The Dating Charade ✔️

Chapter-11

Firstly, I'm sorry for updating late, was outside almost the entire day. Secondly, since I only had time to write now and am feeling very sleepy, the chapter is really small. Wanted to include Shivika's date here but couldn't manage it. Next update will have them only, for sure. 

Rohit could have sworn he wasn't looking forward to seeing Annika again but then he would probably swear on something he didn't love. The truth was, he had unconsciously been gazing towards the door since morning, and to his mother who sat in his cabin looking at some party theme ideas online, this was confusing beyond her comprehension. She had never seen her son distracted from work before. He lived and breathed it, striving hard to earn success and money since his father had passed away a few years back, leaving them struggling to get on.

Getting up from her seat on the sofa, she approached him where he sat behind his desk, and caressed his forehead. Startled, Rohit looked up.

"What's wrong, Ma?"

"What's wrong with you, Rohit? You've been so... distracted since morning. Are you waiting for someone?"

"N-no, Ma. Who would I be waiting for?" He stuttered. His mother looked at him intently for a moment. He was her entire world, as she was his. So far, he had never hidden anything from her. She was probably making a mountain out of a molehill but it seemed that he was starting to keep things from her, and it unnerved her. No, she wasn't an obsessive mother who wanted to be the only woman in her son's life, but since her husband had passed away she had worked very hard to bring up her son. It wouldn't sit well with her if she missed something out in his life. Smiling, she decided to let it go. If it was something important, she would tell her himself.

Just as she took her earlier position on the couch, there was a knock on the door. She was about to say 'come in' when Rohit instantly jumped up from his chair and went ahead to open the door himself. This was strange- he was a kind boss in general but opening the door for someone was one step too far. But as he opened the door and stepped back to let in a girl, all the while sporting a huge smile on his face, Rajashri Malhotra understood the reason for her son's anticipation. It seemed that he had been smitten by their new event planner, and she couldn't blame him. She was extremely pretty, dressed in her simple yellow kurti and denim jeans. However, Rohit wasn't the kind of person to get attracted to anyone easily; in fact, his mother had never seen him show interest in any girl before. She guessed that there was more to this particular girl than just her looks.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm Annika," Annika said, breaking Rajashri out of her thoughts. She shook her forwarded hand with a warm smile.

"Hi, Annika. I'm Rajashri. Have a seat, dear." Annika sat down beside her, and they got to chitchatting. From the corner of her eyes, Rajashri could see her son standing with something like expectancy in his eyes.

"Yes, Rohit?" She addressed him directly, catching him off-guard. "Do you want something?"

Rohit wanted to tell her that he too wanted a chance to speak to the person whose arrival he had been looking forward to since morning, but instead just shook his head and went back to his desk. For the next hour that his mother and Annika discussed about the upcoming party, he kept stealing glances their way. Or, more particularly, stealing glances at her. She had made her way into his mother's heart, too, because for the first time in many years he was seeing his usually cool and composed mother laughing her heart out at Annika's weird language and lame jokes.

"So, ma'am, I think we should-"

"Annika, beta, don't call me ma'am. Call me aunty, okay?" She told the lovely girl who she was starting to like more with each passing second. She seemed like a great person, and her ideas and imaginations for the party were excellent. Rajashri patted herself for choosing this girl for the job, and also her son for liking her.

"Okay, aunty. Anyway, I was saying, I think we should eliminate the whole dress-code thing for the party. I mean, think about it. What if someone has some dhinchak cloth they wanted to wear at the party, but can't because it's not, say, the exact shade of bottle green we want?"

Rajashri laughed, but agreed nonetheless. She could from her peripheral vision see Rohit fist a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing, as he had been doing for the past hour whenever Annika said something even remotely funny. When it was time for her to leave, he looked disappointed.

"You know, Annika, I think we should carry with our discussions from my house from tomorrow."

Before Annika could even reply, Rohit had butted in.

"But why?" He asked outrageously. The two women looked at him in surprise.

"I mean," He continued, "If you work here, I can share my ideas, too."

Rajashri tried hard to bite back a smile.

"Well, I don't think we'll be needing your 'ideas' here, son. Leave the job up to us women."

Saying so, and feeling pity seeing her son's gloomy expression, she continued-

"Nonetheless, let's work here for some time. We'll move to the house if need be."

Annika nodded at that, and bid them both goodbye before leaving, leaving behind an immensely happy son, and his teasingly smiling mother.