Gauhar's POV
As soon as his mind registered that I was indeed real and not a weird figment of his imagination, he let go of my shoulders like I was a hot potato that had burned his hands, causing me to stagger backwards but thankfully I caught myself just in time to stop myself from meeting the fate that I had just been saved from.
I braced myself against the wall behind me, my hands spread flat across its surface. I could still feel the warmth of his firm hold on my shoulders, it was weird. Had he been another man I'd have had no qualms of beating him into a pulp for touching me without my consent, even if it were to just save me from hurting my butt on the cold floor.
But something about how his eyes refused to meet mine, and how he suddenly seemed to find his gleaming brown shoes intensely interesting brought a smile to my face.
"Miss-" he cleared his throat as he straightened his already straight royal blue tie "Gauhar, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
His obnoxiously professional tone brought a wince to my face. He didn't seem to notice though as he continued to focus on a spot just behind my head, still resolutely refusing to meet my eyes.
I was happy with the fact that he did not call me 'Miss Siddique' which would have definitely made me sock him in the head but "Dev, I would prefer it if you would look at me in the eyes while speaking to me. I would like it if you looked at me while addressing me and not the wall behind me. No matter how much more interesting it is in comparison to me."
He started as if he were smacked on the head, his bright blue eyes looking at me like a child would look at someone who had threatened them with punishment and then offered them chocolate just for the sake of pranking them. He looked incredibly innocent at that instance and I had the weird urge to pull his cheeks, but I had to restrain myself. Just being around dignified manners made me feel ten years older than I actually was, but in a good way if that made sense.
He looked too stunned to speak, which was weird for someone as confident as him so I decided to ease his difficulty a bit.
"I'm glad that you derive pleasure from my presence." I grinned at him, causing his ears to turn the colour of warm strawberries. Seriously, this man was super cute, he was like an old man and child all at once.
Realising that my words could be interpreted in a way I hadn't intended them to, I felt warmth spread across my cheeks. I took in a deep breath, willing myself to not blush. I couldn't appear embarrassed in front of him, he'd hide under his table if he saw me blushing.
However surprising me, he raised an eyebrow cockily, causing me to grin "You seem to have missed an important part of that statement Miss Siddique, I had also asked you why you had come here."
He leaned down, still smiling in that cocky yet not so cocky way of his "Though that is not to say that it's not a pleasure to be in your presence."
His words caused the colour I was fighting so hard, to spread across my cheeks. What was up with him? He would act like a lost mouse one second and then act all confident and cocky the other, why wasn't I able to figure him out?
I narrowed my eyes at him as I tried to mask the blush colouring my cheeks as anger due to his clearly appropriate and dignified behaviour, since he didn't appear to be capable of acting any way other than being perfect.
Since he had decided to act that way I would be glad to continue the charade "Ah Mr. Mishra, you seem to have forgotten the fact that this place is owned by my father. And this is a place where work is supposed to be done, is not a logical deduction then to assume tha I came here to discuss some work with you."
"Well of course I hadn't forgotten that fact Miss Siddique. I guess I must have forgotten my manners for a bit, kindly pardon my rudeness and tell me how may I be of assistance to you?" His tone was the same irritatingly professional one that I disliked, but the twinkle in his cerulean eyes and the slight smile playing on his lips confirmed that he was as serious about this as a child would be about his test on the multiplication tables.
"Well for starters you can invite me into your office so that we can discuss said work, or would you prefer that we have this conversation right here in the corridor?"
"Well you see Miss Siddique, although you are the daughter of my employer and thus are free to enter my office at any hour. You are not entitled to my time, and therefore would have to make an appointment to speak to me professionally." Although he did not smirk at me, I could clearly see the challenging glint in his eyes.
I looked back at him daring him to refuse admitting me into his room, my tone mimicking his sweet overtly professional manner "Ah that's a pity indeed Mr Mishra, but the matter I wish to discuss with you is about the wellbeing of this company and if your time is more valuable than that then I'd gladly wait for you to give me an appointment."
"If you put it that way, I have no reason to refuse your request. You have access to all my time-" he looked directly into my eyes "Gauhar."
He straightened up, rearranging the light grey coat he had on; and flourishing his hand towards the entrance of his office "Please come inside Miss, you are most welcome to discuss whatever it is that you have noticed and I'm absolutely willing to be of whatever help I can to you."
I marched into the office, noticing how spacious it was. The floor to ceiling windows offered a view of the bustling street below, the feeble rays of the sun filtering in through the glass through the thick veil of grey clouds that dominated the sky.
My god, it looked like there was a storm brewing.
I noticed the dark leather chair placed in front of his light oak table and placed myself on it, leaning back into the cushions and making myself comfortable. Although I still felt empty from within, having Dev around considerably lightened my mood even though he was an old soul in a young man's body.
Or maybe a shy little kid, I could never decide.
"Ah yes Miss Siddique, do take a seat. And please make sure you make yourself comfortable after all this is your office." He grinned at me as he sat in the huge black leather chair placed behind the desk, placing his clasped hands in the table he appeared ready for a business transaction or a transfer of assets or something serious like that.
I blinked for a bit, straightening myself to appear as professional as he did. Seriously, did the dude have some sort of switch that helped him turn into a serious businessman from the grinning idiot that he was just seconds ago?
I placed my hands on the armrests of my chair as I grinned right back at him "I must say, sarcasm suits you Dev. But don't use it with me right now, we are here to discuss important stuff. Or do you normally use it with our clients, in which case I would have to seriously discuss some revision regarding our client protocol with you."
Dev chuckled at my words, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Now that I had a chance to have a closer look at him, I realised that he looked extremely tired "No Gauhar, none of my clients get the chance to experience my sarcasm. It's only you."
"Well I'm honoured then." I smiled at him as I sat up straight, preparing myself to interrogate him.
"Though of course, if it is my behaviour with our clients that you wish to discuss then I'm down to do that as well."
Before I could begin asking him anything the soft smile on his face disappeared as he looked seriously at me, making me wonder at his sudden change in demeanour "How are you Gauhar?"
The gentle and cautious tone of his voice coupled with the warmth in his eyes caused a wave of emotion to wash over me, causing me to wrap my arms around myself and take a deep breath. I force a small smile on my face as I nod at him "Yeah Dev, I'm fine. Or rather as fine as I can be in a situation like this. My father's entire life's hard work seems to be crumbling in front of my eyes. It's not even been a week since he has been in the hospital, and I can't bear to see the state of this place."
Looking down at my hands I murmured more to myself than him "though I do wonder if things had always been this way and it was all hidden from me "
Hearing my words Dev brought his hand across the table, his fingers stretching in an attempt to take my hand that was placed on the table before he seemingly thought better of it and withdrew it.
I felt a wave of relief wash over me to notice that he understood I would rather be left alone and not have anyone touch me or comfort me in the state I was.
He ran a hand through his hair "Alright then Gauhar, ask me what you want, I'll try my best to answer everything as honestly as I am allowed to."
His phrasing gave me the distinct impression that he wasn't happy with the idea of talking honestly with me about anything that concerned this company, but I didn't care how unpleasant it would be for him, this was something that needed to be done.
For the sake of all of us.
I looked into his eyes, making sure to show him how serious I was about this "I need you to give me the accounts of our deal with Tremblay and Co. along with their contract and all the shipment information."
Dev seemed to contemplate my words as he took his bottom lip between his teeth, his eyes focussed on his hands on the table.
When he finally looked up to meet my eyes, I found that his blue orbs had lost their twinkle, they had turned lifeless and cold "Gauhar, I can't do that. I'm sorry, I already told you about the situation of the company, I doubt you can do anything to help us out of this."