13 ~ Ill marry Mukti
Kartik's POV.
The moment the elevator doors slid open, silence greeted me.
Not complete silence the kind that is born out of panic.
A second ago, the entire floor had been buzzing with conversations, laughter, whispered gossip and Coffee mugs in hands. Half the employees pretending to work while their attention wandered elsewhere.
The moment they saw me everything died.
Heads that had been bent toward one another immediately snapped back to their computer screens.
The woman who had been laughing covered her mouth and hurriedly opened a spreadsheet.
A manager who had been standing near someone's desk discussing weekend plans walked away so fast that his chair nearly toppled over.
Keyboards suddenly became the most fascinating objects in the building.
Click.
Click.
Click.
An orchestra of fake productivity.
I continued walking.
Every polished step of my shoes echoed across the marble floor.
No one looked up. No one dared. Fear had remarkable discipline.
Ayaan walked half a step behind me, tablet in his hand, silently reading today's schedule.
"Nine-thirty, board meeting. Eleven, investor presentation. One, conference call with the Singapore office. Three, legal team..."
"I know."
He stopped speaking immediately.
People who worked around me eventually understood that unnecessary words were as useless as unnecessary people.
As we crossed the floor, I noticed an employee stealing a glance at me through the reflection of his monitor.
The moment our eyes almost met, he looked down so quickly that it was almost amusing.
I entered my cabin.
Floor-to-ceiling glass, Dark wooden interiors and everything organized. Everything exactly where it belonged.
Unlike people.
I removed my coat and handed it to him without looking.
"Call Mr. Sandeep."
"Right away, sir."
Within two minutes, there was a hesitant knock on the cabin door.
"Come in."
The door opened slowly. He entered with uncertain steps. He looked nervous already.
Interesting.
He didn't even know why he had been called.
"Sir." He stood before my desk.
Hands folded and waiting.
I didn't offer him a seat. I never did when the conversation wasn't going to last.
I looked at him. "You're fired."
His eyes widened. "Sir?" He looked utterly confused. "Wha...What mistake did I make, sir?"
I leaned back in my chair. "You tell me."
His forehead was already glistening with sweat. "I... I don't know."
"No?" I opened another folder. "This morning. Eight forty-three. You were standing beside the coffee machine." His face visibly drained of color. "You were discussing me."
Silence.
I saw him gulp down nervously.
"You referred to me as," I paused deliberately. "A heartless monster."
His breathing grew uneven. "I...I didn't mean..."
I raised a hand and he immediately fell silent.
"I have no problem with opinions."
My voice remained calm. Almost conversational.
"If that's all you had done...I wouldn't have wasted my time calling you here."
Hope flickered across his face. Only to disappear in the next second.
"You also informed an employee from Kapoor Industries that our Singapore proposal has been delayed."
His eyes widened in horror.
"I swear, sir...It was just a casual conversation. It just slipped..."
"It slipped." I repeated the words slowly. "What an interesting choice of words."
I stood.
The movement alone made him instinctively take a step back.
I walked around the desk.
Each step measured and controlled until I stood directly in front of him. Close enough for him to realize I wasn't angry.
And somehow that terrified him even more.
"I like people who are interested in work." I looked directly into his trembling eyes. "Not gossip."
His breathing became louder.
"You called me a monster." A faint smile appeared on my lips. "So...I thought I should prove you right."
He shook his head rapidly.
"No, sir. I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I promise."
I watched him quietly. People always promise after getting caught.
Never before.
"You know what fascinates me?" He remained silent. "I've noticed that everyone asks for a second chance." I folded my hands behind my back. "But nobody values the first one."
His shoulders began trembling.
"Sir... My daughter is only three years old. My wife...My parents depend on me. I'll do everything. Please. Just one chance."
He was crying now. Tears rolled down his face. His hands folded before me.
His voice cracked. "Please forgive me."
I looked at him for several long seconds.
Without emotion, sympathy and guilt then I spoke. "My company feeds over twelve thousand families." I took one slow step closer. "If I forgive every employee who leaks information because they have children. This company won't survive long enough to feed anyone."
He collapsed to his knees.
"Sir please..."
"I don't enjoy repeating myself." I walked back toward my desk. "Your termination letter has already been processed."
He stared blankly. "W...What?"
I picked up my pen. "And one more thing."
His lips trembled.
"I've instructed HR to circulate your details across every subsidiary under the Singhania Group."
His face went completely white. "No..."
I continued signing the document.
"By the end of the day, every recruitment partner associated with the Singhania Group will have your file, that you are ineligible for rehire and not recommended for placement."
His voice broke.
"Sir, no. you can't..."
"I can." My voice remained almost pleasant. "And I will."
He looked as though the ground had disappeared beneath his feet.
I pressed the intercom.
"Ayaan."
The door opened immediately.
"Escort Mr. Sandeep outside."
Sandeep took two desperate steps toward my desk.
"Sir, please! I'll do anything. I'll never repeat..."
"Leave." I looked at him with a calmness. "Don't waste my time. Or I'll make sure you don't find employment. Not even with my rivals."
The last fragment of hope vanished from his face.
He didn't plead anymore. He simply looked... broken.
Ayaan silently escorted him out.
The cabin door closed.
Through the glass walls, I saw employees pretending not to watch or listen yet every single one of them had heard enough.
People often wondered why they called me a monster. They assumed it was because I destroyed careers.
They were wrong. Careers could be rebuilt.
What they truly feared was that once Kartik Singhania decided to erase someone, then he didn't stop until even hope refused to remember their name.
I leaned back in my chair as the cabin door clicked shut behind him.
Silence returned, the kind I preferred.
I picked up the next file from the stack on my desk, uncapped my pen and signed the final page without the slightest tremor in my hand.
"Sir, the board members have assembled." Ayaan informed.
I glanced at my watch. Right on schedule.
I stood, and walked out of the cabin.
The atmosphere on the floor had changed.
Every employee was working. No whispered conversations, laughter and no stolen coffee breaks.
Even the sound of keyboards seemed sharper than usual, as though every keystroke was meant to convince me of their productivity.
Good.
That was exactly how an office should function.
Fear made people disciplined and I had spent years cultivating that fear.
People called it toxic, cruel and inhuman but I called it effective.
The conference room was silent the moment I entered. I occupied the chair at the head of the table.
"Let's begin."
No one dared waste a second.
For the next two hours, numbers replaced emotions.
Revenue, pending contracts, expansion plans and investment projections.
I questioned every figure, rejected three proposals and approved one acquisition.
By the time the meeting ended, every director left carrying additional work but no one complained, no one ever did because they knew excuses never survived in front of me.
The rest of the day unfolded exactly as every other working day.
Emails, contracts, video conferences and Board approvals.
I knew my employees and rivals called me names behind my back.
Monster.
Heartless.
Ruthless.
Tyrant.
The words had reached my ears years ago.
I had no problem with it. If anything I preferred it.
People obeyed those they feared. They thought twice before lying, stealing and before crossing boundaries.
That was enough for me.
A leader who wanted everyone to love him eventually became a puppet and I had no intention of becoming one.
I wanted control.
Power wasn't satisfying because people praised you.
Power was satisfying because a single glance from you could silence an entire floor.
Because your footsteps alone could stop conversations.
Because your presence could straighten backs and lower eyes.
Dominance - that was real authority and authority was addictive.
By lunchtime, Ayaan walked into my cabin carrying two lunch trays.
He placed one infront of me before taking the seat opposite mine.
Unlike everyone else in this building, he never looked frightened around me.
Cautious.
Yes.
Respectful.
Always.
But afraid?
No.
Perhaps because he had worked beside me long enough to understand how I functioned.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Only the quiet clinking of cutlery filled the room.
Then he looked up.
"Don't you think..." He hesitated. "it was a little too harsh?"
I continued cutting a piece of grilled chicken. "What?"
"Sandeep. He was a family man."
I placed another bite into my mouth, I chewed slowly and swallowed.
Only then did I respond.
"I haven't done it for the first time." My eyes lifted to meet his. "Why are you behaving as if it's something new?"
Ayaan stared at me for a second.
Then a quiet chuckle escaped him.
"I suppose you're right." He shook his head. "At this point I should probably get used to it."
Ayaan sighed.
"I just..." He paused. "Sometimes I wonder whether one mistake really deserves the end of someone's career."