The Dating Charade ✔️

Chapter-46

Two days later, Annika sat in her own little office with a glow on her face. Looking around, she felt a sense of pride and excitement at the prospect of this new beginning. Currently, she was waiting to interview people for the post of her PA. Around 5-6 people had responded to her advertisement and showed up, which was a number much more than she had expected. Her little office had been set up, with the help of her favorite girls- Prinku, Saumya and Mallika- the the day before, and it seemed beautiful to her. Although small, it gave a very cozy feeling and the bursts of color all around due to posters and cutouts of wedding magazines, made it look very bright. Annika was in love with it already. She had a small desk in front of her, which was already filled with  all her things such as her Chakorr ( AKA her diary), a beautiful pen stand Om had personally made for her, and a clutter of many other things. It had two chairs on both sides, one of them revolving one on which she sat. On one side of the room was a sofa, comfy but only fit for two.  

"Didi, they've started arriving!"

A very enthusiastic Saumya peeked her head in and declared, giving her a full blown smile. She was helping Annika with the interview; sitting outside in the lobby, she would first go through the candidates' CVs and portfolios, and would give Annika an idea of the interviewee before she met them.

"Okay, let's start then!" Annika exclaimed. Her heart had started beating faster, at the thrill that this was all finally starting. Everything that she had ever dreamed of, was about to happen. Sending a small prayer upwards to a God she barely believed in, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

About an hour later, Annika sat back on her seat, a bit dejected. She had finished interviewing all but one candidate, and they had all sort of been a disappointment so far. Annika wasn't much interested in the past experiences and educational qualifications they had had, but what she wanted was a deep desire, a passion in them towards their work. Being an event manager required you to be imaginative, and open to ideas. From the tips she had gotten from Shivaay, Tej uncle and Shakti uncle on how to interview people to find out if they possessed the qualities you wanted, the candidates so far had failed her expectations. Sighing, she waited for the last one to show up, having given up almost entirely. Who knew finding just a PA would be so difficult, and if this was the case now, how would she hire more workers when her business expanded?

A ping on her phone indicated that Saumya had messaged her on her opinion of the last candidate, and not hoping to find anything good, just like the previous times, Annika picked up. What she saw, however, pleasantly surprised her.

This one looks promising, Di! Low educational qualification and almost no past work experiences, but her portfolio has some really great crafts! Good luck! xoxo

Sitting up straight and sporting a smile, Annika called in the person Saumya seemed excited about. As the door opened, in walked a girl who seemed to be around her own age. She was very pretty, and was wearing a bright smile that lit up her face. 

"Hi, take a seat," Annika told her politely, and she complied.

"Hello ma'am-"

"Call me Annika, please," Annika said with a warm smile.

"Ji, Annika ji. I'm Gauri Kumari Sarma."

"Sarma?" Annika asked, before she could stop herself.

"Sarma" Gauri repeated, with a bit more force on the 's'. Annika giggled at her cuteness, and they started with her interview.

Around 15 minutes later, Annika had found herself a perfect new Personal Assistant.

**

"Shivaay I'm so so happy! I finally have a PA omigod can you believe it! And Gauri seems so sweet and hardworking, I'm sure she'll be great!"