Rohit had only spent a mere half hour with Annika but he was already in awe of her. She had a certain charm to her that had made him like her instantly. When asked if she would be able to do the job well, she hadn't gotten into any rehearsed speech about how she would put her heart and soul into it like most people did. Instead, she had asked for a chance to show him her work, as she had heard he loved giving chances, she had added with a smile. Whenever she spoke about anything, she did it with utmost passion, revealing her genuinity. Rohit himself was a very warm person, and appreciated kindness in others. Annika's kindness poured out in every word she spoke and every hand gesture she made, and there were many such hand gestures, he had noticed, and found it adorable to

Not to mention, he also found Annika extremely pretty. With wild, curly hair reaching her waist, doe-shaped hazel orbs filled with a childlike twinkle, high cheekbones and full lips, she had enchanted him with her beauty. He was surprised by his own feelings; it was very unlike him to be attracted to someone because of their outward beauty. But Annika was such a person whose inner beauty shone from within.

"So, Ms. Annika, you should start working ASAP. The function is just 2 weeks away and my mom is really going to make it huge deal," He said with a laugh, after he had finished asking her all necessary questions.

Annika smiled brightly at that.

"So I have the job?"

Rohit smiled at her innocence.

"Of course, you're perfect for the work. My mother chose right," He himself noticed the hint of double-meaning in the sentence, but thankfully she did not.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Malhotra!" She said, getting up from the chair, and offering him her hand. Rohit took it and felt a spark go through him touching her soft palm. He wondered if she felt it too, but seeing her nonchalant reaction, disappointedly guessed that she did not.

"Please, call me Rohit, Ms.Annika," He said with a warm smile.

"Only if you call me Annika," She replied, making him chuckle. She was about to leave, saying she would come back tomorrow to meet his mother to discuss her preference over the themes, when a question that had been lingering in his mind spilled out.

"Are you single?"

Annika turned around with a confused expression.

"What?"

Rohit gulped.

"Uh, I mean, are you single-handedly going to handle everything? Or do you have someone working under you," He hastily proceeded, patting himself mentally for the smooth save.

"Oh, no. I'll be doing it all by myself."

Rohit nodded.

"Well, feel free to take help from anyone in the office. Bye, Annika."

"Bye Rohit," Annika waved at him with a wide smile, before leaving the room. Rohit stared after her while running a hand through his hair, and wondered what this girl had done to him in the matter of a few minutes, before getting back to work.

**

Annika left the building in high spirits, feeling rejuvenated. She had just gotten a job, and it seemed like her event planning business would kick off after all. She had really liked her boss- Rohit - too; he seemed like a great person who treated everyone well, and like him, Annika too appreciated generosity in others. Which is why it surprised her to find herself being attracted to the baggad billa...

As Annika's thoughts drifted off to him, as it often did these days, her face broke into a smile. She thought of texting him and informing him that she had gotten the job, and took out her phone, only to find 5 texts and one missed call from him already. The first text had been sent right after she had replied in the morning, but she hadn't gotten any notification since her phone was muted.

S- But still, approximately at what time will you be free?

S- Send me the address of the office and call me when you're done, I'll come pick you up.

S- Annika I have to schedule a meeting so please let me know soon.

S- Stop ignoring me!

The last message had arrived, with the call, just a few minutes back.

S- Done ignoring me yet? :)

Annika rolled her eyes even as a laugh escaped her. Gosh, he was acting so... so boyfriend-ish. It filled her with a giddy feeling all over. No matter how much she tried to remind herself that this was all just pretence, and she wasn't his actual girlfriend, his caring and possessive antic made her feel like she was in heaven. She had never felt this way before, and thus had a hard time deciphering her feelings. She had realized long ago that she was attracted to him, maybe had a teeny tiny crush on him, but delving deeper into this feeling was strictly prohibited, she always reminded herself. He was probably the least attainable person for her, yet her 2 Rupee kismat made sure that the further she tried to go away from him, the closer he pulled her. The entire scenario confused her. There was no chance that he would ever feel anything for her, right? Then why did he act the way he did?

Groaning, Annika decided once again to not think deeper into all this. Shivaay was just a friend, nothing more (and given the dynamics of their relationship, it felt weird to call him even that). A friend she was helping out because of how much love and care his family had given her. Plus, this whole drama would probably bring a little entertainment into her otherwise boring life, not to mention give her a chance to meet her favorite people- The Oberois- almost every day.

Smiling at the thought and deciding to not ruin her mood by over-analyzing things, she called Shivaay. He picked up after the very first ring.

"So someone has finally remembered my existence." His voice sounded out from the other side, and Annika giggled.

"And someone has been very impatient since morning. What's wrong with you today, Billuji?" She asked, biting her lip to hide a smile.

"Nothing's wrong with me!" Shivaay exclaimed, sounding affronted. "I was just asking when you'll come because...because..yeah! Because Dadi has been waiting for you. And you know how she worries about you, so I thought of picking you up myself."

"So it was all Dadi, huh?" Annika asked playfully.

"Oh, well, OmRu and Prinku have been waiting for you, too," He answered, and Annika could almost hear the smile he was wearing. God, were they actually flirting?

"What time is your meeting?" Annika asked.

"Now." Shivaay replied simply, and Annika furrowed her brows in confusion.

"What do you mean, 'now'?"

"I mean," Shivaay started, "is that I'm in the meeting right now. As I talk to you."

Annika's eyes widened.

"Then why are you talking to me? Are you mad or what?" She exclaimed, loud enough for passers-bye to glance at her.

"What's so mad about this?" Shivaay asked, his voice revealing slight annoyance. "I will talk to you whenever I want. Meetings be damned."

Annika took a deep breath and prayed for some patience to deal with this man.

"Shivaay, can you please finish your meeting and call me when you're done? We'll talk as much as you like, then."

Shivaay sighed, before relenting.

"Fine, but be ready in an hour. I'll be coming to pick you up from your house as soon as I'm done here."

Annika nodded, before realizing he couldn't see her.

"Yes, yes, now go back to work!" She practically reprimanded him, and hung up after a hasty goodbye. Annika did realize that for this workaholic man to be interrupting his meeting for her phone call was a huge compliment for her, but she couldn't let herself dwell on that. It would give her false hope and make her feel entire zoos inside her stomach and distract her. No, that just wouldn't do.

But no matter how much you tried to cajole your heart into listening it never did. As a result, there was a certain glow on Annika's face and skip in her steps as she made her way towards Champa, having no qualms about the fact that she hadn't gotten around to informing him about her job- the thing she had initially called for.

Btw, I forgot to mention in the previous chapter, the character of Rohit Malhotra will be played by Varun Toorkey-

His mother's character will be played by Kavita Ghai-

That's it for today, hope you all liked the chapter!