Dusk is the deal-breaker

Chapter 5

I was lost in my thoughts in the middle of my work, on a Tuesday afternoon, when my boss called me for a one-on-one discussion. "We are partnering with infinite solutions, for this project. You will have to attend a briefing tomorrow at 9 AM at their office" He said, after a half an hour-long boring talk. Have I heard the name, Infinite solutions somewhere? I wondered. Suddenly it flashed, that Shraddha works there. My excitement hit the roof. Instantly, I had a huge smile on my face, which confused my manager. He gave me a weird look and ended the meeting.

I didn't know any details of what department she works for or if that is the branch in which she works, but I couldn't contain my happiness. I was so pumped up, that I cooked a great meal for me and Rakesh after getting back home. Rakesh did not understand and I didn't want to tell him anything. I was restless the whole night. I desperately waited for the sun to come up. I took my time to get ready, wore my finest shirt, cleaned my shoes, sprayed a good amount of perfume and headed out.

As I walked into their office, my eyes scanned every direction, in search of her. I waited, still scanning, for around 10 minutes for the meeting to start, but no luck. The meeting went on for an hour, I tried very hard to focus but I was distracted most of the time. It finally ended and I walked around as much as I could without grabbing much attention, but still no luck. I headed to the cafeteria and scanned the whole place while having a cup of coffee, and still no luck. I was disappointed and finally gave up the search and walked out of the office. "Heyy...Nikhil" I heard somebody shout when I was getting into my car. I immediately turned back, extremely happy and I saw Shraddha walking towards me, holding her laptop in one hand and phone in another. My heart was filled with enormous happiness, looking at her. At that moment, I realised and accepted that I am totally falling for her.

"What a surprise! What are you doing here?" she asked. "Heyy! I just attended a meeting here, Ohh right you work here, totally skipped my mind," I lied, don't know why. "Yea, I work here. It's nice to see you," she told. "Same here," I replied formally. "Umm... Anyways, I have to go, I am late" she said and started walking away from me. My heart started beating fast, Do something, do something, my inner voice shouted at me. "Do you want to catch up for lunch? I am here until 1 PM anyways" I lied, pretending to be very casual. "Sure. I'll meet you here at 1," she replied and took the elevator. Thank god, at last, I asked her out. but what do I do here until 1? I thought. My office was kind of far away from here, so I called my manager asking for permission to work from home for the day. I sat in a corner of the cafeteria, switched my laptop on and started working. Time never went so slow, It felt like decades for 1 PM. I decided I have to somehow let her know that I have feelings for her.

We sat in an Italian restaurant, which had a great ambience and was close by to her office. We ordered food and the casual conversation went on smoothly. She wore a baby pink Lenin Kurti which perfectly fit her body, her wavy hair was left loose, dark black kajal highlighting her beautiful eyes, she looked prettier than ever. Maybe it was because I looked at her in a different way.

The unofficial date went pretty well, we exchanged phone numbers before we left. That proactive step I took, asking her for lunch, paid off very well. That day was the beginning of many more days together.