You don't find love, love finds you!

"Hey Nandini could you pass me that file?" Manik's words stirred her up from a short nap that she was having unknowingly from the past few days.

"Are you okay?" He asked waking her up all of a sudden.

"Yeah! I'm sorry I didn't mean to sleep." She said rubbing her eyes.

"You look sleep deprived. Don't allow others to rob off your own comforts." He remarked taking a look at the dark circles around her eyes. Her sullen face was testimony to the fact that she was hurt because of Shrey. And that very hurt proved that her love for Shrey was not fake but a true, genuine love.

"Excuse me I need to use the loo." Nandini muttered and scurried away without waiting for Manik's approval.

Today, he didn't stop her. He knew she was going through a rough phase of her life. Once upon a time, he too forced her to go through a worst breakup phase. He was so blind in anger and resentment that it never knocked him what would be the consequences for someone who truly loves a person. A small smile spread on his face when he perceived the truth that she had truly loved him back then. But that wouldn't happen ever in his lifetime robbed off that pretty smile in a second.

However this time, realisation did dawn upon him and he knew she would never go through that breakup phase again.

Nandini rushed to the loo and found herself staring at someone whom she couldn't recognise. Dark circles, lustre-lacking puffy eyes, pale cheeks combined with quivering lips presented a different version of Nandini staring back at her. She had to hold a grip on herself. She just couldn't let herself drown in grief. She loved Shrey and deep down in her heart, she knew he loved her too but couldn't find the right way to express his love. It was more than fifteen days that they hadn't talked at all except glancing at each other when they happened to meet during meetings or at the cafeteria. She saw his longing for her in his eyes in the brief eye lock they had everytime their paths crossed. Still Nandini tried harder to avoid any such occurence that would bring her face to face with Shrey.

She knew this time, she was taking too much time and he was just trying to respect her personal space. But somehow the past wound wouldn't allow her to straighten things up. Could she go on with this forever? No, not at all. Either she should severe all ties with Shrey or rather confess that she couldn't imagine her life without him. Ultimately she needed to decide her relationship status.

Wiping the tears off her cheeks, Nandini turned on the faucet. She splashed her face with the cold water, which gave her some temporary relief from the ongoing debate in her mind. All at once, a thought crossed her mind. She didn't want to leave everything at the mercy of time. She had to take a step and it was the perfect time to restart her relation with Shrey.

Pulling off the mask of sadness, she stepped out of the loo with a newly grown self assurance. She heard some commotion and sprinted towards the lobby. There she found a woman in her mid fifties arguing with the receptionist, Miss Alisha Pandit. Some employees had gathered to watch the scene. Slowly making her way through the crowd, she peeped in to see a woman dressed in a pink sari with glasses perching on her nose, continuously arguing with Miss Pandit. Nandini creased her brows and tried hard to remember where she had seen that woman but her mind was blank at the moment.

"What the hell is happening over here?" Just then Manik's voice boomed like a thunder in the crowded lobby. "What are you guys doing here? Don't you have some work to do? Stop murmuring and move away." He yelled and it was enough to disperse the crowd. Without uttering a word everybody disappeared in a minute.

"Nandini are you waiting for an invitation?" He asked as soon as he saw her standing still at the spot.

"For what?"

Manik rubbed his palm over his face in frustration. Realizing his words, Nandini was about to turn away when the woman's voice stopped her midway.

"Listen whoever you're. This receptionist is not allowing to meet my son Shrey."

A vague memory of a picture flashed before Nandini's eyes.  Shrey wasn't keen to show his parents pictures. He always wanted her to meet them in person but Nandini had still taken a glance at it. However she didn't remember the details and that's the reason she failed to recognise her in the first instance. Taking another look at Shrey's mother Nandini's lips curved upwards. His mother looked as pretty as the picture Nandini had peeped into, months ago.

"Alisha why didn't you allow?" Nandini's trail of thoughts got disrupted when Manik began questioning Alisha.

"Ma'am was asking me to call Mr Shrey while he was busy in a meeting. It's against our protocol to call someone right away from a meeting sir." Alisha uttered in nervousness.

"Protocol goes to hell. No protocol can stop a mother from meeting her son." Mrs Dixit began yelling again.

"Mrs Dixit, we know that." Manik rolled his eyes off. He hadn't dealt with such a situation in his office before."Please have a seat and wait for him." He pleaded politely.

Nandini was pleased to see Manik honour a woman. The conversation between Manik and Shrey's mother had piqued her interest. So she was rooted to her spot instead of leaving for her cabin.

"He's not picking up my call or else I would drag him right away over here. Tell me where is he? Let me see who can stop me?" Her hands went on hips and a frown formed on her forehead.

"I will stop you. I'm Manik Malhotra,the owner of this company." Manik made a bland face.

"Yeah the devil owner." Mrs Dixit said in a sing song voice. A soft giggle escaped Nandini's lips but she shushed herself then and there when Manik shot a glare at her.

"What the f---!"  Manik stopped cursing midway taking a look at the three women around him, Shrey's mother, his receptionist and most importantly Nandini. He had never shown respect to women given his past experiences but gradually he was trying to change his demeanor. Clearing his throat, he spoke, "Mrs Dixit please mind your language. What is so important that you can't even wait over here but trying to create a ruckus and disturbing the working atmosphere of the office?" He added knitting his eyebrows together. "If there was an emergency, you could have told the receptionist who would then inform me." Manik eyed Mrs Dixit, probably demanding an answer.

"Maa what the hell are you doing in my office?" Shrey's frantic voice caught Mrs Dixit's and Manik's attention.

Nandini was no more than a mute spectator. For the first time, she saw Shrey's mother in person and had no idea what was she doing here in the working hours. Moreover, Shrey's anxiety made her anxious.

"I need to talk to you Shrey. You never do that at home whenever I say something." Mrs Dixit trailed off..

"That's because you always bring up the same topic." Shrey answered and then stopped abruptly realising he shouldn't discuss private matters in the office that too in front of Manik and Nandini.

"See this is what brings me here Mr Malhotra. My son never listens to me and now I need to take him out with me. It's urgent." Mrs Dixit's hands flew to her chest as she turned emotional in an instant. "Shrey you've to come with me. You can't say no at all. Now that you've broken up with your girlfriend, you've to come with me."

"Broken up?" Shrey, Nandini and Manik, the three of them uttered in unison shocking Mrs Dixit all at once.

"He didn't break up yet." Nandini blurted out her heart's words.

No, this wasn't true. They weren't just on talking terms, break-up was not in their to-do list, atleast from her side.

"Who's she?" Mrs Dixit cocked up an eyebrow taking a quick look at Nandini who became self conscious then.

"She's Nandini Murthy,my girlfriend." Shrey uttered emphasizing the last two words while staring at Manik.

"Oh I see!" Mrs Dixit scanned Nandini with her eyes like an x-ray machine. She spoke after a brief pause, "She is beautiful, but that's not my concern anymore because I've decided to get you married to the girl I've searched for you."

Nandini was shocked would be an understatement of the century. She could neither believe her ears nor her eyes that were bringing a catastrophic change in her life.

"Maa how could you do that knowing that I've a girlfriend." Shrey yelled at his mother, surprising Nandini and Manik.

"Because I'm so tired right now. I need a bahu and you're still confused about her. Anyways, Mr Malhotra I need to take my son with me right now. Please don't object to it. It's a matter of life and death for me." Mrs Dixit, latched at Shrey's wrist and began dragging him away.

Manik didn't say a word. He was flabbergasted at the turn of events. Shrey loved Nandini, Nandini loved Shrey yet his mother was hell bent on marrying off Shrey to some other woman. He took a brief look at Nandini, who was herself getting drowned into an abyss of self pity, and failed fate. He saw her eyes brimming up with tears. At once, he knew what to do next.

"Nandini go after them or else you'll lose everything." He held her by the shoulders and commanded looking straight at her doe eyes. She looked up, blinking back the tears, a lone tear did escape her eyes. A small smile formed at the corner of her lips as she turned on her heels.

~•~•~•~•~

(1714 words)

What do you expect in the next chapter?

Give some feedback on the update please!

Do let me know your favourite scene!