“It won’t happen,” she said, her voice echoing his tone. “I promise.”
When he didn’t say anything, she threw pride to the wind and added, “Pa please. I need to do this or I’ll forever be the fuck up that couldn’t even get something this simple right. The nepo baby who screwed up a basic step. Let me fix it. Please.”
Her stomach twisted, pain and unease winding through her. She could feel Daksh’s eyes boring into her back but she didn’t look at him as she waited for her father’s verdict.
Aakash sighed again. “Okay sweetheart. You have twenty four hours. Then I step in.”
Her shoulders sagged as relief flooded her. “Thanks Pa.”
She disconnected and dialled Ashish. His number was busy so she left him a voicemail asking him to call back. She tapped the phone against her hand as she considered next steps. She’d already called and harangued the airline. There was no hope of catching a flight out of here. She’d blistered the skin off her team on a call earlier and they were jumping to get a fresh NDA through legal and to the legal team at Banlay for signing. She’d spoken to the client herself and he’d assured her that the minute the NDA hit his desk, he’d sign it. He was a close friend of Ashish’s and she knew he would extend himself for them.
She’d covered all her bases…yet, she still wanted Ashish to speak to his friend once more. Maybe then this knot in her chest would dissolve and she could breathe again.
“I’ve never heard anyone complain so much about being a nepo baby while making the most of it.”
Daksh’s calm voice had her shrieking and spinning on her heel. She’d forgotten all about him! Her doom spiral had occupied all her thoughts, leaving her with no mental bandwidth for the ass who was haunting her.
“What?” she asked, gaping at him.
“If you had such a big problem with being a nepo baby, why did you join your father’s company?”
“Where else would I go?” she asked, bewildered.
“Literally anywhere else in the world, Mouse.” He lounged in that chair, his legs spread, his arms resting on his thighs, looking like a king at leisure. The fabric of his cotton shorts pulledagainst his powerful thighs even as his soft, grey t-shirt gently fell in loose folds over an impressive chest.
“I’m a Thakkar,” she snapped defensively, fanning her hot cheeks and not looking at his body. “Thakkar Industries is mine. Why in the world would I work anywhere else?”
“It’s your father’s,” he said, his lips thinning in disapproval. “I don’t think you’ve earned it yet.”
“Your brother works for your father,” she pointed out childishly. “Has he earned it?”
Daksh inclined his head. “No, he’s working towards it and he’s very happy there,” he conceded. “You, on the other hand, look miserable.”
“You know nothing about me,” she said haughtily, tossing her braid over her shoulder. “Or about real work.”
His dark, intense eyes flashed at her remark but he said nothing, just watched her.
She felt compelled to fill the awkward silence. “Not all of us can run around tramping through jungles, taking pictures of dogs and stuff. Dominating the corporate world is high stress and high reward. I’m not miserable. I’m thriving on the pressure.”
“I love taking pictures of dogs,” he said mildly, “though you don’t find too many of them in the jungle. Also, speaking of thriving, you look like you have a stomach ache.”
His gaze dropped to where her palm was pressing against her stomach. She removed her hand and tucked it behind her back.
“I don’t,” she muttered, even as her stomach twisted painfully. “What are you doing here anyway?”
“I thought we could go out for lunch,” he said. Now he looked like his tummy ached at the thought of spending time with her. “Since, we’re stuck here, we may as well make the most of it.”
She stared at him for a long moment. “Why?”
Daksh’s eyebrows shot up. “Most people eat lunch, Mouse. I’m sure we can find some leaves or dry chicken for you. Somewhere, in Goa, there is a restaurant that feeds people who enjoy rodent food.”
She made a heroic effort to ignore that last insult and asked, “Why are you asking me to come along? You don’t like me. I don’t like you. Goa is a large city. Surely, we can ignore each other for the duration of our forced stay.”
“Most people aren’t going to be related in a few days. I’d like to get to know the newest nepo baby in the family.”
He grinned, enjoying his own stupid joke. It was stupid, she thought…the joke. What wasn’t stupid was the strange twist her stomach did. That was new and nothing like its usual bad behaviour.
“Come on, Mouse,” he coaxed. “Truce?”
