CHAPTER 15
KW Capital Ventures
The board meeting was scheduled to begin, yet Mishti had not entered the conference room.
Rajat glanced at his watch for the third time before pushing his chair back slightly. The long glass table was already occupied, files neatly arranged, screens lit, the low hum of readiness settling in. Only one seat remained empty.
“Should I check what’s delaying her?” Rajat asked, slightly concerned about what delayed Mishti.
Karan leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers gently on the table.
“That won’t be necessary,” he said. “She knows where the conference room is. She will come.”
Kanika let out a soft sigh, one meant to be heard. “First day at work,” she remarked, glancing pointedly at the empty chair, “and she’s already breaking basic code of conduct.”
Karan glared at Kanika for a few seconds too long. Before she could speak again, the door opened, and Mishti walked in.
Rajat and Abhimanyu’s faces softened instantly as they smiled at her in relief.
She crossed the room quietly and took the seat beside Rajat, directly opposite Kanika, who gave her a knowing smile, the kind that lingered just long enough to remind Mishti of the conversation they had shared minutes ago.
Karan waited until Mishti had settled properly, until her chair was aligned, her folder placed neatly before her. Only then did he signal for the meeting to begin.
Abhimanyu cleared his throat, taking charge this time. “As we all know,” he began, “Mrs Mishti Wadhwa will be joining us as a board member from today. KW Capital Ventures welcomes her with full respect and wishes her the very best in this new role.”
Mishti curved her lips into a smile, though it did not quite reach her eyes.
Karan noticed.
He sat at the head of the oval conference table, and though he had no intention of watching Mishti today, his gaze kept drifting back to her face.
There was a faint tension around her eyes as if she had been crying a few minutes ago, the restraint in her expression as if she had been holding up her feelings and her pain.
He knew why she delayed, and the reason why her mood was so dull suddenly.
Because of Kanika. The thought irritated him more than he expected, but he forced himself to look away, refocusing on Abhimanyu’s voice.
The discussion moved forward smoothly. Market projections, quarterly strategies, investment outlines. When the meeting reached the point where projects were to be assigned, the room grew attentive.
Rajat leaned forward slightly. “I think before we decide which project Mrs Wadhwa should work on, we need to ask her what she would prefer? Her interests, her comfort zone.”
Before Mishti could respond, Karan spoke.
“Mishti will handle the Trinity Project.”
The room stilled.
Mishti looked at him, surprised that even this time, he didn’t care for her opinion; he just decided it for her. Even Karan held her gaze without any expression, as if, yes, the decision had been made, without her consent, and it would always be like that between them.
Kanika straightened instantly. “One minute, Karan,” she said angrily. “That project was meant for me. I had already told you I wanted to lead Trinity.”
“I know,” Karan replied evenly. “But I have decided otherwise. You will take over Mehta Group instead.”
Kanika’s frustration was barely concealed now. “This is not done. Trinity is not a routine portfolio. I am not stepping aside for her.”
That’s right. Trinity & Co. was not their usual kind of acquisition.
That company was not in crisis, but it was no longer standing as firmly as it once had.
Its growth had slowed, its liquidity was tightening, and behind its carefully maintained facade, it was quietly seeking reinforcement.
The company had begun informal conversations with potential investors, careful not to appear desperate, careful not to draw unnecessary attention.
One heavyweight player had already shown interest, positioning itself discreetly, negotiating terms from a distance. On paper, it looked like a straightforward rescue investment.
But Karan had no intention of letting that deal go through.
KW Capital’s strategy was not to approach Trinity openly, nor to announce its interest. It was to wait.
To outbid the existing investor at the last moment, offer terms too strong to refuse, and step in without giving Trinity the time to question the shift.
By the time they realised what had happened, control would already be slipping from their hands.
Rajat exchanged a look with Abhimanyu, both clearly unhappy with Karan’s decision, too.
“Karan,” Rajat said carefully, “Mishti is new to this environment. Giving her such a tricky project at the start is not right. One wrong move and we might lose it.”
Abhimanyu nodded. “Exactly. We are not questioning her intelligence, but this is not our conventional acquisition. It’s different.”
Karan’s gaze did not leave the table. “Which is exactly why I want it handled quietly, with a fresh mind. I know Trinity is vulnerable. So, Mishti is not being asked to execute the takeover. She is being asked to prepare the ground. To observe and analyse. To map weaknesses. To tell us when the moment is right.”
The board members all looked at each other, still confused about whether this was the right decision. Karan read the doubts on everyone’s faces, including Mishti’s, who was just absorbing whatever was discussed around her.
He leaned back on his chair, staring between Rajat and Abhimanyu.
“You didn’t question her capability when you suggested bringing her onto the board,” he said calmly. “And you both are her support system. She won’t be alone in this, I am sure.”
“All I want,” he said, turning to Mishti now, “are results. Trinity has to be broken down. It is one of the biggest projects we are betting on this year. And if I cannot trust my wife to handle it, who else would I trust?”
Every pair of eyes in the room shifted toward her. Mishti knew, instinctively, that he was giving her the hardest task deliberately. But she also knew something else. That she would not step back.
“I’ll do it,” she said firmly.
Karan’s lips curved, just slightly. “Good. That concludes the meeting, then,” he said.
Everyone rose to leave.
“Karan,” Kanika said angrily. “We need to talk.”
“Later,” he said, with the same annoyed tone, dismissing her request. She shot him one last hard look before turning sharply and striding out of the conference room.
Everyone left except Karan, Rajat, Abhimanyu and Mishti. Rajat, though a bit worried about how Mishti would handle it all, still tried to cheer her up at the moment. “Well then, congratulations, Mishti. You’ve bagged the biggest project of the year. We expect a treat.”
Abhimanyu laughed. “Do we really need to ask her for that? Of course, we are celebrating this.”
“Thanks to both of you,” Mishti said, smiling despite herself.
Karan waited, his hands shifting into his pant pockets as he watched Rajat and Abhimanyu continue the conversation with Mishti, teasing and fussing over her like proud guardians. The impatience built slowly inside him.
“Let’s plan something,” Rajat said, grinning at Mishti.
“Now? But we have work to do,” Mishti replied.
“No one works so hard on day one,” Abhimanyu said. “How about dinner? Just the three of us.”
“Dinner?” Mishti hesitated.
“Yes, just the three of us, unless you want to invite someone else,” Rajat added pointedly, glancing toward Karan.
Mishti looked at Karan then, searching his face for a reaction.
“Don’t look at him,” Abhimanyu said lightly. “He won’t mind us stealing you. Right, bro?”
“Get out of this room,” Karan said, with fake anger.
The men shrugged and turned to leave, with Mishti almost ready to follow them, when Karan’s voice echoed in the room again. “Not you, Mishti,” he said. “I need to talk to you.”
Rajat raised his hands. “Alright. Fifteen minutes,” he said cheerfully. “After that, we’re stealing her for making dinner plans.”
“Out,” Karan snapped.
Abhimanyu chuckled before dragging Rajat along, both discussing the names of restaurants in the city to take Mishti.
The moment the door shut behind them, Mishti looked away from him. Her gaze wandered everywhere in the room but him because her last night’s heavy emotional talk under the alcohol effect, followed by the bitter words from Kanika today, still lingered in her mind.
Karan crossed the space between them.
“What happened?” he asked. “Last night you couldn’t stop talking. Making grand promises about how I would regret everything I have done to you.”
She kept looking away.
“What happened now? Has the cat finally got your tongue?”
Mishti finally lifted her eyes to his. The softness he was used to seeing there had receded.
“I heard even you were quite protective of me last night,” she said evenly.
“You did not let Komal take care of me. You carried me yourself. You brought me to the room. You stayed long enough to put me to bed.” Her brows arched.
“So tell me, what changed today? Did you purposely assign me the most difficult project here? Because you expect me to fail? Because you believe I will not live up to anyone’s expectations? ”
Karan’s expression hardened, and in a single stride, he closed the distance between them. She lowered her gaze in fear without meaning to. But Karan pulled her chin up with his thumb, forcing her to look at him.
“I assigned you the most difficult project to start with, not because I expect you to fail. I gave you this workload so you stay occupied here, so I can have some peace without you demanding my attention all the time.” His fingers remained at her chin as he continued.
“You know very well how much I dislike even the sight of you. I’m already handling you enough at home.
And now I don’t want you to get into my head even at the office.
That project will keep you busy, so I don’t have to deal with you constantly. ”