"Of course!!"

I furiously nod my head.

I can keep my feeling aside and keep things professional and impersonal. At least I hope I can.

"Well then it is settled. You all can go back to work now except Tarana, I need to talk you."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise, but don't say anything. He is my boss after all. Everyone leaves except Reema, who is still sitting at the table.

Vicky turns to her, "Reema you can also leave. Thank you."

Even though I met Reema for the first time today, I have heard quite a lot about her from others. She is considered as the de facto head of secretaries in the Company and keeps them on a tight leash.

She is known by the nicknames, Iron Lady or The Great Wall because of her formidable personality and being extremely difficult to bypass to meet Mr. Dev without prior appointment, no matter who.

Everyone is afraid of her, including senior managers. She has been with Dev Grewal since he first started DeGlobal, efficiently handling his office for many years and now she is assigned to assist Vicky.

Although she does not say anything, the look on Reema's face clearly shows that she is not happy leaving Vicky alone with me, like a mother hen protecting her chick. She scowls at me, before walking away.

Vicky turns to me, after he makes sure Reema has left the room and closed the heavy wooden door behind her. "Tarana?" his voice goes softer.

"Yes. Sir?" I emphasize on the word Sir. I notice that he winces slightly when I call him 'Sir'. He doesn't like it. Good. My petty self is pleased at being able to get a rise out of him.

He clears his throat before speaking, his voice back to his normal sexy.

"I have asked Rajiv to prepare the papers for annulment of marriage, and he will send it to you for signature. We will file it in court very soon. I just wanted you to know, so that you are prepared when you will be called to court."

Although I know this was inevitable, I cannot help but feel a tinge of dismay.

"OK, so when will the divorce proceedings start?" I ask.

"It's not a divorce, it is an annulment. It basically erases all records of marriage, like it never happened. Divorce on the other hand, is ending of a marriage. In our case, since we want no record of being married, we are going for an annulment."

"I see." I look down, not wanting him to see the disappointment on my face. "But I guess we need to wait for a while, till the records are verified and this case is closed in the society files. I think it should take around three months."

"That won't be a problem." His phone pings with an incoming message. He picks it up, scrolling through the message while continuing, "by the time we get the marriage annulled, trust me your society issue will be sorted," he states confidently.

I sit in awkward silence, fidgeting in my seat, as Vicky scrolls through his phone. I have no idea whether I am required to stay or leave. I look at him through lowered lashes, as he concentrates on whatever he is reading on his phone.

I recall the first night he spent in my house, when he came out of the bathroom, looking boyishly charming, letting his guard down for a moment, showing a hint of vulnerability. He was Jeet, the man I was falling in love with.

When he looks up, and I immediately look away, lest I give away my feelings.

"About my speech, I have made some points that I want included. Let's briefly discuss the gist of what I want." Businessman Vicky is back in action.

We spend the next half hour discussing his speech and I have enough information to start working. Vicky is precise, very clear in his thoughts and is able to communicate effectively, which makes my job much easier.

"Alright then, start with the material you have and send me a draft by end of the day." I take it as a sign of my dismissal.

I gather my things and get up to leave. "Tarana," I feel a tug on my wrist. I look down at my wrist which is being held captive by Vicky and then at him.

"Sorry," he immediately releases his hold, like he got scalded. "Are you OK? I noticed you seem to be quite subdued. Is everything fine?"

I nod in response "Everything is fine.. Sir. Maybe I am a bit tired," I lie. I don't see a point of telling him anything. I exit the room quickly and almost sprint to the elevators. Only after I am in the elevator and thankfully alone, I place my hand over the spot on my wrist where he held it, savoring the lingering warmth of his hand.

I don't know why the slightest of his touch affects me so. No other man has even come close to making me feel the way Jeet makes me feel, that too just with a look.

But he is my boss, and there is no way he and I can ever be together, that much is pretty certain. He made it very clear the night we kissed. As much as I would like a fairy tale romance, I have learnt that in real life, those clichés don't happen.

I exit the elevator at my floor, still lost in my own thought. A figure coming towards me, snaps me out of my daze.

Deepak Ashay.

"Hi," he waves. I give a half smile and nod hastening my steps, wanting to get away from him as soon as I can. There is something inherently creepy about him; something that I cannot describe, just a woman's intuition, coupled with all the times I have seen him act like a complete entitled jerk.

"Hey, wait a minute," he says standing in front of me, blocking my path. I let out an audible sigh, signalling that I have no time for him. "What is it?" I ask exasperatedly.

"As you must have heard by now, I am being transferred," he looks expectantly at me, perhaps waiting for some compliment or comment. "I know," I reply unemotionally, waiting for him to continue.

"I just came to say goodbye to you all, I thought I would not get to meet you, but here you are. Anyways, maybe we will still see each other before I leave," he smirks, before sauntering off.

I roll my eyes, while walking away. Deepak is one weird guy. But any other thought vanishes as I enter my department and see everyone gathered around Purvi's desk. There's a lot of chattering and excited squealing.

"Hey guys, what did I miss?" I squeeze myself into the group.

"Oh, good you are here," Rohit replies. "remember I told you I have a proposal? Well, I was asking you all to be Team Groom for my sangeet ceremony."

"Sounds great! Of course, I am in. By the way is Deepak joining in the ceremony?" I query.

Rohit moves his head side to side, "He would have joined his new post in that remote Arabian town by then. Why? Did he tell you something?"

I frown slightly, "Nothing really, just that he would meet me later. It's probably his way of saying farewell," I brush aside thoughts of Deepak, smiling at the group, "So, what is the plan?"

Rohit claps his hand, "That's settled then. We will meet on the last Saturday of the month to start practice."

"Oh! by the way," Purvi stops us from dispersing. "What do y'all think about inviting Vicky for the pre-wedding ceremonies? He was part of our department after all," she looks at Rohit expectantly.

There is silence among the group. I look around the group and I can see their response on their smiling faces.

I look at Rohit, who seems to think for a minute before answering.

No, No, Rohit! Please don't say it!!

"Of course!"