It was weird.
The gaze his newly recruited junior accountant had today was unnerving, to say the least. He could feel her eyes on him since the moment he had arrived and whenever he looked up towards her seat, he caught her looking at him. She would avert her eyes but they would be back on him within five minutes
After two hours of her scrutiny, he finally had had enough and called for her. Her shocked face when the peon told her that she was called was enough to make Rishabh smile and he waited eagerly to listen to her explanation.
"Sir? You called?" She asked in a low tone and he nodded. "Yes Sir?"
"Do I have something on my face?" He asked and she blinked thrice before shaking her head.
"Am I wearing my suit inside out?" He looked straight at her and she shook her head again. "Toh aap mujhe, picchle do ghante se, ghoor ghoor kar kyu dekh rahi hain?"
"Huh?" Her eyes widened as if caught red handed and he saw her gulp. "Wo...actually...maine ek file complete karke aapki desk par rakhi thi. And I was anxious about when you'll see it and...revert. I was...waiting for you...to check it. Sir."
"Really?" He nodded, aware of her lie. "Okay then, you may leave."
He saw her visibly relax and she nearly ran out of his cabin, shutting the glass door behind her.
He almost laughed at the innocent creature.
As soon as she sat on her seat, Prerna felt as if her heart would just jump out of her chest, it was beating so fast!
How did he know she was staring at him since the second he had stepped out of that elevator? She cursed his handsomeness and her dumb hormones for going into a hyper-mode and getting her caught like that. How embarrassing? Lucky for her, she had submitted a file and used that to her excuse!
"Why is he so good looking? Is a man, who's just two years shy of being forty, supposed to look so hot? Damn it." She shook her head and sighed. "And why the hell am I so attracted to him? He's so much elder to me, possibly married and has a bunch of kids-
"Prerna?" Aditi poked her shoulder and Prerna looked up, biting her lip. "Kya hua? Kya soch rahi hai?"
"Sir ki shaadi ho gayi?" The question escaped her mind through her mouth and Aditi frowned, shaking her head.
"Nahi, he's single. Haan, girlfriend wagera ho sakti hai, but I don't know for sure." She shrugged and Prerna frowned.
"He's single? Matlab...divorce...widower-
"Pagal hai kya? Agar koi badi umar ka aadmi single hai toh zaruri thodi hai ki wo divorcee ya widower ho. And he's not that old!" Aditi chuckled. "Mr Bajaj never married. As far as I know, he's been single forever. Maine kabhi kisi ex-wife ya late wife ke baare mein nahin suna. No wife, no kids, no family whatsoever."
"Oh." Was all Prerna said and sighed.
Was that relief?
"Waise, tuje kyu itna interest aa raha hai?" Aditi smirked and chuckled as she saw her colleague's blank face. "Just kidding yaar. I know he's really good looking, koi bhi ladki sochegi."
"Nahin, main toh...aise hi." Prerna said and opened a file to start working.
"Accha sunn, jo puchne ke liye bulaya tha, wo hi bhul gayi!" Aditi scratched her head. "Tujhe next week humare saath Delhi chalna hoga, for a new deal with Tata Engines and Automobiles. Mail check kiya na?"
"Yaa. But uske liye toh aap aur Rohan jaa rahe the na?" She asked and Aditi nodded.
"Haan, par Rohan ko achanak apne hometown jana hai, his mother is unwell and having a sudden operation next week." Aditi explained. "So, you'll have to be there."
"Okay. Main kabhi aise...business trip par gayi nahin." Prerna shared her concerns.
"Don't worry, main rahungi na. It'll be me, you, Mr Mehra, Tara Ma'am and Ananya from Management, Pulkit Sir and Rima from Digital and obviously, Mr Bajaj." Adito smiled. "Tension mat lo."
"Okay. Kab jana hai? Which flight-
"I'll forward you the details. We'll leave on Sunday evening and be back by Wednesday morning. We can take the Wednesday off and join work from Thursday!" Aditi said and Prerna nodded before starting her pending work.
Sunday came sooner than expected and Prerna found herself waiting at the airport for her colleagues. The last three days had been hectic as she had to suddenly jump into a brand new deal and she was more than happy to have a few hours for herself as the weekend approached. She'd been so busy that she could only see Mr Bajaj in her dreams and could only steal a glance or two while he worked in his cabin. She hated that she was still so attracted to him and her crush wasn't lessening at all!
"Prerna!" She heard Aditi's voice and soon, one by one, everyone had arrived. Together, they moved inside and were at the ticket counter.
"Why are there only five tickets? There should be six?" Aditi asked at the counter and the woman checked her screen.
"Actually Ma'am, one of your members, Mr Anil Mehta, had pre-poned his trip so his Business Class ticket has been given to one of you." The woman said and Aditi frowned.
"To whom?" She asked as the woman read the screen.
"To a Ms Prerna Sharma." She said and Prerna looked up, surprised. "She'll be sitting in A2. Here's her ticket."
"And...who's on...A1?" Prerna asked, her heart thumping in her chest.
"Mr Rishabh Bajaj."
--
She'd never been in the Business Class before and to top it off, her megahot megaboss was sitting six inches away from her. If she just moved her right leg a little bit, she would be touching him-
"Ms Sharma? Are you okay?" His deep voice caught her unaware and she stared at him. He was so close, she could count the number of his pretty eyelashes if she wanted to.
"Haan. Yes. Ji, I am okay." She nodded and cursed herself.
"Have you never been on a plane before?" He asked and she shook her head.
"I have been. We just went to Bangalore six months back to meet my Aunt and-
"Hmm." He ended the conversation and closed his eyes, leaving Prerna feeling weird.
Within fifteen minutes of the takeoff, he could feel her fidgeting during the whole flight. Her body was slightly shaking, her face was a little pale and her hands were twitching every seven minutes. He could see her curl her toes in the pale white Kolhapuri slippers, which were not matching her outfit of a yellow full sleeved top and grey pencil skirt, leaving her legs exposed to the low temperature of the airplane.
"Are you cold?" He asked and she looked at him with widened eyes. "Why do you always look so surprised when I talk to you?"
"Yes. And nahin toh?" She whispered as he called for the stewardess for a blanket. "I just get...a little nervous."
"Why?" He shrugged and she almost laughed.
"Why? Because you're Rishabh Bajaj! THE Rishabh Bajaj!" She exclaimed as he stared at her.
"I am still a human." He said and she looked at him silently. "You can talk to me without stuttering or getting nervous, Ms Sharma."
"Please call me Prerna." She said and smiled softly. "You are older-
"Respect comes from the heart, not from age. And I respect you Ms Prerna." He smiled and she felt her heart skip a beat. Even his side smile was enough to curl her toes. "You are really good at your work."
"Thank you, Sir." She said and he nodded, a lock of grey hair fell on his forehead and Prerna was shocked to realize how her hands itched to pull it away. It was blocking her way into his beautiful eyes and she wanted to look into them.
"You're staring again." He said and she immediately turned away, feeling hot all over. The air conditioning didn't seem to work properly, she felt, while her whole body tried to normalize itself in such close proximity with him.
"Sorry Mr Bajaj." She said a little breathlessly and he felt a slight punch in his chest at how heated her voice sounded. He looked at her and saw her lips curl into a slight smile, her eyes a little bit in his direction and he gulped.
Did he just get turned on by listening to his own name from her lips?
TBC