Shehnaaz was skimming through a file, sitting on the couch in Ashok Shukla's cabin when the man entered the room and stopped short, looking at the girl sitting on the couch, reading the file with utmost concentration. She looked beautiful with a saree draped around her. Ashok S. smiled. "Good Morning Shehnaaz." He said lovingly, causing Shehnaaz to look at him surprised. She stood up from the couch. "Good morning sir. I didn't realize your presence." 

Ashok sighed. "How many years will you take to stop calling me sir? I've told you a million times that I feel alienated when you call me with that formal title." He said with a small pout. 

"You are my boss. I can't call you from any other title sir." Shehnaaz said softly. Ashok fake frowned in response. "Do I treat you like an employee, or behave like a boss with you?" He asked 

Shehnaaz shook her head. "I know you don't treat me like that but.." she was cut short by her boss who was quick to intervene. "Then why do you keep calling me sir. You are just like a daughter to me. You need to stop calling me by my formal title and start calling me uncle or I'll not talk to you for a week." He announced, with finality in his voice. 

Shehnaaz chuckled. "You're such a drama queen aren't you? Who'd say you're the owner of a trillion dollar business, seeing you behaving like a child with me?" 

"I've tried being an adult, it didn't work." Ashok said, "Now being a child is the only option left for me, isn't it?" 

Shehnaaz rolled her eyes at him, as Ashok grinned at her victoriously. "Fine. But I won't call you uncle in front of the staff. I don't want them to assume things." She said firmly. 

"Deal." Ashok agreed with her. "Only in person will you have to call me uncle and out there with the staff, I'm prepared to bear with that dreaded title."

Shehnaaz laughed. "Can we get back to work now?" She asked 

Ashok nodded. "You're looking really very pretty today." He complimented her, making her blush. "I've always told you that you rock the ethnic attires, especially sarees." 

"Well I heard you, all those times. That's why I'm dressed this way." Shehnaaz said. 

She felt a sudden surge of annoyance. The one that I did dress up for couldn't even spare me a compliment. All of that hard work for nothing. She scowled inwardly, but then she was reminded of the way he looked all lost when he saw her in the morning. She sighed, Maybe words aren't always required. I mean he did look amazing as well and I didn't say anything either.

"Yeah right. I might've lost my touch and you do have my age to blame for that but I'm not a fool, Now be quick and tell me, who's the lucky one? Who have you dressed up for?" Ashok asked. 

Shehnaaz bit her lip. "Who told you that you're old? I just felt like wearing a saree today, I haven't dressed up for anyone." She said shyly.

"Really? What are you blushing like this for then?" Ashok asked teasingly.

Shehnaaz pouted, "Don't tease me naa uncle." She pleaded.

Ashok chuckled. "Okay. I'm not teasing you."  He conceded. "I've already been proven right either way."

Shehnaaz whined. "Okay. Okay. Back to work." Ashok held his hands up in mock-surrender.

A few hours later, Siddharth was working on his laptop, his gaze periodically following each and every movement of the girl that he had lost his heart to who was busy chatting with one of the boys that Siddharth was sure worked in the HR department. Shehnaaz was sitting in her cubicle while the man, Mr. Whatever his name was, was leaning against her work desk while they chatted animatedly with one another. Siddharth groaned, feeling a pang of jealousy hitting him in the face. 

Why does she have to be everyone's favorite? 

Siddharth tried to concentrate on his work, but the image of her laughing with Vishal kept bothering him, making him lose his concentration in his work. Just as he was about to draw the blinds of his cabin, obstructing the outside view which was essentially distracting for him, his father entered his cabin through the secret door connecting the two cabins. 

"Dad?" Siddharth frowned, "Why have you entered through this door and not the front one, like a sane person?" 

His father rolled his eyes at him. "Half the office thinks that this cabin is empty, in fact for most part of my own day I hardly see you getting out of this four-walled prison that you lock yourself up into, every single day, for no real reason.  If I enter the cabin from the front door like a sane person, won't I be ousting your secret?" He asked sarcastically. 

"What secret?" Siddharth asked, ignoring the obvious sarcasm dripping from his voice. Ashok smirked. "The secret of your existence." 

"Very funny." Siddharth gave him a little pout. "Not funny enough to make me laugh, sadly." 

"What else do you expect me to say? You hardly ever leave your office these days." Ashok complained. 

"The employees know of my existence, dad." Siddharth said disinterestedly "That's all I'm going to say right now." 

"Shehnaaz doesn't. I mean, I don't think she does. When she joined the office as my personal assistant, you were off to London to finalize a deal, when you came back you were too busy sorting through your pending work and when you were finally free, you built yourself a mysterious.. something." Ashok all but looked perplexed. He couldn't even understand what his son had been up to for all those years.

"You.. think it's because of your personal assistant?" Siddharth asked incredulously.

Ashok Shukla smiled at his son, "I know it's because of her. I'm not a fool Sid. I just need to figure out what she has done to cause such.. weird shift in your behavior."

"Is that what brought you here?" Siddharth asked skeptically. 

"Your mom called in at the office today. Preeti and Neetu are coming for dinner today and we wanted you to join. I just wanted to inform you about that." Ashok said calmly. 

For a brief moment, Siddharth almost panicked. He couldn't.. possibly.

You dropped her to the office, now give her a break.

He sighed internally, looking at Shehnaaz from the corner of his eyes.

She was busy in her work with no one around to distract her.

Thank God chala gaya.. mujhe toh laga tha uske paas zindagi bhar dera laga ke baithne ka plan hai, chipku kaheen ka!!

Siddharth nodded. "I won't stay the night. I'll go back to my apartment after dinner." He said flatly. 

Ashok smiled, "No problem."

Siddharth sighed, "Did you ever try looking into Shehnaaz, after you hired her?" He asked, his straight face morphing into a curious frown.

"What makes you ask that question?" Ashok asked, seeing his son gazing out of the cabin's glass window, lost.

"You're awfully nice to her. It's not normal" Siddharth replied to him, looking at him suspiciously.

"She just has that effect on people, Sid. She's an awfully nice girl." Ashok said cheerfully. 

Siddharth nodded with a smile. Ashok left the cabin the same way that he had entered, while Siddharth relaxed into his chair with a sigh. He looked at his I-Phone lying on the table. An Idea popped into his mind, making him smile. He unlocked his phone and called someone.

A few hours later, Shehnaaz had just returned from her office and was making her way towards her home. She had just reached in front of her apartment when she noticed a beautiful bouquet of red roses lying at the doorstep. She frowned, picking up the bouquet. The fragrance of the red roses filled her nose, causing her to breath out a pleasant sigh. She rummaged through the bouquet gently, looking for a card or letter so that she could find out who had sent the flowers. Fortunately, she found both a card and a letter tucked safely in the flowers.

From Siddharth. The front of the card read, she flipped the card Go inside the house now 😜. Shehnaaz chuckled, unlocking the door of her apartment with one hand while the other held the bouquet and her handbag. She threw her handbag carelessly on the couch in her living room and settled on a chair to read the letter. 

Shehnaaz blushed, looking at the roses. she realised that there was a postscript to the letter. He had scribbled his phone number at the end of the page with a smiley face.

Shehnaaz took her phone out of her handbag and saved the number at once. 

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