Ray of light

Chapter 3 - Smile

A month later, Abhimanyu walked into his office and he was not surprised by the sight. He had become used to it. Sitting on his table was a hot cup of coffee with a bright coaster that Akshara had nicely placed there.

All his files were placed in order of his preference.

And the curtains that normally covered the skyline were always open, letting the ray of sunlight peek into his office.

She was damn good at what she did.

And as if on cue, she walked in.

Abhimanyu immediately closed his eyes, taking in her floral scent with a hint of vanilla in the undertones. He had become used to this scent. Like a wake-up call. That is how he expected her every morning.

"Good morning Sir" she smiled brightly, dressed today in another knee-length bright dress.

And then she chirped on about her day animatedly. And Abhimanyu simply watched her antics, not saying a single word as she walked around the room giving him updates and then simultaneously arranging things.

How easily she had obtained her right over his office.

The difference was that, unlike others, Akshara did not ask for his approval.

She simply did what she wanted.

And he thought it would irk him to no end, but instead, it comforted him.

It made him feel at peace.

Like someone could easily be themselves around him. 

He gazed at her as she cutely hit her forehead as she remembered a task she'd forgotten and he could not himself help but let out a smile.

Realising he was smiling, he caught himself and paused.

What the hell are you doing Abhimanyu?

She came up to him and smiled.

"Is there anything else for today Sir?" she asked him gently, watching his confused expression. Where was he lost?

"Uh-ah... no-no nothing at all" Abhimanyu stuttered and Akshara looked at him curiously.

"Okay..." she nodded slowly noticing his odd behaviour, "by the way Sir... I reviewed the Singhania deal files... I have picked up on some errors and crossed them in red... if you wanted to look" Akshara said twiddling her thumbs.

Now it was Abhimanyu's turn to raise his eyebrow, she was nervous? This was interesting. So Madam got nervous also.

But he also understood why. During the many occasions that he had caught her in the middle of a rant in his office, she had told him how one of the things she really wanted to upgrade was her business skills. She wanted to apply for her master's soon and she was trying to get as much experience as possible.

Abhimanyu knew that she was clever. He had picked up on it instantly. She was beauty and brains to be honest. She had been ranked one in her degree from the most competitive business school in Mumbai. She picked up on things easily, had a very high attention to detail, and was very good at crunching numbers.

Sighing, he looked at her as he debated in his head.

"Come," he said gesturing to the couch in his office as he gave in to his thoughts. "Let us review it together"

Akshara smiled brightly, doing her best not to squeal. He laughed in his head as he caught her attempt to not squeal.

"Thank you Sir," she said sweetly.

Sitting down, he looked over the corrections he had made. In all honesty, he was impressed. Most of them were correct and this was something his high-level analysts even struggled with. She was way beyond her level.

He went through her calculations and ticked them as he went through. Akshara watched in admiration, her heart beating fast, desperately seeking his approval as she held her breath.

His fingers stopped at one calculation as he reviewed the proposal element - ah he had caught her. 

Akshara looked at him nervously.

He looked up at her and patted the spot next to him, "Come.." he said silently, "This one is wrong... let us review it together".

Akshara looked at him seriously and sat next to him, jotting down notes on her notepad as she picked up what he was explaining. He went through the calculation methodologically.

To be honest, he was a really good teacher... she had always known that. His explanations were straightforward, with hints and clues as to what you could be looking for when answering. She ardently made notes and asked questions along the way as he casually explained.

At the end of the teaching session, she smiled and then finally let out a squeal. "Thank you so much, Sir, thank you for giving me your time!!"

She gathered her stuff with enthusiasm and made a mental note to herself to review her notes later, she was indebted to him for his time. Now she would need to work hard, she could not let him down! No way!

Abhimanyu couldn't help it and he let out a chuckle at her state, grinning at her enthusiasm and her desire to learn more.

Akshara turned around and gasped noting the smile on his face.

She was stunned.

"Sir" she gasped slowly looking at him and he instantly paused, wiping the smile off his face.

Akshara crept closer to him, so much so that he could even breathe her in.

He closed his eyes automatically.

"Sir..." she whispered again and he opened his eyes to notice her looking at him, all wide-eyed.

Those beautiful doe eyes.

Akshara looked at him and then slowly said, "Don't mind haan..sir aap bahut acche ho... aap ki har baat acchi hain... but your smile is something else.. smile more sir... it looks good on you"

Straight from my heart!

Enjoy

N x