Chapter 31

Nandini held a cup of coffee in her hands, watching the steam spiral upward and disappear into the air. Opposite to her, Geeta sat twisting the end of her dupatta on her lap and trying to unsuccessfully mask the puzzled expression mixed with traces of worry on her face. Nandini took a sip of the coffee to calm herself and instantly felt refreshed as the hot coffee slid down her throat. The headache had reduced considerably making her feel much better but she could not shake off the uneasiness that still clamped onto her like a leech. She lifted her head and saw Geeta watching her carefully.

"How are you feeling now?" asked Geeta half ready to come to her rescue in necessary.

"Quite well," said Nandini taking in a breath and another sip of the coffee. Wanting to know how she landed in the room, she cleared her throat and leaned forward. "Er . . . Do you know what happened to me? How did I come here?"

Geeta nodded vigorously, her eyes wide. "You fainted."

Nandini's scrunched her brows as she tried to recall how she fainted.

'Nandini ..... Nandini open your eyes.'  The voice she heard . . . it was Abhimanyu or was it?

Geeta continued. "Abhimanyu sir carried you to the lounge . . .

'Guards! . . . Guards! . . .'

" . . . he called for a doctor -

'Call a doctor immediately! . . .'

" - and then sent for me. The doctor said that your blood pressure was low, he gave an injection and said that you were weak, that's why you fainted." As an after thought she added, "You should have had breakfast Nandini."

Nandini pushed away the cup of coffee. Abhimanyu had carried her.  Considering his feelings for her it seemed surreal that he could carry her. Why couldn't she remember that part? This was not how she planned to start her day with him. She had wanted to walk into his office and show him that he would not be able to break her no matter how much he tried. Now, utterly failed, she chided herself for going and fainting in front of him. She should have waited where she was asked to. She strained herself to recall the conversation she had with Abhimanyu before she fainted. Something about coffee and . . . ugh!  Why cant I remember?  she thought in frustration.

The intercom rang in between these musings. Geeta jumped and picked up the receiver. "Sir! Yes sir . . . yes sir . . . okay sir," she said and hung up quickly. Turning to Nandini she relayed the information that she received. "It was Aakash sir. He was asking if you were okay and to tell that you need to go to Abhimanyu sir's office - like right now."

Nandini sighed getting up slowly from the chair. "Thank you for your help Geeta," she said as she rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms on the front of her kurti.

"No worries," replied Geeta as she walked to where Nandini stood. "If you need anything at all I am on the seventh floor, that is the HR floor. Here take my number," she said.

"I don't have my phone on me. I must have dropped it in his office. I will give you my number just send me a message."

Geeta agreed ignoring the way Nandini said 'his' and took her number. Then with a sweet smile and a final pat on Nandini's shoulder she left.

Nandini faced the guards again but this time they let her in wordlessly. On entering the room she saw that Aakash was present and was in discussion with Abhimanyu. Sensing her presence they turned their heads in her direction.

Aakash was the first one to speak. "Ms. Singh, please come in. Sir is waiting for you," he said rather peeved by her languid stance and her sheer disobedience. He was so sure that his boss was going to give her an earful.

Nandini entered looking in the direction of Aakash and ignoring the other one completely.

Abhimanyu sir carried you to the lounge.

"How are you feeling now?" Abhimanyu's booming voice filled her ears. Her body reacted immediately sending shock waves from her head to toe. She felt a sudden warmth on her face and realized with annoyance that she was blushing. She breathed in and out a few times to get the pallor of her face back to normal before she could answer his question.

Abhimanyu sir carried you to the lounge. The constant resonance of the phrase was not helping in the least bit.

"Good." The word came out rather strongly than she wanted making Aakash cringe at the tone. He could not believe his ears and wondered if the girl had a death wish and spun around to see his boss's reaction. Now this was strange,  he mused as he saw his boss who was known as a no nonsense person observing her intently.

Abhimanyu sat mesmerized by the lush red that stained her cheeks. He had forgotten how beautiful she looked when she blushed. His brain fetched a memory of how he had touched her cheeks once, many years ago, back at Jaypore when they had shared a quiet moment. He could still feel the sensation of her smooth skin on his finger tips; the warmth as the blood rushed to her fair skin.

He clenched his fist into a tight ball curbing the strong urge to touch her cheeks again. Hardening his heart, he spoke in a tone as cold as ice. "Before you had decided to faint and waste my time, I had asked you for a coffee. Now that is useless, as it is already nearing lunch time, I suggest you start with that."

"You want me to do what?" she questioned glaring at him.

"Ms. Singh yo- . . ." Aakash started to say but he was duly stopped.

She held up a hand stopping him from whatever he was going to say. "You must have confused me with someone else."

"I don't have the habit of repeating myself," said Abhimanyu as he watched her face getting redder by the minute. This was not the pleasing red but an angry red and a small smile played on his lips seeing how much he enjoyed seeing her angry.

Nandini crossed her arms, her eyes turning to slits. "Let me understand this. You tell me to come to Mumbai to be your personal chef?"

Abhimanyu shrugged leaning back on the swivel chair. "Yes. It is a coveted position especially for the females. As a matter of fact, most would kill for the job," he said with a blank face.

Nandini scoffed. "I don't care. I am not here to wash your dirty dishes. You have an office job for me in this wretched place then I will do it. I am not going to let you humiliate me in this fashion."

Aakash stood stunned by the little speech. He was now quite sure that the girl was out of her mind. He tried to intervene again. "Ms. Singh, you better apologize to sir. Remember you are speaking to."

"Like hell I will," she said in a condescending tone. "Don't count me in the list of the so called females who wag their tails behind your boss. He has no right to treat me this way!" she yelled.

Aakash remained quiet not knowing what to say. His usual encounter with the girls were categorized under two types. One, the girls who admired him for him and the other, the girls who admired him because they in turned admired Abhimanyu. The first category was rarer than the blue diamond. But whatever said no girls of either category had the gall to speak to him in such a manner and that too in front of his boss!

"Alright," said Abhimanyu and shifted his attention to his secretary. "Aakash, what is the status of London?" he asked.

Not knowing the reason for the shift of the subject he replied. "O-our guys are ready sir, we just need your go ahead."

"Hmm...What was the latest report from there again?" questioned Abhimanyu as he pursed his lips in thought.

Aakash looked at Nandini and back to his boss unsure if he should continue. "Our sources confirm that Prince Vikram's life is in danger. The people who are behind this are just biding time. So far he is safe sir but they can't promise how long he will be safe for!" he said.

"Hmm . . . poor Vikram. Call our security team off. Speak to Bhim and tell them that the mission is aborted. They can---"

"Wait!" said Nandini in a feeble voice before he could finish with his order. "I-I will d-do it. I will do whatever you say," she stuttered her heart beating wildly in her chest.

Abhimanyu craned his neck in her direction. "I am sorry but did you say something?" he asked watching her go deathly pale. "I did not seem to hear you."

Nandini swallowed her pride. "I-I will do whatever you tell me to. J-just don't . . ." she beseeched.

Abhimanyu got up from his chair and sauntered to where she was standing. A whiff of his musky cologne creeped into her nose. "You seem to forget the reason why  you are here in the first place. Every single time you force me to remind you. Do you take pleasure in these little banters between us or are you trying to play some other game to get your nefarious things done."

"I-I was carried away."

He let out a short laugh. "You always do, don't you – get carried away I mean. Like you got carried away at Vilaspore," he said moving away from her and standing in front of a book shelf looking intently at the knick-knacks inside. He glanced at her pale face reflected on the glass door of the book shelf, marred with a worried expression. The last words of his had found its mark he noted with satisfaction. Her head dipped slightly and Abhimanyu thought he saw her brush a tear away. For a fleeting second his heart wrenched and he almost lifted his hand to reach out to her but then he held back. He clenched his jaw trying to muster more hatred for her.

"So tell me princess . . ." he continued, " . . . what will it be? Will you keep doing this every time? Because let me warn you, I will not be so accommodating in the future."

Nandini remained quiet still reeling from his words. Aakash gasped and turned sharply in her direction. Princess?  Had his boss used it sarcastically?

"I will not repeat it hukum," she said after a long pause.

Abhimanyu turned toward her with a victorious smirk. He did not believe in using force to bring someone to their knees. He had better options. This was the way he worked. Find out the weakness of the enemy and play his cards, but not all of them either. He always kept one or two  hidden when he wanted to destroy them completely. The raid he orchestrated at Jaypore was a part of such a strategy – and it had worked beautifully. Nandini was a mere puppet in his hands as long as he held Vikram's trump card.

"Okay then," he said going back to his chair. "Get going with what I told earlier." He flipped open a file and started reading its contents.

Nandini had taken a few steps toward the door when he spoke again. "I hope you can cook!" he remarked casually taking a pen from the desk and marking something on the paper.

"I think I can manage," she replied in a stiff voice and walked out.

Aakash breathed in relief the moment she walked out. There was a palpable tension in the room between the two. He doubted if they knew each other from before because no matter how cool they tried to behave he could sense the magnetic pull that they were trying so hard to repel.

In hopes of finding out he broached the subject carefully. "She is quite a handful sir," he said watching carefully for any signs of emotion that might betray his boss.

Abhimanyu continued to read the file turning page after page and making notes here and there. "All women are, don't you think?" he replied.

"Yes sir, but Nandini -" Aakash started to say but fell silent at the cold look from Abhimanyu.

He closed the file with a snap and tossed it over to Aakash. "Is there anything else that needs my attention for the time being?" he snapped.

Aakash knew he had treaded dangerous ground. "No sir, just official lunch with the foreign delegates," he replied relieved that there was no repercussions for his meddling.

Abhimanyu closed his eyes and scrunched his brows deep in thought. "Okay," he said after a while, "confirm the meeting with the delegates and make sure everything is in place." He then pointed to the file that he was looking a little while ago. "I've made some changes get someone to type it out and. . .  no mistakes," he lifted up his index finger as a warning.

Aakash bowed collecting the file. "Yes sir," he said and turned to leave. Suddenly remembering that Nandini was told to prepare lunch he turned back. "Sir, shall I inform Ms. Singh that she doesn't need to prepare lunch?"

"Why?"

Aakash looked confused. "The lunch meeting sir? You will not be available sir," he explained.

"Aakash, you don't need to worry about Nandini. I am here for that. Just get the work done."

Aakash bowed again and left not wanting to cause any trouble for himself. After Aakash left, Abhimanyu opened the draw situated on the left side of his desk and pulled out a set of papers. They were all about Vikram and what his men found out in London. Vikram was in a deeper, thicker soup than he first imagined. 'SPS Group' he spoke out aloud. This name kept appearing on several reports along with a Satish Malhotra. What was the connection between Malhotra and SPS Group? he pondered. Malhotra handled the deal with SPS group but then he had disappeared, gone off the picture completely. He berated Vikram for foolishly falling into a trap that even an amateur businessman would steer clear. They were so many unconnected threads that he did not know where to start. He let out a sigh and swiveled toward the glass window. He could see the vast expanse of the area from where he sat and that was one of the reasons he purchased a company that was in complete ruins. He quickly got up and removed the beige suit that was draped on the chair. As he proceeded to go to the lifts to meet his father before the meeting he saw a black handbag and a phone lying on the floor. He bent and picked it up  swamped by the now familiar perfume. Closing his eyes he gripped the phone and stood up to call one of the guards but he stopped short. Why don't I pay a visit to see how the princess is faring?  he thought to himself.

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After Nandini walked out the door she stood in the corridor her body shaking with anxiety and fear. Vikram's life was in danger?  A part of her doubted the credibility of the news. Would Abhimanyu say something so vile as to make her bend to his will?  She shook her head as she recalled that it wasn't him who said anything but Aakash. Did he order Aakash to say that?  That was possible she concluded. She bit her lower lip harder than necessary unable to reach a consensus. She could always find it out from her brother's secretary. No she couldn't as she did not have the number.

She could ask her father . . . . No!  she struck that option out. What reason would she give her father? I cannot say that bhai sa's phone is unreachable and I cannot tell him the real reason either.  Agitated at her helplessness she asked the guard where the kitchenette was and stormed off in that direction. It was a modern kitchen with all the necessary gadgets though she did not take time to admire it. Fuming, she opened the cabinets and drawers one by one listlessly not knowing what she was looking for and slammed them shut afterwards. The anger however did not wear off. Seeing a holder full of spoons and forks she swung at it with such force that it toppled off from its place and onto the marble floor with a loud clash. Nandini gripped the edge of the granite countertop taking in deep breaths.

"Such anger in a princess is unacceptable," Abhimanyu's voice spoke from behind her. Nandini squeezed her eyes shut attempting not to rise to his goading words. Oh God not again!  she groaned.

Ignoring him she moved sideways to the sink fumbling with the taps. There were lots of handles on a single tap. She grabbed it with more annoyance. Finally she gave up resting her fingers on it and hoping that the person who had caused the annoyance had cleared the place.

A large hand covered hers making her gasp and sending a streak of electricity that travelled up her arm. She felt his warm breath on the nape of her neck creating a tingling sensation all over. She turned all of a sudden which was a very bad idea as this made the distance between them closer than she expected. He tilted his head ever so slightly, his eyes holding hers captive. Nandini was equally defiant as she matched his gaze. The staring game that was supposed to bend either of their will was transforming into something else. Abhimanyu slowly pulled her hand away from tap and brought it to her side but he did not leave it.

Abhimanyu had not expected her to turn or, that she would be this close to him. The blush had returned and this time he did not listen to the opposition raised by his head. He slowly raised his left hand and brought it to her cheeks. His touch was feather light and her skin velvet rose. He felt the blood rush under his fingers.

Nandini's heart fluttered like the wings of a humming bird. The anger that she felt just seconds ago dissipated and in its place a warm sensation of desire budded in her. The touch of his fingers on her skin was akin to fire on ice. It sizzled, it simmered awakening a feeling that she had so long and so hard tried to suppress. She felt his fingers trail her cheek and cup her jaw and she sucked in a sharp breath knowing full well what was going to follow. Her head started buzzing and she felt giddy as she saw the slight tilt of his head. She felt his breath on her lips and it parted unconsciously.

Any moment now . . .

Now . . .

"You need to be gentle with the taps, they have feelings too. Get on with the cooking will you? Its a long time since I had food cooked by a princess."

Abhimanyu left with a glorious smirk on his devilishly handsome face. Nandini stared at his retreating figure in shock and embarrassment.

How could she have behaved liked that?

How could he  have behaved like that with her?

Furious with herself for falling into his trap, she picked up the nearest object that was within her reach and threw it with all her might at the closed door. Satisfied at the broken pieces of toaster lying on the floor she smiled.

He wanted food cooked by a princess didn't he? Well he will get exactly what he asked for.