Reigning The Man

| T H I R T Y - O N E

Edited!

T H I R T Y – O N E

Riccha called Aakash when she finished checking into the hotel. Neil told her he would wait for her at the restaurant.

"Hi," Aakash said very softly when he picked up.

"Just called to tell you I reached. Did you eat? How are you feeling?" Riccha asked, all in one go. "And speak up please. It's quite noisy here."

"One minute," he said. Riccha could hear him opening the door. "Yeah tell me."

Riccha rolled her eyes. "No, you tell me," she said insisted.

"I had breakfast, Mother Hen," he said, chuckling. "Flight was good?"

"It was," she admitted. "I was sitting next to Neil. Had the most entertaining time. He's quite funny, you know?" She was trying to make him jealous. She smiled mischievously when she heard him cluck his tongue.

"I see."

"I'll be going around the city in a while."

"Stay safe, sweetheart. I'm in the middle of a meeting. I'll call you tonight okay?"

"Don't work too hard. Love you. Bye!" Riccha waited till Aakash hung up.

He was in the middle of a meeting? He never picks up during meetings! Ever! Riccha was stupefied Okay, maybe she shouldn't have taunted him.

Riccha groaned. She had the worst timings.

But who cares? Riccha was on cloud nine.

It was so apparent that Neil asked her what happened when she sat for breakfast.

"He picked up my call during a meeting," she squealed.

Neil laughed. "That is something to be quite excited about," he said.

He proceeded on to discuss with Riccha the later happenings of the day and Riccha turned her serious mode on.

As Aakash said he would, he called her that night and every night of the next three weeks. He never forgot to tell her that he missed her and couldn't wait for her to be back home. They exchanged goofy pictures over snapchat and Riccha couldn't be happier.

~*~

Riccha was coming back.

Riccha hugged her uncle as he picked her up from the airport. She was quite surprised to see him, especially after expecting Aakash there.

"Well, I told Aakash I would pick you up. After all, we have less than a month left together, after which you'll leave to India, and when you're back, you'll be living with him." Uncle Shashi said, after placing her luggage in the car trunk.

"A month? What are you talking about?" Riccha asked, perplexed. She was now seated in the front seat.

Shashi looked at her funnily. "Are you trying to be funny?"

"Uh no! Why the heck would I go back to India when I have heaps of work left?" Riccha asked, her tone wary. There was something happening that she didn't know.

"You're getting married in two months," Shashi said, starting the car. He had to apply a sudden break however when Riccha shrieked into his ear. "Two months?" she asked, incredulously.

Shashi turned in his seat to face her completely. "You weren't aware?"

"I told Aakash six months. How and when did this happen?" Riccha asked, fuming.