Fatal Attraction

Part 9

"I still don't understand the need of having such an extravagant wedding, Asmita! I always wanted to buy my wedding trousseau out of my money, but it is impossible to buy anything that would match the standards of these Malhotras with the meager salary of ours!" complained Sunita, fidgeting with her fingers and gazing outside the window for any signs of Amit's arrival.

"I am sure that Amit Jiju will understand if you convey the same to him, Sunita! There are many designers who produce affordable yet exquisite designs. Today is just ring shopping, anyway. You will have time to explain it to him," assured Asmita, trying to ignore the fear at the pit of the abdomen.

She did not want to accompany her friend for the shopping but, but like Sunita iterated, she was her only family, and she could not lose out on her friend's wedding because of the monstrous to-be brother-in-law of her friend.

"Let's hope so," she remarked, standing up as she noticed Amit's car screeching to a halt in front of their house. The ladies picked their respective purses and made their way to the car after ensuring that they secured the lock.

"Blue. Thanks for choosing to wear my favorite!" exclaimed Amit, enveloping Sunita in a warm embrace, erasing the frowns on the ladies' faces.

Asmita herself had chosen a simple black ensemble, much to her friend's surprise. She was ever the one to don multitude of colors, but since the eventful night, she had lost her interest in colors and dressing up.

Her eyes traveled to the one seated in the driver's seat and turned into saucers as realization dawned upon her. Daksh Malhotra was not the one to entangle himself in festivities or anything frivolous such as shopping, and to see him join the shopping for his cousin's wedding was nothing less than a shock.

His eyes scanned her visibly trembling form, with emphasis on her heaving chest on the account of her hyperventilation, and instantly made her more conscious than she already was. She tugged at her veil reflexively and felt bile rise when she saw a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Asmita!" called out Sunita, nudging her in the ribs, bringing her out of her reverie. Asmita let an apology slip out of her lips and followed Sunita's suit to be board the car.

Amit was intent on sitting next to his ladylove but he was aware of the bad blood between his cousin and his ex-employee, and that stopped him from asking Asmita to sit beside Daksh. That did not stop the man from taking the initiative himself.

"Amit, don't feel shy! Sit with your sweetheart! Don't worry about your honorary sister-in-law, and our situation. We will be fine, won't we?" he asked, shifting the ball into Asmita's court and putting her in a tough spot.

Asmita felt fury rush through her veins as her lips curled in derision. She wished that she could slap the smirk off his face and show her disgust at his sickly sweet tone, but she did not want to be the villain in her friend's fairytale. She merely nodded affirmatively and exchanged her place with Amit, who had the humility to look guilty.

The drive, itself, was as silent as her mind was tumultuous. She scooted away towards the door, creating the maximum distance between herself and her ex-boss, but her skin continued to burn every time he looked sideways towards her. She continued to look straight, counting every second and its fraction, measuring every meter and hoping for the journey to end.

The showroom staff escorted them with several staff members tailing them, eager to be of their service. Anisha Malhotra had joined them at the showroom and was an eager participant of the decision making.

"The position is still vacant, if you want to join back," he muttered, pulling her out of the bedazzled daze of the shimmering and twinkling diamond collection.

"I am sure that you know my answer," she replied, not turning back to face him, prompting to step in front of her himself.

"I will double your salary. No, you can demand your salary and your privileges. I will accept them, no questions asked," he proposed, desperation lining his tone and the unfamiliar swirl of sincerity in his eyes making surprise swirl in hers.

"Is this your idea of an apology? Let me assure you, you are failing horribly at that. I don't want your money or your privileges. I don't want to be anywhere close to you, but as fate would have it, my friend loves your cousin, and I am forced to accompany her. Don't make me curse my fate anymore by entangling yours with mine any further," she remarked, averting her eyes away from his, looking over his shoulder to see Sunita and Amit laughing joyously.

"What do you want me to do that will make you forget that mistake, Asmita? I have never, ever taken advantage of any woman till date. No one has ever resigned from my company in the way you have. You are the blaring and sore exception," he reiterated, stepping closer to her and leaning forward.

She occupied his mind and thoughts in the way he had never fathomed. The desire of unraveling her, the wish to possess her and claim the forbidden fruit had taken a serious turn, and he had no idea how to fight the feelings bubbling in him.

"Well, I don't know what you can do to make me feel better apart from staying away from me. Right now, more than guilt, it sounds as if it is the bruised ego which is speaking. I don't want to fall prey to your bruised ego once again, Mr. Malhotra. I have found another job for myself, and I hope you find my replacement soon," she retorted, stepping away from him and walking away from him.

"That's what I am afraid of, Asmita. That I would not be able to find your replacement."

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Sorry for the delay! I had exam yesterday afternoon so could not update. I'll update next on Tuesday as I have exam on Monday so I may not be able to remember to update after coming back from the exam.