19

My doubt was 100% correct. It was the same Aarav.

Mr. Rude's Brother.

But the engagement couldn't take place as Sarah's grandma, who lives in another country passed away, and they had to fly there immediately just the day before their engagement.

They had planned for marriage to take place after a year.

I feel sad about that incident, they both were so excited about the engagement.

This unexpected news was heartbreaking. Life is so unpredictable.

It has been six days since then.

In the office, Everyone has been busy with work. Our company recently made a deal with an advertising company, and as a result, everyone's workload has increased.

Mr. Rude hardly leaves his cabin and works until late at night, he only goes out of his cabin to attend meetings outside. He has also started drinking more black coffee, which concerns me as it might affect his health.

I've noticed a change in his behavior - He barely talks to me and does everything to avoid me. Maybe he's just trying to maintain his distance, which I guess is good since that's what I wanted. Attachment is a dangerous thing.

But why are you feeling sad? My heart said.

My chain of thoughts got broken when I heard a buzzer. The sound of a buzzer came from Mr. Rude's office, indicating me to bring black coffee. I rolled my eyes. He had just drunk coffee five minutes ago.

I took a deep breath and got up to make his coffee. But paused on the way, thinking against it, and returned. From the morning till now, He has gulped 10 cups of coffee. It's going to affect his health.

I entered his cabin with a glass of orange juice in my hands. His eyes were focused on the laptop, and he didn't look up as I placed it on the table and took a step back.

I also noticed that he has been avoiding eye contact with me. He extended his hand to grab his coffee, his eyes never leaving the screen. He drank without looking at it. After a sip, his eyebrows creased, and he looked at the glass.

"What is this?" He questioned in a rude voice.

"Orange Juice," I replied, looking at him, innocently.

He sighed, "That I can see, Ms. Mehra. But I told you to bring coffee, not this." His voice was filled with annoyance.

"I know. But you should drink coffee with a limit. It might affect your health."

"Well, you shouldn't be concerned about me." He rolled his eyes and put his eyes back on the screen.

"Well, I was just trying to—" I stopped as I realized he wasn't even listening, completely ignoring me. Annoyed, I pursed my lips and said, "You know what? Forget it. Do what you want. I don't care."

As I began to leave his office, a thought struck me; I had forgotten to mention him something important. Hand on the doorknob, I turned, expecting to find him engrossed in his laptop. To my surprise, he was looking right at me.

"You have a meeting in 15 minutes with Mr. Pelt." With those words, I left.

×

I hastily followed Mr. Rude as he made his way toward the meeting room. The meeting room was filled with chattering people, but when he entered, it became silent, much like a classroom quiets down when the principal walks in.

He took his place in the main chair and motioned for everyone to be seated. His gaze swept the room, and then he glanced at his wristwatch, eyebrows knitting together.

"Where is Mr. Pelt?" he asked Kevin, but Kevin simply shrugged saying he didn't know. Just then, a man who appeared to be in his thirties walked in. He has gray eyes and black curly hair.

His eyes roamed across the room, stopping briefly on me for a second, and he examined me, making me feel uneasy by his gaze. I had already started getting bad vibes from him.

He took a seat and the meeting started.

After 2 hours, The meeting was almost over.

All the members had left the meeting room except Mr. Pelt, Mr. Rude, and I.

I was waiting for him to finish his discussion so I could tell him that the Director of the advertising company wanted to talk to him.

"We are glad that we got a chance to work with you." Mr. Pelt said, and Mr. Rude nodded with a smile.

Fake smile.

"And who is this beautiful lady?" Mr. Pelt's eyes landed on me, as he asked with a hint of flirtation in his tone. His eyes roamed on my body, and it made me feel uncomfortable. I gripped the files I was holding more tightly and gulped. I should have left earlier.

I saw Mr. Rude stiffen, his jaw clenching.

"She's my secretary." He said coldly while leaning back on his chair like he could see what was happening. He looked furious.

Mr. Pelt smirked, "Oh, I have never seen you before, when did you join?"

I hesitantly replied, "It's been a month."

His smirk widened, "A month is a very short time. You must be bored with attending meetings all day. How about we grab a coffee after work?"

I watched as Mr. Rude expression hardened, and his stern voice came, "I don't think she has time for that."

Mr. Pelt raised an eyebrow, the smirk never leaving his lips as he tried his luck again, "Well, I'm just trying to be friendly."

"Don't. Otherwise, I might need to reconsider our deal." Mr. Rude replied, his voice dangerously serious as he threw daggers with his eyes at Mr. Pelt.

I looked at Mr. Rude, wide-eyed. His face was unreadable like always but then my eyes fell on the poor pen that he was gripping in his fist tightly with his knuckles turning white. The matter was going too far now. The tension was increasing with each passing second.

I still think I should have left earlier.

Mr. Pelt shrugged, feigning innocence but his eyes were still on me as he spoke playfully with a glint, "Come on. No harm in making a few connections, right? You might enjoy a break from all this seriousness."

Suddenly, the pen snaps loudly in his fist, the sound piercing the air like a gunshot. The sharp noise rang around the room, making me startled.

Mr. Rude glared at Mr. Pelt like he would throw him out of his office any moment now. I swallowed hard. The situation was getting more awkward.

"Okay, then I should leave." Mr. Pelt spoke with his eyes not leaving me. Mr. Rude was fuming with anger, as he watched Mr. Pelt.

And Just when I thought that everything was fine, Mr. Pelt did unexpected. He came towards me.

"It's nice to meet you. I hope we meet again soon." Saying this, he took my right hand in his and kissed the back of my hand. He kissed sloppily making me scrunch my face in a frown.

"I would appreciate if you keep your fucking hands off of her." Mr. Rude voice was filled with venom. His tone was icy, it even gave me chills. I could sense the storm brewing within him.

But I was confused by his sudden behavior.

Why is he getting so angry?

Mr. Pelt took a cautious step back and left the room with a smirk. I let out a deep breath and glanced at Mr. Rude, who was fuming with anger as he glared out of the window, looking deep in thought.

I debated if I should inform him about the thing I was standing for so long. I was scared that he might remove all his anger on me.

But gathering all my strength, I called.

"S...Sir?"

"Sir?"

"Mr. Aggarwal?" No answer.

"Mr. Rude?"

"Mr. Advik?"

"Vicky?"

As soon as that name came out of my mouth, Mr. Rude snapped his head to me so fast that I feared he might have broken his neck.

I didn't know where that name came from. I felt like I had used it before but had no idea about it. Maybe it was just a slip of the tongue.