Why did he have to be here?! Ajay had thought that this would be his opportunity to show Gauri that he was serious about her but why was this Dilpreet always in his way?! When Gauri had responded to his text this morning he had to rummage through his contact list to call a female friend in the Human Resource Department. It was a Sunday so he had to practically beg this woman to access the company database from home in order to get Gauri's address. Did she even know what it had cost him?! He was practically pimping himself out just to knock on her door to see another man standing behind her.

"Ajay? What are you doing here?" Gauri asked.

As for Omkara he was staring at the pool of coffee at Gauri's doorstep. He hated mess but he hated the fact that this man was standing here. How did he know where Gauri lived? Has he been following her? Did she give him her address somehow? No. Gauri was too careful and wouldn't just give out her personal information. The possibility of him following her was even slimmer because he has been the one escorting her home and he would have noticed if he was being followed. The more he thought about the possibilities the more his eyes grew cold. This man obviously had formed connections within the company; HIS COMPANY. To think that someone dare to break company regulations made him extremely angry.

"Oh...I just wanted to check up on you but it seems I was too late."

Gauri did not like being stalk like this. It was disturbing that Ajay knew where she lives, especially when it was only her and Bhavya living in this house.

"As you can see I am fine. You do not need to worry."

The atmosphere was becoming more awkward for Ajay since Gauri had not invited him in. He was standing there with coffee stains at the bottom cuffs of his pants as well as his shoes.

"I'm sorry for making a mess out here." Bending down to pick up the coffee cups Ajay looks pitifully at Gauri who seem to not be affected. "Can I come in to throw these away and clean up a bit?"

Judging by Gauri's hesitation Ajay was sure he had found a way in until a pair of hands grabbed the empty cups from him.

"I will throw this away."

Ajay hated those pair of arrogant eyes. Constantly in his way! Constantly challenging him!

"Thanks but can I still come in to clean up a bit? The coffee was a bit hot. I think my socks are a bit soaked."

Gauri looks down to see that his pants were indeed stained so she reluctantly said "yes."

When Bhavya and Rudra saw the guest come in they stared at one another.

"The bathroom is over there." Gauri pointed while Omkara made sure he was always blocking Ajay's view as he threw away the coffee cups.

Bhavya waited till the bathroom door close to whisper to Gauri who had sat back down at the dining table.

"What is he doing here?!"

There was no question that Gauri was troubled. Her expression gave it all away. "I'm not sure."

Looking at Gauri Omkara stood up from his seat and grabbed her wrist gently.

"Come with me."

Rudra and Bhavya once again looked at each other in confusion.

"Where are you going?!" Whispered Rudra.

Gauri could feel his warm hands holding her wrist as he gazed down at her. His gentle voice made her feel at ease and the next thing she knew her feet was already following him.

"Wha?..What should we do?" Rudra asked in a panic. "What about that fellow in there?!"

When he saw his cousin stop just one step shy away from the door Rudra was expecting him include them but instead "You should entertain your guest."

"What? How did he become my guest?! And how did I become the owner of this house?!" Just when Rudra was about to follow them out the door he felt Bhavya's fingernails dig into his forearm.

"You dare leave me alone here?! With another man?! Sit back down!"

Omkara looked at Bhavya and slightly nodded his head.

"What was that?! You guys have some secret code?"

"Be quiet Rudra. Can't you see he is doing this for Gauri?"

Bhavya knew her friend well. The troubling expression that she had when Ajay walked in the house could not escape her eyes. Her friend was feeling stressed and all she wanted was time to relax and if that meant letting Dilpreet take her away then so be it.

Meanwhile Ajay was trying to think of a way to wiggle his way into staying as he cleans the stains from his pants.

"I will just not leave. I will just sit down and start up a conversation. There's no way she would just kick me out."

With a big smile on his face Ajay finally exited the bathroom only to see Rudra and Bhavya staring back at him angrily.

"Wh...where's Gauri?"

"Are you done cleaning?" Bhavya asked.

"Uh. Yes."

Ajay scoured the room and noticed that Gauri was not the only person missing. "That piece of shit!" Ajay was at his limit. He felt like a fool just standing here!

"Well if you want you can have some coffee with us." Rudra teased. "Because I don't think they will be coming back anytime soon."

"That is okay. Do you know where they went?"

Bhavya could not believe this man's audacity. Did he really think they would tell him even if they knew?!

"Dilpreet did not say."

"That's okay. I will just call her." Taking out his phone Ajay proceeded to dial Gauri's number only to hear a phone ring by the kitchen table.

Rudra wanted to laugh at this poor man's luck. "It seems she has left her phone at home. Unless....you want Dilpreet's number. That I know."

Ajay's smile was so forced that his face was turning a degree uglier then when he found out Gauri was gone.

"No thanks. I guess I will see her tomorrow at work."

Walking out the door Ajay couldn't hold it any longer and kicked the side of his car putting a noticeable dent.

"Fuck! Fuck that bastard!"

Slamming the door when he angrily sat in his car Ajay's mind was filled with Dilpreet. His hatred was at it's peak. "Who is this fucking guy?! Who the hell wears a mask all the damn time?! I know he's hiding something! I need to plant doubt in Gauri's mind! Starting tomorrow!"

Bhavya and Rudra could hear Ajay speed off in anger.

"He left. Let's tell Gauri."

Rudra takes out his phone to text Omkara.

"Hey. He left. You guys can come back now."

Still sitting in the car parked at a nearby lake Omkara looked at his phone and tucked it back in his pocket.

"What is it?" Gauri asked.

"Nothing. Come. This place let's you rent boats."

Gauri suddenly felt a wave of nervousness run through her body.

"You....you want to row out into the lake?"

Omkara could sense something was wrong. Did he miss something? Usually whenever he felt stressed he would come out to the middle of the lake and just relax.

"It's very relaxing. You will enjoy it."

"But...."

"Hm?"

"I...can't swim. I hate the water."

With the bag of food he took from Rudra Omkara got out of the car. Leaving Gauri to just stare at him walk over to her side.

"Come."

She was sure he had heard what she had said about not wanting to go out towards the water and he wasn't the type to force her. So Gauri stretched out her hand to see what he was going to do. The closer they got to the boat rental shop the more nervous she became.

"Dilpreet...I said I don't like the water."

His grip on her hand tighten "Trust me when I say your feet will not touch the water."

He could feel resistance from her side and the fear was evident in her eyes.

"I want to show you a place I go to relax my mind when I feel overwhelmed. It would be a shame to let fear deprive you of what the world holds."

Gauri knew his words had another meaning. She had tried to hide that she was still shaken up about what had happened last night. When she showered the bruises on her arms and legs reminded her of what could have happened. She even intentionally wore a long sleeve shirt and pants to hide it but he must have guessed it since it was so hot outside.

"How did you know?"

"How can I not?"

She could tell he was smiling under his mask as his eyes formed a crescent shape.

"Come with me and let's forget about yesterday."

*********************

Khanna hears his phone pinged on a Sunday afternoon.

TEXT

Omkara: Fire everyone in the HR department first thing Monday morning.

Khanna stares at the text in shock.

"But Boss! Such short notice? We could get sue for this."

Omkara: You know full well everyone has a record that we keep on file. Not a single person in that department can refute their past misdeeds.

"Then who will replace the fired employees?"

Omkara: What use are you if I have to handle these matters too?

Thinking that Sunday would be a relaxing day for him Khanna began to scramble to find people for Monday.

*Hope you guys enjoyed this update. Do vote if you did.*