Page 6 of Cherish my Heart

“Sit down. Now.” I hesitate but still obey. But not before locking eyes with the man again.

He smirks. “Brave or foolish,” he says smoothly, “we’ll find out soon enough.”

His voice is almost amused. Like he enjoys the idea of testing me.

I feign a smile back at him, irritated by how smug and hot he looks. The rest of the presentation is a blur. I sit quietly, my face probably red, fingers twitching under the table. No one says anything to me, but I can feel the weight of every glance.

When it ends, everyone stands, shuffling out with murmurs and polite nods. The five men leave one by one. Except him. He pauses at the door, turns, and looks directly at me. “I’m the owner of this company, by the way.” My breath stops. “And come to my office before you leave today.”

He walks out. I feel the floor shift beneath me. What. The. Actual. Hell. So he's the CEO? Fuck.

Radha rushes to my side. “Are you mad?” she whispers urgently. “Do you want your career to end before it starts?”

“I did nothing wrong.”

“Maybe,” she says. “But you’re in huge trouble. Pray he doesn’t fire you.” I swallow hard.

The room is empty now as, one by one, everyone leaves, sympathy visible on their faces. I stand there, still. I square my shoulders.

If he wants to yell, let him. If he wants to test me, fine. But I will not apologize for speaking up. Not today. Not ever. Because I am not wrong.

CHAPTER 4

ABHIMAAN

“Are you a child?” I sigh as my best friend, one and only (and how? No one knows) Harsh, who’s now trying his hand at music producing. Last month he was doing theater. The month before last month he wanted to take a break, so he went on a hiking trip, and what I do not understand is from what did he need the break because he’s always on break. “You need money, don’t you?” I smirk, shaking my head. I know him, and when he starts buttering you up, he needs something in return.

“How generous of you, big brother.” I clench my jaw at the nickname.

“Harsh,” I say firmly. “Never call me that again.” He raises his hands in surrender, his eyes softening. Those words bring back the worst memories that I have locked away in the back of my head. They should remain there.

“Can’t a friend call to see how you are doing?” He pouts slightly, and I roll my eyes. He chuckles, “Who pissed you off today?” He asks.

“Humankind.” I answer without any hesitation, and he laughs out loud.

“That's always, but today you seemed a bit more pissed,” he asks, folding his hands as he leans back in his chair.

“Not pissed,” I inhale deeply. “Amused actually,” I smirk.

“Woah, that’s a new emotion you unlocked, Abhimaan. Congratulations.” He slowly claps, and I want to punch his face, only if he were here. Nope, I don’t want him here; he will frustrate the hell out of me.

“Okay, jokes apart, but I am VERY curious now. What happened?” He raises an eyebrow and leans forward, eager to hear about it all.

I grunt, sitting down. “An intern challenged me in front of my entire team.”

In a long while, I have not had someone who attempted to put me in my place; everyone around here just tiptoes around me and tries so hard to impress me, but not her. Shewas so fearless and so gorgeous in that moment. I smirk, but that’s because she didn’t know who I was. I can’t wait to have her beg for forgiveness when she walks in here.

After a beat of silence, Harsh gleefully says, “I already like her.”

“Of course you do.”

“What did she say?”

“She said my consultant’s model was outdated and called it a dead market. Told me I was humiliating people. All with this look in her eyes like she owned the room.”

“Did she know who you were?”

“No.”