Falling in Love - A Shivika Romance ✔

44. A Web of Lies

When the door creaked open, a smile graced Shivaay's lips sensing the presence of Annika. Without returning the smile, she walked past a few people to take a seat beside the head of the management team. She was stressed thinking about the future of her plan. The path she chose gave Dev the job he needed. However, to let Shivaay have a closer look at Dev's character and work, both men needed to know each other. As of now, Shivaay would hate to come across Dev. Her idea was to praise Dev so much so that Shivaay likes him for his work. Then she could tell him the truth, so he could realize that people are lovable for their work and not their upbringing.

"Annika!" she felt a small jerk. She looked up to find Shivaay looking at her quizically. She wondered since how long had he been calling her while she was immersed in contemplation. Perhaps Shivaay had been calling her for seconds.

"Sorry, I was zoned out," she said, "What were you saying?"

"It's okay. I didn't need anything. You looked lost, so I asked. You can observe the meeting from now on," he said.

Annika nodded. She looked around her. A few people were whispering. They were surprised rather shocked by how softly Shivaay behaved with Annika. She heard someone saying that had anyone else been zoned out during a meeting, their boss would ask them to leave.

Annika took a deep breath. She tried to pay all her attention to the meeting. She wanted to focus on what she was here for, that is to have hands-on experience in corporate life. Also, she didn't want to hear other employees accuse Shivaay of being biased towards his wife.

***

Annika got into a discussion with one of the new interns in the office while Shivaay patiently waited for her to finish. He called for two cups of coffee and a few files from the IT department. Annika glanced at Shivaay. She noticed how he tapped his feet, a sign of his growing impatience. She wrapped up her conversation with the girl and came back to Shivaay.

"Here you go," he passed her the cup of coffee. She took a sip from her glass to realize it was piping hot.

"Annika! What are you doing?" he passed her some tissues. He took the cup from her hand and placed it on the desk. She cleared her throat. Her tongue felt burned. She realized she should have waited for the coffee to cool a bit.

"Couldn't you see it was hot?"

"It's fine. I just wanted to say that I will be heading to the first floor in a bit. I wanted to greet the interns myself."

Shivaay checked his watch, "They will be coming at half-past one after the lunch hour is over. You can stay till then at least." He tried modulating his voice so it sounded as if he was stating facts. In reality, he wanted to request her to have lunch with him.

"Yes, I will have lunch with you, then leave," she stated coolly. He sighed; the with you part gave him relief. He had his palms balled in a fist. Only if he was chilled about voicing his emotions.

His head shot up after hearing Annika chuckle. His face was worth looking at. Annika's fingers brushed along the side of his arm. He opened his palm that was balled in a fist until now.

"What?" he gulped down. He feared she could look through his face when he did not want the same to be true.

"If you want to have lunch with me, you can say it," she laughed. "I am your wife, not a crush that you will be so awkward about it."

Shivaay shook his head and closed his eyes. He smiled in embarrassment. How did she know what he wanted? Annika stopped laughing. She brushed her thumb on his palm. It was a relaxing touch.