Shape of the Sun

Our first meeting after

Arora had entertained many big clients over the years, and so, Manmeet had to be prepared for all kinds of situations. Usually, Vicky would give her a heads up so that she could be aware ahead of time, so what was this going on?

Manmeet had just returned from a lunch meeting with a new client, her assistants in tow, when the three of them noticed that the office's atmosphere was a bit different, more subtle than usual. Most of the staff were in clusters, and even those that were at their desks, instead of working or having lunch, had their eyes on her one second and shifted to her office door the next. It was the break period when things were usually lax in the office, but now it all felt so tense.

Manmeet handed the poster tubes that she was holding over to Sharda and whispered so that only she and Tanvi could hear her.

"Did Vicky text that I needed to welcome any new client while I was in the meeting?" It was now obvious that someone important was in her office, important enough to send the office into a tizzy. Nothing had come quite close except when Vicky announced her pregnancy yesterday.

"No, boss. Tanvi?" Sharda looked at her junior colleague who also replied similarly. They had not gotten any such information from boss Arora and asking him now was futile, as he wasn't in the office. Manmeet also understood this from their expressions, since she had been the one who had Raghu drive him to the courthouse earlier in the day.

It seemed that she had to take one step at a time.

"Sharda, give the posters to Ananya so that she can make the noted corrections. And make it clear to everyone once I am in my office that this is a workplace, not a newspaper stand. I will not stand for this behavior next time, is that clear?" She didn't want the surprise guest to have to stumble on anything wanton.

"Yes, boss."

Now, there was only Tanvi beside her, holding her bag.

"Tanvi, give me my bag and go make some coffee. Two cups and add creamer to mine. Leave the other as it is."

"Okay, madam."

Manmeet took her bag, freeing her junior assistant to go and carry out her instructions. She took careful steps towards her office and slightly opened the door before peering to see who was inside, not wanting to startle whoever it was.

And the results surprised her. No, it did more than that. It shook her to the very core of her existence.

Sitting on the sofa in her office was Rajkumar Reddy. He had his head bowed, elegant fingers deftly flipping through the pages of a magazine, a serious expression on his face that showed he was concentrating on what was in front of him. Rajkumar wasn't dressed up very much, either. He had a solid white Tee with a red navy blue checked casual shirt worn over, all-on grey athleisure pants she was sure were from Fabletics, and white Harvard sneakers on his feet. Instead of his trusty IWC Portofino, Rajkumar was sporting a black Apple Watch.

And Manmeet thought there was nothing that wasn't beautiful that wasn't here. Was it not such a beautiful face that her baby was going to have too? Those eyes the powerful shade of greying burnt wood and well-defined cheekbones to boot. An aquiline nose that looked so graceful at the center. Those gorgeous lips on a mouth that was pressed into a hard line, that never opened unless to speak words of the utmost importance. It was all from its daddy who had done nothing except to run straight back once he knew of its existence. Manmeet was feeling all sorts of feverish emotions just looking at this man who was now related to her on another level. She could do this all day and not get tired.

But that didn't mean it was the same for everyone else. Rajkumar was having a hard time acting like he hadn't noticed her presence. He was finding it difficult to keep his lips from curving into a smile. There was something in the way Manmeet was looking at him that filled him with so much pleasure inside. She was admiring him so openly, so proudly, that it stirred something deep inside Rajkumar, and yet, cleared the fogginess in his head. So this was what refreshing really felt like. Manmeet Chatterjee was able to do that to him just by being in the same space, something rare for Rajkumar, which said quite a lot.