Chapter 5

The next day after much contemplation, Dhruv came up with a solution for the present predicament that he was in now. He made up his mind to remain single for his entire life. It would apparently take him sometime to grow immune to the mate bond under whose spell he seems to be acting weirdly. And when it came to helping Arjun win Poornima's hand, he would neither interfere nor oppose it. He would let them go with the flow.

Having thought things through, his mood was rather relaxed at office today. Whereas Poornima who had always been the best at work, was in a sullen mood owing to Dhruv. As per Dhruv, she was not performing well. She was still clueless as to why her report was not approved until Dhruv intervened. She would have gladly rectified her mistakes but she didn't know what was to be corrected. The past month since she joined AMX corporation, she had noticed her colleagues reports and in comparison, her reports were more detailed and comprehensive. Nevertheless, she busied herself with work until her back and head ached. She got up from her chair and rubbed her stiff back. She decided to down her headache with coffee.

In the pantry, Arjun and Dhruv were having a casual chat over coffee. Dhruv had made it clear that he couldn't help Arjun with his love. Arjun was a happy go lucky man. Though he was not as handsome as Dhruv, he smiled more often than the latter and was more approachable. On seeing Poornima settle on a table with her mug of coffee alone, Arjun found the opportunity to approach her.

"Do you mind if I join?" he chimed, his face beaming at her.

Poornima, who partly blamed Arjun for her present situation said, "I prefer having my coffee alone. In peace." The last words were spoken with a stern look at him. Though her tone was not rude, her expression gave away that she was angry. Arjun who had not expected a blatant refusal was taken aback. But with smile plastered on his face, he said, "Never mind. Enjoy your coffee!" "That's one beautifully boring person." He thought.

Watching this short encounter between his friend and mate, brought a smile on Dhruv's face. He was happy to know that Poornima was not interested in Arjun. But having noticed she was in a bad mood, Dhruv felt guilty and wanted to clear up the previous day's misunderstandings. He silently grabbed a chair and sat facing her at. Poornima raised her head to look at him, gulped the hot coffee in one go ignoring that fact that it slightly burnt her throat. She said, "Sorry! I can't keep you company. I have lot of work to do. You see! I don't have the liberty to slack at office. Do I?" Saying so she got up and left. This made Dhruv smile wider. "Cute!" is all he could think when he watched her retreating back. But on realizing he was literally gawking at her, he chided himself internally.

Dhruv was in a better mood today. Apparently, Poornima's reluctance to spend time with Arjun made him happy. Sometime later Lisa entered his office with few documents. As always, she had her makeup meticulously done and wore a shirt with pencil skirt that went upto her knees. She wore her black curly hair in a pony tail behind her neck. There was no denying the fact that she was a gorgeous woman. But Dhruv did not find her attractive.

Not taking his eyes off his laptop, Dhruv asked "I suppose you are here to discuss work?"

Lisa's face went stiff for a second before she replied, "Of course. What do you think I am here for?"

"Okay. What is it?" Dhruv inquired not looking at her.

"I am supposed to visit the food vendor Zenith Hospitality Services. By the time I visit their kitchen, review and be back, it would get late. I can't go alone. So I need a male colleague to accompany me for safety reasons." Came Lisa's smug reply.

It was clear that Lisa was asking Dhruv to accompany her as he was the only male employee in admin team. Lisa was now sure that she could get sometime to spend with Dhruv alone.

Dhruv remained calm and could see through her intentions. "You can ask any other team member to accompany you. For now we don't have any male in the team. I will make a note to hire few men to our team next time. You may go now." He replied.

"But everyone else is in training today." She replied. This time she had a fool proof plan and was more than happy that it was going as she planned.

Dhruv saw through the glass wall of his room and realized that what Lisa said was true. He could see the desks of his team members empty. But not all of them were empty. He could see the head of one person working in her cubicle. She wore her long silky hair in a braid and wore a kurta with collared neck. "Poornima is available. You ask her to tag along with you." He said.

Lisa looked out from the glass wall to find that Poornima was indeed not attending the training. "That bitch! Why is she not in the training room?" she cursed under her breath. Her face went red from fury. "I can't go with her." She said stubbornly.

"Then please leave those documents here. I will ask Poornima to go there instead." Dhruv said.

"Sure." She said and dropped the documents on his table and left in a bad mood. She went to the restroom and checked herself in the mirror. She could see a gorgeous face with a voluptuous hour glass figure. She had an appealing figure yet She didn't understand what was keeping her away from gaining Dhruv's attention.

Meanwhile, Dhruv summoned Poornima and handed over the documents of Zenith Hospitality Services. He said, "Lisa was supposed to visit this vendor today for a feedback. But she is caught up with something else. I want you to accompany me to this place. We will return to office by evening. Is that fine?"

Poornima agreed and they left. In the elevator, they were alone and Poornima controlled her urge to take a peek at his face. His eyes in particular. Dhruv found the scent of lemon grass combined with damp soil rather intoxicating. Now that they were alone the scent was more profound and seemed to draw him towards her. Though he decided to stay away from her, he could not understand why he chose to accompany her to the vendor. "Because I can't send a woman alone to an unknown place due to safety concerns." Is the excuse he made for himself.