Chapter 13
Kiss Day
After yesterday’s oversized teddy bear and the confrontation that followed, Ishani had told herself she was prepared for anything.
She was wrong.
Just after lunch, the elevator doors opened. A delivery man stepped out carrying a large wicker basket draped in red-and-white checkered cloth.
Ishani’s shoulders dropped slightly.
A basket. Fine. Manageable. Certainly better than a five-foot stuffed animal. Then the basket moved. And whined. The cloth shifted as something beneath it pushed upward. Her relief vanished.
No.
He wouldn’t. He couldn’t have. But the soft, unmistakable yip answered that question.
“Delivery for Ishani Rao,” the courier announced, making his way toward her desk. The basket wriggled in his hands.
Every nearby head lifted.
Ishani stood slowly as he placed it in front of her. The cloth twitched again, accompanied by an impatient little whine.
“You’ll need to sign here,” the courier said, holding out an electronic pad. He grinned. “And just so you know… this might be the cutest thing I’ve delivered all year.”
Her fingers felt oddly numb as she signed.
The office had gone silent.
She reached for the cloth. The moment she lifted it, two bright eyes blinked up at her from a small, cream-colored face. Floppy ears. A brown patch on its chest.
Exactly like Kaju. Not a toy. A real, breathing puppy.
“Oh my god,” she breathed.
The puppy yipped excitedly, tiny paws scrambling against the basket’s edge, desperate to climb out. A small red collar circled its neck. A cream envelope was attached neatly to it.
Her heart pounded as she unclipped it. She unfolded the card. “A kiss from him until you accept one from me.”
The words burned hotter than they should have. Her cheeks flushed. This had gone beyond extravagant gifts into something else entirely. It was too much.
The puppy, clearly done waiting to be admired, launched itself out of the basket. Tiny paws skidded across the smooth surface of Ishani’s desk before it tumbled to the floor with a soft thud.
“Wait!” Ishani gasped, reaching forward.
Too late.
The puppy bolted.
Its little legs moved far faster than they had any right to, collar jingling wildly as it tore across the office. It dove under a workstation, popped out the other side, and kept going, thrilled with its sudden freedom.
“Catch it!” someone shouted.
Three account executives lunged at once and collided shoulder to shoulder as the puppy swerved at the last second.
A marketing assistant dropped to her knees and crawled under her desk, arms outstretched. The puppy darted neatly between her hands and shot past.
A trash bin tipped over. Papers fluttered to the floor.
The HR director stepped out of her office at the noise, ready to reprimand someone, only to freeze as the cream blur zipped past her heels. Her irritation shifted, against her will, into reluctant amusement.
Ishani kicked off her heels and ran.
The carpet muffled her steps as she followed the excited barking and the wave of laughter trailing behind the escape artist. The puppy zigzagged between cubicles, tail wagging like it had just discovered its life’s purpose.
“It’s heading for the executive conference room!” Kavya yelled.
Ishani’s stomach dropped.
Raghav.
He was in the middle of a high-stakes video conference with international investors. The meeting he’d been preparing for all week. If this puppy barged in…
She sprinted down the corridor just in time to see the small cream body scratching at Raghav’s office door. The door gave slightly. The puppy squeezed through.
“No, no, no,” Ishani muttered, rushing forward and yanking the door open wider to follow it.
She burst into the room just in time to see the puppy make an impressive leap directly onto Raghav’s lap.
He sat at his desk facing a large screen, where three serious-looking men in suits stared back, clearly in mid-discussion about something important.
The puppy planted its front paws on Raghav’s chest and began enthusiastically licking his face, tail wagging so hard its entire body wiggled.
Ishani froze, horror washing over her. This was catastrophic. The end of her career. Possibly the end of her life.
But then something extraordinary happened.
Raghav Khanna—stern, controlled, intimidating Raghav Khanna—laughed.
Not a polite chuckle or a forced social sound, but a genuine, startled laugh that transformed his entire face.
His arms came up instinctively to hold the wriggling puppy, preventing it from falling as it continued to lick his chin.
“I appear to have an unexpected visitor,” he told the men on the screen, his voice warm with amusement as he tried to hold the puppy at arm’s length. “Give me a moment, gentlemen.”
The investors were smiling now, their earlier intensity replaced by open amusement.
“Take your time, Raghav,” one of them replied. “We could all use an interruption like that.”
He found Ishani standing there—barefoot, breath slightly uneven, horror written all over her face. Something softer flickered in his expression, his eyes crinkled faintly at the corners.
“I’ll reconnect in thirty minutes,” he said, ending the call with a decisive tap.
For a moment, the only sound in the office was the puppy’s excited panting and the gentle tap of its wagging tail against Raghav’s arm.
“I’m so sorry,” Ishani began, stepping forward. “It was a delivery. I didn’t expect. I tried to catch him before—”
“He’s very determined,” Raghav interrupted, scratching behind the puppy’s ears with surprising gentleness. The tiny dog leaned into his touch, eyes closing in bliss. “Like someone else I know.”
His gaze met hers over the puppy’s head, something warm and playful there that she’d never seen before. This wasn’t CEO Raghav. This was someone else entirely, someone who laughed freely and held small animals with careful hands.
“Another gift from your admirer?” he asked, though something in his tone suggested he already knew the answer.
Ishani nodded, approaching his desk cautiously. “I didn’t know it would be an actual puppy.”
The puppy spotted Ishani and immediately wriggled with renewed excitement, trying to launch itself toward her.
Both of them reached to catch it at the same time, their hands meeting in the process.
His fingers wrapped around hers for a brief, electric moment before they both pulled back, the puppy safely cradled in Raghav’s arms.
“This can’t stay here,” he said, his voice gentle but firm as he held the squirming ball of fur. “The office isn’t set up for pets.”
“I know,” Ishani agreed, reaching out to stroke the puppy’s soft head. “I’ll figure something out.”
“Your apartment building allows pets?” Raghav asked, though something in his expression suggested he already knew the answer to this as well.
“No,” she admitted. “No pets policy.”
Raghav nodded, as if he’d expected this. “I’ll have my driver take it to my place,” he said, the decision already made. “I have more than enough space.”
“But that’s too much trouble—”
“It’s no trouble,” he cut her off smoothly. “Unless you have another solution?”
Ishani bit her lip. She didn’t.
“Then I’ll keep him at my place until we figure something out.”
We.
The word hung between them, small but significant. Not you figure something out, but we. As if they were already a unit, a team making decisions together.
The puppy yawned, small pink tongue peeking out, and settled more comfortably against his chest, as if it had already chosen its temporary home. The sight was almost absurd. This tiny creature, curled trustingly against the most intimidating man in the building.
Something softened in Ishani’s chest.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
Raghav’s eyes met hers, holding her gaze for a long moment. “Don’t thank me yet,” he replied, something like a promise hidden in the words. “We still have tomorrow.”
Ishani blinked at the cryptic statement. Before she could react, Raghav had already called his driver to take the puppy home.
The entire office watched in stunned silence as Raghav Khanna, CEO and notorious workaholic, cradled the puppy against his chest with unexpected tenderness. The sight questioned everything they thought they knew about him. Ishani stood frozen in the doorway of the conference room.
“I’ll take him down to my car,” Raghav announced, adjusting his grip as the puppy nuzzled into the crook of his arm. “Everyone back to work.”
No one moved. The command that would normally send people scurrying back to their desks seemed to bounce off an invisible wall of collective shock.
Raghav walked toward the elevator with the same confident stride he used entering boardrooms. The difference was in his face—his usual mask of sternness had softened, the corners of his mouth lifting whenever the puppy licked his hand or wiggled against him.
“It’s okay, little one,” he murmured, his voice so low that only those nearest could hear. His finger stroked between the puppy’s ears, the gesture surprisingly gentle from hands that typically signed million-dollar contracts with ruthless precision. “We’ll get you settled.”
As he passed Kavya’s desk, the puppy stretched toward her, tiny paws reaching out. Raghav paused, allowing Kavya to pet the excited bundle of fur.
“He likes you,” he said, his tone casual, as if he regularly discussed puppies with his employees.
Kavya’s eyes widened. “He’s adorable, Boss.”
The elevator doors opened, and Raghav stepped inside, still murmuring to the puppy as the doors closed. The moment he disappeared, the office erupted into hushed conversations.
“Did that just happen?” someone whispered loudly.
“Boss Man has a soft spot for puppies?” Samrat said, leaning against a nearby desk. “Who would have thought?”
“The way he held it...” Kavya marveled, turning to Ishani who had finally moved from the doorway. “Like he’d done it before.”
“Like he was a completely different person,” another added.
Ishani returned to her desk in a daze, her colleagues’ chatter fading to background noise as her mind raced. The image of Raghav laughing—genuinely laughing—as the puppy licked his face refused to leave her thoughts. She’d never seen him like that. Unguarded. Human.
And then there was the puppy itself, another perfectly tailored gift that seemed impossible for anyone but Raghav to know about.
Yet the same man who might have sent it had also spent days lecturing her about these gifts being inappropriate.
The same man who’d frowned at her rose collection had just cradled a puppy with startling tenderness.
“Earth to Ishani,” Kavya waved a hand in front of her face. “The betting pool just doubled. Half the floor is now convinced Raghav himself is your secret admirer.”
Ishani blinked, focusing on Kavya’s excited face. “That’s ridiculous.”
The words somehow sounded hollow to her own ears.
“Is it though?” Kavya pressed, lowering her voice. “He gets weirdly intense whenever a new gift arrives. And did you see how he took that puppy without hesitation? Like he already knew the puppy?”
“He was being practical,” Ishani argued, though her certainty wavered. “I can’t keep it at work or at home. He’s just... problem-solving.”
“Right,” Kavya drawled, clearly unconvinced. “And I’m just developing a sudden interest in corporate finance. Come on, Ishani. Even you must suspect something by now.”
Before she could say anything else, the elevator chimed.
Raghav stepped onto the floor.
The shift was immediate.
The warmth was gone. The man who had laughed with a puppy in his arms vanished behind straightened shoulders, a tightened jaw, eyes sharpened to steel. By the time he crossed the floor, he was once again the CEO everyone recognized.
He walked directly to his office without acknowledging anyone, the door closing softly behind him. Seconds later, Ishani’s phone rang.
“My office, please,” Raghav said, his tone clipped. “Bring tomorrow’s schedule.”
Ishani gathered her tablet and a folder of notes, heart racing as she approached his door. Would he finally address what was happening? Admit to the gifts? Explain the incidents that had been driving her mad for days?
She knocked once before entering. Raghav sat behind his desk, typing rapidly on his laptop, looking exactly as he had every day before the puppy incident—controlled, focused, completely in command.
“Close the door,” he said without looking up.
Ishani did as instructed, then took the seat across from his desk. She waited, pulse quickening with anticipation.
“Tomorrow’s meetings,” he said finally, looking up from his screen. “I need to reschedule the morning conference call with Dubai. Move it to next week.”
Ishani blinked, thrown by the mundane request. “Of course. Any particular day you prefer?”
“Tuesday. Early.”
“I’ll make the adjustments,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Anything else?”
Raghav shook his head, his attention already returning to his laptop. “That’s all for now.”
No mention of the puppy. No acknowledgment of the gifts. No explanation for his contradictory behavior. Nothing but work, delivered in the same professional tone he’d always used.
Ishani hesitated, waiting for something more, but Raghav had already returned to his typing. The dismissal was clear.
“The puppy,” she said suddenly, unable to help herself.
“He’s fine,” Raghav cut her off, not looking up. “Safe at my place.”
His tone remained neutral, but then he tilted his head slightly. “I was wondering what will you do if this... secret admirer approaches you tomorrow? Valentine’s Day and all.”
Ishani caught the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth. She squinted, studying him. “I would definitely like to see who he is,” she replied, keeping her voice professionally even despite the sudden flutter in her chest.
“And after that?” The question hung in the air between them.
“After that, I’ll,” she stopped herself, straightening. “I don’t see why I should tell you what I’m going to do.”
“Of course.” Raghav nodded, eyes returning to his laptop. “Make sure those changes to my calendar are done within the hour. I’m leaving for my meeting soon.”
“Yes, Boss,” she replied, turning to leave.
As the door was closing behind her, she heard it—a soft, unmistakable snort.
Back at her desk, Ishani stared at her computer screen, mind racing. Valentine’s Day tomorrow. The puppy now at his home. That barely suppressed amusement in his voice. The precise knowledge of her likes and preferences reflected in each gift.
It had to be him. Yet he gave her nothing concrete—just more mysteries wrapped in professional distance.
Her eyes drifted to where he now walked toward the conference room, heading to the meeting he’d interrupted.