The Mafia's Collateral

Part 25

Deep's P.O.V.

My elevator stopped which was very strange because no one is allowed to use this elevator. When the door opened, Arohi was standing outside. She looked at me silently and only smiled. I looked at her with a straight face but she only stared at me. "Don't you know that this elevator is not for anyone else besides Deep sir?" one of my bodyguards said to her. She smiled at me and said softly, "I know." She seemed different. She looked as if she was lost in some thought and kept on staring at me with a grin on her face. I began to feel conscious. She stepped inside the lift without taking her eyes off of me. "Who gave you permission to enter my lift?" I asked annoyed. She looked at me and continued with her smiling without answering my question. I remained silent and pressed the button to go to the ground floor. The door closed and Arohi was behaving very strange. She only kept staring at me which was making me feel very awkward. I turned to her annoyed and asked, "Will you stop staring at me?" She smiled and said, "No." My eyes widened and I looked at my bodyguards. They both bent their heads to conceal their amusement. I turned back at Arohi who was still in the same position. I turned away from her and stood straight. "Arohi," I said sternly. "Yes," she replied softly. I saw her smiling from the corner of my eyes. The elevator stopped and the door opened. "Leave us alone," I ordered my bodyguards. They both left the elevator and I pressed the button to my floor. As soon as the door closed, I stopped the elevator and turned to Arohi. "What's going on?" I asked her. She wasn't responding. I held her shoulders and shook her a bit calling her, "Arohi!" She blinked her eyes a bit and then looked away from me embarrassed. "What are you doing?" I asked. "What was I doing?" she asked softly. "Arohi, since you came into the lift, you are behaving very weird!" I said. She bit her lip. "Now will you tell me why you are only staring at me?" I asked. She avoided eye contact with me. This was just making me more annoyed. I held her and turned her to me. "Look at me Arohi!" I demanded. 

She didn't raise her eyes. I raised her chin and her eyes automatically raised to meet mine. "What's going on?" I asked. She shook her head frantically from side to side saying, "Nothing." I knew that she was up to something. I began to step forward and she automatically stepped backwards. Her back soon was against the wall on the elevator. I went closer to her and whispered, "The way you are staring at me, I know it very well. I used to stare at you like this when I was falling in love with you. What's your excuse?" She looked at me and then stole away her eyes again. "I...I..." she stammered. "I heard until I. After that..." I said. "Say it Arohi. Say you love me," I begged in my inner voice. My heart began to race. "Fine, repeat after me," I said, "I Love You." She looked at me with an embarrassed smile. I looked at her with a smirk. Her hands soon came and rested on my chest. She pushed me away and went and pressed the button to make the elevator move again. The elevator moved up. She pressed the ground button. "Someday you will have to say it Miss Arohi Kashyap!" I said to her leaning on the elevator wall with my arms folded. She didn't turn around to look at me and remained so till the door opened. She ran outside and all of my bodyguards and Avinash were standing and waiting for me. She stopped and looked at Avinash and then ran out of the building. Avinash turned and looked at me with a small smile. I walked out of the elevator and went behind Arohi. She was standing with the car door open and waiting for me. I went and sat inside the car and she went to the driver's seat. She drove off and I wore my sunglasses. I looked at her in the rear view mirror with a small smile. She kept glimpsing me looking at her. "Sir..." she said. "Hmm..." I hummed. "Will you stop staring at me?" she asked. I looked at her blushing face and took off my glasses. "When I told you to stop staring at me in the elevator, you shamelessly said no in front of my bodyguards so why should I stop now? And besides, there is no one else here," I said. "By the way, why are you behaving so strangely all of a sudden?" I asked.

She looked on the road and drove the car silently. "I am not behaving strange!" she said. "Oh really!" I said sarcastically. "Are you falling in love with me?" I asked. She stopped the car abruptly. I was completely taken aback. My phone immediately began to ring and I answered. "Is everything alright sir?" Avinash asked. "Everything is alright. Arohi just got a 440 volt shock," I said. I hang up the phone and said to her, "I remember very vividly that you said you can drive." "I can drive! Just don't ever ask me that question again," she said. She started back on the road. "Why shouldn't I question you?" I asked. "Because!....." she said but her words died out. She remained silent for a second and then said, "Just so." I looked at her silently until we reached the campus. She came and opened the door for me and when I got out, I stood and looked at her for a few seconds and then went inside. I went straight to my office and took off my blazer. I hung it on my chair and on my table, there was the blazer that I tied around Arohi's waist yesterday. I picked it up and smiled. Avinash came inside and said surprised, "Sir, your jacket remained here yesterday?" I nodded and said, "Arohi had it." I caught myself staring at it with a smile and looked at Avinash. He looked amused. I cleared my throat nervously and sat down. I rested the blazer back on the table. "Bring my schedule," I said. He took the paper that he was holding behind his back and handed it to me. "Anything else?" he asked. "No, go," I said. I read the paper with all my meeting times and my eyes went back to the blazer. I rested the paper aside and took back the blazer. There was a knock on my door and I looked up. Arohi stood there and waited for me to giver her permission. "Come," I said. She slowly came inside and stood with her eyes lowered. I leaned back on my chair and looked at her. "Do you have to say something?" I asked. She nodded. "Then go ahead," I said. "I...I..." she stammered. "Tell me something first, why did you come into my elevator this morning? Why didn't you use the elevator for everyone else?" I asked.