Please don't forget to vote guys! The votes are dropping down again and it is very disheartening as a writer. I don't feel the motivation to give daily updates because of this..

Third person's pov!

"Nidhi," Siddharth mumbled softly, as he felt the increase in his heart beat. Whenever he thinks of her or sees her, his heart would start pounding against his ribcage crazily. He should have known then itself, that she is special.

"Nidhi? Nidhi who?" Mukul asked, with an awkward laugh.

Siddharth looked at Mukul with a frown. Why is his ever efficient second in hand looking so disturbed?

And how many Nidhis does Mukul know?

"Is Nidhi here? Parinidhi Vyas?" Siddharth asked openly. He didn't care what Mukul would think. It's not as if he is planning to hide his feelings from anyone.

He might not be going around announcing that he is in love with Parinidhi Vyas. But he isn't going to hide it either.

"Nidhi? Why would Nidhi be here?" Mukul asked with a nervous chuckle, making Siddharth frown more.

That's right! Why would Nidhi be here? What is he even thinking!

Siddharth shook his head and walked towards his cabin.

Mukul heaved a sigh of relief and dashed towards the pantry.

"Mukul ji? Why did you push me into the pantry? Why did you ask me to hide?" Nidhi asked, as soon as she saw Mukul.

"I didn't want Sid to spot you, Nidhi. You remember how it was the last time." Mukul said, making Nidhi frown.

"Mr Raichand doesn't know that I am here?" Nidhi asked suspiciously.

"Of course No. Hiring new employees is done by the HR department. Siddharth has no hand in it. He only deals with hiring high level employees. Especially designers. Oh God! How am I going to deal with this now? If he finds out, I will be fired for sure." Mukul said with a groan.

Nidhi still couldn't believe that Siddharth didn't have a hand in her new employment. Infact, until she reached here, she strongly believed that this was his new game plan. But now, it seems as if he has no idea about this. And she didn't know what to feel about it.

"Who hired me then?" Nidhi asked curiously.

"The agency sends in the resumes of possible candidates. The HR department selects the employees." Mukul said.

"And who works in HR?" Nidhi asked.

"Bhavna Chavan is the HR team head." Mukul said and Nidhi's eyes widened.

Oh yes! How can she forget? She was initially posted in the same department too. But then Siddharth Singh Raichand happened and it feels as if it was an entire lifetime ago.

But Bhavna ji? Why would Bhavna ji do this to her?

"But Bhavna is on a two week leave. Currently Tara is in charge," Mukul said, his eyes widening realising what must have happened

"Tara?" Nidhi asked in confusion.

"Damn it! She must have done it purposely. I heard her saying yesterday during lunch hour that it was such bad luck that they couldn't see Siddharth blasting at Nidhi. But there will be chances of entertainment sooner. I should have known. I shouldn't have simply given the go ahead without checking the employees chart. I didn't give much attention because it is an errand post." Mukul said and Nidhi sighed.

Who is this Tara? And what enmity does she have with her?

"Who is Tara, Mukul ji?" Nidhi asked in exasperation.

Mukul took his iPad and browsed through the employee chart of Rey Designs and took Tara's page. Then he showed her picture to him. Nidhi's eyes widened recognising the woman who insulted her on her very first day in Rey Designs. The woman had looked at her in such disdain, as though she was a mere dirt under her foot.

"She is the b*tchiest woman in this office. Thinks that everyone is beneath her. Oh yeah, and she has a best friend too. Daksha. Last time, you were working directly for Sid, so they didn't get a chance to get on your nerves. Be careful this time over, Nidhi." Mukul said and Nidhi sighed.

So, Siddharth does not have a hand in bringing her here.

The great Siddharth wasn't trying to play games with her..

Her Shiv bhagwan himself seems to be playing games now.

"Mukul ji, if I lose this job, I will be able to get one only after a full run of the other employees. I can't take a chance. I need this." Nidhi said anxiously.

"I understand. I will try to keep you away from Siddharth as much as possible. God knows, how much we tried last time, but on the very first day, you ended up in front of him. For now, let's not inform him that you are here. The lesser he knows, the better." Mukul said.

Nidhi nodded, though not very sure.

Destiny has a weird way of making them cross their paths.

Now that they are under the same roof, how long before the game starts?

*****

Siddharth felt restless. He was in the glass cabin displaying the newly designed outfits. But he couldn't focus on anything.

His heart still hadn't calmed down. Why the hell is it pounding so crazily?

Is it because he is missing her like hell.

Probably! What other reason could there be?

What could he do so that he could always see her.

He would prefer marriage, of course.

Siddharth chuckled at the irony.

All these years, he was chased by women, to settle down and marry.

And finally when he was ready to tie the knot, the woman involved wasn't interested.

And wasn't that what attracted him towards Nidhi the most. She is so opposite to the stereotype.

When women in his circle could hang on his every word, Parinidhi Vyas would simply argue with him, just because she could.

If he said that the sky is blue, given the mood, she would argue that it is yellow and keep on arguing until she wins.

Siddharth couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face, when he remembered all the times when she argued with him fearlessly.

Grown men were known to shake in their boots, when they are bestowed with a single glare from him. And Parinidhi Vyas would fearlessly glare back at him.

Mukul and Ansh stared at his Sid open mouthed. Then they looked at each other in disbelief.

"Sid can smile?" Ansh whispered to Mukul and Mukul shrugged in confusion.

They simply couldn't believe it.

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed it either.

Mukul coughed awkwardly to gain the attention of the man, who is currently in some other world.

Siddharth was known for his single minded focus on work. And that man is staring into space, with a smile on his face.

Probably he is imagining things, Mukul thought. All the pressure from Rey Designs and his mother is finally getting to him.

Siddharth is pressuring him to work more and more and his mother is pressuring him to find a bride for himself.

Definitely, it's time he consulted a psychiatrist.

Siddharth looked up when he heard the cough.

"Yes, Mukul? Ansh?" Siddharth asked, quickly composing himself.

"Sid, yesterday morning, we had a meeting with Lakshit Mittal from D-fab." Ansh began to speak and Sid's happy face suddenly turned dark hearing Laksh's name.

"And?" He asked coldly. Ansh and Mukul were horrified at the sudden change of mood.

"The fashion show is scheduled for a month from now. We will be starting work soon. The Indo-American theme should be a success." Mukul added.

"Great. We would probably need more designers." Siddharth mused.

"Right, Sid. We have too many designers specialising in western works. We need people who are experts in Indian designs.'' Ansh said and an idea struck in Siddharth's mind.

Flashes of Nidhi showing Jeevika the drawings of dresses Priya made appeared in his mind and a smirk formed on his lips. Her works were awesome. The fashion expert in him had identified it back then. But the egoistic man in him couldn't accept it.

What better way to have her in front of his eyes always. Priya seems more introverted and shy and so obviously she wouldn't come to work here alone. Nidhi obviously knows the office politics and she wouldn't let Priya work here alone. That way he can offer Nidhi too a job here. Parth can also benefit from this new development.. Siddharth smirked to himself.

"I know someone who is very good at Indian designs." Siddharth said. Ansh and Mukul looked at him curiously.

"Oh! That's great. If you are sure, there would be no need for an interview," Mukul said.

"Right. No need for an interview. I have seen Priya's works myself. They are wonderful. I am sure she will make a wonderful addition to our design team." Siddharth said, with a satisfied smile.

"Priya?" Ansh asked curiously.

"Nidhi's sister. Priya is a shy type. She won't be able to handle office politics, so make a position for Nidhi too, so that Priya would feel comfortable here." Sid said, putting his plan into action.

Mukul was simply staring at Siddharth without responding, which made Siddharth frown.

"Mukul?"

"Uh? Nidhi as in Parinidhi Vyas?" Mukul asked, finally managing to find his jaw that had dropped down to somewhere around his stomach.

Before Siddharth could respond, they heard a loud crash from downstairs.

The three of them rushed towards the glass walls and looked down, only to see Nidhi crouched down in front of Tara and picking up the glass pieces of the coffee cup that had broken.

"Nidhi," Siddharth's voice boomed, shocking every employee.

All of them waiting for the blast!

A/N

Here goes the next shot..

No Sid-Nidhi scenes in the last two chapters. Will bring them together in the next shot..

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Love,

SF❤️