Chapter 198 - She is my boss, Meera.

In a completely different part of the city, Zack was starting to get a headache.

He did not know how but when he actually reached home from the airport, he actually found Meera sitting in the corridor beside his doors. And as soon as he came into view, Meera gave him the usual smile and followed him into his house like a lost puppy.

Zack just let her be since he had neither the heart nor the energy to actually kick her out. And the day went by as usual. Zack predominantly slept off his jetlag while Meera just stayed in the living room watching T.V. Everything was just as they always were. Because Zack was sleeping, the whole apartment was deadly quiet except for the television Meera was watching.

The problem started when he got Akash's call. Zack knew if Shreya had called them out at this hour, it must be something important. If it was company she wanted, Shreya would have come over here rather than calling them over. And she had a very strict rule of not discussing any part of their investigation with anybody outside or at any place outside the Sri. Corp. But just as he was about to go out, Meera suddenly decided to throw a tantrum.

"Where are you going?" She asked hurriedly sitting up from her couch and following him to the door.

He was surprised at first. He did not think she was still up but then once he was out of his surprise, "Office…" Zack replied as he searched for his car keys and his wallet.

"It's in the middle of the freaking night Zack," Meera flared up angrily. More than it being in the middle of the night, what pissed her off was really that he was going back to Shreya discarding her as a piece of trash without a second thought. But Zack could not follow her line of thoughts, so he just looked at her confused for a second before answering her question without much further thought.

"It's a call from Shreya. It had got to be important. I need to go…" Zack said taking out the keys from his shelf and then he turned to Meera and beckoned to her and said, "Come on. I will drop you off in the way. It is not safe for you to stay here…"

Meera, of course, did not budge. Her whole face went still and her eyes flared up with anger. After all, knowing and hearing him admit to the same were very different. It was like a slap on her face. Suddenly she felt that Zack was being cruel towards her. After all, she had spent every sparse moment with Zack in the last couple of months she had come to know him. But that was not enough to complete with on single text message from Shreya. Of course, she very conveniently forgot that Shreya was Zack's boss… well even if she did not forget, she decided to ignore it at that very moment. An overwhelming sense of self-deprecation and envy clouded all her senses.

"I am not going anywhere. Neither are you… you can just say you slept off. Anyways, you look beat. So why bother…" Meera said in an icy voice trying to pull him back into the house and towards his room by holding on his sleeves.

"You have no right to order me around, Meera… You are just a friend… that too only partially. Know where you stand…" Zack said mercilessly stabbing her exactly in all the right places with just words. But he was not doing anything purposefully. He was just stating facts.

"Then with what right did Shreya call you now?" Meera fired back losing what little rational she had. She was like a wounded cornered prey flaring up, at last, losing all its patience.

"She is my boss, Meera…" Zack said exasperated. He was quickly losing his own patience by then. He was so tempted to just storm out of here without bothering about her. But there was still this small gentleman part of him inside that was telling him to answer her.

After all, even though Shreya had called him ASAP, Zack knew Akash and Adam would have reached her already while he can't really leave Meera here alone. Even though the security in his apartment was good, he can't be rest-assured in this neighborhood. After all, she had met with a bunch of bastards right at this apartment not long before.

Meera on the other hand just flared up with his answers, "Exactly, she is just your boss. You are her employee… not her dog she can order around regardless of where you are or who you are with or what time it is. She doesn't own you, Zack."

"I do not have time for this Meera. I have to go… are you going or not?" Zack asked, at last, losing what was his last ounce of patience he had.

"That is my point, Zack. You do not need to be anywhere. What you need to be doing is sleep. It is freaking at 1 o'clock in the morning… If Shreya gets angry, just quit your job. I will get you a better job with better pay… you don't have to work for someone who does not even know the meaning of giving personal space," Meera said and reasoned with Zack with all her might.

Zack's shoulders stiffened as he listened to her. After all, he did not really care about what Meera thought of him whatsoever. But Shreya… Shreya was someone he had his at most respect to and adored and admired beyond any reason or bound.

That is why he couldn't really stand the thought that someone he had let into his house and fed could actually think and say such atrocious things about Shreya that too right in front of him… he couldn't forgive himself if he did not defend Shreya at this moment.

So he went back inside and put the wallet and keys on the couch table and looked at Meera.