Na Jaane Kyon...

Sun sadayein de rahi hai manzil pyar ki

Title is the 90s song 'Ay mere humsafar ek zara intezar'  from QSQT

After putting Ayush to bed and changing into her night suit, Naina sat curled up on her chair. The moon was forgotten today. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess about how one evening had changed everything.

The beep of message made her look at her phone.

'I'm going to dream about you. Hope you dream about me too'

The phone almond fell from her hand. She gaped at the message.

'Ab itna bhi mat ghooro phone ko. Zyada gussa aa raha hai toh mujhe call karke daant sakti ho. Biwi ho... haq banta hai'

The phone actually dropped this time.

Naina quickly fetched it and switched it off. Her hands were still shaking. This was a completely different Sameer she was seeing since evening. His gaze, his touch, his mannerism... everything was unthinkably alluring. With her own heart already under his spell, it was getting hard to resist his charm.

Sameer chuckled, seeing his next message remain undelivered, "Phone off karne se kya hoga, madam... ab tum chah ke bhi mujhse alag nahi ho sakti."

Next morning, as Naina parked her car at office, she noticed Sameer and Mr Maheshwari getting out of theirs. A sudden nervousness gripped her. She thought of staying inside till they were gone, but Sameer waved at her with a big smile, making Mr Maheshwari look in her direction too. She wasn't left with an option.

"Good morning, sir." She gave a quick smile to nanu after reaching them.

"Good morning, Naina. How are you?" Nanu nodded with a soft look to her.

"Hi Naina. Very good morning. Aaj kaisa feel kar rahi ho? Kal ka asar hai abhi bhi?" Sameer asked in a cheery voice.

Naina paled visibly. She had not expected Sameer to mention anything in front of Mr Maheshwari.

Nanu gave her a concerned look, "What happened? Tumhari tabiyat kharab hai kya? Kya hua kal?"

"Kuch nahi nanu, actually kal Naina ke paas kuch zyada hi kaam tha. Itne saare decisions lene the isliye shayad thak gayi thi. Wohi puch raha tha." Sameer mentioned in a normal tone.

"Naina, beta health sabse important hai. Tum akele saara load mat liya karo. Sameer ko bhi apne saath kaam pe laga ke rakho. Tum dono saath mein kaam karoge toh dono ke liye achha hoga." Nanu was as straight as his grandson.

Naina could only nod. They started to walk towards the entrance together.

"Arre haan Sameer, parson jo hum meeting karke aaye the, uske details Naina ko de diye na?" Nanu asked suddenly when they entered the lift.

"Maine Naina ko sab kuch de diya." Sameer's voice was again casual, but her eyes shot up to him, sensing the hidden meaning.

And he winked.

A sudden bout of cough erupted from her throat.

"Arre beta kya hua? Yeh lo paani." Nanu immediately handed her a bottle of water that he was holding.

She shook her head but nanu insisted, and Naina had to take a sip. Sameer held out his hand to take the bottle from her once she had capped it. Reluctantly, she gave it to him.

In her cabin, Naina wiped her forehead. She hadn't expected Sameer to say such things in front of his grandfather. Now, as she thought about it, she realised he had said nothing which could make Mr Maheshwari suspicious... he had rather been talking in pure official terms. It was probably her fault then, that she was seeing a different meaning in whatever he was saying. But the wink... it was the first time she had seen him wink. The cough was to disguise the wild thudding of her heart.