& Then They Loved (Ampersand Love #3)

5. War of Words

5

War of Words

Vera

“ Y ou’re here.”

Startled by the voice behind her, Vera jumped lightly, her drink splattering onto the counter. She sighed, hating that some of the expensive coffee had been wasted. She may not have paid out of pocket for it, but that didn’t mean she liked to throw away good things when they came her way. She reached beside the sink for the roll of paper towel and took her time wiping the dark brown spots off the counter and floor, needing the time to fortify herself and paste a neutral expression before facing him.

Even then, she could feel little goosebumps dance across her body when she turned around. Almost immediately, her eyes fell on a bespoke grey pinstripe suit and crisp white shirt set against tan skin. He cocked his head to the left just so, and she gulped, trying to maintain an unaffected facade. With barely two feet between them, it was hard to ignore Vihaan. He seemed to take up all the space in the breakroom they were in. Stupid man with his stupid broad shoulders and his ridiculously chiselled jawline. She waved an imaginary fist at him, wondering if she should do all the women of the world a favour and break his perfect nose. A dent in his features would allow people to retain their sanity.

“I’m surprised you came into the office today.” His tone was polite enough that she couldn’t respond with a slap to his face even if she wanted to.

“It’s a Monday,” she replied with a bland smile. “I didn’t realise we had the day off. I wouldn’t have come in otherwise.”

“You wouldn’t have to come in at all,” he suggested with a calmness that set her on guard. “Especially if you resign.”

Vera clawed back her inclination to accidentally throw the coffee in his smug face. She’d spent the weekend imagining possible scenarios for her return to work, some of which included her winning the lottery and quitting her job on the spot, or her new boss finding himself in an accident that made him forget he owned Ethos. Selective amnesia was a thing, right?

Had she perhaps hoped he would choose to behave in a mature manner? No. She had no expectations of decency from Vihaan Oberoi, so his confrontational attitude did not faze her.

“Why would I resign?” she asked, taking a slow sip of her coffee, crinkling her nose when she realised what was missing.

“A resignation would be faster to process than a layoff.”

She turned her back to him, deliberately ignoring him in favour of looking for the cinnamon that must have been included on the tray. It was the one perk of having to do presentations on Monday mornings—breakfast and coffee catered from the cafe next door. She sprinkled the caramel-looking powder liberally and took a sip. The taste was welcoming and familiar, almost enough to overshadow the displeasure of having to face Vihaan. Almost.

She heard him huff out an annoyed breath, clearly wanting an answer from her. If he didn’t want to be ignored, he shouldn’t have disturbed her coffee time, she thought, rolling her eyes before meeting his gaze.

“Trying to avoid paying out a severance if you lay me off?”

“Ah, how could I forget that money motivates you. I’ll include a severance as charity for your sake. I’ll even throw in a gift basket.”

“Hmm. Tempting, but no. You should consider a resignation though,” she advised, nonchalantly sipping on her drink. “It would leave you more time for the parties you are so fond of attending.”

One edge of his lips tilted up in a smug grin.

“Keeping tabs on me?”

“Not by choice. Your face is splashed on every tabloid daily, the famous playboy prince of the media.”

Vihaan’s jaw flexed, but Vera kept going. “You seem to single-handedly bring in revenue for most of the gossip rags. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you doing what you’re good at when you resign.”

Caution flared when he stepped towards her with a smile she was certain was as fake as the boobs on his last paramour.

“What kind of a CEO would I be if I resign two days after taking over?”

“The absent kind.”

“And let my employees flounder without my sterling leadership?”

She almost snorted her coffee out.

“I hadn’t realised,” she mused loudly, infusing her tone with as much innocence as she could.

“What?”

“That you’d graduated with a degree in comedy,” she deadpanned.

Vihaan’s eyes narrowed, his lips thinning in displeasure. Somehow, the idea that she was making things hard for him only made her morning better. I hope you get a migraine, she wished, remembering his tendency for headaches.

“I’m your boss,” he clipped .

“That’s the rumour.”

He stepped closer, yet she refused to move. Another step and the column of air between them would be far too thin for even their thoughts to pass through. She tilted her chin up just slightly, facing him with a confidence she had achieved through years of faking it in a male-dominated world. She wasn’t a short woman. At 5'-8”, she saw eye-to-eye with most men. Add to that her love for wearing heels, and on any given day, she was taller than a majority of the people in a room.

Still, Vihaan had a couple inches on her. If he thought he could intimidate her with his height, he’d leave disappointed. Her lower lip jutted out stubbornly.

“Quit,” he demanded.

“No. I came here first. You quit.”

“I own this company now. I can’t quit.”

She shrugged insolently. “Then I guess we both work here.”

“You work for me, actually. There is a huge difference.”

That he took so much joy in making that distinction clear had Vera wanting to claw his face and leave marks behind on his clean-shaven cheek. She’d rather eat a slug than let Vihaan know how she truly felt.

“You make it sound like that would be a problem.”

“Do you really want to work under me, Ms. Talwar?”

“ With you,“ she corrected in a hiss.

Her objection to his verbiage caused him to let out an involuntary ha. His lips twisted, a sliver of cruel amusement in his eyes. “Why?” he goaded her. “Afraid of being under me?”

“I’ve been there, and I didn’t enjoy it,” she snarked immediately, her nostrils flaring. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop her reaction. He was succeeding in riling her up and his insinuation settled within her like a burning piece of charcoal. “Working with you isn’t an issue for me,” she stated again, waving one dainty hand gracefully in the air, tilting her head to the side, her thick hair swishing with her movement. “Unless you’re afraid.”

“What do I have to be afraid of?” he scoffed. “You?”

“Yourself,” she exclaimed with a catty smile. “How ever will you fool people into thinking you’re better than you actually are without your daddy around to help you?”

“Of course you’d mention my father. He’s why you—”

Vihaan’s gaze grew shuttered, and he went silent, confusing her. She saw him wet his lips, as if finding some control within himself once more. She had wanted him to react and make a misstep. In the past, Vihaan had disliked being in his father’s shadow and given the news of the supposed competition between Stork Media and Reed & Co., she wouldn’t be surprised if those childhood tensions had deepened. If her comment triggered him enough to lose his composure, she could at least raise a complaint with HR. But instead of heat and fire, the air around them turned as cold as his gaze.

Unrepentantly, she raised her brows, waiting for him, daring him to say something wrong so that she could crush him like a filthy bug. Sadly, he seemed to have found some restraint.

“Quit,” he suggested, yet again. “Before I fire you in front of everyone.”

“Try. I’ve read my contract,” she revealed. “Unless you have just cause, you cannot fire me. I have done nothing to provide you with a reason to terminate my employment, and I certainly will not be quitting.”

Deal with that, ass-goblin.

“Ok then, Ms. Talwar. Let’s see how long you last at Ethos. If you don’t meet my standards, you will be out before you know it. Without reference.”

Standards? Yeah, she was well aware of his standards, or more precisely, the lack thereof. She wanted to roll her eyes, but she forced herself to paste a bland smile on her face instead. Fuck you, I hope you get a wedgie, you ass-wipe !

His eyes narrowed, as if he could guess that she was mentally cursing him. The fact that being polite or smiling at each other caused such suspicion was a clear indicator of how messed up things were between them. Their first conversation in fourteen years, and instead of pleasantries, it had been filled with barbed comments and barely-veiled threats.

“You won’t last a month.”

“I hope you’re used to disappointment,” she responded, fire flashing in her eyes. “Oops. Forgot who I was talking to. You’re a pro at that.”

When he bent towards her, it took everything in Vera to not bolt. Her heart thumped hard, her pulse going haywire as old memories of him looming over her, of stolen kisses, heated murmurs, and sweat-slicked skin, flooded her unwilling brain. The fact that his eyes held none of the warmth they once did was the only way she remained in the present.

“Careful,” he warned her under his breath, in a voice that almost felt like a lover’s caress. “I might take offence and then this little game you’ve begun will have a very abrupt ending.”

Go to hell tart-hole, I hope your breath stinks the next time you try to kiss a woman.

“I have a presentation to get to,” she seethed, her skin prickling at his threat.

With a show of exaggerated politeness, he stepped out of her path, waving a hand towards the exit.

“By all means,” she heard him murmur just as she was about to pass him by. “I am sure you need time to prepare for failure. Or are you just used to it by now?”

The haughty look she slanted him would have made lesser men sweat.

“Was there anything else, Mr. Oberoi?” she asked, emphasising the word mister to sound like she’d uttered a curse. “Or do you plan to waste more of my time with your non-existent wit? ”

The smug smile she hated made a reappearance.

“Mr. Oberoi is my father. You can call me sir.”

“When pigs fly.”

“I can put one on a helicopter in about twenty minutes.”

“Then be there with it, far away from me, in the company of your kind.”

Without waiting to hear a rejoinder, Vera walked out of the coffee room with her head held high and her nerves wrapped around her feet. She was going to present the fuck out of this proposal if it was the last thing she did. And if her career was going to go down in flames because of the petulant little douche-canoe who was now her boss, she would make sure to bring him down with her.

How? a curious little voice piped up in her head as she marched to her desk to pick up the material she’d prepared.

She didn’t know, but she’d figure it out. She had survived Vihaan Oberoi before, and she would do it again.

She had no other choice.