Shades of our Love

Dinner at eight!

S.S.O pulled out at the location pin. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually a decent looking house, in the middle of nowhere, and not some evil lair. The gates opened automatically as he pulled into the drive way. It's time Shivaay...Time to get Shravaan & Annika out of this...wish me luck! He ran his fingers through his hair as he got off the Range Rover. The hallway was dark but lit up with fairy lights. Was this some kind of a joke? Though he was dressed in a suite to kill, doesn't mean he was here on a date night. What was this all about? The bald bodyguard appeared out of thin air, and directed him to the dining table. The candle lit table was set up for two elegantly. S.S.O pulled out a chair, and sat down and gave a wink to Veer. He didn't seem to care and didn't acknowledge him at all. Instead he gave him a disapproving look and walked away. S.S.O kept fidgeting, and tapping his fingers on the table. Annika, will she ever learn to work on time? He hated this about her. It was already 8.05 P.M and his invitation was for 8.00. As soon as he pulled out his phone to keep himself busy, he could hear the trodding of her heels, walking down the stairway. He looked up and saw her gracefully making her way in comparison to her usual clumsy self, in a long black cocktail dress. It was an halter dress, that hugged her body in all the right places. She was still wearing those awful glasses, covering her big doe eyes, and her hair was tide up, in a messy bun. Beautiful... He thought. His eyes scanned her from head to toe as she walked towards him. She was wearing stilettos, which made him nervous for her safety. Idiot! You are going to fall in those...For his surprise she didn't. His mouth dried up a bit as he could see that the dress she has chosen, had a rather long slit that gave a peek up to her thigh as she walked. Focus...Focus...He reminded himself of the purpose of this dinner. Why was she walking so slow? Was she walking in slow motion? He blinked his eyes faster, hoping that it will speed up the process. As she finally made it to the table, he found himself involuntarily getting up, and pulling out the chair for her. Annika's eyes lit up at his gentlemanly behaviour. "Thank You!" She said, and he felt giddy as her bare skin graced his fingers thanks to the backless dress. Annika suppressed a laugh, when she saw his ear tips turning red, as he sat down, with an arrogant reply, "Your welcome!"

" By the way Ms. Annika, what's all this? I thought this dinner was to discuss about Shravaan? Also I was expecting to see your boss?" S.S.O broke the silence.

" Mr. Oberoi, the organisation has it's demands the same way you do. Let's first enjoy dinner shall we?" Annika cut him off and gestured Veer to start serving them drinks.

"Bodyguard cum waiter eh? Where did you find this all in one baldy?" S.S.O smirked.

"This is Veer Kaka...Mr. Oberoi, he's much older to us, so you better talk to him respectfully! Sorry Veer Kaka! He doesn't mean it!" She gave him a glare, while apologising to Veer. "Alright fine! I won't make fun of Mr.Baldy...ahem..I mean..Mr.Veer!" He shrugged, unable to understand her new found empathy towards this guy.  Veer gave him another disapproving look while pouring him a glass of wine. S.S.O sniffed the glass, as if to sniff out poison, and gave Veer another wink, that was met with another blank stare. "Alright...all of this is great...good wine...I am sure the food is going to be great too...but let's just cut to the chase Annika, where is your boss? And Shravaan? You know I won't sign those damn papers without seeing him?"

"They will be here soon!Until then I am asked to make sure you are looked after!" She looked rather tensed. Something wasn't right. S.S.O could swear her lips were quivering a bit. She wanted to say something to him, but she was holding back. It was obvious that they were being watched. He noticed about 5 CCTV camera's strategically mounted as he entered this place. She can't blow her cover, and he did't intend to do that either. Putting her in danger was the last thing he wanted. But he also wanted to know what was going on. He recalled her requesting him, not to divert from her plan at the play ground, and told him that she is safe. Nevertheless he had gone behind her back, and asked Bhavya to get involved. He had to find away to get Shravaan out and not handover Blue corp to the organisation. If he held the reigns, Annika will be safe, until she accomplishes her mission. He had to make it look like Annika had no clue. The best way to do that was to make sure she didn't know. He saw a drop of sweat forming on Annika's forehead, and rolled down her hairline. Something was definitely not right. "Mr. Veer? What a boring ass host you are! It's a dinner party and you don't even have music?" He raised an eyebrow. Veer sighed looking at this mischievous young man, who was a cocky, annoying, what did Annika see in him? He rolled his eyes and walked up to a record player and almost broke it as he switched it on. One of her favourite tunes, started to play in the ambiance, surprising Annika. She must have left it in the recorder last time she was here.