Aisha Khurana adjusted her formal shirt nervously, clutching a notepad as she entered Arhan Malhotra’s office. The man didn’t even look up from his laptop.
“You’re late,” he said, though the clock showed she was five minutes early.
Her brows knitted. “It’s 8:55, sir. I was told to arrive before nine.”
He finally looked up, his sharp eyes locking on hers. A faint smirk played on his lips. “Exactly. Five minutes late… to me.”
She bit her lip, annoyed. Why did he even hire me?
“Sit,” he ordered, pointing to the chair across from him.
The entire morning went by in silence, except for his curt instructions. Aisha typed letters, scheduled meetings, and answered calls—all while feeling his gaze linger on her longer than necessary.
At lunch, she quietly pulled out her homemade tiffin. Arhan noticed.
“You didn’t go out?” he asked casually.
“I prefer home food,” she replied, surprised he cared enough to ask.
Minutes later, the peon entered with a delivery bag. Arhan pushed it toward her.
She blinked. “Sir?”
“I don’t like eating alone,” he said flatly, as if it was a fact, not a request.
Her lips parted. Is this… his way of asking me to eat with him?
As she hesitated, his phone buzzed. A female voice on the other end laughed sweetly. “Arhan, dinner tonight?”
Aisha looked away quickly, pretending not to listen. For some reason, her chest felt heavy.
Arhan’s eyes flickered to Aisha, then he said coldly into the phone, “I’m busy.”
When she left the office later that evening, Arhan leaned back in his chair, pulling out his phone again.
“Raghav,” he spoke to his most trusted employee, his tone calm but laced with something unspoken. “I want you to find out something for me.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Check whether Aisha Khurana is in a relationship… or if she has a boyfriend.”
There was a pause on the line, then a careful, “Of course, sir.”
Arhan ended the call, his expression unreadable. To the world, he was cold and distant.
But deep inside, the thought of her belonging to someone else made his chest tighten in a way he could never admit.
Because having her close wasn’t enough anymore.
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