‘No, because I have to call a quick meeting with my legal team to understand the gist of what’s going on and, believe me,that conversation will last half a day.’ Siya reasoned with her, but Kashvi didn’t budge.
‘You’re not leaving without this sandwich,’ Kashvi said, and Siya saw the steely determination in her eyes. If there was one thing Siya knew about her younger sister, it was that she could be stubborn.
She held out her hand, and Kashvi gave a victorious smile before handing her the sandwich. Siya pointed a finger at her and said sternly, ‘You need to focus on your finals. None of this will distract you from getting that scholarship, you got that?’
‘Yes, Ma’am. Now go!’
With a quick kiss at her late mother’s photo, Siya rushed out of their apartment and into the elevator. She dialled the one person she knew she could count on.
He answered at the first ring.
‘About time you called back. Where the hell have you been? Hiding under a stone?’ Gaurav Rathore asked in a deep baritone voice.
‘Forget that. What’s happening there?’ Siya asked as she ran through the parking lot and slid into her BMW.
‘Your dad is in a mood. Nothing new. Did you have your breakfast?’
‘Oh my God! What is everyone’s obsession with my breakfast?! Gaurav, what’s happening there? When is the briefing?’ Siya asked, trying her best to drive responsibly. But if there was one day she badly wished she was in GTA, it was today.
‘Uh, it’s ongoing right now. I stepped out to take your call,’ Gaurav told her, and her heart dropped into her stomach.Dad didn’t wait for me, she thought.
It stung, bad. She shouldn’t be surprised by it, though, given the text he’d sent her. But a part of her had hoped to get a chance to add her two cents on the matter in front of the board.
As an introvert, single dad, Gaurav always felt out of place in the wild marketing team and had quickly become her only friend. He was one of the few people who was aware of her complicated relationship with her father, so he understood her silence well.
He said, ‘I’ll stretch it with a lot of demographic jargon. Hell, I’ll just read the script from my latest ad campaign. That’ll keep them occupied.’
Despite herself, Siya smiled a little. ‘No, you go back in. I’m almost there,’ Siya said, pushing harder on the gas. She’ll pay the fine if it comes to that, but it wouldn’t cost her more than being left out of the important business decisions.
When she got closer to the office, she saw reporters lined up at the entrance. No doubt theywere looking for some controversial reaction from one of the employees at Kashyap Luxe. Thank god they had a back route entry no one knew about.
As soon as she pulled into the parking lot, she saw her executive assistant, Namita, waiting for her. Siya got out of the car, handed her the key, and rushed to the elevators.
Pushing the button for the top floor, she tried to get her mess of documents in order, assuming her father would ask for the current report of the two acquisition cases she was handling. She couldn’t drop the ball there.
When the elevator doors opened, she came face to face with Dhruv, the bane of her existence. For the hundredth time, she cursed her luck that she had a stepbrother like him. The anger only intensified when he smirked at her.
‘Ah, at last you decided to grace us with your presence,’ Dhruv remarked, folding his arms on his chest. Dressed in casuals, he looked lost in the chaos of the formal setting of an office, but his audacity reached far beyond that of her father’s.
Ignoring him, she walked past, but he didn’t take the hint. Following after her, he matched her pace as he continued, ‘Why are you headed to the conference room? Planning to clean up after everyone?’
The remark stabbed at her heart, but Siya knew better than to react. Dhruv seemed like the human equivalent of a vulture. Even a little hint of weakness, and he’d sweep down to tear her apart. So she simply smiled at him and asked, ‘Why? Did you make another mess?’
The smirk vanished from his smug face. ‘Not as big of a mess as you have created today. Dad is livid, Siya. Especially because he had to answer to the board regarding the absence of the company’s Chief Legal Officer,’ Dhruv gestured at her, his every word dripping with condescension.
Her heart hammered in her chest, and she could hear a high-pitched ringing in her ears. Siya could almost imagine the rage on her father’s face, and it sent a chill down her spine. She turned to retort and saw a red shadow on his cheek.
But before she could ask about it, Gaurav joined them.
His presence settled her a little, especially when he turned to Dhruv and said, ‘Didn’t expect to still see you here, Dhruv. Ithought Mr Kashyap made it quite clear that he doesn’t want you hanging out around here for now.’
Dhruv looked like he’d just sucked a lemon, but he stayed silent. As the marketing head of the company with an infamously patient expression, Gaurav was his equal in both experience and position, and Dhruv knew that.
When Gaurav didn’t break eye contact, Dhruv smartly backed off and walked away, shrouded in the shadow of his bruised ego.
Siya breathed a sigh of relief and turned to thank Gaurav, who was already shaking his head. ‘I don’t know how you manage to maintain your sanity in his presence.’
‘Who said I’m sane?’ Siya half-joked, as they walked together towards her father’s cabin. ‘Why did Dad ask him to leave?’ she asked, curious.
