Hey! I'm back with another update. A loooong update.🙈
Apologies for the delay, I was tied up with my college work. Do tell me how it was. Suggestions and critics are more than welcome! ☺️

-No proof reading done. Ignore the mistakes, if any. 🙈 -

Happy Reading! 💙

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The day passed by in a jiffy where Nandini was solely concentrating on her work and Manik was only concentrating on Nandini and the mystery behind the "darling" caller.

Soon it was 5 PM, and the day had successfully ended. She entered his cabin just to see him resting his head back on his arm chair with his eyes closed. She didn't want to disturb him because she knew that he hardly took out time for resting. She was about to move out but unfortunately the creek of opening the door woke him up. He opened his eyes just to see her standing near the door with a scared smile.

" Sir, I'm really sorry to disturb you, I knocked a couple of times but there was no answer from your side, so I just entered. " she said while looking down at the floor.

" It's alright, Nandini. You don't need to apologise. I've said this before too, you have the same rights in the office as Cabir. So there's no need. " he replied plainly unaware of the effect he had on her as he called her by her name for the first time.

" Okay sir. I've studied almost all the projects and presentations till now and even talked to the employees about their recent developments about the deal with Khanna's. " she said while handing over a file to him.

" Okay. I'll look into it. Anything else? " he said as he got up from his chair while closing the buttons of his blazer and slowly walked towards her.

" No sir. That's all. May I leave now? " she asked in a low tone oblivious of the fact how much it was bugging him everytime she called him "sir".

" Yes, you may leave." He said and she walked towards the door.

She was just about to step out when he called her from behind,

"Nandini?"

" Yes sir?" she said as walked close to her and as a response she started moving back automatically till she reached the wall.

" What is my name? " he asked as their faces were just a centimeter away from each other as she was trapped between him and the wall.

" Sir, wh-what are you talking about? " she asked while avoiding eye contact.

" Call me by my name." he said in an authoritative tone.

" How can I do that? You are my boss and you only asked me to call you sir. " she said while fidgeting with her fingers.

" But now I'm asking you to. Call me by my name. " he said sternly.

" Manik." she said in a low voice.

" Again." he said in a husky voice.

" Manik." she said again while drowning in his brown eyes.

" My name sounds the best from your mouth." He said with a smile while lightly brushing his thumb on her cheek making her close her eyes in anticipation.

" Coming to the point, since we have to work together and create a rapport so how about we start by becoming friends?" He said in a low husky tone lightly nuzzling his nose in her hair.

" Friends?" she said as she shot her eyes open while still recovering from the shock.

" It's okay if don't want to. It's alright. " he said as he looked away while stepping back.

" Nooo! Friends is okay! And you're right, we have to work together to we need to know each other too. " she said making him smirk mentally because Manik Malhotra gets what he wants.

" Yeah. You know. We start with friends, then bestfriends then you know? So how about friends for the starters? " He said with a mischievous smile making her blush profusely.

" So friends it is." she said while extending her hand towards him for a handshake.

" Friends" he said as he placed his palm over her's.

" And also, you're calling me by my name from now on. No ifs and buts. That's it. " he said while pointing a finger at her.

" Okay. Manik 'sir'." She said teasingly and rushed out of his cabin with a wide smile.

" Mannn. This girl is driving me crazy! " He said to himself while ruffling his hair.

Same was the case with Nandini. She didn't not what was happening to her. Everytime Manik came close to her, it was a new feeling altogether. She didn't feel awkward but in turn, she felt safe with him.

Manik had a conference call with the Swiss delegates hence he had to stay back till 8 PM which meant he was alone in the entire office as the work hours were over. The conference went pretty well and the delegates had agreed to meet him and discuss about the proceedings. He gathered all his belongings from the cabin and moved towards his car to head back home. Security was never a problem. He had hired guards from the highest security firm to keep a check on the surroundings of his office and Malhotra Mansion.

His black Audi R8 moved through the busy streets of Mumbai just to get halted at a traffic signal which was 10 minutes away from his place.There was a minor accident on the adjacent road due to which there was a traffic jam. He was humming a melody while looking out of the window just to see a girl with long hair in printed pajamas and a fitted white tee playing around with some children who looked like laborers outside an ice-cream parlor. In an instant he had a wide smile on his face seeing the scenario infront of him. But there was something which clicked his mind. Her hair were familiar to someone. Her. His beautiful stranger. Nandini. Somewhere in his heart, he wanted that person to be Nandini. But little did he know, that the heart wants what it wants. Unknowingly he parked his car near that ice cream parlor and moved towards her. Her melodious giggle was a treat to his ears to which his heart confirmed that it was her.  He stood right behind her with a smile and his hands in his pockets. The kids with whom she was playing had left while she sat on a chair eating her ice cream with her back facing him. After a couple of minutes of adoration session, he cleared his throat to grab her attention,

" Manik? " she asked in a shocked tone.

" Hi. " he replied with a small smile.

" What are you doing here? " she asked while recovering from the shock.

" Well, I should be asking this question, What are you doing here alone? " he asked her calmly with a small smile.

" Voh, ice cream. " she replied sheepishly.

" It's almost dinner time and you're sitting here and eating an almost melted ice cream which is more of a milkshake now. That too alone? " he said with a smirk as he sat on the chair opposite her.

" Voh, I eat ice cream whenever I'm sad or unhappy. " she said while fiddling with the spoon in the bowl.

" So, why are you sad or unhappy? " he asked as he pulled his chair next to her.

" I miss maa and papa. Today was my first day and they we'rent there." she replied in a low tone.

" Where are they?" he asked.

" Ahmedabad, apparently. They keep travelling because of their work." she replied while looking at him.

" You mind if I ask what do they do? " he asked hesitantly.

" You've heard of ANR Law Firms? Its owned by my parents. " she replied with a smile.

" You can't be serious! The law of our company is managed by officials of that company! God, I didn't know this! " he said in a surprised tone.

" Yup. So which is why I stay alone here." she said with a smile.

" You really miss them right? " he asked.

" Um. Not really. Because I keep talking to them the whole day through call or FaceTime but then physical presence does matter. But I'm kinda used to it. So it's okay." she replied.

" I understand. But then your work is here. That needs to be kept in mind to na? It's alright. You have Cabir and Navya and.." He explained calmly.

" And..? " she replied.

" Me. Because I'm your friend now right? And I'm here whenever you need me." he said with a smile to which just gave him her precious smile.

" And also, Mukti, Alya, Abhi, Dhruv. They're your friends too now. And we are always there for you. You don't have to miss your family. " he said with a smile.

" Thankyou Manik." she replied with a smile.

" So ab yeh melted ice cream khani ya nahi? " he asked playfully.

" No. Mujhe dusri ice cream khaani hai." she replied with a babyish smile.

" Nandini, my JMD is gonna fall ill. Who will handle office then? " he said in a soft tone.

" No Manik. Please please please. Just one scoop. Not more than that. I promise I won't fall ill. Please? " she said with a puppy dog face.

" Fine. What flavor? " he asked dejectedly.

" Cookie and cream! " she said excitedly making him chuckle lightly at her baby-ness.

He went to the counter and bought her ice cream just to find her smiling looking at an old couple feeding each other each other ice cream.

" What are you smiling at? " he asked snapping her out of her reverie.

" Nothing. Was just looking at the couple. They must be 65-70 years of age and their love is just  so pure. Old couples are a proof of eternal love." she replied with a smile as he handed over the ice cream cup to her.

" What is love to you? " he asked in a low tone.

" Love doesn't mean speaking the three words of confession.. It means feeling the emotions that come along with those words. If you truly love someone, you don't need to voice it out.. Because your eyes speak volumes for you which is more than enough. And in their case, their eyes have nothing but love for each other. " she replied with a smile making him gape at her simple yet voluminous definition of love. He never really thought so deeply about love. Love for him was just a mere emotion of adoration towards a person until he heard these beautiful words from her.

" Have you ever experienced love? " he asked unknowingly.

" Unfortunately, no. But I know that whenever it's going to happen, it is going to be the most beautiful feeling ever." she replied unaware of the happy dance he was doing in his head because he got an assurance and satisfaction that she has no man in her life who has loved her. That was one thing which made him happy but confused at the same time thinking that how could one not fall in love with an angel like her?

" Chalein? It's pretty late." he asked with a smile.

" Yeah. Voh Manik, I'll pay you back for the ice cream later. Is it okay? " she asked hesitantly.

" My friends mean a lot to me and now you're a part of it. Never ask me that question again. " he said with a small smile.

" Okay boss." she replied with a slight chuckle.

" Come. I'll drop you home." he said.

" Manik no. You go. You might be getting late. I'll catch a rickshaw and go. It's just 10 minutes away." she replied.

" Oh hello madam? Tumse kisi ne pucha? I'm telling you this. And it's an order. Come on! And moreover, it's not safe here." he said as he unlocked his car.

" Vaise who were those kids back then?" He asked.

" Oh those kids? They were wandering around looking for food as they hadn't eaten anything since morning. So I bought some food and gave it to them." she replied with a smile to which he just gave a beautiful smile thinking how could someone's heart be so pure?

" Here you go. See you in office tomorrow, Miss JMD. " he said with a smile as he stopped outside her building.

" Sure, boss." she said with a wink.

She was just about to step out of his car when he called her,

" Nandini?"

" Haan? " she said as she turned her head around to look at him.

" You look cute in these pajamas." he said with a smile to which she gave an embarrassed smile in return and moved out towards her building.

He was about to leave when he heard her saying "Bye Manik" from the entrance of her building making him smile.

She was comfortably settled on the couch in her balcony when she heard her phone beeping. She picked up her phone just to see a text message from an unknown number,

" Goodnight, new friend. ;) " she read the message with a smile knowing that it was him. Getting her number wasn't a herculean task for him. He was the owner of the company and it was obvious that he will be having access to the entire employee database.

" Goodnight,boss ;) " she replied back immediately. She saved his number as "Boss ;)" in her phone while on the other side he saved her number as " Beautiful Stranger". They were now known to each other, but for him the first impression was - a beautiful stranger. His beautiful stranger.

Two different souls tied by destiny who were complete strangers two days ago. Some feelings don't need words to be described. Just the mere effect of that feeling is more than enough. Same was the case with Manik and Nandini. They didn't need words. There was something unexplainable which they were feeling towards each other which was a lot more than attraction. On one side, he felt connected to her and on the other hand, she felt safe with him. Because ultimately, fate has to power.

~*~*~*~*~

[A/N : If any of you have any problem or issue with my work, you are requested to directly contact me and not draw conclusions without knowing the entire thing. I do not believe in taking screenshots and writing long notes. If you can't face the critics, stop writing. It's not necessary that everyone will like whatever you do. Have the courage to face it if you have the ability to write. Learn to take critics in a positive way. It'll help. And also,some people need a dictionary to know the meaning of some "specific" words. If you don't like my story, I humbly request you not to read it. That's all I can say. You spread hate, I will either delete your comments or report your account simply. Rest is upto you. No ones forcing you. 😊]