"NYLA, KARISHMA IS is downstairs asking for you."

Nyla looked up from her files and scowled. She certainly did not want to meet with Karishma—wasn't the terrible bridal shower enough embarrassment?

"Tell her she can go home and is not welcome in the Renne headquarters."

Hyeon still stood in front of Nyla, not moving an inch.

"Well, get a move on it."

Something is Hyeon's gaze made her look again. "She's causing a scene," Hyeon spoken much more softly, "I think it's better if you probably just speak to her, so she can go away."

"I have nothing to say to her." Nyla said stubbornly.

"Nyla," Hyeon said sitting in the empty chair in front of her. "I think it will help if you speak to her. You might be able to get closure."

"Am I supposed to trust your opinions? You said the baby shower would be fun—it was possible the worse day of my life."

Hyeon's eyes flared in unusual anger. "Don't blame me for that—it wasn't my fault."

Nyla sighed. "You're right of course, it was wrong of me to speak to you like that."

There was a lull in the conversation and Nyla spun around in her chair to look at the people walking beneath her. A part of her was curious to see what Karishma had to say to defend herself. Out of all her former friends, she was the only one who had reached out—even after Nyla had cut ties.

"Fine, tell security to call her up here. She can talk to me in my office."

Hyeon looked around the place. "Are you sure that you don't want to speak anywhere else? Maybe a coffee shop?"

Nyla shook her head. A part of her wanted Karishma to come to her office and see the power she yielded. She might have gotten the guy, but she was the one with a corner office on the top floor of a thriving company. Immediately as the thoughts entered her head, she shrugged them out. She needed to stay calm.

A few minutes later, Hyeon knocked on her door and Nyla knew when she opened it, Karishma would be on the other side. She took a deep breath and called come in.

Karishma stood on the other side dressed in a tight pair of blue jeans and a soft cashmere sweater.

"Have a seat." Nyla said stiffly.

Hyeon shot her a glance, after realizing that Nyla wasn't going to offer Karishma any drinks, her assistant took over smoothly.

"What can I bring you to drink?"

Karishma sat down and nervously played with her fingers. "I'm alright."

"We insist," Nyla said. "There is probably a bottle of champagne lying around somewhere, we could have a toast to your fiancé."

Karishma flinched and Nyla felt bad for a second before she hardened herself again. She had not invited Karishma to come and talk to her—did her former friend really think that she was going to make things easy for her?

Hyeon glanced between the two of them. "I'll make you both tea."

"Thank you," Karishma said softly.

Nyla watched her assistant leave the office. There was an awkward silence between them. "So, do what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

Karishma was still playing with the ring on her finger. When Nyla glanced at her, she immediately stopped. "I just didn't feel good after our encounter at my bridal shower."

Nyla remained silent.

"I wanted to tell you, but after your internship here, everything changed. You moved dorms, started hanging out with different people, and just didn't seem to care."

"I did care." Nyla said stonily. "But the rest of your friends made me feel stupid. I got ridiculed for switching my major, they all thought I was going to fail." Nyla took a deep breath. "They said stuff like, what is she going to do in business? I knew she wasn't smart enough to become a doctor."

Karishma looked up surprise. "I didn't know that."

"The icing on the cake really was when Rohit decided to break off our engagement since he needed someone in the same field as him, so they could understand one another."

Karishma looked uncomfortable and the sound of her fiancé's name.

Nyla wasn't done. Now that Karishma was here, she might as well tell her the entire story and everything Rohit had put her through. "It was hard enough trying to keep up at the company, make new friends, but my family was also so disappointed. The blamed the whole incident on me. Everywhere I went aunties would ask about it, what could a tell them—that my fiancé and just broken up with me for no reason? They speculated and somehow I became the black sheep of the family."

"I'm sorry."

Nyla shook her head. "There is nothing for you to be sorry about—well expect maybe marrying Rohit."

"He's good to me," Karishma said with a soft whisper. "I knew you two had been together, but we only started getting close once I moved to New York and started working at the same hospital as him. We just had so much in common and then I got—" she stopped herself from saying the last words.

"Pregnant." Nyla finished.

Karishma nodded.

"Do your parents know?"

Karishma shook her head and there was a sense of fear in them. "They would be so disappointed that I got pregnant before getting married."

Nyla sighed. Before she could say anything else, Hyeon returned with the drinks. She threw a questioning look Nyla's way which she responded to by moving her head to the right slightly. Understanding that things were going better than the both of them had expected, she left the room with a small smile.

They both took sips of their drinks.

"This is a really big office." Karishma said as her gaze swung around the room.

"Thank you."

They were silent once again.

"Well appreciate you taking that time out of your busy schedule to see me." Karishma said standing up.

Nyla stood up as well and watched as Karishma picked up her purse.

"You cleared up a lot of things for me. If you're not busy I would love to have you at my wedding—or not." She said seeing the expression on Nyla's face.

"We shall see." Nyla said tightly.

She did not plan to go to the wedding under any circumstances. With another nod, Karishma left the office and Nyla collapsed into the chair. She was relaxed for a few moments before realizing that she had another meeting in a couple of minutes. Immediately she got up but Hyeon entered the room. "I moved your meeting to tomorrow."

Nyla shot her a grateful smile. She knew if she would be talking to any clients right now, it wouldn't be at her best. Behind Hyeon stood George.

"Who was the women that just left?" he asked.

"An old friend."

"I'm assuming she wanted a job here?"

Nyla frowned at the snarky tone. "No, she did not. She simply had to say a few words and I had some time."

"Don't we have a meeting right now?" George asked.

Nyla opened her mouth to reply but Hyeon beat her to it. "If you received my email, you would know that the meeting was moved to tomorrow."

It was clear that George was displeased as he swore under his breath.

"Is there something you need to do?" Nyla asked him.

He wasn't acting like his normally calm self and Nyla was quite worried.

"No," George mumbled. "I was going to do something else tomorrow, but it can be moved around."

"Good." Nyla said. "Were you able to find another location?"

"No not yet. More rejections. Maybe you should hire a private investigator to look into the matter." George suggested. "A friend of mine is in the business, I could give you his number."

Nyla refused the card that George presented her. "I hope it doesn't get to that, I'll ask Sawyer some questions first and if I need to, I'll ask you again."

George nodded. Nyla grabbed the coat of rack. "Now, if nobody needs me, I'll be at the gym for lunch hour."

Before Hyeon or George could say anything, Nyla walked away. She needed to go to the gym and let out her feelings. A part of her was feeling lighter after talking to Karishma. She didn't hate her or her fiancé, but she needed space. The word was moving around her, yet she felt as though she was in a bubble, simply watching from the outside.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

Nyla accepted the champagne glass from the server and took a small drink. It was cool, just the way champagne should be. Beside her, Zoey stood in a stunning emerald gown. Her fingers were barely able to grasp the stem of the glass.

"Relax," Nyla said softly. "It's going to be fine. We went over the plan multiple times. It's time for you to shine."

Zoey nodded. "I think I'm going to puke."

Nyla looked at her in alarm. Before pointing in the direction of the doors. "The bathroom is through there and towards the right."

Zoey fled the scene and Nyla sighed. She was quite anxious as well. Even though she was the CEO of Renne, rarely did she throw an event herself. Usually the galas were organized by others and all Nyla had to do was arrive and donate a handsome amount of money to the various causes.

However, this was a launch party exclusively for the makeup artist and other influencers. She wanted to be able to gather them and get their feedback on the Renne product line. She knew that in today's world, these celebrities held power amongst the population and they were able to target many individuals.

Slowly, guest began trickling in. Hyeon was standing dressed in a simple black dress guiding the guest. The main event was supposed to be taking place in the back of the mansion they had rented. Soft lights hung criss-crossed across the sky giving the place an earthier feel. The pool was gleaming with the florescent back lights. 

Tables held small samples of foods and drinks. Across the wall, Zoey had placed a photo booth allowing people to take pictures in front of a tastefully done walkway. Renne products line the other side and there were free samples so people could touch, swatch, feel what the company had to offer.

"This really is something." A smooth voice said from behind her.

Nyla spun around to see Darius casually standing in a suit underneath which he wore a turtle neck.

"All evidence now points to the fact that you are definitely following me." She said with a smile.

She watched as he quickly scanned her outfit. "A madame as beautiful as you? Who wouldn't want to follow you around."

She laughed again, a light sound. Over the past few months, Darius and her had become quite close. They kept running into each other at various functions and they now had a joke between them in which they would pretend they were following each other.

"Keep flattering me and I might have to call security."

Darius gave her a charming style. "In all seriousness, it was your assistant who sent me an invitation. Who was I to refuse a good party?"

Nyla rolled her eyes. She was about to say more but Hyeon walked up to the two of them.

Noticing Darius, she nodded. "Good you're here. I'm tired of responding to your assistant's questions regarding Zoey's capability." Hyeon looked him straight in the eye. "I hope you'll report to her that everything is spectacular, so she can stop bothering me."

Darius winced. "Sorry about that, she can be a bit over enthusiastic sometimes."

Hyeon merely snorted. "You think?"

Nyla momentarily tuned out of their conversation and her gaze swung across the room. It seemed that everyone was enjoying the night. Meeting the D. J's gaze, she gave a little wave and he pointed to her before playing his next track—some classical music but remixed into a totally different genre.

She gave him a thumbs up, indicating that she was satisfied.

"—great, I see Zoey's returned."

Nyla spun around to see Zoey coming back towards them. It was a relief to say that she looked a lot better that she had a couple of minute ago.

"This is quite the party," Darius complimented Zoey.

Zoey blushed under Darius' gaze. "Thank you."

"I have complete faith that you'll be able to plan our event successful."

Zoey turned towards Nyla as if she didn't know how to respond to Darius' words. "Excuse me, I see someone I need to meet." She finally said before fleeing their company.

"Laying it a bit thick, weren't you?" Nyla said with a smile.

Darius' gaze followed Zoey as she struck up a conversation with one of YouTube's biggest beauty gurus. "I didn't mean to frighten her."

Nyla shrugged her shoulders before taking another cocktail from the waiters. "She's just super nervous, it's her first large event with 'celebrities.'"

Darius didn't say anything but a couple of minutes later, the two of them were approached by a couple of Instagram models. The two women looked gorgeous and they struck up a conversation with Nyla immediately, gushing over the products. Nyla beamed with happiness. She loved hearing back that things were working for people.

A few minutes later, the two of them left.

"I didn't know people gushed over makeup products so much." Darius said from beside her.

Nyla rolled her eyes. "Typical males," she muttered under her breath.

Darius heard the words but didn't say anything.

"Let's dance," he suggested tugging her hand towards the makeshift dance floor.

Nyla stepped back immediately. "Nope, I don't dance."

"You're lying."

She wasn't. Nyla could do a lot of things, but dancing was not one of them. When she was younger, her parents had placed her in some bhangra groups however the instructors had politely explained to her parents that dancing was not their daughters forte. Her parents refused to believe that she couldn't dance and so she had joined another company only to be rejected. Finally, after tears from Nyla that she hated dancing—her parents relented.

"I'm a terrible dancer."

"You do yoga, and boxing. I'm sure you can't be that bad."

Nyla turned to him in suspicion. "How do you know that I box?"

Darius shrugged his shoulders. "I've seen you at the gym a couple of times. Vincent's friend is a trainer there, so we tag along sometimes."

"How come you never say hi?"

Darius placed his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "I guess I thought that maybe it was your sacred space—you probably don't want to be interrupted."

Nyla was taken back by this thoughtfulness. It was true. She didn't like talking to people at the gym and for Darius to respect that, it meant a lot to her.

"You can thank me by dancing with me now." Darius suggested, as if reading her mind.

Before she could respond, she was whisked away by another couple. She turned around and the last thing she saw were Darius' blue eyes twinkling and he mouthed, "you can't hide forever."

Nyla smiled, he had no idea how well she could hide.

--------------

Here is the next update! What do you guys think about Nyla talking with Karishma? Do you feel like she got the closure she needed?