and watching us. I fixed my posture and stood there watching Mr Roshan Charles Davidson make his way out of the crowd like a lion in a jungle full of animals paving his way as they held their breath as he passed through it.

Then, suddenly, he looked back at me for a few seconds, making my heart stutter. It was just for a moment.

And finally, he exited the place.

My heart started again.

The person who observed the scene, just like everyone present there, came and stood beside me and smirked, "What was that?"

"Nothing, I just happened to give Mr Davidson a little lesson about how manners work." It didn't go like what I planned.

"And how did it go?"

"I don't know. Hope it helps." I scoffed and took Ms Sharma to our previous seats.

I thanked everyone who accepted our invitation to join the party and wrapped up the event. I bid Ms Sharma bye and took off in my car, thinking only about a particular blue-eyed person. And I hated myself for it.