Ina sipped her juice silently as she scanned the dishes presented to her on the table. There were cheesy croissants, vegetable puffs, sandwiches, waffles, and pancakes. Ina felt awkward sitting there with the constant burning gaze that loomed around her. 

"Will you please stop staring?" Ina snapped irritatedly and looked at him to find a smirk coming on his lips. She felt the heat rushing through her body turning her ears and neck pink and she lowered her eyes again; unable to see his sinister smirk. 

"Why are you not eating? I don't have all-day," Viraaj reprimanded, going back to his cold self though he had the smirk intact on his face. He felt bemused by the fact this girl who just snapped at him managed to turn into a shy queen just in a matter of few seconds on just one look cast by him. 

This made him smirk foolishly which even covered the fact that he was irritated by the fact that she was constantly sipping that bloody drink and the food was losing its warmness. He felt concerned about her and didn't want her to have cold food when especially he made the chef prepare it for her. 

" Um... Actually I can't have the food alone when somebody else is sitting with me," Her soft voice reached his ears but what he heard just made him raise his eyes at her. Does she want me to leave her alone? he questioned in his mind.

"Will you eat with me?" Ina asked tentatively and her voice shook while asking him the question. With stunned expression, Viraj gazed at Ina and his lips parted in surprise on hearing her question to eat with her. 

Seeing his stunned reaction, Ina cursed herself for asking him that but she really didn't like eating alone when somebody was already present in the room. That was not what her parents taught her.

 They always told her to never eat alone when somebody else is sitting with you irrespective of the equation you have with that person. And that's what Ina did. The atmosphere had turned awkward with the steady gaze of Viraj that was lingering on her and who was doing her best to not get affected by his intense stare. 

"Serve me," 

These two words left his mouth before he could contemplate what he just said looking at the simple girl who was sitting in front of him, lacking malice. But unknown to him, these words enraged her who got angry at the way he told her to serve her. 

" What do you think of yourself? Am I your servant? I will not act as you please, okay?" Ina gritted her teeth while trying to maintain her tone to look polite but the anger had got the worst of her. Her voice came out much louder than she perceived making Viraj snap out from his daze. 

"You are the one who invited me to eat with you? Then, I guess it's common sense that you will serve me because whoever invites is the one who serves." Viraj said calmly, drinking down the anger that was ready to come out any time.

Ina lost her ability to argue furthermore because the first thing was that he was indeed correct. She invited him to join her and now her acting like that was just making her sound reckless and rude like him which she was not. I shouldn't have done like that.

Therefore, lowering her eyes in shame she quickly picked up the plate and started setting it up for him while he kept gazing at her, feeling mixed emotions all at once. Whispering a 'sorry' to him, she handed him the plate full of delicacies while she herself settled with a piece of sandwich. 

She held her plate in one hand and gestured him towards his plate while taking a small bite of the sandwich. She closed her eyes in delight and then realised how hungry she was. A small smile appeared on his lips, seeing her enjoying the food ordered by him. 

It quite amazed him how this girl was able to make him feel the peak of emotions in just a matter of a few minutes. All his anger that had started building up due to her snapping just evaporated to thin air when he heard her whispering a small 'sorry' to him. 

They ate their evening snacks in complete silence, all the while stealing glances at each other. There were a number of things running in both the minds but none of them dare to voice them out loud. 

Ina's mind kept on trying to decipher the man who had an extreme bipolar personality with his completely strange and shocking actions. There were lots of questions that were roaming in her mind but she knew that none of them would be answered by this devil.

Seeing the creases formed on her forehead, Viraj was already aware that she was thinking about him and strangely enough he internally hoped that all were good things although his actions were not that great.

But he was very certain about one thing that he wanted her to think about him. He wanted to fill her mind with his and completely his thoughts because she was doing the same to him though unknowingly but still, he wanted her to feel the way he was feeling for her. 

His thoughts broke when Ina kept the plate on the table and looked at him with so many questions swimming in her eyes. There were numerous whats, whys, and hows but Viraj himself was helpless because he didn't know the questions to even half of them. 

"Thank you," She said softly and then falteringly added," But why did you call all this?" 

Listening to her question, Viraj kept his plate and took a sip from his juice saying," You were working continuously from the time you left my cabin. And many people were staring at you with pity and empathy as if I am the one who made you skip your meals."

Oh my God! He knows. But how?

Widening her eyes, she stared at him while her mouth formed an 'o'," When you walk in this office, you are my responsibility. Also, I don't want you to sue me for causing undue distress in the office you see."

Ina narrowed her eyes at him while his face held an expression that challenged her to debate on this topic. But seeing the devilish glint on his face, she knew something was up with him. Didn't you already cause that by stealing a kiss from me? Ina questioned him internally while rolling her eyes at his big speech. 

"But how come you know whether I had food or not?" Ina questioned with her eyes shining with suspicion. Viraj kept on looking at her with a blank face though he did feel colour losing from his face at the question. 

This girl is really testing my patience. If you do something for the welfare of her then also she has a problem, he internally grimaced.

"This is my office, Ms Ghosh. I am aware of each and everything that I should be," 

Leaning towards her, Viraj stated with a smug expression on his face, reflecting arrogance and his power. Ina shuddered lightly when she saw the previous Viraj coming back and decided to escape from the situation before she blurts out something that lands her up in some problem

She quickly got up from the seat as if she was sitting on a hot pan making Viraj stare at her with furrowed eyebrows. With stammering words, she asked for permission to go home which was granted by him sensing something wrong with her.

He watched how she quickly ran out of his cabin and leaned back while resting his head on the back of the sofa, thinking about her. 

You are not really my type of girl Ina still I like it when I have your attention. I am generally not used to what girls think about me but I am affected by what you think about me. I don't like when people yell at me but within my heart somewhere I love it as it gives me a chance to be more close to you. In short, you are driving me crazy Ina, Viraj sighed at the thoughts that were running in his mind.

He gently rubbed his forehead and dialled a number that belonged to his friend, Ryan. He stuck the phone close to his ear as he heard the caller tune playing. Which guy keeps senorita as a caller tune? 

" Hey, Buddy! How have you been?" A cheerful voice greeted from the other side of the phone making Viraj roll his eyes at him. 

" Don't act as if we haven't met in ages. We just met a fortnight back," Ryan let out a chuckle on hearing his friend's cold voice indicating his pissed-off mood. 

" So, tell me what's going on? Why do you sound angry" Ryan asked, after composing himself and sensing the bad mood of his friend. 

" I am frustrated, man. I want to have a word with you alone. Meet me at our regular place," He instructed and disconnected the phone while rubbing his face. On the other hand, Ryan just smiled at his angry friend's actions. 

~~~

Circling his thumb around the glass of whiskey, Viraj seemed lost to Ryan's eyes. They were at their regular resto-bar which had been their favourite from the last ten years since the time they both knew each other. 

Ryan quietly sipped his drink and observed his friend who kept behaving as if he had a very important meeting the next day and he is making all the plans and presentations all in his head. Ryan knew something was definitely disturbing him and he wanted to give him enough time to open up to him so that he feels somewhat lighter. 

" What's wrong, Viraj? You seem in some deep thought," Ryan finally broke the silence unable to see his friend drowning in his thoughts in front of him. 

" I don't know Ryan. Lately, things have not been happening according to the way I had imagined for myself. It is forcing me to think about the things which I decided to ignore, long back," Viraj expressed deeply when the alcohol started showing its effect. 

" Is this got to do something with that, bitch?" Ryan asked the next instant with enraged fire in his eyes as his mind took back to the instances that happened back in past. Viraj's chuckle brought clouds of confusion to Ryan's mind as he knew that Viraj never liked him taking her name in front of him. 

"No Ryan. But yes there is a girl in my office who is the cause of the mess in my mind," On listening to his friend talking about a girl, Ryan's face lit up like a Christmas tree. He excitedly waited for Viraj to continue as he really wanted to know that who was this girl that had made Viraj so lost in his thoughts. 

" That girl is really something. She is fierce and sweet at the same time she doesn't tolerate arrogance. I don't understand my needs and wants when it comes to her. I have never felt this desperate to have a girl in my arms. I desire her deeply and passionately." Viraj voiced out his inner desires to his friend while emptying the contents of his glass in one go. 

Ryan kept on watching Viraj and saw the intense level of passion that was burning in Viraj's eyes while speaking about her. Astonishment filled every corner of his brain as he wondered the reason why his friend deeply desired that girl.

" She is just like a breeze of cold air on a hot sunny day. She doesn't even realise how her actions deeply affect me. Never had I felt so helpless in controlling my desires regarding a girl. And here, twice I have lost it over her innocent and simple actions" Viraj lowered his head and poured some more drink in his glass while his friend became all the more excited and confused at the last statement said by him. 

The last statement grabbed Ryan's attention badly and he wanted to know what his friend had already done by being the slave of his desires. " What happened, Viraj? What did you do?" Ryan asked curiously, keeping his drink aside as he wanted to be sober while listening to his friend's story.  

Drinking the full drink again in a go, Viraj cringed at the sour taste that the alcohol left in his mouth as he started narrating the events that happened from the very start when he had first met Ina in the elevator. 

Ryan's mouth parted in incredulity when he learned about him kissing the girl within just minutes of seeing her. Surprise, astonishment, amazement, bewilderment, shock and disbelief were the only expressions that crossed and lingered on Ryan's face as he heard the whole thing from Viraj. 

On learning everything, Ryan's heart lept in joy as he finally found that his friend was beginning to change his attitude towards girl. Happiness filled his heart, mind and soul at the thought of his friend coming out of his dark aura and leading a happy life. 

" Do you like her, Viraj?" Ryan asked calmly, masking all the emotions that he felt at that time. Slowly, Viraj raised his head and looked at Ryan with his eyes that had turned red due to the effect of alcohol. 

" No, I don't love her. I can never love her." Viraj muttered softly while shaking his head. A ghost of a smile appeared on Ryan's face as he leaned back and crossed his legs, one over the other. 

" Who spoke about love, Viraj? We were talking about like," Ryan gulped the entire contents of his glass and poured himself another drink while his friend again got lost in his thoughts as he pondered over the question asked by his friend. 

~~~

Hello Readers, 

First of all Wishing you all a Very Happy and Prosperous Diwali. May the lights of Diwali diyas fill your home with wealth, happiness, and everything that brings you joy! Wish you and your entire family a very happy Diwali! May prosperity and happiness fill your life with the shine of diyas and the echoes of chants.

So on this bright day of Diwali, here is the next chapter of this story. This story marks the entry of a new character Ryan about whom you will come to know more in the upcoming chapters. 

So enjoy the chapter and comment on your views about Viraj and Ryan below. 

And Don't forget to vote. 

Thank you.