Once Upon a Night.

Meant to be?

CHAPTER TWO- Meant to be?

In the Morning, the pale blue sky was floating with white clouds, the breeze blowing the leaves beside the road, the birds leaping back and forth on the three, as if telling people that a new day had begun.

Staring at the mirror, Kayla powdered her face.

Sleeping peacefully on his bed, Akash was cradling a pillow to his chest. The sun was beaming through the windows causing him to stir.

The first sight that greeted Akash's eyes was the ray of sunlight coming in.

Usually, waking up was a simple task for Akash, he was a morning person after all, he groaned as he opened his eyes, but smiled a little after as he watched Kayla touch up her makeup.

"Good Morning beautiful." He said.

Kayla turned back to him, "Morning Akash, did you sleep well?"

Akash sat up and scooted back so he could lean on the headboard. "Never slept better."

Kayla grabbed her purse on the counter and sat on the bed.

Akash moved closer to her, closing the gap between them, his face just inches away from her.

"I have to go to work now, but I have to go home first and I don't wanna be late for my first day." She said.

"Yeah, sure. That's fine."

He reached to the nightstand and grabbed his phone, "You could just um, give me your number."

Kayla tucked her hair behind her ear and sighed."I um, I can't do that."

He had a puzzled look on his face. "Why Kayla? What's wrong?"

"Nothing Akash. I just can't, you um, you are supposed to be a, um,

"It's supposed to be a one night stand?"

"Yes Akash. Yes, and I'm, I'm sorry but.."

"I like you, Kayla."

She breathed deeply, savouring the silence, trying to regulate her erratic heartbeat.

"And, and, and, I know that the initial plan is for you to get a one night stand, but, I genuinely do like you, and I would like to go out with you if you.."

"No, Akash. I think you are pretty cool and I had so much fun with you last night but I don't think I want to go further than what happened last night."

"Kayla, I..I..

"And I……" She hesitated, staring up at his face, then continued, "And I would love it if you don't push this any further."

It was as if time had stopped, a heavy feeling settled in his stomach but he managed a wry smile, "It's fine, it's fine, I'm sorry. You should go, you don't wanna be late for work." He said softly as he moved away.

She bit her bottom lip so hard she felt a searing pain, she took a long and weary inhale.

She walked towards the door, "Yeah, take good care of yourself Akash." She was in pain she didn't understand.

"You too."

With that, Akash walked away.

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Kayla looked up at her in the mirror as she finished zipping the dress.

Her dress was blue with white polka dots, knee-length, her curly hair plunged over her shoulders in waves of midnight black, she groped for her glasses on the bed side table.

She absent-mindedly stared at herself in the mirror, completely forgetting that her best friend, Jayda, was on loudspeaker.

"Kayla?" Jayda called on the other side of the phone.

"Uh? Yeah yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Kayla put on her glasses, "Yeah. I have to go now, I'm so late for work."

"I know, I know, but you can't just let him go, don't you think? I mean, you said it yourself, you have never felt that way for anyone in a long time."

"It doesn't matter, Jayda. Plus, it's not even that deep. We had good s*x, let's not add feelings to this and no, I do not regret my actions."

"But..but.."

"I need to go now, Jay. I love you."

With that, Kayla hung up before Jayda could say more.

It was going to be a really long day.

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Kayla knew she wasn't just late, she was very late. She was resuming the office by 11AM, for a meeting she was scheduled to have at 10AM.

She had not been able to think of anything else since she walked out of Akash's bedroom that morning.

Finding her way to the boardroom, she had hoped a miracle would happen to save her from the embarrassment that might be bound to happen.

No one in her former office would believe she was resuming late on her first day, she always prided herself at being at least thirty minutes early to every meeting.

As she stood outside the boardroom trying to gather her course, Kayla could hear the sound of a man speaking, it wasn't clear but she for sure knew the meeting had started.

When the boardroom door opened suddenly, the board of directors jerked apart and turned their faces to Kayla, "I..I..I am so sorry" Kayla said as she scanned their faces, Kayla caught a glimpse of what looked like Akash, oh wait, it was him, her lips parted.

Her posture stiffened as she stared into his face, not taking her eyes off him, Akash's lip curled, adorably.

"Miss Kayla?" A voice said, snapping her out of her trance.

"Uh?" Her gaze shifted to the man standing beside the digital projector.

She could tell from a glance that he was the head of the company, she recognized his face from the company's magazine, Mr Jamal.

He was dressed plainly, but elegantly, he wore an accurately ironed check shirt, buttoned all the way up.

The man was far not young. It was hard to determine his age as the life left a deep imprint on his face.

Although, in his early sixties, Mr Jamal was in excellent shape. Tall and lean, like Akash himself, he had dark hair streaked with gray and his features were well defined, there were no doubt that he was Akash's father.

"You are late." Mr Jamal said.

"Y..yes, i..i..I overslept." She answered.

"Overslept?" He asked, his British accent rolled off his deep voice.

"Yes sir."

He let out an exasperated sigh, "Well, thank you for being honest but I would absolutely appreciate it if it doesn't happen again." He warned.

Kayla risked a glance at Akash and found him still staring at her intently. She swallowed hard and looked away.

"Okay sir." She responded.

"Please do take your seat." Mr Jamal offered.

Kayla sat down in the chair opposite him and studied the bottle water on the table, being in the same room with Akash made her feel faint, her heart beating so hard she could feel it hammering against her sternum.

"Son." Mr Jamal called.

"Yes Dad?" Akash answered.

Kayla froze when she heard Akash say the word, "Dad."

It was suddenly hotter than it was when she first came in.

"Please, do show Miss Kayla her office when we are done with this meeting."

His eyes squinted with his smile, "Gladly."

For some reason, a fresh wave of giddiness washed over her.

She inhaled.

It indeed was going to be a long day.

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When they were finally outside an office, Akash reached out around Kayla's body in an attempt to open the door for her.

His warm fingers grazed her bare arm, and she jerked away from the jolt of desire that surged through her, he could feel the electricity too.

"I've got the door," She said sharply, lunging for the handle, she yanked hard.

Once inside the room, Akash said, "This will be your office."

Kayla nodded her head and observed the room from where she stood.

The office was painted a bluish-gray color from top to bottom, the ceiling of the room was the same colour as the walls.

Next to the only door, there was a coat rack, currently empty, it wasn't a cheap one, crafted in such a way that one would feel as if they could reach out and touch the different flowers that made up the design.

Flowers seemed to be the major basis for the design of the room. Aside from the coat rack, there were also potted plants located in strategic places around the office, however, the most beautiful thing was the window glass.

She walked to the table and rested against it, causing a large gap between her and Akash.

"Should I call this fate?" A smile danced on his lips.

"Did you plan any of this?"

He raised his eyebrows, "No Kay, I did not."

For a minute, she winced when he called her Kay.

She tilted her head down, avoiding his gaze to lure her towards him. He took the bait, walking towards her, his six-foot stature towering over her body.

Few inches away from her, their eyes met for another long second.

An unexpected rush of emotions passed through her, making her skin tingle. How can one fleeting look unravel her composure?

She was being emotionally disorganised and she hated it.

Standing near her, staring into her sparkling eyes, inhaling her sugary, Vanilla scent, he couldn't think of a thing to say. Akash found it so hard that Kayla had short-circuited his brain so quickly.

She licked her lips, as if she's trying to keep herself from doing something.

He leaned over and whispered, "I really did not plan this, Kay."

Hearing his soft, southern accent sent a current of desire through her, thinking she had gotten rid of him, she was wrong.

Now that they were together again, that current was more like a tsunami roaring through her veins.

They stared at each other. She remembered what it felt like to kiss him for the first time and she stared at his beautiful mouth.

Her lips parted and twitched a little.

The corners of his mouth quirked upward into a smile. "I will ask someone to show you around."

She shuddered in breath, "Oh, okay." She stepped away.

He walked towards the door, his fingers wrapped around the door handle, then gazed back at Kayla.

Her heart fluttered.

"You are beautiful, even with your glasses on." He said softly and flashed her a smile, then exited the office.

Another wave of desire washed over her, her heart hammering at his words.

In that moment, it was like she was drowning in the reality of it all.

Her one night stand was the turning point in her life.