“It’s not complete yet. I’ll share it as soon as it’s finalised.”
“You are still working on it?” she repeated, eyebrows lifting. “That’s interesting. Yesterday, everyone was singing your praises. And today, you have slowed down. It happens, you know, to newbies like you. Performance decreases once attention starts coming your way.”
Mishti stiffened but didn’t say a word.
“I’m just wondering if this is how you plan to impress Karan long-term. Praise one day, delays the next. Is this really the strategy? He won’t be happy.”
Before Mishti could respond, she saw behind Kanika because there stood Karan now, overhearing everything.
Kanika turned to look in her direction and was momentarily caught off guard.
“I was just asking Mishti about the Trinity report,” Kanika said to him. “Can you believe it’s not ready yet?”
Karan’s eyes moved to Mishti. Then back to Kanika before stepping inside.
“Mishti reports directly tome,” he said. “If the report isn’t ready, it’s my headache. Stop making things personal here.”
Kanika’s jaw tightened. “I wasn’t making it personal.”
“You were,” Karan said. “And as usual, you were crossing the line.”
He stepped closer, just enough to make his authority clear. “Mishti doesn’t need to win my heart. She’s here to help us win another project. Focus onyourrole, Kanika. Let me worry about mine.”
Kanika’s face flushed with anger, before she turned and walked out. The door shut harder than necessary behind her.
Mishti exhaled once the room was empty again.
“You didn’t have to do that. I could have handled it. I don’t need rescuing.”
As she spoke, her fingers moved subconsciously to the mangalsutra, twisting the chain lightly around her finger.
Karan’s gaze dropped there and before she realised what was happening, his fingers reached for the chain.
“Stop playing with it,” he scolded her.
In the process, his forearm rested against her breast, as he steadied the chain. Mishti’s inhale caught halfway. Her heart began to race, loud in her ears. The pressure of his forearm was light and unintentional, but it stole her breath all the same.
Karan froze, too, realising the placement of his arm. Right over her soft breasts, where the Mangalsutra was hanging. His eyes dropped on the neckline of her silk kurti, lingering just long enough for him to notice the rise and fall of her breathing, the way her body responded to his nearness.Again.
And it affected him too. Her chest heaving by their proximity, the feel of her heart beating... These days, being close to her had begun to feel instinctive, almost effortless, as though his body recognised a pull his mind refused to acknowledge.
When he finally lifted his eyes and met hers, he caught the moment she noticed the shift in his expression. Not wanting her to read more, he withdrew his arm. But even pulling away took effort.
“Stop playing with it,” he repeated, softly this time. “I don’t want it snapping open again, and you sulking the whole day.”
Mishti stared at him. Why would her sulking matter to him? But he was quick enough to add further.
“I want your focus on Trinity. Nowhere else.”
Mishti knew he was masking it again. Just like he always did. His words spoke control, but his eyes told a different story.
Karan diverted the topic. “Why isn’t the report done?”
“I’m waiting for Abhimanyu to send the investor movement details. Without that, the projections won’t align. He said he’ll send me by evening.”
Karan’s expression tightened. “I don’t want delays. Come with me.”
He turned toward the door. Mishti quietly followed him out of her cabin, her fingers finally not playing with the mangalsutra, even subconsciously anymore, only becausehehad asked her to do so.
