Shaadi Mubarak|✔

Chapter 11

Shaurya leans against the counter as he waits, trying to ignore the murmuring that the two receptionists have been on to for some time now. 

It’s about him. 

“Look at those bice –”

“The jawline –”

“His waist –”

“Ehm,” Shaurya clears his throat, straightening up, mentally reminding himself to not ever wear a polo to an office. But he is here for a reason. 

It’s for the first time that his father and Rati’s maasi have given them the permission to go and select their wedding card as well as the rings that they want. He can’t believe that their engagement is just a week away. 

Well, the good news aside, he is here to pick up the loveliest to be bride in the world, his sweet and shy Rati – that reminds him. 

“When did you say I can see Rati?” he asks the two women, wearing elegant sarees but slightly tacky make up. 

He could have very well called her, but he wanted to surprise her, and he knew that if she’d get to know he was here with the elder’s permission, she would be ecstatic. 

“Oh, just in a few minutes. Sir’s meeting is going to end soon.” 

“Hmm.” He hums, and decides to go and sit in the waiting lounge, getting busy with his phone. He could have come here sooner, would have saved him the effort of tolerating the two women. 

“Mr. Sethi, we’ll see you at the site then. Rati would set our appointment.” 

Shaurya perks up as he hears the familiar name, his head snapping upwards to find a group of expensive looking people walking out the glass doors. And amongst them, blending seamlessly, was his Rati. 

Oh, would you look at that suit. 

Shaurya can’t help but stare at her unblinking as she wears a sky-coloured suit, hair tied into a low bun, a tablet held in her hands, head nodding as she listens to the person who seems like her boss, who, wow, looks the same age as him. But more good looking. 

Huh.

“Yes, sir. Next week will not be a problem.” Shaurya sees as Rati gives them a smile, and sees Mr. Sethi out. 

“Rati,” her boss calls. 

“Yes, sir.” 

“We really need to check up on them. You know that we can’t trust them blindly, right?”

“Right.”

“Get in contact with their management and get our company a definitive slot.”

“Will do, sir.”

“Any inputs?”  The boss asks with a curve of his brow, and Rati nods. 

“I have a few sir, but they can wait till tomorrow. You have a meeting with Shrestha ma’am right now.” 

The man has his brows raised to the hairline at what seems like a reminder. He pats Rati’s shoulder with a grateful smile. 

“Thank you, Rati. My wife would have surely divorced me had it not been for you. Just mail the memorandum to me and the board members.” 

Rati gives him courteous smile. “Will do, sir.” 

That ends the interaction between the boss and secretary but acts as a giveaway to the mongers. 

“Did you see that; he touched her shoulder!”

“Already talking about divorce, well with an assistant like that –”

“I pity that man’s wife; he is such a flirt but so is that assistant –”

An immediate frown graces Shaurya’s temple as he hears those comments. He knows it isn’t his workplace, neither it is his right to say anything but right now he just wants to get up and shut the traps of the useless people who don’t know how to talk about other, or talk at all.

His anger momentarily makes him lose Rati. He flits his gaze all over the place and spots Rati leaning against the same counter on the reception that he had been leaning on to now. Meaning that if Rati hasn’t spotted him until now, she’ll do it anytime. Shaurya doesn’t know if he should feel happy or distressed. Would Rati like if he wasn’t present here now? 

He doesn’t know. But what he knows is that he isn’t liking the distress marring her face. 

He’ll deal with her anger if he has to, but right now he needs to go to her and comfort her. 

However, as he moves closer to the counter, he can hear the discussion going on. 

“– had been waiting for you at the counter. He didn’t tell his name, but he was hot.”

Uh Oh. 

“Rati, tell us what you are hiding from us. Do you have a boyfriend now? And that too so –”

The receptionist mum up as soon as he comes in their line of sight. Rati, taking in their stunned reaction, turns around, a confusion evident on her face probably trying to figure out the person that they were talking about, her own distress forgotten. Though as soon as she sees that its him, a smile takes over her features, brightening her face up. Shaurya mentally pats his back for making the girl smile. 

“Shaurya?” she asks, walking up to him in a fast pace. She stops at a foot’s distance between them. Her hands fiddle at her side but the smile on her face doesn’t deter. Shaurya too momentarily forgets the incident, focusing on maintaining the girl’s smile. He gives her his signature grin. 

“Hi,” he says, taking her hand in his, effectively stopping its twitching. He then moves closer to her until his mouth is against her ear, “how are you, baby?” 

The reaction that he gets in return is better than he had imagined. 

The endearment has the girl taking a step back immediately, eyes wide and cheeks flushed red. 

She fakes a cough, her hand resuming its twitching, this time in his hold, one that he doesn’t plan to loosen anytime soon. 

“Oh my God,” the comments echoes and the duo immediately turns to its source, not surprised to find the same two receptionists. 

Shaurya’s new name for them in his mind is ‘nosy’(s).

“Rati did you actually get a boyfriend? You?” one of them says, and Shaurya bites back the small smile but puffs up his chest, taking the ‘boyfriend’ tag with pride. He looks at Rati to find her looking at the ground. He is instantly enamoured.

“Weren’t you the introvert types? How did you manage to score someone like –” the other one says, eyeing him up and down, “him?” 

The question has Rati’s head snapping up and looking at the girl wide eyed while Shaurya instantly loses any streak of humour, his face yet again turning sour. 

“Excuse me, don’t you think you are butting in too much?” he says with an authoritative voice that he only ever uses in his class that too when dealing with those spoilt brats. 

Rati looks at him at the interruption, shaking her head. 

She gives the two a forced smile. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She says. The first one nods, looking slightly guilty but the second one doesn’t quite get the message. 

“Rati does your boyfriend know about you and Singhania sir?” she asks. The question has Shaurya gritting his teeth immediately but this time it is Rati who answers. 

“I actually haven’t found the time to tell him right now. Maybe you can tell him that yourself on our wedding. Would that be alright?” The girl gives her the most innocent of smiles, making that receptionist’s gape and Shaurya’s jaw drop. 

“Let’s go… baby.” Rati says, then, leading them outside the office, the unexpected endearment not helping at all in shutting his mouth.