It Was You!

"Ms. Kapoor, I want you to deal with this client. Make sure that the deal is ours, or our company will be ruined. I trust you with this and hope that you'll stand up to my expectations," the old man in his mid-50s heaved a sigh and massaged his forehead, tension lines never leaving his forehead. "You know I can't attend to him due to my bad health. I am already not liking this bed, but I just can't do anything about it."

She nodded her head in her boss's direction and gave a small smile. Her boss is like a second father to her. She looks up to him whenever she wants a guide. She got worried sick the previous night when the boss's wife called her, telling her that her husband had been admitted to the hospital due to a heart attack. And here she was, first thing in the morning, checking on him, but still, her boss had to think about his company. Of course, who wouldn't if the CEO himself of the mighty company in Bangalore, the 'Ace Group of Technologies,' was willing to collaborate with their company?

"Sure, sir, don't worry so much. I won't let your expectations get down. Now I may take your leave. Have a good day, sir, and get well soon," she said and started proceeding for the hospital door.

"Shivika."

She turned back to face him with a small smile. The old man raised his hands, blessing her. Shivika's small smile turned into the biggest smile she could ever give. Blinking her eyes at him as if to show that she received his blessings, she went out, closing the door silently behind her. She took a deep breath and moved further to go to the office.

Once she reached, she immediately sent an email to arrange a meeting with the assistant of AGT and resumed doing her pending work. After a few hours, she was done with her work for today and now faced the time she dreaded the most - free time. It was the time when her mind would start a slideshow of her childhood, which also included him.

"Urghh!" she groans loudly and soon finds herself lost in her childhood.

'Push faster, please,' she pleads, to which he pushes the swing with all his might that his little hands could muster.

'Yayyyy!'

The two little kids were enjoying the park when a man in his early 30s came there, smiling down at them.

'Hello, uncle,' 'Hey, dad,' the kids greeted, to which the man smiled a little more and signaled the boy to come with him. The boy nods his head and goes with him, leaving behind a confused 8-year-old girl sitting on the swing. She sees the two talking about something, and then the boy returns to where she was.

'Shivi,' the boy calls out to the girl, sadness written all over his face.

'What happened, Ruchit?' the little girl asks, getting worried, and holds his hand. Ruchit suddenly envelops her in a bone-crushing hug and releases her after two or three minutes.

'We are leaving. Dad got transferred to Delhi. We'll be gone by next couple of hours.', the little Shivi wanted to say something but before she can even open her mouth, her parents called her in to meet the guests.

'Bye Shivi.'

'Bye Ruchit.'

Shivika was brought out of her sad thoughts by the notification sound on her MacBook. She wiped off the involuntary tears from her eyes and opened her eyes. Drinking a little water, she opened her notification bar and saw that she got the reply from AGT. Opening it she read the content and the moment she reached to a certain line her heartbeat nearly stopped and eyes popped out. There, in all its glory, the most heart-blocking line was written.

'The CEO, Mr. Tiwari will be attending the meeting. The meeting is requested to be held today at 6 o'clock.'

Shivika immediately looked at her wrist-watch and banged her head, hard, on the table. It's already 5.00, how am I supposed to prepare myself so fast and to top it all the CEO himself will be meeting. Why God? Why me?

The time went by quickly, and she was walking towards her boss's office to attend the guest. Opening the door, she was greeted by a man in his late 20s.

"Sir is in the cafeteria. He asked me to inform you the same."

Shivika gave a 'who-the-hell-are-you' look to him, to which she soon got the answer. "I am his assistant."

Shivika gave a curt nod and walked, or rather ran, towards the cafeteria. Panting, she reached her destination located at the far end of the floor just below. She pushed open the door and cautiously stepped in, glancing everywhere. She saw a black-haired man sitting in a private booth, studying a blue file. She walked further and reached the booth.

"Good evening, sir. Sorry for making you wait," she said and gave him a warm, welcoming smile. The man glanced in her direction and stood up, smiling. He stretched out his hand towards her.

"Good evening—"

"Shivika Kapoor."

"Ms. Kapoor. No, you didn't make me wait for long," he said, giving away his most charming smile. He gestured for her to sit, to which she obliged. "Let's discuss some business?"

"Sure, sir."

The CEO, Mr. Tiwari, was a man in his mid-20s who had achieved much more than one could expect from someone of his age. He was intelligent and good-looking. But the main thing that caught Shivika's attention were his eyes. 'Why do I feel that I have seen him somewhere else? As if I have known him for ages. Where?! Where?! Where?!'

Time was ticking at its own pace, neither too fast for someone who is waiting nor too slow for someone who is praying to get some extra time. The meeting went smoothly enough.

"So, Ms. Kapoor, we are more than happy to collaborate with your company. I am looking forward to starting our work soon," he said, shaking her hand over the table covered with files. Shivika smiled back, "Yes, Mr. Tiwari, same here."

"Okay, so I have another meeting to attend. I may take your leave now," he said and stood up from his place to leave. Shivika nodded and accompanied him to the door of the cafeteria. Once he was gone, she came back to the place where they were seated earlier. She held her throbbing head in her hands and closed her eyes to ease it a little..

"Excuse me, ma'am."

She glanced towards the source of the new voice and saw a waiter from their cafeteria standing there, placing the coffee on the table. Before she could ask anything, he went away. She looked at the coffee and got confused. Who ordered it? At that moment, she saw a folded paper kept beside the cup on the saucer. She picked it up, and her eyes once again popped out of their sockets.

Date on Sunday at 5.00, CCD. Remember me, by the way?

The one who used to push the swing for you ;)

~R

She looked up from the paper and started searching for him. He is here! Ruchit is here! Her eyes stopped at the person standing right outside the cafeteria door. She zeroed in on the person and suddenly forgot how to breathe. There he was standing, the CEO, Mr. Tiwari. He winked at her and was gone within seconds. Gradually, realization dawned upon her. She sprinted towards the door and ran behind him. She saw him inside the elevator, facing her and giving his best smile. She stopped dead in her tracks, smiling like crazy, and just before the elevator door closed, she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"It Was You!"

~*~