SOFAI'S POV:

Since that intense interview, I hadn’t crossed paths with him again. I drowned myself in work, earning admiration from everyone. And yet, he never acknowledged me. Never even looked my way.

Then came the meeting—a high-stakes gathering of all the companies under his control. I was tasked with addressing share-related discrepancies. My moment to shine. But the thought of facing him again twisted my stomach into knots.

Antonio, his secretary, shattered my illusion of control with a single statement. "Corruption. South American offices. Internal. Our own people."

My fingers tightened around my pen. "Our own people?"

"Yes," Antonio said, almost bored. "And if you don't find out who, the boss will find out for himself."

I didn't need the warning.

I knew what his version of finding out would look like.

I went home with a pounding headache and a mission. My laptop became my battlefield, my fingers my weapons. Documents, transactions, statements—I tore through them all. No breaks. No sleep. Just cold, ruthless inspection.

And then, at the crack of dawn—I found them. John and Clara. Their fingerprints were all over the fraud.

I exhaled, exhausted. Finally.

The Meeting

I overslept. Damn it.

Jolting awake at 7:00 AM, I threw on my clothes, grabbed a slice of bread, and bolted.

By the time I reached the office, the entire staff was already seated. Eyes turned toward me, shocked. The meeting was in two minutes, and I had just arrived.

I didn't care. I wasn't late. That’s all that mattered.

I took my seat and grabbed the water bottle kept in front of me as I took a sip the door behind me creaked open. It was him .

Ansh Oberoi.

And just like that—the room froze.

I had just met him once and I could recognise him immediately by his distinct and divine scent.

Suddenly, everyone stood up to greet him. His presence was undinieable, filling the entire room with a commanding aura that sent a shiver down my spine

He walked past me, not sparing a glance. Settling into his chair, he leaned back, exuding an effortless dominance that made the atmosphere stifling.

The meeting began. Excuses flooded the room. Denials. Justifications.

Then—my turn.

I stood, passing the reports through the people seated between us. My voice was steady.

“The corruption wasn’t a sudden act. It was a carefully planned betrayal.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. He said nothing, letting me continue.

“John and Clara...though absent today..manipulated our transaction records. Fabricated expenses. Misreported GST figures.”

"I've traced unauthorised transfers and suspicious financial activity directly linked to them." One by one I tried to explain. His gaze bore into me

Silence.

And then—his voice.

Cold. Calculated. Razor-sharp.

“So, you finally decided to do your job you were paid to?” His eyes darkened.

I clenched my fists beneath the table. "I acted as soon as I found the evidence."

He exhaled, shaking his head like he was speaking to a particularly stupid child.

"And how long did it take you to 'find' it?" His tone was mocking. "Weeks?.. Months?.. Years?..Or were you waiting for them to personally invite you to the fraud?"

A few executives coughed awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.

I took a deep breath. "I did my best."

Wrong answer.

His gaze sharpened, turning razor-sharp. "Your best?" He leaned back, chuckling under his breath. "Sweetheart, your 'best' just cost me millions."

The room was suffocating now.

He wasn't done. "What the hell were you doing while they were robbing us blind?.. Drinking coffee?... Painting your fucking nails?"

"You had one goddamn job to safeguard my finances." His voice turned icy. "But instead, you played detective after the money was gone... Do you know what that makes you?"

I didn't respond.

He smirked. "A fucking liability."

A low murmur rippled through the room.

I squared my shoulders. “I worked on this all night.”

His lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smirk-more like a predator baring its teeth.

"All night?" he mused. "And how many months did you sleep through while my money was vanishing?"

My pulse spiked. "I-"

He cut me off with a sharp laugh.

"Save it. I don't need your excuses." He leaned back, drumming his fingers on the table, eyes filled with something cruel.

"You were fucking useless until now...What changed? Did your lazy little brain finally start functioning, or did you realize that warming my chair wasn't enough to justify your existence here?" He let the question hang. The weight of his silence was worse than his words.

I stayed silent.

He grabbed my report and flung it to the floor, the papers scattering like fallen leaves. "You're either fucking incompetent or fucking careless."

"Which is it?"

Heat surged through my veins. My fingers curled into fists beneath the table.

"I'm neither," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.

He chuckled, low and mocking.

"Bold words, coming from someone who can't even handle her own goddamn responsibilities." He leaned back, looking me up and down with disdain. "Tell me, were you actually doing your job, or were you just sitting there... staring at the numbers like a lost little girl?"

I pressed my lips together.

He continued, relentless.

"Should I hire someone else to clean up your mess? Because clearly, you're not capable. Maybe a fresh intern? Hell, even a trained monkey would have spotted the fraud faster than you."

I felt the sting of humiliation settle deep in my chest.

His gaze sharpened. "You're fucking lucky I haven't fired you already. Yet."

I inhaled sharply, willing myself not to crack under his gaze. Heat surged up my spine. My fingers curled into fists. “I’ll fix it.”

He leaned back, his smirk ice-cold. “Fix it?” His voice dropped, venomous. “Or I fix you?”

The words slammed into me like a truck.

He grabbed my report and tossed it onto the floor. “Pack your stuff and get lost if you can’t handle your responsibilities.”

The room was silent. The kind of silence that crushed the air out of your lungs.

I clenched my jaw, forcing back the burn in my throat. I did my job. I worked my ass off. Why the hell was I the only one getting blamed?

"I was working on other projects as well-"

His laugh was sharp. Cruel.

"Oh, forgive me...l didn't realize my millions were a fucking side hobby for you."

Heat flared up my neck.

I lifted my chin, my voice low but steady. "I did everything I could-"

His eyes flashed.

"And it wasn't enough." His voice was ice. "That's the fucking problem with people like you. You think effort matters."

He chuckled darkly. "It doesn't. Results do."

I forced myself to hold his gaze.

I gritted my teeth, but my silence only amused him.

"I don't need an employee who cleans up messes." He leaned back, watching me. "I need someone who doesn't let the mess happen in the first place."

I forced my voice to stay even. "I understand that-"

His laughter stopped me cold. "You don't understand shit."

I flinched.

"If you did," he mused, eyes burning into mine, "we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?"

I gritted my teeth.

"I'll make sure this never happens again." His gaze darkened.

"You'll make sure?" He took a slow step closer, towering over me. "And if it does, what then?"

Silence.

"What exactly should I do with you..?" he murmured, tilting his head. "Should I fire you?"

I swallowed hard.

"Or..." he mused, his voice dropping lower, "should I make you wish I had?"

The threat coiled around my throat, suffocating, inescapable.

My voice barely made it out. "I won't fail you again."

His eyes flickered with something unreadable. "Good."

And then-a voice broke through.

A deep, accented voice.

"With all due respect, Boss... she is like a daughter to me. And I have never seen anyone work as tirelessly as she did for a company that is not even her own."

His voice was calm, respectful-but firm.

Sergio wasn't done.

"She took responsibility for something that was the failure of an entire department. She worked through the night to uncover the fraud while others failed to do so in months."

His voice softened, but his words were just as firm.

"I have worked with many people in my time, Señor Oberoi. I have seen loyalty, and I have seen negligence. This woman?" His gaze turned to me for a moment before locking back onto Ansh. "She is not negligent. If anything, she carried a weight that was never hers to bear."

He leaned back, shaking his head.

"So, what you're saying is-I should praise her for fixing a mess that shouldn't have existed in the first place?"

Sergio didn't flinch. "I am saying she was not the only one responsible. That's all"

Ansh's smirk faded.

His dark gaze flickered toward me again, studying me with something unreadable. "You're right." His voice was slow, almost amused. "She's not the only one to blame."

He turned back to me.

"But that doesn't change the fact that she was the one who let it get this far."

He leaned forward, gaze burning into mine.

My face burned with humiliation, but I didn't let the tears fall. Not here. I sat back down, staring blankly at the table as the meeting continued around me.

By the time it ended, my anger had replaced my embarrassment. I stayed in my cabin the rest of the day, refusing to eat despite Antonio's concerned visit.

__________________________________________________________

Later that evening, as I sat staring blankly at my laptop, there was a knock on my cabin door. I looked up to find Antonio standing there with a small food tray.

"I told you I'm not hungry," I said, annoyed.

"And I told you I don't care," he replied, placing the tray on my desk. "Eat. Starving yourself won't solve anything."

I stared at him, but his expression was kind, not pitying. With a sigh, I picked up a piece of bread.

"You're not the first person he's ripped apart, you know,"

Antonio said, sitting across from me. "But the fact that you're still here, still working, speaks volumes."

I frowned, chewing slowly. "Does he ever... I don't know, apologize?"

Antonio chuckled. “Ansh Oberoi? Apologize? Keep dreaming.”

I couldn't help but smile faintly_

__________________________________________________________

I left the office late that night, the building eerily quiet. As I stepped into the elevator. The doors started closing.

Then-a hand. A grip.

The doors slid open again.

And he walked in.

My breath hitched.

Towering. Imposing. Effortlessly dangerous.

He didn't even glance at me, eyes fixed on his phone. The silence was suffocating.

The silence was suffocating. Suddenly, the elevator shook violently, and I stumbled forward, about to hit my head on the door.

His hand shot out, stopping me. "Careful," he muttered, his voice steady but firm.

I froze, meeting his eyes. His sharp gaze locked onto mine, and for a brief moment, it felt like he could see everything I was hiding. He withdrew his hand, leaning back like nothing had happened.

"Thank you," I whispered, but he didn't respond, his attention was already back on his phone.

Why the fuck I'm even thanking him after whatever he did to me today.