Chapter 4
Rohit shifted in his seat from where he sat across from his new employer the next morning.
He tried to look attentive as the endless cerulean sky stretched outside the window of the CEO’s thirtieth-floor office as his new boss squinted at his computer screen, single-finger-typing every few minutes and muttering under his breath.
Some of the mutterings were discernible and it was all Rohit could do not to laugh when he heard the words damn technology and font is too damn small and what did I click on now?
“Sir, maybe I could do a quick search for you?”
“No, no. I emailed Gayle last night—it should be here.”
“Gayle?”
“From human resources.”
Rohit’s brows shot up but, wisely, he refrained from commenting. He’d always considered messaging an employee on the weekend for nonurgent work-related matters to be inappropriate, but if that was how things were run here, he’d keep his mouth shut and get on board.
He had too much riding on this not to.
Rohit sat back in his chair for what looked like a long wait and let his mind drift. There was a lot to think about. Like signing the lease on the apartment he’d found yesterday after being offered a new job and calling his parents to inform them he’d officially accepted.
But all Rohit really wanted to do was think about Cynthia.
He’d awoken alone in his motel room this morning, the empty sheets beside him rumpled and cool but smelling so sweetly of something he couldn’t quite place that for one quick, mortifying moment, he’d rolled over and inhaled deeply.
Rohit couldn’t fault Cynthia for sneaking off in the dead of night—he had no idea where she worked or what time she started her day—but even he was a bit surprised at how optimistically he’d taken her absence in stride.
In her wake, he was left with a strange sense of satisfaction—a peculiar, intense kind of rightness sitting deep in his chest. A certainty that what had happened was meant to happen, like a down-on-her-luck single mother finding a winning lottery ticket in the street.
There was no other way to feel after the night he and Cynthia had shared together. He’d always had a thing for strong, assertive women, but Cynthia…
Cynthia was on a whole other level.
She was sharp, fierce, and intelligent, with a confidence that ran hot, drawing him closer to the flame, addicted to the burn. She’d been so honest and uninhibited in bed last night; hell, she’d been nothing but fearless and challenging, from the moment he’d spotted her in the bar.
She was regal and commanding. Sexy as hell.
The memory of her fingers fisting a greedy handful of motel sheets while her other hand dug into his hair, tugging at the roots, would be imprinted in his brain forever. Rohit wanted her again—in bed, at the bar, or wherever she’d have him.
From the outside looking in, Rohit was well aware that these feelings for a woman he had known for less than twenty-four hours were unhinged.
But he was a big believer in fate, and one did not ignore a chance meeting with a woman who tempted every single one of his senses.
Besides, she’d left her phone number on the hotel stationery pad by the cheap coffee maker on top of the mini fridge.
No name, no cutesy hearts, just ten boldly scrawled digits as if she knew he would call.
And fuck yes, he was going to call.
“Well, son, you’ll have to wait until HR arrives, I guess,” his boss announced with a sigh of defeat.
“Gayle,” Rohit said.
The older man nodded approvingly, clasping his hands together on the desk. “That’s what I like about you, Rohit. You seem like a people person and that’s exactly what we need around here. This company is like a family.”
A sliver of self-assurance threaded through Rohit.
He’d always found it easy to get along with others, decipher their body language, and react accordingly.
“That’s great. It sounds like an excellent work culture.
” Except for possible lack of boundaries when it came to after hours, but who was he to judge?
When the older man stood up, Rohit followed suit, his eyes catching on a framed photograph sitting beside the printer.
In the picture had to be a younger version of his new CEO.
Beside him was a little girl with a big grin on her face as she clutched at his hand with her two smaller ones.
The pair of them wore matching outfits and yellow construction helmets on their heads.
“Is that your daughter?” Rohit asked.
“Hmm? Oh, yes. She was a very focused little girl, always wanted to be number one in everything she did.”
As Rohit’s gaze slid away, he couldn’t help but linger on the large expanse of the polished cherrywood desk between them.
Everything in this office—from its location on the thirtieth floor to its gleaming surfaces and expensive-looking furnishings—fed Rohit’s determination.
If he played his cards right, this place was going to help turn his life around, he just knew it.
He looked at the framed photograph again. “Her excitement reminds me of my sister,” Rohit said.
“The one you’re sending money home for?”
“Yes, sir.” It was a topic they’d covered yesterday, and he was glad he’d been honest about his financial responsibilities.
They’d stumbled onto the topic by chance after Rohit had learned that his new boss was an immigrant, too, and was well acquainted with helping support family back home.
By no means was this an uncommon trend for expats living overseas, but the common ground had bonded the two men almost immediately, allowing Rohit the ability to ease off the desperate need to land this job and enjoy getting to know Rich.
“I like your attitude, Rohit. You’re going to fit in just fine here.”
“Thank you, Mr.Kumar.”
His boss chuckled. “No need for the formality, son. We’re going to be working very closely together. You can call me Rich.” A new gleam entered Rich’s eyes. “You’re going to be glad you joined Kumar Construction, Rohit. I see a very bright future for you here.”
Rohit didn’t bother to subdue the grateful smile spreading across his face. He couldn’t believe his luck. Looking for a job in western Canada had been the wisest decision he’d ever made. “Thank you for this opportunity, Rich. I won’t let you down.”
Truer words had never crossed his lips. Rohit was going to be the best damned employee Rich had ever seen. He wasn’t going to squander this. For his family’s sake, he was going to make every moment count.
“I know you won’t,” Rich agreed. “Why don’t you head over to your office and get settled? I’ll send a quick note to Gayle to find you as soon as she gets in. And close the door behind you if you wouldn’t mind. I have to make a phone call.”
Rohit quickly grabbed his messenger bag and did as Rich asked. But when he looked up after gingerly closing Rich’s heavy office door, he almost stumbled into a very familiar body in the hallway.
“Cynthia?” Rohit blurted as a prickle of delighted shock danced down his spine.
Cynthia, on the other hand, didn’t look at all surprised to see him, and when her shrewd, amber eyes flicked over his shoulder and narrowed on Rich’s closed door, Rohit realized that she had overheard at least some of the conversation that had taken place inside only moments ago.
Perhaps she had even spied them through the cracked door.
The burgeoning suspicion wrinkling her forehead couldn’t quell his pleasure, nor did it diminish the too-wide, too-telling smile stretching across his face. It was fate.
“What are you doing here?” He was powerless, too, against the teasing note in his voice. “Besides skulking in the corridors.”
Cynthia’s face hardened and the adrenaline thrumming through Rohit dulled to an uneasy crawl.
None of last night’s drugging playfulness glinted in her beautiful eyes, nor was there any give in the lithe, supple body he’d eagerly explored between the swish of starched sheets.
This wasn’t the cool flirtation he’d first encountered at the Leprechaun Trap the night before. She looked remote. Withdrawn.
Wary.
“You were just in there with my father,” she stated flatly.
“What? I was in there with my new boss—”
“My name is Cynthia Kumar,” she interrupted with an impatience that might have embarrassed him had he not seen her naked only hours ago.
“I—I didn’t know…We didn’t exchange last names.”
“And now?”
The challenge in Cynthia’s voice gave Rohit pause.
He was reminded of when, as a child, he’d seen a lion tamer at a traveling circus.
The lion and the tamer had circled each other for endless seconds, the audience on the edge of their seats as they waited for the human, so small and insignificant, to misstep.
Even then, Rohit had known it wasn’t real, that the entire thing—right down to the dramatic music piped through surround sound speakers—was part of a well-rehearsed show.
But Cynthia’s feline glare felt very real, and something about the tension around her eyes warned Rohit that she rarely missed a thing.
He softened his tone. “This doesn’t need to be a problem, Cynthia. I think your father really likes me, so—”
She rolled her eyes and jerked her thumb over her shoulder toward the hallway of office doors. “I work here, too,” she said as if he should have already known.
“Oh. Well, we can just…” Rohit trailed off.
He wasn’t entirely sure what solutions were available to them; Rich hadn’t been able to procure the employee handbook after all.
Maybe intraoffice dating was frowned upon at Kumar Construction, although if that was the case, Cynthia’s antagonism was still puzzling.
“We’ll find a solution,” he finished firmly. They would have to—she was worth it.
“Here’s a solution,” she replied. “Quit.”
Incredulous, Rohit shook his head. “Are you—are you serious?”
“Deadly.”
She looked deadly and Rohit shook his head again. “I…I can’t quit, Cynthia. I need this job.” There was no way he was going to explain about his family, not now with Cynthia glowering at him, ready to tear the flesh clean away from his bones.
Even with her snarling at him, Rohit had no doubt Cynthia was worth many things, but his family’s current situation—Maisa’s education, his grandmother’s medical bills—was incomparable. And not a topic of discussion.
Rohit straightened. “I need this job,” he repeated firmly. “My future depends on it.”
For less than a split second, Cynthia looked taken aback and her face faltered, her jaw going slack as a shadow clouded her eyes. But it wasn’t regret that Rohit saw there; it was hurt. Disappointment. And, he realized with a sharp pinch in his heart, a fair amount of distrust.
Rohit chanced a step forward and then winced when she immediately stepped back. He fought the impulse to reach for her hands, to hold her. Funny how just last night, she had melted against his touch, leaning into his caresses with a seductive, raw kind of grace that had made his head spin.
“Cynthia,” he said in a careful voice while shuffling backward half a step to give her space. “What exactly is this about?”
Cynthia’s face hardened again and whatever vulnerability Rohit had witnessed in that heartbreakingly fleeting moment was erased into nothingness. “That’s none of your business,” she snapped.
“But—”
“This isn’t going to work,” she said, her voice downright frigid, and this time Rohit had no idea how to proceed.
Oxygen deserted him, and he focused on calming the strange panicky feeling building in his chest as they stood staring at each other in silence while the sound of cheerful voices floated from the direction of the elevators.
When Rohit had walked into Kumar Construction at seven this morning, the office had been empty. He had no idea when Cynthia had arrived but this, he realized glumly, was obviously where she had disappeared to after one of the best nights of his life.
Lucky me , he thought grimly. They now both worked for her dad and, for some reason, that angered her.
She was the girl in the framed picture in Rich’s office, Rohit realized now.
Once upon a time, Cynthia had been an excitable little girl whose doting father had built an empire to, presumably, offer her the world.
And Rohit’s sister deserved the same.
“I’m not going to quit,” he said quietly. “And you’re just going to have to deal with it.”
Cynthia’s eyes narrowed into slits, and she shot him one last frostbite-inducing glare before turning on her heel and walking away.