Story of Our Life

Chapter 2

"Priyu, jaldi kar! Tujhe late nahin ho raha?" Veena Sharma shouted from the living room as Prerna rushed down the stairs, dressed in a black pencil skirt and a red, full sleeved top. Her hair were in a loose bun and she was quickly wearing her earrings while her family had their breakfast.

"Don't you skip your breakfast Priyu." Rajesh shook his head and sipped on his tea.

"Nahi Baba, I won't." Prerna smiled and joined her family at the dining table.

"Accha sunn." Veena said and placed a paratha on her daughter's plate. "Aaj time se nikalna, kal Durga Puja hai, bahut taiyariyan karni hain."

"Haan Maa." Prerna nodded and quickly ate her food. It was her first day of internship at Bajaj Infragiant, the most respected companies in the country. She was in dire need of an internship as a part of her college's required syllabus and was lucky enough to get it in her first interview. She was excited to start her career and could not wait to reach the office.

"Di, waise I have heard that your Boss is a dangerous man." Shivani said and Prerna frowned.

"Dangerous? Bade log khatarnaak hi lagte hain. Aur honge wo dangerous, mujhe konsa unke saath personally kaam karna hai?" Prerna shrugged. "I'll be in the accounts department and I doubt he'll even come to the office."

"Sambhal ke rehna Priyu, office mein tarah-tarah ke log hote hain, tu abhi choti hai-

"Uffo Maa, main kahan choti hoon? I am just 24! Sabko sambhal lungi. Tension mat lo." Prerna smiled and winked as her father nodded.

"Apna khayaal rakhna beta." He said and stood up. "Chalo, I'll drop you."

"Nahi Baba, I'll go." Prerna wiped her mouth and took her bag. "Aap aaram karo."

Prerna left quickly for her new office and reached forty five minutes earlier than her fixed time. It was eight thirty am and she walked inside after collecting her ID card and internship letter from the reception. The office was fairly empty other than a janitor moving around, cleaning up and she found her desk easily. After putting away her bag and tiffinbox, she left her seat to go to the canteen to get some coffee, but to her despair, the canteen was deserted too.

"Koi toh hoga." She mumbled to herself as she walked towards the canteen counter, where a man stood on the other side, pouring a cup of coffee.

"Can I get a coffee?" She asked in a high tone and he turned, making her mouth go slack.

He was...freaking gorgeous! Prerna felt her hands go clammy as he stared at her with his dark brown eyes and a cocked eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" He said and his deep, rich voice made her go weak almost immediately.

Who cared if he looked almost twenty years older than her? His salt and pepper hair were the sexiest thing she'd ever seen, his white shirt was rumpled but the sleeves were folded till the muscled elbows, hiding dark tattoos under them and his angular face had edges so sharp that she could cut herself if she touched them and she kept quiet, much to his annoyance. "Excuse me?"

"Uh. Sorry." She blinked and shook her head. "Cof...fee?"

"I don't work here." He said curtly and put the coffee jug back. "Get your own coffee."

"Sorry." She mumbled as he left and she turned to see him leave, his long legs moving gracefully and his perfectly round bottom-

"Prerna, stop it!" She slapped herself and sighed. "Par ye hot banda, kaun hai? God!"

She shook her head and quickly went to get a coffee, wondering who was the man and when could she see him again as she walked back to her seat to meet her new colleagues.

Rishabh chuckled to the young woman's antics while he sipped his coffee. He could see Prerna Sharma, the new internee, from his cabin and what could he say? She was...clumsy, to say the least. In the last one hour, she had almost dropped her coffee mug thrice and did drop four files on the floor. The only good thing he had found till now was she looked quite focused on her work, that's why she was so inattentive to things around her. Her eyes were wide and curious, her smile was innocent and she was way too hot for a young girl like her. Rishabh looked away as he remembered her age, almost twenty years younger than him and cleared his throat to himself before opening his laptop.

Prerna shut the fifth file she'd completed working on and looked around. All her colleagues were still working and lunchtime was half an hour later so she decided to walk a bit, to explore the office. She introduced herself to many people in the different departments and ended up at the balcony, looking over the city from the twenty-ninth floor.

"Do you smoke?" A familiar voice asked and she turned, only to find herself facing the too-hot-to-be-true man, smoking a cuban cigar.

"No." She shook her head and he nodded before putting off his smoke.

"This is the smoking area." He said and she looked around to see posters saying Smoke Here, Smoking Area and felt sheepish.

"Sorry, I didn't see." She said and tried to look away but he was too handsome to looked away from.

"You don't need to say sorry for everything, Ms Sharma." He said and her eyes widened.

He knew her name?

The freaking Greek God knew her name?

"You know my name?" She asked and he shrugged, a slight smirk adorned his pretty face.

"Yes. I know the name of every employee working here, Ms Prerna Sharma." He said and she swore, her simple name had never sounded so beautiful before.

"How?" She asked and his side smile deepened, giving birth to a dent in his cheek.

Oh gosh, he has dimples!

I'm going to DIE.

"Because I am a very good boss." He said and she suddenly frowned. He chuckled and her chest warmed up at the voice. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself. Rishabh Bajaj here."

Saying so, he forwarded his arm and she hers, as his words registered in her mind. She blinked several times as their hands touched and his warm hand in her cold one was the most intimate thing she'd ever felt. His long fingers were touching the back of her wrist, the calloused fingertips grazing her soft skin and she gulped, her heart roaring in her chest.

She officially had a crush on India's richest man and her megaboss.

TBC