Chapter 1- When They Met

"Maa..mere phone ka charger", she shouted as she reached the last step down.

"Laa rahi hoon...tu jaldi se parathe khaa!" Her mother screamed from top.

She quickly sat and ate, while checking her mails.Everything was so far in place.

Minutes later her mom came downstairs, handing her the charger she started filling a mini-bag with eatables.

"Mom?"

"Lamba safar hai!"

"Mom main picnic ke liye nahi jaa rahi hoon, kisi ke saath jaa rahi hoon jisse main jaanti tak nahi hoon." Anika expressed her frustration."Chup kar. Kal se bol bol ke kaan paaka diye hain. Tu nahi jaanti toh kya, main toh usse jaanti hoon naa. "

"Aap uske parents ko jaanti ho usse nahi!"

"Haan toh ek hi baat hui naa, aur ek do baar mili hoon usse. Tujhe Mumbai tak akele kaise jaane deti? Tu uske saath hogi toh mujhe chain rahega."

Anika rolled her eyes. Really from Pune to Mumbai her mom couldnt let her go by herself?

Hurriedly she got out of the house while her mother locked the door. They walked down the lane to the main street, where the decided spot was.

Anika's mother Kalindi was very sceptical about sending out her only daughter to Mumbai all by herself for the job. Luckily enough, during the same time her friend Pinky's son was going to Mumbai as well. He was supposed to head his father's firm there.

She quickly hugged her mother and kissed her cheek, asking her to take care of herself.

Kalindi walked over to Pinky and greeted her and then spoke to her son, the man Anika was going to travel with.

Anika folded her arms impatiently. She didn't like this a bit. But she could not win her mother's stubbornness. She had finally given in to her emotional blackmail techniques and had agreed to ditch the idea of taking a train or a bus to Mumbai and had agreed to travel by car with the man who was her mother's friend's son. She hadn't even seen his face ! Not that she was interested to. She had already developed a prejudiced hatred for him. Thanks to the fact that she was traveling with him against her very own wishes.

He turned to look at her. She was looking away lost in her thoughts perhaps. His blue eyes travelled down from her head to her feet. She was dressed in a simple kurti with Patiala with duppatta hanging on her shoulder. She met his eyes, only to find them looking at her. He smiled formally. She returned the same.

Their parents bid them an off. The car pulled away.

"Hi I am Shivaay Singh Oberoi, you can call me Shivaay!" He smiled.She forced a fake smile. "Hello. Anika."

"So, event manager huh?"

"Yes." She said sharply, in hope he would understand she wasn't interested in a conversation.

"Where is your company located in Mumbai?'

" Hell!" She wanted to answer. But she pasted that good girl smile and told him.

He shot a few general questions and she answered each one of them her frustration growing.

"What about...

" Do you always talk this way ?" She had finally lost her patience."Matlab?"

"Matlab, itne sawaal.?" She asked animatedly.

"Ahh..no " he laughed a little. "Din't know how to get a conversation going so..yeah"

"Why?" She shot the word at him.

He raised his brow, and faked a chuckle. "Umm.. Since we were travelling..

" That's a music system right?" She asked with sudden excitement in voice.

He looked dumbfounded."yeah."

"It works?"

"Of course!" He answered.

"Great then why not play that and cut this unwanted argument?"He looked at her and nodded. His finger reaching to power on the music system.

"Are you always like this, or am I special?" He asked as he was setting up the system.

"What do you mean?" She furrowed her brows."I mean this rude to everyone and anyone, yaan aaj kuch special hai?" He looked at her smiling.

She blinked at him. Never did anyone have the thing to give her back what she served. He was turning out to be an exception."Do you talk to everyone like this?"

"No you are a special case." He said honestly with both his hands on the steering wheel.

"What are you trying yo say?" She asked baffled.

"Well I generally flirt with women of your age, but obviously you are an exception. So I tried, being formal and polite but clearly that doesn't work for you. So I am being what I am now."

"Haaww.. You are trying to imply that I ain't... Normal." 'Attractive' is what she wanted to say. She thought on the last part. Was she so unattractive that he didn't even consider flirting with her?

"Maybe."

Okay that told her a lot. So he did indirectly tell her she wasn't attractive like women in general, "I don't believe this! Who talks this way? ""You do! Straight and cut!". He gave her a glance.

" So you are mocking me?"

"Am I?"

He was turning out to be an impossible guy. "Ahh!" She looked outside the window.

"What?" He shrugged.

"Nothing. Just that I hate you a little more now!" She blurts out how she was forced to go with him by her mother.

"Oo..I see. But I can see why Aunty was skeptic about you travelling alone."

"What.do.you.mean?" She folded her arms.

"Nothing." He increased the volume of the speakers.

She reduced it, and asked, "Why are you being so rude?""Are you kidding me? I was being great at beginning but you din't like it. So now I m being straight."

"I wonder how your friends even tolerate you!"

"Alike I think about you!" He said sharply.

"Can you not be rude. ?"

He smiled. "Are you this confused always?"

"I am not confused. Maybe just pissed." She said looking out at the straight clean highway roads.

"OK so let's do this. Let's be friends so that we can tolerate each other at least until we reach our destination." He suggested.She thought for a while.

"Do you really think, a guy and a girl can be just friends?"

"Of course!" He responded immediately. "Unless either has some other intention." He looked at her suspiciously.

Her eyes widened at that. " I have no interest in you Mr. SSO!" She exclaimed.

"Neither do I miss Anika! Wait what did you call me?" He said focussing back on the road.

"Then we are peaceful to be friends aren't we?" He said after a minute's pause.

She looked at him then smiled. A genuine smile for the first time in that one hour.

He looked at her and smiled a little. The remaining of the journey wasn't all that tedious as the two kept chattering about their opinions on different things along the way. Though they disagreed on their point of views for more than half the topics they spoke about.

Towards the evening the car pulled to a stop at her apartment. She had already made the necessary arrangements for her stay at Mumbai. He helped her with the luggage and waited in the corridor.

"Aren't you leaving?" She asked dragging the airbag.

"Aunty asked me to make sure you were safe in the apartment " "Ahhh...I can't understand why mom just can't let me be." She said annoyed digging her handbag for the key, that had collected from the owner downstairs.

"Because it's you after all, Anika!" He giggled.

"Very. Funny. Shut up Mr. SSO!" She almost giggled too.

It was funny how a five hour journey had completely changed equations between the two of them. He liked the way she would come up with bizarre and weird names to address him, clearly with the sole reason of annoying him.

* * *"Call me ! If you need anything!" He said as he stepped out.

"I can't!"

He looked up confused.

"I don't have your number!" She pressed her lips to avoid a cheeky smile. Never had she developed such a good rapport with anyone in such a short time.

He chuckled. "Give me yours!" He spoke taking out his phone.She was tempted to tease him for it, but decided otherwise and gave her number.

"See you then!"

"Bye. And Thank You SSO!" She waved. He smiled and disappeared.* * *

Causal texts and casual meetings continued. Thanks to the fact that the two were new in the city and their workplaces were also close by.

" God Today was horrible!" She said exasperated, sitting on the bench of the park.

He looked up at him. She on the contrary had had a wonderful day at work.

"You always say that!" he commented.

"Yeah cause I hate this that woman!"

"Why don't you quit and start something of your own. The industry is always expanding with population. "

"It's not a cake walk Mr. Oberoi." She said simply.

"I wonder when I can leave all this. You know I have always wanted to you know go to New York or London and live the life of a billionare. Not work here! Working here is like... Working like a donkey!"

"You ahh...work like a donkey?" She enquired.

"O.m.g that was so funny Anika. You are so hilarious!" He exclaimed sarcastically.

She snorted.

"Don't do that!" He sighed. He hated it when she made those weird sounds.

"Oh hoo... Itna bura that kya din!"

"I think I am giving up on this and chasing what I wanted." He said looking afar.

Anika patted his back. "You just need a break. Chill karo..itni Badi baatein chodo. Life is not a cake walk SSO!"

"Come up with something better at least. Cake walk!? Anyways."He frowned.

"Let's go to a good place and have dinner. Its been just six months but feels like I have come here just two days back! Like I don't know this city."

Shivaay's face lit up a little. He loved the big city life. "Have you tried this Chinese Food at 'Serving Chinese Like China'?"

"What kind of name is that?" She laughed

"Anika...

" no Chinese! "

"Italian?'

"Not a bad option!" She replied.

"OK then 'A Piece Of IItlay' is the best. " he looked at his watch. "After two hours, will pick you up from your apartment, okay?"

"Cool." She said excitedly.