Chapter 15
The familiar scent of paper, ink, and coffee greeted Kashvi as she walked into the office premises. She nodded in acknowledgement at the staff’s greeting as she passed, mentally cataloguing her work for the day.
Kashvi pushed open the glass door to her cabin, tossing her purse onto the sofa beside it. She had barely taken two steps when a loud pop rang through the room and a shower of bright, glittering confetti rained down on her.
She turned to find Naina standing at the door, both hands raised in triumph, her face lit with delight.
‘What are you doing?’ Kashvi asked, shaking confetti from her unruly, still-damp hair.
Naina, her assistant, clasped her hands together, bouncing lightly on her heels. ‘Come on, cheer up. It’s your birthday!’
‘And that means you attack me the moment I walk in?’ Kashvi asked, narrowing her eyes at her.
She waved off the scolding. ‘This is nothing. I had something wild planned, but I realised I probably shouldn’t do anything that could get me fired.’
Naina picked a few confetti pieces off the oversized sleeve of her yellow kurti. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, and the wide grin she wore made her look younger than she was. There was something about her unguarded enthusiasm that made the office feel a little less stuffy.
Kashvi snorted, setting her phone down on the desk. ‘You’re not getting off that easily. I love you too much not to make you suffer with me, so get back to work.’
She pulled out stacks of files from her drawer, intending to sort through them, when she noticed Naina still lingering at the door.
Kashvi saw how her earlier excitement had dimmed, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. ‘What’s up? Something on your mind?’
Naina twisted her fingers together, drawing in a breath. ‘I’ve been hearing rumours that the organisation might be shutting down, and if it’s true, I wanted to ask if you could maybe give me a recommendation?’
Without giving her a chance to respond, Naina rushed forward, words spilling out.
‘I really want to keep working for you, Kashvi. You’re literally the best boss, and you always work around my college schedule.
I’m very grateful, but my family depends on me, and I can’t afford to be without a job for even a month. ’
Kashvi raised a hand to stop the flood of words, then pointed to the chair in front of her. Naina followed the silent instruction and sat down.
Kashvi slid a glass of water towards her. ‘Okay, first, you need to breathe. Second, who told you we’re shutting down?’
‘People are talking.’
No doubt the employees under her father were responsible for spreading this. Kashvi sighed. ‘We’re not shutting down, Naina. In fact, things are about to become much more stable because I’ll be taking over as chairperson soon.’
Naina’s eyes widened. ‘Wait. You mean you’ll be… in charge?’
Kashvi gave a small nod. ‘And that means I can finally approve the things on my checklist. I’ll be promoting you from my intern to the chairperson’s executive assistant, with a salary that matches the effort you put in. Is that something you’d agree to?’
Naina gasped. ‘Are you serious?’
Kashvi chuckled. ‘I guess you should’ve saved the confetti popper for now, huh.’
With a squeal, Naina jumped up and wrapped her arms tightly around her. ‘Yes, yes, yes. Thank you!’
Kashvi laughed, patting her back. ‘I should be thanking you. I notice your effort, even if I don’t say it every day. You’ve earned this.’
Naina pulled back, quickly dabbing at the corner of her eyes. ‘You’ve already done more than enough for me, but I won’t lie, I’m expecting a very big raise now. You can even count my cute confetti surprise as part of the bonus.’
‘I should’ve known there was a hidden agenda.’
‘Duh!’ Naina rolled her eyes. ‘Although, it seems like I’m not the only one trying to get into your good books today.’
Kashvi frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Wait,’ Naina said quickly, rushing out of the room. Kashvi shook her head, thinking that this was what she got for hiring a firecracker.
Her phone buzzed softly against the desk, pulling her attention. Kashvi reached for it, glancing at the screen as a new message notification lit up, when the door burst open again.
Naina walked in holding a bouquet of orchids, delicate white and soft violet petals arranged in a cascading display, wrapped in translucent lavender paper. ‘Someone delivered this for you.’
A sliver of unease crept in as Kashvi looked at the flowers, though she couldn’t place why. ‘When?’
‘Right after I came in.’
‘From?’
‘That’s the strange part. There was no name on the delivery sheet. But there’s a card tucked in here. I mean, this definitely looks like a romantic gift for someone special.’
Her words did little to ease the tight knot beneath Kashvi’s ribs.
‘You need to read less romance,’ she playfully admonished Naina.
‘And you need more pampering, so take it,’ she said, handing her the bouquet.
‘I don’t know. I just…’ Kashvi trailed off, her gaze lingering on the flowers as she tried to make sense of her discomfort.
‘Stop overthinking this and enjoy it. You’re allowed to have nice things.’
Kashvi gave her an unimpressed look. ‘Go do your work.’
‘Yes, ma’am!’ Naina saluted her, then pointed to the bouquet in her hand as she walked backwards towards the door. ‘And read the card. I want updates.’
Kashvi rolled her eyes as the door shut behind her. She placed the bouquet on her desk, then moved to sit in her chair.
Sunlight filtered through the glass panels, catching on the edges of files stacked neatly on one side of her desk. But her attention remained fixed on the orchids, the stark violet petals almost luminous against the darker wood of the polished surface.
Kashvi leaned forward, resting her elbows lightly on the desk as she reached for the small envelope. She slid her thumb beneath the flap and drew out the card. Tiny hearts lined the edges, the design unmistakably intimate.
I can’t wait to see you.
It didn’t look like Swayam’s messy, scrawled handwriting. She had seen him scribble impatient notes in manuscript margins for years. But maybe he had asked the florist to write it.
A faint warmth rose to her cheeks, a small smile playing on her lips as she read it again.
In such a short time, her life had changed drastically, and at the centre of it was Swayam.
Kashvi imagined walking in and telling Naina that the rumours she had feared were true instead of the stability she had promised. And it was Swayam who had made it all happen.
She reached for the office phone and quickly dialled his number. Kashvi wanted to thank him, and if she was being honest, she wanted to hear his voice too.
The line clicked. ‘Hello?’
She smiled. ‘You know, I always knew you were a little obsessed with me, but this is getting out of hand.’
‘Is that so?’ Swayam asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice.
‘Yeah. Can’t you go a couple of hours without thinking about me?’
Swayam chuckled, the soft sound slipping under her skin. ‘No, I can’t.’
‘Like I said, you’re a little obsessed,’ she teased, tracing a finger along the smooth curve of a petal.
‘That’s putting it mildly. And you’re one to talk. The only way you’d know I was thinking about you is if you were doing the same.’
‘You made sure I would be,’ she shot back.
Swayam teased, ‘I didn’t realise my kisses were so memorable that they’d stay with you for days.’
His words brushed too close to the truth, but she refused to give him that satisfaction. ‘Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.’
‘I really don’t,’ he said, still sounding playful.
‘You think you know me so well, but your information is wrong,’ she pointed out.
‘Achcha? What did I do wrong?’
‘I love the gesture, but I don’t think I like orchids. So, if you were trying to impress me, hard luck.’
‘What do you mean?’ he asked, the shift in his tone making her sit up straighter.
Unease crept back in. ‘I’m talking about the flowers you sent me.’
Swayam sounded genuinely confused. ‘Kash, I didn’t send you anything.’
Everything inside her went cold. ‘Swayam, I…’ she trailed off, unsure what to say.
‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ he asked, alert now.
‘I’ll call you back,’ Kashvi said quickly, ending the call before he could ask anything else.
If it wasn’t Swayam, then who could it be?
It was one thing to receive odd messages, but to get packages at her workplace was crossing a line. She read the note again, the intimacy in it sending a chill down her spine. Her fingers tightened around the card as her thoughts spiralled.
It had to be someone she knew. Could it be Luv pulling a prank?
She dismissed the thought almost immediately. Luv, for all his antics, knew better than to do something like this.
Still, she reached for her phone, intending to call him. Instead, her attention snapped to a message flashing across the screen. Her stomach tightened as she saw it was from another unknown number again.
Happy Birthday, babygirl. You can block me all you want, but I’m not giving up. I spent all of yesterday trying to find just the right flowers to remind you of the day we met. I hope you liked them.
A sudden, jarring realisation hit her. The same person who sent those messages had also sent the flowers.
Her fingers trembled as she typed out a response.
Who is this?
She hit send, and within a minute, a reply came through.
Don’t you know, babygirl?
The endearment twisted uncomfortably in her chest. She held her breath as she typed again.
You’ve got the wrong person. Stop messaging me.
Kashvi quickly blocked the number, and only when the confirmation appeared did she let out a slow breath.
Her mind raced, trying to piece together who could be behind this, but when every possibility fell away, frustration surged through her.
Her phone buzzed again.
Her heart jumped so sharply that it thudded in her throat.
Another unknown number.
Her stomach twisted, but she opened the message.
I’ve got the right person. Do you know how I know? Because you’re mine. And just because you fight me doesn’t mean I’ll let you go.