Scandalous Wedding

Chapter 2

"Good morning Sangavi", Nimmy, Sangavi's assistant greeted in her usual cheerful way. Sangavi just entered her office dressed in green knee high top and white leggings. "Great dress", Nimmy said as she always had something good to say about everyone. One would consider it annoying, but you have to know her personally to say that she actually means it.

"Thanks Nimmy. Good morning to you too. Any calls?" Sangavi asked with a bright smile. Yesterday's conversation with her mother was still lingering in the back of her mind, and the tabloids were right outside the building, but she didn't let either of them get in between her work. She worked hard on her fashion label and she wouldn't let anything destroy it not even that asshole.

"Yeah actually", Nimmy's hesitant voice snapped Sangavi's attention to her assistant.

"What is it Nimmy? Is your family okay?" She asked as she pushed the glass door to her cabin open and walked in.

She sat in her seat, behind the oval glass table and motioned for Nimmy to take her seat. "Yeah my family is doing great in bathinda. Mom sent laddoo's for you as well", she smiled brightly at her boss.

"Laddoo's? Where are they?" Sangavi asked immediately excited. She has a sweet tooth and could never resist a sweet, and laddoo's were her favorite sweet.

Nimmy chuckled, "I already sent them to your house", she said.

"Gosh! Now I have to wait till evening to taste your mom's famous laddoo's", she pouted, making nimmy giggle.

"Well, apart from laddoo's as I was saying, you had a few calls", Sangavi hummed and signaled for her to continue, "Well, a couple of calls from the Model you fired last weekend, which of course, I clearly said that you wouldn't call her back and she can talk to your lawyer if she wants something",

"Good", Sangavi said but Nimmy continued,

"Then there was your P.R manager Steve calling to confirm whether you are attending the Spring Auction or not. He said he has something important to tell you and wants you to call back immediately after you get this message",

"Spring auction", Sang said dreamily. Nimmy sighed too with a dreamy look in her eyes,

"Yesss. The auction was where handsome eligible bachelors volunteer themselves to be auctioned and we get to buy them for a date", Nimmy said

"What's better than having hot men parade in front of you and beg you to buy them?" Sang asked twirling a strand of her hair, dreamily.

"Hmm", Nimmy seconded the thought absent-mindedly.

"Okay", Sang snapped shaking her head, "Focus Nimmy. I will talk to Steve later. What else do you have for me?"

Nimmy snapped to attention, "Well, there was this call from McCoy Corporation, Mr. Elijah McCoy wants to have a meeting with you", she said hesitantly.

Sang was caught off guard with this news. She didn't expect Elijah to make the first move. In fact she didn't expect him to make any move at all. Is he going to apologize for the ruckus of the tabloids? Maybe. And as soon as the thought crossed her mind, her face turned into a grimace. Of course not. He wouldn't apologize. May be he wants to talk about how this marriage is going to work. Yeah! That must be it.

"Nimmy! Talk to his assistant and tell him that I will be there at his office at one p.m sharp for lunch. Even if he has an appointment with the President himself, I don't care. Ask him to be free. And I might need you there so be ready", she said with finality.

"Cool", Nimmy let out a breath excitedly. She was finally going to meet her favorite boss's husband. "You have a meeting with the new model we selected. Just a formal-informal kind of thing. And then the designer you wanted to meet will be here at Eleven. I will cancel your lunch date with your Dad and we can leave at quarter to one", Nimmy said and got up.

As soon as Nimmy closed the door behind her, Sang let out a shaky breath.

He isn't in love with you. You aren't in love with him. This is a business deal and you should look at it the same way. He will let you live your life, just like you want and in return you should let him live his life just the way he wants. If that includes other women thenlet it be. They might have him for a night or a weekend or for a while, but they will never be his wife. You don't have to be enemies' life long, and you don't need to be friends either, you can act like business partners who are going to share a house. That's it, all you have to do is make sure you don't fall for him. That couldn't be so hard as you hate him already.

After giving her the required pep talk, she went through the two meetings, she scheduled before lunch and both of them went smoothly. The Korean model she hired, Kim So Hyung, seemed pretty intelligent and professional. She liked working with models like that, who had beauty and brains. And same goes for the designer, who was completely gay but his ideas and designs were wonderful.

As quarter to one rolled in, she was feeling extremely happy and relaxed. A confident smile crossed her face and with the same determination, she walked out of her room and headed to the elevator. Nimmy followed her soon and they both drove to the building which was just ten minutes away from them. Neither of them were nervous, but both of them were definitely eager for this meeting.

****

"Sir, Ms. de Silva and Ms. Nimmy Khurana are here for your one o clock lunch", Elijah's assistant Kevin's voice spoke through the phone.

"Bring them in", he said with a frown on his face. Why was she bringing her assistant to this meeting?

He took a deep breath and he didn't want to accept but he was nervous. Why the hell was he nervous? - He had no idea, but he was. He rubbed his palms on his pants and sat back with his usual blank face.

The door opened and Kevin stepped in, "Sir, Ms. Sang de Silva and her assistant Nimmy", he said and the women he once adored, hated, and despised walked in. She wore a green sleeveless top which reached her knees and white leggings that accentuated her long legs. Her eyes were the same green which he still remembered. And she did that same thing she always used to do, she walked in with her head held high and as soon as she was in, she lowered her eyes for a moment and then slowly raised them to meet his.

Was she doing this deliberately to seduce him? – he had no idea. But he can't be seduced with a look, can he?

"Good to see you McCoy", she said in that sexy American accent which got him hard instantly, Okay! Maybe it isn't so difficult for her to seduce him. He cleared his throat and thrust his hand out to shake her outstretched hand.

His eyes flickered to his assistant for a moment who was looking at him with a shocked expression, which he quickly masked away noticing his boss's stare. He then realized that he actually stood up for her. Something that he never did before, never what the hell is happening to him. He needed to get his raging hormone under control but the attire she was wearing, hugged her curves perfectly. It was such a drool worthy sight. All Elijah wanted to do was take her there but realization of who she was brought him back to his senses. This is just a business deal, he said to himself whilst taking a deep breath.

"Good to see you too, de Silva", he said and motioned for her to sit down.

"Hello Mr. McCoy. I am Nimmy, Sangavi's assistant. I am so honored to meet you", he noticed the other women who thrust her hand out for him to shake. He glanced at her for once and ignored her outstretched hand and took his seat.

"Hm. Please take a seat", he nodded towards the seat beside Sang. He saw a flicker of disappointment cross her face which quickly disappeared and a smile took place.

He couldn't help but notice how different she was from his assistant. His assistant never spoke unless asked to, and he would never be so...bouncy and cheery. He thought with distaste.

"I see you bought your assistant with you to this meeting Ms. de Silva. Then I hope you wouldn't mind if mine joined us too?" he said motioning for Kevin to sit down on the chair beside Sang's assistant.

"Actually I was wondering, I might not need you in this meeting Nimmy. Kevin, do you mind showing my assistant the canteen. She might be starving", Sang asked Kevin with a polite smile. A smile to which no man could never say no.

"Of course Maam", he smiled back and looked at Nimmy. She got up to leave and Kevin followed her. What the hell? Since when did his assistant take orders from her and that too without confirming from him first? As if Kevin heard Elijah's thoughts he turned around to look at his boss with a 'sorry. Can I go?' look. Elijah nodded once to let him know he can.

"Okay, I need to ask this; Is this a business meeting?" she asked all of a sudden,

"huh? Sorry?" Elijah was taken back with the sudden question,

"Well, we were supposed to have lunch and we are going to get married in a few days, but here we are... sitting on the opposite sides of a desk.." she shrugged.

"Oh", Elijah said squirming in his seat with this unexpected situation. His eyes fell on the brown couch beside the glass wall which looked over the city, "Would you prefer the couch?" he raised his eye brows.

"Yes", she sighed and walked towards it, not waiting for him. Elijah got a good view of her behind and he couldn't help but smirk. What a delicious sight. She had a rocking body that he can say with no doubt.

****

He was the same asshole he was back in high school. Couldn't he just shake hands with Nimmy? She was just being polite and herself. That inconsiderate asshole!

She swallowed the anger and let out a breather as she sat down the couch. The couch was spongy and so comfortable, she almost wanted to bounce on it. But she suppressed her insane wish and looked up at him as he followed her and sat on the other end of the couch.

"So, de Silva", he said with an arrogant smirk. She wanted to roll her eyes at him but refrained from doing so,

"Please call me Sang", she said and saw as his chocolate orbs stared at her with an intense stare. She felt intimidated, naked under that scrutinizing look. The rumors were true, he did look handsome, in fact he looked a lot better in flesh rather than on television and tabloids. They did no justice to his looks.

"Done checking me out?" Elijah smirked and Sang couldn't help but blush at that. She hadn't even realized that her eyes trailed over his body without her realizing it.

"It's just that... they were right. You do look handsome", she nodded. Elijah's eyes enlarged in surprise but he quickly masked it. He stared at her for long,

"You sound surprised", he said

"I am. I never believe what everyone says unless I see it with my own eyes. And we are meeting after six long years, and you've changed so much, so yeah! I am a little surprised", she said.

"You've changed a lot too", he said and with that they feel in an awkward silence. Neither of them knew what to say next. Sang quickly shifted her gaze towards the glass pane, where she could look over other skyscrapers and buildings.

A knock on the door interrupted their silence and both of them were grateful for it. "That must be our lunch", he said. "Come in", he ordered.

A girl, who looked no more than eighteen pushed in a trolley which contained food. She greeted both of them with a polite 'good afternoon' and began setting down the cutlery. Sang got up from the couch and began walking around the room to explore.

****

"So, why did you bring your assistant to this meeting?" Elijah asked as he watched Sang walk around his cabin. Somewhere in the corner of his heart, he wanted her to like the room and compliment him again.

He wasn't short of compliments, but one from Ms. Sangavi de Silva herself was something he could never get tired with. When she admitted that he looked handsome, he had to control himself from grinning like an i***t. Never before had he felt so happy in his life time.

"I thought this would be a more formal meeting, where we would discuss rules and boundaries of our marriage and I thought it would help if my assistant was present in this meeting", she shrugged. The girl from cafeteria finished serving and took her leave.

"So, why did you send her away?" he asked as she walked back to the couch and sat beside him as soon as the waitress left.

"I don't know. We were friends", he raised his eyebrows at which she rolled her eyes.

"Okay. Fine! Maybe not friends but yeah, we knew each other. And we've grown up since we last saw each other and I don't think we need a third person in the room to make sure we don't kill each other, right?" He couldn't argue with that.

"I agree", he said taking his fork and motioning her to the food. He ordered Chinese food, Chicken and mushroom soup, Chow-mien, Manchuria and chicken chop sue. And once again his heart fluttered as he saw her taking a spoon full of soup, blowing air and taking a sip. His stupid heart once again yearned for a compliment.

"Mmhh! I love Chinese, good choice", she said and picked a dry Manchuria ball with salad and put it on her mouth.

He couldn't help but smile at her. He watched her eat for another couple of minutes when she looked at him. He quickly averted his attention towards his plate and wiped his smile off. Careful Eli! You don't want her to know the affect she has on you! He chided himself and they ate in silence.

Surprisingly it wasn't that awkward either. He stole a few glances towards her and she looked at him and smiled a few times.

***

As the lunch came to an end, the moment Sangavi dreaded began. The talk. She needed to talk to him about their marriage. She knew even he wanted to, but she had no idea where to begin.

"So, whose going to be your best man?" she asked deciding that it is the best way to start a conversation.

"Zachary Carter. He is my best friend", Elijah said as he gulped water from his glass and placed it back on the coffee table. That name rang a bell. Sangavi heard not so great stories about Zachary. He was definitely a lot like Elijah when it comes to their player ways and that didn't do any good to their marriage.

"What happened?" she looked at Elijah who was watching her with raised brows.

"Nothing", she gave him a smile, "So, about our marriage life. What do you think?"

Suddenly she felt a shift in his demeanor. She couldn't put a finger on it, but until then Elijah seemed so... pleasant and suddenly, all that pleasantness was gone. There was a serious, evil aura coming off him and she knew it was no good news.

"Well", he began and just with the way he sounded she could tell this meeting was going to go down. "I can't be monogamous in this relationship", he said with a straight face.

Sangavi nodded, as she came prepared to hear the same thing, "I understand. You are just 24 and I wouldn't expect you to quit your... ways just because of an arranged marriage". Once again she saw surprise register in his eyes, which he once again masked efficiently. Why is he hiding his true feelings? Is this what happens once you become a business man? You hide your feelings and thoughts from others? She thought,

"I will keep a low profile about my affairs", he said respectfully, "You will never have to face the humiliation again". It needn't be told which humiliation he was talking about. It was obvious he was referring to his tabloids show, from a couple of days ago.

"That would be appreciated", she nodded. A silence stretched in the room and she couldn't look at him anymore. Somewhere in the minute corner of her heart, she hoped that he would promise her faithfulness. Even if he broke that promise later, she would have felt a lot better if he lied to her that he would never touch another woman after their marriage.

"Do you have a lover?" his question made her look back at him. He had the same straight face but his eyes held an intense stare,

"Uh.. no", she said after a couple of minutes of processing the question.

"Do you intend to take a lover, after our marriage?" he asked in a dangerous voice. She quickly wanted to deny because of his scary voice, but she reminded herself that she isn't here to feel intimidated but in fact to talk about the deal.

She sighed and looked away, "I.. okay. This is what I propose", she said in a flat-business tone and straightened up on the couch.

***

Elijah clenched his fists as he waited for her response. He didn't expect her to take the matter so easily. He thought she would ask him to end his ways strictly not understand his point of view. But the thought of her cheating boiled his blood. He couldn't imagine another man laying hands on the woman who was bound to become his.

"You will never lie to me about another woman. If you are taking someone out for a date, or if you sleep with someone, then you can tell me about it. No, let me rephrase it, you will tell me about it and I want you to swear on it. The same rules go for me as well", she said in an 'all business, no nonsense' tone.

He wanted to chuckle at her attempt. No wonder she didn't go into business, otherwise, she would've made a horrible business woman. Fashion suited her better, he thought.

"What about s*x?" he asked the question he has been waiting to ask since she stepped into his office.

"I just told you..." she frowned.

Elijah shook his head, "Us. What about our s****l life. We will be having s*x, right?" Sangavi's shocked expression was enough to let him know that she never thought about it.

Ouch. A woman who shared lunch with Elijah McCoy and didn't think of f*****g him. That was a huge blow to his ego. "Did you think we were going to sleep in separate rooms?" he asked furiously and watched in anger as she nodded her head innocently. well you're wrong!

Ugh!That innocent look! What the hell are you doing to me, Sangavi?! Hethought and groaned inwardly.