“Mujhe samajh nhi aa raha yaar. Bol dena chahiye kya? I mean, she just joined. Creep toh nhi samjhegi na?”

(I don’t understand. Should I say it?...Will she think of me as a creep?)

One of the men said and the other hyped him up.

“Arre nhi yaar! Bolde! In fact mai toh kehta hu, seedha shaadi ke liye propose kr. Ab koi girlfriend boyfriend wali umar thodi na hai. Wo bhi settle hona hi chahegi. Aur tu itna handsome hunk hai. Aur mujhe lagta bhi hai ki wo pasand krti hai tujhe. Go for it! Bolde!”

(No! Say it! In fact I am saying, propose her for marriage. It is not the age for boyfriend girlfriend game. She would also want to settle. And you are such a handsome hunk. And I think she likes you too. Go for it! Say it!)

Jay smiled until he heard the name.

“You think so?”

“I know so. Plus Neelam is a sweet girl. Agar wo mana bhi kregi toh bhi I am sure kaafi maturely handle kregi. Mai toh kehta hu, date pr le jaa aur phir bolde. Mauhaul bhi hoga.”

(And even if she denies, I am sure she will handle maturely. I am saying, take her out on a date. There will be environment also.)

Neelam? His Neelam? The one whose alliance was sent for him? No fucking way! He might not have given an answer yet but he was considering saying yes.

Jay clenched his fists in anger and that’s how he decided he was going to say yes without any further delay.

In fact, he entered his office and the first thing he did was call his mother and tell her his decision and asked her to communicate it to the other party soon. He then sighed in relief. 

Neelam was working on an important document when she received her mother’s call.

“Haan mumma?”

(Yes mumma?)

She muttered distractedly but her words took all her attention and she stood up abruptly gaining everyone’s attention. She smiled awkwardly and sat back down. She then whispered into the phone.

“Kya? Kya bol rhe ho? Haan krdi?”

(What? What are you saying? They said yes?)

“Haan! Maine kaha tha na! Koi meri bachi ko mana kr hi nhi skta. Tu hai hi itni pyaari. Meri laado!”

(Yes! I told you! No one can deny my baby. You are so sweet. My baby!)

Her mother rambled on but all Neelam could focus on was the fact that Jay Ahuja, her boss had just agreed to get married to her.

“Are you sure aap mere boss ke baare mai baat kr rhe ho?”

(Are you sure you are taking about my boss?)

She asked just to reconfirm and her mother gushed in happiness.

“Ab toh hone wale pati hai. Hayee! Tu ghar aa jaldi se kaam krke. Bhut saari cheezein decide krni hai.”

(He is fiancé now. Hayee! You come home soon. We have to decide a lot of things.)

With that the call was disconnected. Neelam slumped in her seat and stared at the laptop screen in shock. 

There was no way this was happening in reality. She has to be dreaming. This cannot be true. The owner of such a big and reputed company? Ready to marry her? A simple middle-class girl. Ok, well, not middle class. Upper middle class but still not at par with him.

Discussion for fixing a date for the roka ceremony were going on. For letting the kids meet officially. Jay and Neelam had not had any encounters since the agreement.

A few days after the agreement, the same two men again entered the lift with Jay in it and they again didn’t notice him because of the mask. Jay internally smirked seeing the man because he had said yes to Neelam and there was nothing the poor lad could do now.

“I heard you went on a hot date with a certain someone yesternight.”

The employee said making Jay look at him in a whiplash. The other employee blushed and leaned in to whisper like a secret.

“I did! And guess what? She said yes. We even kissed. She’s so perfect!”

What the fuck was happening? How can she go on dates and kiss other people and also agree to marry him at the same time?

“Damn brother! I should start calling her bhabhi now, right? Neelam bhabhi! Sounds so cute na?”

The employee teased and the other one had the audacity to fucking blush. Jay lost his mind and marched out of the lift.

He was fuming. He reached his floor and his secretary got up in greeting.

“Aniket! Ask Neelam Verma from Legal to report to me! Now!”

Aniket immediately intercommed the relevant department and Jay went inside his cabin. He loosened his tie because of the amount of anger he felt inside him. 

Neelam was extremely nervous as she knocked on the door. She had not been expecting to see him in office or anywhere before the roka ceremony. She wasn’t sure how she should address him now? Sir? Boss? Baby? Jaan? Or something else?

Getting the permission, she entered in and saw a fuming Jay standing at a distance from her. How did she know he was fuming? Well, because of the bone melting glare he was sending her way.

“I…uhh…good…good morning…ummm…sir?”

Her greeting sounded so nervous that it came out as a question. Jay took threatening steps towards her and her eyes widened. Her natural response should have been to move back but she didn’t.

Instead, she watched him close the distance between them and stand right in front of her.

“Were you on a date yesternight?”

He asked in a possessively low tone and she frowned. She what?

“Huh?”

“Yes or no Miss Verma?”

“Ummm…no?”

He took another step towards her. The tip of their shoes touched and her heartbeat sky rocketed. He was close. Too close. She could inhale his musky scent. It was arousing and comforting at the same time. He leaned in his face closer, letting her look at him up close.

“Did you kiss someone last night?”

“I…what?”

The way she spoke the words made her look too cute. Her nose scrunched and eyebrows bunched together in a frown. Jay finally realised that maybe the employees were talking about some other Neelam. 

But he didn’t want to get away from her. Her proximity felt nice. A bold idea came to his mind and he slowly snaked his arm around her waist pulling her into his chest. Neelam’s eyes widened and she clutched his shoulder.

“S-sir?”

She breathed out in a flustered tone. Her cheeks reddened because of his proximity and actions. Jay smirked and nuzzled his nose against her cheek. He whispered in her ear in a low, husky tone.

“Jay! My name is Jay.”

“Uhh…I know.”

She whispered confused and he chuckled. And God that voice! It sent shivers down her entire body. So rich and thick. She bit her lip thinking about the kind of sound he’d make in bed. Ok! Stop there Neelam!