Harshad Oberoi

“Good morning, Shona!” She sang out with a bright smile, her voice all too cheerful, like she hadn’t just barged into my office uninvited.

I froze, my fingers curling around the edge of my desk, barely containing my temper. 

“What the hell—”

“You hung up on me in the morning. So I had to come, how else am I going to talk to you?” She cut in, her tone light and breezy, as if we were old friends catching up over coffee. She turned to Raj with an overly sweet smile. “Thanks for trying, but I’ll take it from here.”

Raj glanced at me, waiting for instructions. I met his panicked gaze with a sharp glare. 

“Get out,” I bit out through clenched teeth.

He practically sprinted out of the room, shutting the door behind him. That left just her and me. Aradhana stood in front of my desk, looking completely unbothered, her wide eyes gleaming with amusement as she met my furious gaze.

“What are you doing here?” I ground out, my voice dangerously low.

She tilted her head, a grin playing at her lips. 

“I thought we could talk, Shona. You have been ignoring me all week. That’s not very nice, you know.”

“You have lost your mind.” I let out a harsh, humorless laugh. 

“Nope,” she said cheerfully, taking a seat across from me without invitation. “Not just my mind. My heart too. To you, shona.”

“You are insane,” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose as I felt my headache return with a vengeance. “Do you think you can waltz into my office and do whatever you please?”

“Looks like I just did,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Anyway, why are you so grumpy all the time? I think you need to smile more.”

“Get. Out. Now.” Her audacity was infuriating.

“Not until you listen to me,” she said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest. “I came all the way here, Harsha, so the least you can do is hear me out.”

“I don’t care what you have to say,” I snapped. “I don’t want to see you, hear you, or even think about you.”

“Well, that’s too bad, Shona. Because I am not going anywhere.” But Aradhana leaned forward, her gaze steady and unapologetic. 

And for a moment—just a fraction of a second—I forgot how to breathe.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I muttered, trying to steady my erratic heartbeat.

“You really should work on your anger issues, Harsha. You are too tense all the time.” Her lips twitched, and she leaned back in her chair. 

“Do you ever shut up?” I glared at her, my teeth gritted in frustration.

“Only when you ask nicely.” She said it so casually, her tone dripping with sarcasm that made my blood boil.

“I swear, I am going to strangle you,” I muttered, but my voice lost some of its venom as I looked at her face, still grinning like an idiot.

“Oh, I am so scared,” she teased, winking at me.

"Oh, by the way, I brought something you would love..." Aradhana said, her voice dripping with saccharine sweetness as she reached into the paper bag she was carrying.

I stared at her, already dreading whatever nonsense she had brought. But when she pulled out a small potted plant—a delicate green shoot barely in its budding stage—I couldn’t stop my eyes from widening.

“What the hell…” I muttered under my breath.

“Preeti told me you love gardening. Isn’t it such a coincidence that I am also crazy about gardening?” She chirped, flashing a smile so sweet it could rot teeth.

Sweet! My foot.

“This is my office. Not a bloody nursery!” I snapped, my patience fraying at the seams. My voice came out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care.

Aradhana, completely unfazed, cradled the damn plant like it was some sacred artifact. 

“I know, shona. This is a gift. I nurtured it, you know,” she said with an exaggerated fondness, like we were discussing a child instead of a plant. “I usually don’t share my babies from the garden. But it’s you. That’s why I thought I would give you one. What’s mine is yours too, right?”

I stood abruptly, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. I had officially reached my limit.

“That’s it! Enough of your games, Aradhana,” I growled, my voice echoing around the room. “You have barged into my office, interrupted my work, and—what the hell—turned it into a circus! I am not interested in whatever this is, and I don’t need your plants, your gifts, or your insufferable presence!”

She blinked at me innocently, as though I had just complimented her instead of yelling.

“Get. Out. Now!” I thundered, pointing a rigid finger toward the door. “I have better things to do than entertain your drama!”

“But Harsha—”

“And don’t you Harsha me!” I cut her off, my voice like steel. “How did you even get in here without an appointment? This is a professional workspace, not your personal playground!”

Aradhana tilted her head, a smug little smirk playing on her lips as if she enjoyed watching me lose my cool. I clenched my fists, trying to resist the urge to bang my head on the desk.

“Well, if I am not allowed to play, I guess I will have to leave,” she said, standing up slowly, her tone almost mockingly polite.

“Finally, some sense,” I muttered under my breath, but she wasn’t done yet.

“Okay, okay, shona. Don’t be so grumpy,” she said with maddening calm, rising to her feet. “Enough for today. I will let you cool down.” She sauntered toward the door, completely unbothered by my anger.

But just as she reached the doorway, she turned back around and blew me a kiss. 

“But I will come back. You will miss me if I don’t,” she added with a wink before sashaying out of my cabin like she owned the damn building.

The door finally closed with a soft click, and I collapsed back into my chair, feeling like a hurricane had just ripped through my office.

Fucking hell.

This girl was going to drive me to the brink of insanity.

A/N

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