Her nose filled with the strong intoxicating perfume. Her heart raced threatening to jump out of her chest. She gulped hard and averted her eyes to escape his intense gaze.
He chuckled a little and moved away from her, "Well, at least a fake one! If I let anything happen to you, your father would kill me". He removed the blanket from underneath and draped it over, "Take rest for some time. I'll bring you dinner when its ready", he said and left the room quietly, turning off the lights.
'Sleep? He wants me to sleep after that?' she fanned her face. The loud pounding of her heart continued with small beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She had never been with anyone in such close proximity before. Closeness always scared her off with the fear of unwanted touching, but the feeling in her heart this time was completely different.
Even then, he didn't explain why he was kind to her. It wasn't even part of their contract. 'He must be having multiple personality disorder' she concluded and began calming her poor heart.
Door bell rang the moment he came down. He opened it to his secretary, Sheela. She was a clumsy young woman who always looked poor and sad.
A pile of documents she held were in jeopardy of falling anytime and the two laptop cases she was balancing alongside was putting a strain on her posture. Her tousled brown hair bun and bags under eyes displayed pure misery. Dhruv let her in and shared the load, attempting to eliminate at least half her misery.
He brought green tea for both and spread his office laptop with other documents lined up on the coffee table. After setting it up, he casually sat on the rug as he preferred sitting on floor over couch. Sheela sat near him with legs folded prudently.
"You can make yourself at home". She nodded and adjusted her posture.
He first opened the monthly MIS and was worried to see the Sales performance report. Sales had dropped significantly after a whistleblower started a rumor quoting Marble Enterprises carried out illegal animal testing. Although due to strong PR, Dhruv had taken care of the matter on time, the fake news still created a dent on performance.
Alternatively, Riya's choice was flying off the shelves as their POD (Point of Difference) being manufacturers of cosmetics from natural ingredients. He couldn't blame her for that. It was purely his own negligence that he let this happened.
The employee who began the rumor was once a loyal quality manager at Dhruv's company. He got greedy over time and quit the job to start his own company. Since it didn't work out, he came back to Marble Enterprises but Dhruv strongly denied him. As a result, he started going around, spreading fake rumors out of spite. Rumors were like wildfire, and no matter its authenticity, it always destroyed everything on the way.
Dhruv's wedding with Riya didn't alter the situation either, since they decided to keep it a secret from media and public.
His deep thoughts were perturbed by an almost inaudible "Sir?" from his secretary.
Her sad eyes looked at him worried. "Hmm?", he raised his eyebrows in question.
"I want to suggest something for the betterment of business, if you are interested."
Dhruv leaned in keenly focused. Sheela hardly spoke let alone suggest an idea, but when she did, it always worked out.
"Your marriage with Riya's Choice CEO. If you make it public by hosting a joint event, then we can be on track. People only care about what's latest. This would completely resurrect the tarnished image of our company."
He let out an uneasy breath. What she suggested wasn't a bad idea. The only problem was with his so-called wife. Either Riya would want something in return or give him grief over accepting it. It would definitely help his business and that was exactly why she wouldn't agree.
"Any other idea?", he sighed with face palmed. "No, Sir. But if you don't mind, I went ahead and made a presentation on what I proposed. I hope you and the wife can go through it before concluding. If you want to regain the trust of investors and public, doing something like this is the only way to turn the tide."
"Thanks for your hard work!", he pursed his lips. "I'll see what we can do and inform you.. You can….", he was about to grant her leave when his phone rang.
'Crazy Bitch calling..."
"Why is she calling me now?". He pondered for a second and attended the call, "What?"
"I have a candy bar in fridge. Bring it up!", she cut the call before he could respond.
He gritted his teeth. 'Pain in the ass'
"….Sir…..? You were saying?", Sheela stared at him through heavy lids.
"Sorry… You can leave for today. I'll call you tomorrow if there's anything."
"Sure, Sir", she left after wishing him a good night.
He grudgingly opened the fridge and to his surprise, found varieties of chocolate boxes and cakes. Additionally, three full family pack ice creams in the freezer.
"Is she a kid?", he snorted.
It indeed took some time for him to locate the candy bar she specified in the midst of all local and international chocolates she had stashed.
He smiled remembering her grin over the Choco truffle during family dinner, but straightened his face as soon as he realized he was smiling about her.