Hey!

Update! On a Saturday! 

Yeah...don't get used to it though :P. Anyway!

Enjoy!

****

Naina didn't like the way Rishi made fun of Aryan, maybe she didn't like the way Aryan left. She felt good when he was around, even though he hardly joked. Aryan wasn't even close to be funny, but he still made her smile.

It was very nice of him to tell her about the book store where she could get more novellas from. Rishi was being the obnoxious younger brother like Jai always did. She nevertheless enjoyed their short banter. She felt like she was home for a while.

Naina and Jai would fight all the time for small things. Jai being a hyper-active kid would always play around or make noise while Naina studied. It was hard to concentrate even though Naina's focus was unwavering. She would sometimes shout at Jai, who would nag her and finally complain to their mother who would always take Jai's side.

"He's just a kid, Naina," She would say while Jai would make puppy faces at their mother.

Naina sighed as she made way towards her new cabin. It was overwhelming as well as nerve-wracking how she had been promoted from a cubicle to a cabin. Although it wasn't much of a big room, not bigger than Rishi's cabin, but Naina was pretty content in it as well. It was her first milestone. Hopefully, there were many more to come.

As she entered the room Naina had nostalgia grip her. She missed Nafeeza and hanging in this very cabin making jokes or discussing about her upcoming wedding. Naina promised herself to call Nafeeza and ask how she has been. Her ex-boss had left her husband's house number with her in case Naina wanted to chat. Naina had provided her with her home number just in case.

Naina looked around, the cabin was bigger than she remembered. The polished wooden furniture looked shinier. The sunlight coming in from the huge two way window through the white curtains seemed brighter. Her small cardboard box sat up on the file cupboard beside the shelves. Naina sighed and moved towards the box in order to empty it.

She had only a few things. A Statistics and a Sales Management book, some stationary, her favourite coffee mug and a few novels. Naina was almost done when the door of her cabin was knocked.

"Come in," She said after a few seconds. She wasn't used to someone knocking.

As the door of her cabin opened, Naina saw Aryan Narain enter.

Suddenly, Naina felt conscious of her space and herself. What would Aryan think of the cabin? Was it too plain? Nafeeza always had photo frames of herself and her family everywhere while Naina had none. Everyone had a few frames here and there in their office, while all Naina had was her favourite mug.

"Are you ready?" Aryan asked as he comfortably sat in Naina's chair as she stood a little far away from him.

"Uh...sure," Naina said as Aryan motioned her to sit.

"Alright. So you know the basic Policies and Procedures of the company right?" Aryan asked.

"Yes, Sir," Naina nodded.

"Then you must know that no one addresses anyone with a Sir or a Ma'am," Aryan raised his eyebrow.

"Nafeeza told me so," Naina nodded.

"Yet I see you addressing everyone as that," Aryan pointed out.

"Old habits, Sir," Naina said and bit her tongue. Aryan laughed.

"Naina, you see we have an aim to attain less power distance between employees. I know a lot of people refer to me or Rishi as sir, but I would expect you to follow the procedure and call us by our names," Aryan explained.

"I'll try my best," Naina nodded.

"Let's start slowly. When you address me, call me by my name, right?" Aryan asked.

"I do, si...Aryan," Naina corrected. Talking his name was weird. Her MBA days had rubbed in.

Naina saw something on Aryan's face before it vanished and he smiled at her.

"Good. Now let's review your roles and responsibilities," Aryan said. "Grab a paper and pen," He instructed and Naina followed.

Aryan made her write down as he dictated each and every thing Naina had to know. He was very patient with her as she faltered a few times. Naina was a fast learner and Aryan clearly was impressed.

They had diverted from the topic a lot of times and Naina was certainly not this happy about being unfocused before. They had talked a lot about their hobbies.

Naina had found out that Aryan loved outdoor activities. He had already done a lot of things like river-rafting, bungee-jumping, rappelling, and mountain-climbing to name a few. While Naina had told him about her love for cooking and reading and that she hadn't explored anything like that.

They talked about books as well. While Aryan had met authors, Naina told him about the wonderful things she had read in those stories. They even discussed cars a bit. Naina had told him about how cars and engines have always interested her. Aryan told her he would let her see the remodelled engine of his car someday. Naina couldn't be happier.

At the end of the day, Naina had covered most of the roles and duties and Aryan looked pretty content at her progress.

"You might even take my place if you kept going with that pace," Aryan joked.

"I doubt that would ever happen. Though I would owe you everything if I did that someday," Naina told him.

"You don't owe me anything, Naina. You have potential and I am just recognising that," He told her seriously.

"You'll be the first one," Naina sighed and picked her handbag. "I'll see you tomorrow, si...Aryan," She said and walked out of her cabin without waiting for Aryan's reply.

Suppressing the hurt, Naina decided to think about whatever happened today. Aryan was amazingly good to her. He not only sat with her during lunch, but told her about places where she could get books. Naina wondered if Aryan was this good a person or if he made fun of her behind her back.

She decided not to let the past hamper her present. She had been hurt, but that was it, it was all in the past.

She was a new person now, a more confident and stronger individual than she was. No one knew about it, she had no one to tell and no one will ever find out. She was going to rise above it all and she was going to get her dreams.

There was no backing away now. Not when Aryan Narain was mentoring her.

***

Aryan *heart eyes* *swooning* 

I love this guy way too much

But what do you think is the reason behind Naina's aloofness?

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Until next time

Racs...