"What 'What'?" Aryan raised a brow at him.

"What did you just say?" RK asked, knitting his brows as he looked at Aryan.

"I said - 'What 'What'?' 'Cuz you said 'What?' What made you say 'What?'" Aryan was confused.

"Stop that, Aryan." RK said in an agitated tone. Sometimes, Aryan really possessed the potentials to get on someone's nerves really effortlessly. "Before that. What did you say before that?"

"Taking care of you till 2:00 and then reporting at-" Aryan began to repeat his previous words, still confused.

Did he say something wrong?

"Stop, stop- stop right there." RK raised a finger in the air. "Taking care of me? Excuse me?"

"Oh." Now it started to make some sense to the other guy present there. "Of course you don't remember. You were too busy worrying others and sleeping."

He continued after a pause when he saw RK giving no reaction to his words.

"This was what I had called you here for. The deal I was talking about? I had to go for an important meeting related to that last evening. And when I came here to tell you, you were sleeping out of sickness. And Prachi told me not to wake you up cuz you were tired. I thought I'd be back in three to four hours but fate got me delayed by another fours hours, and I reached at two in the morning!" He yawned again.

"Huh. I thought she'd have left, but Prachi was here till then, taking care of the 'sick RK'." He said the last two words while drawing quotations in the air with his hands. He had to admit it, he did enjoy annoying him thoroughly.

"She had even called a doctor for you, I guess." Aryan reached his hand forward to grab the glass of water kept on his table. "Can you believe it? You saw a doctor yesterday?" He said in a mocking tone, then lifted the lid from the glass and gulped down the liquid.

"I had offered her-" He continued after placing the glass back on the table. "-to take a few hours off today morning. But she denied. Man, if only I could offer that to myself." And the man yawned again.

"Now, about this deal-" Aryan began when RK suddenly got up from his chair with a jerk and without another word to him, went straight towards the cabin's door.

"Hey! RK!" Aryan yelled after him,  puzzled at his sudden actions, only to receive no reply as RK was out the door in seconds, the door swinging to a close as he pulled it behind him with force. Aryan continued to look at her swinging door with an almost blank, unresponsive mind. Seriously, what was wrong with this man's cerebrum?

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RK emerged out of Aryan's cabin, only to find Prachi standing next to door with an air of alertness all around her.

He took a step towards her, however, before he could say anything to her, an unfamiliar voice called him from right behind him.

"Good morning, RK Sir." Said Rishi with a smile on his face, making RK turn towards himself.

"What brings you to me, Mister?" RK questioned in a flat tone. "I don't indulge in conversations with every employee here. Go to Aryan."

He was about to turn to Prachi again when the man's voice stopped him again.

"No, no, Sir." He immediately replied, and RK turned to him once again. "I just wanted to say it's good to see you in your healthy skin again. Just wanted to make sure you're fine now, Sir." He finished. However, seeing RK's questioning glance on him mixed with a sense of irritation, began again.

"I was the one Miss Secretary had called me to treat you yesterday, Sir." He gestured towards Prachi at the mention of her name.

RK, however, didn't bother to follow his outstretched palm to look at the woman standing behind him, and continued to stare at the man before himself with a terrifying gaze.

Not to lie, Rishi was kind of regretting approaching him by now. Why was he looking at him like that? Did he say something wrong?

Rishi was a strong person, not easily scared. But RK was still the Boss. And he certainly didn't want to be looked at by his Boss like that. Should he apologise?

"You just need to make sure of yourself being fine here, Mister Doctor." He heard RK say to him finally. "So zip it - and I mean it - zip it-" He stressed at the last two words, and Rishi understood what was being said to him indirectly. Yup, scratch brave, he would want 'smart' to suit him more. "-and set back to work. Get it?"

"Yes, Sir." He replied without any delay. His eyes looking at the ground with a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry, Sir. Have a nice day." He finished, and disappeared into the long corridor immediately.

And finally, RK turned to Prachi again.

She had been looking at the whole conversation silently, and - without RK having recognised it earlier - had moved a step closer to him when the doctor had approached him.

As a result, when he turned to her now, both were standing merely inches apart from each other.

RK grabbed her arm lightly. Prachi looked at his fingers curled around her upper hand, then back to him, her demeanour unphased.

"To my cabin. Now." He whispered with the calmest of tones to his voice.

Eyes staying locked for a couple of seconds, RK then lifted his fingers off her hand, before striding towards his office room as she walked along with him in confusion.

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"What's wrong?" Prachi eyed her Boss as he banged the door shut as soon as she entered the cabin.

"What's wrong?" RK turned to look at her with grave eyes. "I'd suggest a cerebrum somewhere in your distorted brain." He marched closer towards her with each word.

"Well, at least my brain reflects to you. In your case, well-" Prachi replied with nonchalance.

"Shh." RK placed a finger before his lips sharply, his eyes demanding her lips shut, gritting his teeth with raw fury as he did so. "Filthy words, filthy attitude, filthy motives, filthy touch. That's what you wanted to do? Touch me all you wanted while I was unconscious? And then brag all about it to your little buddies?"

Prachi stared at him without a hint of shock in her eyes.

"So? Tell me. How was it? Last night for you? Was it-" He leaned in her ear, his warm breath fanning her neck as he whispered the last word. "-spicy?"

"What all did you manage to do?"

Leaning away from her a little, he continued.

"Did you touch me?" He said, the back of his fingers brushing against her sleeved wrist, moving up to the back of her palm.

"Hold me?" He suddenly grabbed her hand as he spoke.

"Something beyond that?" He pinned her wrist over her head to the wall behind her. "Is that why? Is that why you blissfully chose to stay here all night?"

"RK Sir. Apparently, you were sick yesterday. And you're sicker today."

"Sick? Oh I am sick? Then why drool over a sick person you couldn't care less about and not send him to his home? Why stay with him in his cabin alone? Why host the show to call the doctor? To ensure there was a witness to your filthy actions?"

"Do you think I not see your motives?"

"Miss Personal Assistant." He tightened his grip on her wrist. "Why get so personal?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Prachi had a sharp tone to her voice. "You're right."

"'Cuz I wanted to stay alone with you. That's why I did not send you home."

Replied Prachi to RK, who was merely inches apart from her, as he continued to pin her wrist to the pastel wall of his cabin, their bodies almost close to brushing against each other, eyes dug deep into each other's.

"'Cuz I wanted to watch you the entire night. Watch, touch, things beyond, everything you said. Steamy, you say? I'd say that's too bland a word for it, RK Sir."

"Oh, but, does the great RK not remember any of it? Oh my God." She mocked him. "Don't tell me, is he so weak and spineless that I can do anything to him and he won't remember? Are you saying it's really that easy for me to puppet your body around? Are you accepting your submission to me yesterday?"

"Submission? To filth? Ah, audacities. Trying to outsmart me? Here's a tip, try harder. And you'll achieve nothing."

"And here's another tip." RK's gaze turned fierce, staring right into her eyes. "Stay. Away. From. Me. Don't you dare give me another of your mock sincerity-towards-your-job lectures. Even my dying self would be better on its own."

"Tie yourself to the job, Miss Arora. Don't try to tie yourself to me."

A knock was heard at the door of the cabin at that precise moment. Staring at Prachi for a few seconds, RK stepped back and sat on his chair. "In."

Two formally attired men entered the cabin and greeted RK with a formal smile. "Good morning, Sir. You had called us to discuss the last bits of the meeting yesterday in some more details."

Prachi had taken a step to stand closer to RK as the men had entered the room.

"I remember. Be seated."

The men arranged themselves in chairs placed opposite to RK's. "Begin."

The man in the blue suit opened his mouth to say something, however, he was cut by RK's voice again.

"But before you do-" He titled his neck slightly towards Prachi who stood beside his chair. "-Miss Arora. Where's the file I told you to work on yesterday?"

"I'll hand it to you in just a couple of hours, Sir." Prachi replied with a sincere voice.

"I'm sorry, what?" RK's brows came closer to each other. "Couple hours? Do you get to make the decisions?"

"You'd said you wanted it today, Sir. You hadn't specified it was the first thing needed today."

"Don't try to cover up your recklessness with wordplay, Miss. You were given one task. One task for a day. Is that too much for your feminine shoulders, Miss Arora?"

"Could something possibly have been more important to you than your job?"

"I was at my job, Sir. I was here the whole-"

"Your working hours end in the evening, Miss Arora." RK swiveled his chair with a swift motion to look at her now. "Being your Boss, I don't remember having given you any task after that yesterday. So whatever you did, anywhere, was on your own time. Not a part of your job. However, the file was. Which you've conveniently missed." RK looked at her with a shrewd gaze.

"I apologise for the delay, Sir." Prachi replied after a beat. "I'll get it done as soon as possible."

"You better do. A first. Two more mistakes, and you'll be out." He warned her, before turning to the waiting men and indulging in a conversation that lasted for the next two hours and fifty minutes.

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"Why won't you come back?"

"What? Come back where?" RK looked at him, confused.

"To my cabin, RK. As far as I remember, we were talking about a deal before you ghosted me like, four hours ago." Aryan felt betrayed, standing at the door to RK's cabin. He had finally decided to approach him himself after having waited for three hours and twenty minutes.

"Ah, that." RK seemed to remember their previous conversation. "Yeah, the deal. What about that?"

"You're the most unwelcoming person I've ever met." Aryan complained, settling himself on the chair before him.

"No time for compliments, please."

"So, listen, remember Mister Malhotra?"

"Better reference?"

"The fat guy who showed you the cheap lyrics the other day."

"Of course, I do."

"Yes, so I had received a call from the Head of his company yesterday. He was deeply apologetic for his behaviour. And he...um, now think before you act, wishes to collaborate with you once more do redeem it."

"Nonsense. I'm not interested in wasting my time twice at the same thing, Aryan. You know that very well."

"Yesss, I do." Aryan emphasised at the 'I do' before emphasising on his next word with a greater strength. "But, he has fired the guys who wrote the lyrics to that thing. Were some newbies. Said it was a mistake trusting them with a song for you. He has promised his sincerety for this deal."

"So?"

"Come on, RK! Think about it. You're both big names in the country. Now I know you're The Great RK, but you can't deny his label holds respect too. If you both perform under one banner for even once, both the teams would soar to new heights. Both in terms of popularity and finance."

"I'm not saying it's necessary, but it will be beneficial for us." Aryan added when he saw RK was about to say something.

"The company has extended an offer for four albums while on tour, all in collaboration with them. The label to the songs will be of both of us, and you can choose the people from his company you want to work with."

"A tour?" RK pointed out. "Been long. Is Mommy not scared to let me go on a tour?" He taunted Aryan.

"The contrary." Aryan replied immediately, then lowered his voice a bit as he spoke next. "The attacks have become too frequent here to trust the homeland blindly. With an airtight security with us, I think it will be better not to stay here for a while. Besides, it's not like your concerts are easy to enter as compared to your house. You can trust me with these details. I'm still the manager, RK." Aryan winked proudly with a small smile.

"I'll want to have a meeting personally with the Head, as well as the lyricists and the composers of the company. I'll not take any tampers with my own songs. I hope you've made them clear with that."

"Like I said, I'm still the manager. Of course, I have. I've checked every detail personally and thoroughly and have informed them of every condition of ours as well. If you're ready for it, all is set."

"Arrange a meeting with them for this weekend then."

"And get ready to work harder, Mr. Manager." RK added.

Aryan gave a grin that showed almost eighty five percent of his perfectly white teeth.

"I work with you, RK. Anything less than that sounds too easy."

"Gear up, then. We're having a concert."

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Been long, had kind of disconnected myself from the story. Won't be really surprised if you all have too. Haha.

But tried my best to write something after all this while, and after everything that happened to the show. Hope you like it. Do drop your feedbacks if you did and vote for it.

Thank You.