CH 10 The Task
Aarav leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on the massive desk, presence filling the entire cabin. He slid a slim black folder toward her, the weight of it heavy, deliberate.
"You'll summarize this entire file into a report," Aarav said, voice calm, deliberate. "No mistakes. No excuses. And before you protest yes, it's after hours. But in my office... the clock doesn't decide when work ends."
His gaze locked on yours, steady, unwavering.
"Let's see if you can keep up, intern."
"Consider this a test," he said, voice low, measured, edged with authority. "Not paperwork. Real stakes."
Ashiana's eyes flicked to the seal a symbol unfamiliar, intricate, heavy with implication. Inside, the folder contained intelligence reports, maps, financial logs, and coded communications she'd never seen an intern handle. Her pulse spiked.
Oh god... what is all this? I'm not trained for this... why is he giving it to me? Every line screams danger... every page feels like a trap.
Aarav's eyes followed her as she hesitated, lips moving silently, brows furrowed. He watched the rapid inhale when she realized the depth of the task, the slight tremor in her hands as she adjusted her grip on the folder.
Interesting... struggling, yet not breaking. His fingers drummed the desk, ring clinking softly. Calculating. Assessing.
"You're right," he said finally, voice dropping, deliberate, heavy. "This isn't what you expected. Not a simple assignment, not a safe desk job. This... is the machinery of my world. The gears that run it."
Ashiana swallowed, heart hammering. His words felt like a warning... and a challenge.
"If you survive this," he continued, leaning back, one arm draped over the chair, gaze sharp as a knife, "you'll see how far the surface of this world goes. You'll see what most interns never even glimpse."
She blinked. Survival? Machinery? Her mind raced... but she squared her shoulders, chin lifted.
"Or," Aarav's tone dropped lower, almost a whisper, each word heavy, "you can put the folder down. Walk out. Admit you're not ready... that you belong with the others. Careless, small, forgettable."
Ashiana's chest rose with a defiant breath. Hmph... he thinks I'll crumble? Not happening. She straightened fully, smirk curling on her lips.
"Fine," she snapped, voice sharp, fearless. "I'll do it. Just watch, Mr. Malhotra."
Aarav's smirk deepened, dangerous, predatory. Leaning back, one arm draped lazily over the chair, the other tapping his ring against the desk—clink... clink... clink. Storm-grey eyes never leaving her.
She opened the folder, pen in hand. Her fingers flew over notes, decoding charts, tracing connections, scribbling calculations. Every subtle glance she gave him was met with his cold, unreadable assessment.
"Good," he murmured after a moment, low and deliberate. "Let's see if your fire matches your words."
Minutes stretched. The only sounds were the soft scratch of pen on paper, the metallic clink of his ring, and the occasional rustle as she moved files. Every glance she threw up found him observing calm, unblinking, utterly in control.
A particularly complex cipher made her pause, brows furrowed. Aarav's voice cut softly, like steel sliding through the air:
"Stuck already? You can walk away. Admit you're out of your depth. No shame in survival, intern."
Ashiana rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath, Bhot bolta h y... isko boss kisne bna diyaa
His smirk deepened, eyes cold, piercing, pressing on her like invisible weight.
"But if you don't," he continued, voice low, smooth, dangerous, "you finish it. And when you do... you prove me wrong."
Her jaw set. "Aap thoda chup chaap nahi baith sakte and Stop... tapping that ring... it's distracting," she snapped, huffing, refocusing on the folder.
Aarav froze mid-tap. No one orders him around. Yet here she is... defying me. Fascinating.
He leaned back, smirk quieter now, private, almost unreadable. "Interesting," he murmured. "Even my enemies don't dare silence me. And you..." His eyes lingered, on fire studying her stubborn focus.
He slid the ring from his finger and set it deliberately on the desk. Silence fell, heavy, almost suffocating.
"No more distractions," he said softly, almost a murmur, "show me exactly what you're capable of."
An hour later, she pushed the completed analysis across the desk, pen still in hand, eyes gleaming.
''DONE" she said, leaning back, chest rising with victorious pride.
Aarav's gaze swept over it, slow, deliberate. Page by page, he scanned, noting precision, errors, clever deductions. Finally, he closed the folder, lips curving into the faintest, sharpest smirk.
"Hmm... not flawless. A few slips..." His finger tapped the folder slowly, deliberately. "But... better than I imagined."
Ashiana's smirk faltered under his scrutiny.
I knew it he will never appreciate khadus kahi ka
"You've got fire, intern," he said quietly. "Most would've quit halfway. You... didn't."
Leaning back, eyes still locked on her, he added, low and dangerous:
"Don't celebrate yet. This was only the beginning."
he closes the file and sets aside and leans forward his arms on desk hands joined and looking her with a testing gaze
but before he can say further she---