Page 74 of Wasted Grace

“Fine,” I exhale and let my hands drop. I hadn’t even realized I was doing it so obsessively. But now that she’s pointed it out, I realize—yeah, I do this when I’m anxious.

It’s the little things you think no one notices.

Untilshedoes.

Of course she does.

Except—shenever pointed it out before.

Greeshadidn’t.

I stare down at the half-done knot and decide to leave it. Crooked. Uneven. Good enough.

We pull up. I get out the moment the car stops.

And I try not to check the tie again.

We stop a short distance from the main warehouse, and I immediately notice something’s off.

Aadya—who had been sitting next to me in the car the whole way—slips out the opposite door and takes a completely different path around the outer perimeter of the facility. Her gait is smooth, casual. But there’s intent in every step.

By the time I make it inside with my two colleagues, we’re greeted by Vir and Mehul already waiting in the glass-paneled lobby.

And Aadya?

She appears two minutes later... from a different corridor entirely. Not a trace of the car ride on her. Not even a glance in my direction. Like she wasn’t beside me for thirty silent minutes.

Vir throws her a quick nod, but Mehul’s the one who greets us with that familiar silk-slick voice.

“Welcome, gentlemen—and lady,” he purrs, his smile just shy of polite. “It’s good to have you at the heart ofSitara’sfuture. I thought... a little visibility into our company’s newer tech products might make you feel more invested.”

He spreads his arms like a host preparing for a royal feast.

“We’re very proud of our growth this quarter. So proud,” he says, turning slightly—too slightly—toward Aadya. His voice stays smooth, but I catch it. That microsecond of sharpness. The blink-and-you-miss-it flick of his eyes in her direction.

She doesn’t notice. She’s looking away for threats, maybe.

ButIdo.

And something about it makes my stomach knot.

I don’t like this.

The tour begins. The facility is vast—steel scaffolding, automated lifts, crates marked with codes only their backend team would understand. The space echoes. Sounds bounce. People split. His assistants are dotting off with my GenVault team members, giving them guided walk-throughs.

Vir stays a few paces behind, casually scanning, eyes narrowed.

And Mehul sidles up next to me.

“So,” he begins lightly, his hands behind his back. “I really like the latest GenVault interface.”

“Really? Which part?” I reply, keeping my tone just as pleasant. Neutral. Uncommitted.

“Oh, the AI categorization especially. Very smooth. I like how it tags everything by probable security risk even before we audit. Very efficient.”

I nod once. He’s not wrong. We only rolled that out a few weeks ago.

“You’ve been doing good work, Sharma. Smart. Useful.”