"Sir, Annika mam is here to meet you. Should I send her in?" Mishra asked.
Shivaay looked up from the file he was reading and blinked twice to ensure that he heard it right.
"Annika... Yeah..yes.. Sure... Send her in right now." He went on cleaning the chairs that were occupied with files for her.
Mishra looked on surprised because his boss was not the one that'd get bossed around by someone else. He shook his head in disbelief, maybe the office gossips weren't gossips, Maybe. He thought as he hurried to get Annika.
Ten minutes to it Annika was in his cabin sipping coffee waiting for Shivaay to end his phone call which she thought was not going as he had expected, she could tell that from his clenched jaw, strangely it made her feel a bit happy.
"Annika I'm so sorry for making you wait, that was a very important call." He apologized as he came around the desk and sat beside her.
Annika looked at him squarely in the eye and chuckled to herself and leisurely sat back in the chair. Shivaay was taken aback. This wasn't very Annika like, yet he continued.
"I've been trying to contact you since I last met you, but you were not available, where were you?"
"Why?"
"I wanted to discuss something important."
"Go on, I'm all ears!" She said still looking him in the eye a small smile played on her lips. It was not the kind of smile that'd make you comfortable, the kind that would intimidate you. There was an unknown tension in the room suddenly and Shivaay could feel it. He straightened himself and cleared his throat to make sure he sounded as confident as he always was.
"Annika, I know you are not very much comfortable with our marriage talks and I understand that the announcement shouldn't have happened that day, it stole the limelight that your project should have had and ofcourse, your hardwork was questioned, but please understand that I really admire your hardwork and you are the best anyone could ever ask for."
He paused for a moment to see if there were any reaction from her at all. Seeing none he mentally sighed and continued.
"Annika I've been constantly keeping a tab on the stats of Arch and Orchids and they've been extremely impressive, you've done a great work and I think it's just a matter of time that people would see your success and I'm really proud of you."
"And I will talk to Harsh uncle about how the last minute idea you came up with was actually the hero of the ad campaign... Yeah... I think, that would be better, am I right?", He continued trying to be understanding. Still there was no reply from her and he was getting impatient.
"Annika I'm talking to you", he tried not to sound rude enough for her to notice, but he actually was.
"I'm still listening Shivaay." She said as he put the cup over the table and turned to him with the same face she had.
That saccharine smile.
He sighed. Too hard.
"And come to Oberoi Mansion sometime in this week, Mom and Dadi were a little worried and were constantly asking why would you leave the venue so suddenly without informing anyone. Just meet them and tell that you were not feeling well and you didn't want to disturb anyone and you left home, alright!"
Annika was enjoying this, she could see his patience go down every second and the way he 'tried' to understand her was too funny, it was as if he was reading from the script and the things were not going as per the script.
"Annika, please try to understand, it was all for the betterment of our families and our business, you are not a novice to not understand these things and how they work, just be who you are and see how things turn out just fine for you, alright?"
She wanted to laugh at that, but she maintained her stature. It was all game, everyone around her were playing. She was the dice people wanted in the game of business and she could do nothing about it, whereas she was trying to prove everyone otherwise. She wanted to be a player. A very good one. She thought Shivaay was different from them and he would understand her but he wasn't and he didn't.
It did hurt her that he never knew what her real problem was and she did not know if he ever would. But he did help her in understand the rules of the game. She needn't be the player to win the game, she can be the dice and make a player her pawn and to make her win against all the others.
He was right. Yes, he was right. She need not prove herself to anyone but her.
Shivaay felt her demeanor change to a more determined one, maybe his words were working, he thought.
A little more of convincing words would prove to be a fortune for a particular Shivaay Singh Oberoi in the Oberoi industries.
He slowly moved to the edge of the seat, leaned over and held her hand gently and continued, "Annika... listen, I mean, I think that the rushed timing of the announcement was too much for you to handle and it's completely fine, I understand. Take your time and just get over with it once and for all, alright?"
"If you want to I will talk to everyone in the family to just push the wedding to a later date, even a year or two, will that be ok for you Annika?"
He hoped she would be convinced by this. It was better than Annika never wanting to marry him.
"Let's get married now Shivaay." Her voice came out crisp, with confidence.
Shivaay was taken aback. That was unexpected. Did she really say that?
"What! Annika are you sure?"
"I want you to sign a pre-nup agreement, it will also have the terms of this marriage and I will myself draft that", she said, her eyes firm with determination.
Shivaay did not see that coming. Who was she? She is definitely not the Annika he knew. She was a different person, entirely. He cannot lose, can he? No.
He sat back, slowly crossing his legs a small smirk playing on his lips.
"Business, Intersting." He said.
"Give me a better deal Annika, I'm not convinced."
"How about me calling this wedding off, Shivaay?" She raised her eyebrows.
"Doesn't sound good, does it?" She quipped.
"You can't do that!" He chuckled.
"I can, and I will Mr. Shivaay Singh Oberoi, and you will see it." She asserted herself with a direct gaze.
He was astounded for a moment.
"I will give you some time Shivaay, think about it."
She gave him a full blown smile before she grabbed her bag and phone and disappeared through the door leaving a stunned Shivaay behind.
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