"I don't know when this happened but I found myself smiling like an idiot."
By the time Aahana reached the office, she was late by 20 minutes. And to say she was nervous would be an understatement.
Though the staff didn't mind and threw their usual smiles her way, she couldn't help but worry her lip as she made her way to the cabin. CFO or not, she was always punctual but today, she'd broken one of her rules.
She pushed the door open and he looked up, his eyes capturing hers. They were blank, void of emotions which didn't help Aahana's situation.
She stood there silently, waiting to be yelled at by him, but she was surprised when Atharva didn't utter a word and focused on his laptop screen.
Gaping at him, she backed away to her desk and slumped in the chair, her eyes fixated on him.
Few minutes passed but nothing happened.
She sighed in relief and read the files once more before silently sliding it to Atharva's desk.
The little movement caught his attention and he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes as he picked up the file and went through it. He gave her an appreciative nod and placed it inside his drawer.
******
After the lunch break, Pranav knocked on the door softly and peeked his head inside. "As per your order, everyone has gathered in the conference room."
Atharva nodded curtly and stood up, waving his hand at Aahana to follow him.
With a curious look, she did so.
When the meeting was over, Aahana was immensely infuriated by Atharva. He was way too cunning than she could've imagined. He easily got rid of the female employees, and he didn't even have to fire them. All he did was transfer them to Bangalore office.
The girls did look upset but they didn't protest and the ones who had problem shifting still worked in the Delhi office but miles away from Atharva's floor. Only Kritika's position didn't waver since she was Aahana's personal assistant, and Atharva will not need to interact with her at all.
Aahana had made every employee she'd hired sign a one year contract which stated, neither can they leave Saxena Enterprises nor can they be fired. If any party breaks the rule, the employee can sue the company and vice versa.
And the very reason for all her efforts was to keep girls around him, but that ass Atharva put it to waste. Seeing the smug look on his face, she wanted to murder him.
But before she could think of ways to kill him, her phone blared. Gnawing on her bottom lip, she averted her gaze to the screen.
"What do you want?"
She heard a mock gasp from the other end. "You wound me, sweetpea. Do you think I'd call you only when I need something? And what is this? No hello or hi?"
Aahana rolled her eyes as a smile appeared on her face. "Hi, Jay. Happy baby?"
"Very. Are you free tonight?"
"Uh...yeah, after 7. Why?"
"Cool! Dinner at my place at 8:00. I want you to meet someone..."
Aahana squealed, nearly falling out of her seat. "Oh my! Loverboy, finally. I am so happy for you."
He chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. At what time do I pick you up?"
"Nope. I'll drive myself." Aahana dismissed with a wide smile. "Just make yummy food for me."
She could imagine him shaking his head with a grin. "As you say, sweetpea. Bye, love ya."
"Love ya too."
Grinning from ear to ear, she placed her phone on the table and sighed. She was so happy for him, and she hoped this time it would work, unlike his past one-two week relationships.
A throat clearing brought her back to the present and her eyes locked on Atharva who was glaring at her. "Who was that?"
"My best friend, Jay!" Aahana replied instantly with a bright smile.
"You do know this is a workplace? So next time you want to chit-chat, excuse yourself outside." Atharva snapped and turned away from her.
Aahana's face fell, and she frowned at him.
He always had to be rude, didn't he?
It was like after her little chat with Jay, Atharva had shut himself completely but she'd found him glancing at her a few times with a thoughtful look. She wanted to know what was going on in his mind but she shut her mouth, not wanting to be the victim to his wrath.
Later in the evening when they both packed their stuff to leave, Aahana didn't know why but she found herself asking Atharva if he wanted to come with her.
He looked at her as if she'd grown two heads and after a moment or two of contemplating, he agreed, shocking both of them.
They made their way home, and after a quick change to a fresh pair of clothes, they headed to Jay's house.
All the way, Atharva was too stiff and Aahana rolled her eyes. He was antisocial for a CEO who met people on a daily basis and attended gazillions of events.
"Sweetpea, you are finally here," Jay said cheerily once his eyes landed on Aahana, and he hauled her into a bear hug.
She chuckled and hugged him back, caressing the back of his head lovingly. "Yes, my boy. Now, where is he?"
"Come on." He pulled away and grabbed her hand, but stopped when he saw someone over her shoulder. Atharva stood awkwardly, his hands stuffed in his pocket.
Aahana cursed inwardly and moved towards him with an apologetic smile. "This is Atharva, my hus-"
"Your husband," Jay squeaked out in a daze and shuffled towards Atharva. He tensed and frowned in return. "I am Jay, her best friend."
Aahana stifled a giggle as she watched the two, Mr flirtatious Jay and her husband who wasn't able to wrap his head at Jay's behaviour. Jay trailed his hand up Atharva's back to his neck before pulling away and squeezing his arm.
"You have become more handsome," Jay mused, recalling the wedding day where he'd seen him for the first and last time. "Damn! A fucking sex god in my house!" He wolf-whistled, giving Atharva a once over, and if Atharva looked awkward before, now he looked like he wanted to be swallowed by the ground.
He choked on air and looked at Aahana. She shrugged and bit her lip to suppress a smile.
"Okay! Let's go in now," she mumbled and grabbed his arm to pull him inside, Jay hot on their tail.
"This is Dinesh, my boyfriend." Jay grinned when they reached the drawing-room. And with that, he leaned down to place a chaste kiss on Dinesh's lips.
Atharva was shell-shocked at their open act of affection while Aahana was jumping like a child, clapping happily.
"You both are so cute," she cooed, pinching their cheeks, and they both blushed before Jay swatted her hand away.
He gave a brief introduction of them to Dinesh and then, they proceeded for dinner. The food looked like Jay with his chef skills hadn't been able to control himself and cooked everything he could in a short period of time.
"It looks delicious." Dinesh placed a soft kiss on his cheek and smiled widely, with Aahana nodding in agreement as she gave an impressed look to Jay.
They started to eat, and Aahana was more than happy, surrounded by smiles and laughs.
Everyone looked at ease. Well, leaving Atharva.
She didn't understand why he'd agreed to come when he was going to be nothing but silent.
All he did was watch them and nod.
And when Jay flirted with him, he would just look at Jay blankly, his hands balled into tight fists and jaw clenched. It looked kinda intimidating but Jay didn't seem to notice as he kept throwing winks Atharva's way throughout the dinner which tended to aggravate Atharva's nerve even more.
Finally, they called it a night and parted home.
"Did you have fun?" Aahana asked him teasingly as she slipped out of her heels and made her way to her room.
Atharva shrugged out of his blazer and arched his eyebrow at her. "You didn't tell me your best friend...uh...is gay."
She stopped to look at him. "I didn't think it mattered."
He nodded. "It didn't. But at least I would have been prepared." And he shuddered dramatically for effect.
She laughed. "Good night, Atharva."
"Night, Aahana." He walked into his room and shut the door.
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