While I was thinking, I looked ahead and noticed the curtains of the cabin window opening. The cabin was right in front of my desk, slightly above my line of sight.

How did I not notice there was an office there?

But whose?

And I got my answer instantly as the curtains finally opened completely, revealing him standing straight with a remote in his hand.

How did I not notice before that it was his cabin?

Then he looked at me, and I was already looking at him too. A mischievous smile appeared on his face. He didn't say anything, but his expression was clearly saying,

"Welcome to my office."

"Wow, what a view..." I muttered irritably, narrowing my eyes at him.

And immediately lowered my head.

Bhagwan ji, saare shocks ek hi din mein dene hain kya aapko?

(Dear God, do you really want to give me all the shocks in a single day?)

Kya kar rahe ho yaar aap? Konsi nayi musibat gale pad gayi mere? Kya yaar, jahan jaati hoon kuch na kuch gadbad ho hi jaati hai. Main toh sirf Shreya ko find karne aayi thi na... phir yeh kya ho raha hai?

(What are you doing? What new trouble has landed on my neck? Seriously, wherever I go, something always goes wrong. I only came here to find Shreya... then what exactly is happening?)

I muttered while running my fingers through my hair in frustration.

But whatever happens, happens. I have to do what I came here for. Ab inhe toh roz jhelna hi padega.

(Now I'll have to tolerate him every single day.)

And instantly, I realised something.

Wait... wait... wait... one second.

That means Mr. Mysterious, the Suryansh Oberoi I was looking for... the M.D. of Zyvora Systems... whose photos weren't even available on the internet, not even on the company's website... is Mr. Careless?

Oh.

Right.

So I have to find out the truth about him.

He is the reason my Shreya disappeared from this office. Of course, he's the M.D. He can do anything, hide anything, manipulate anything. But I will find every truth you're hiding. Just watch, Suryansh Oberoi. I will ruin your game and uncover whatever you're trying so hard to keep hidden.

You don't know me yet, but now I know you. And that makes you my suspect.

Now this has become even more personal.

I never thought the person I was looking for would turn out to be you. But now it's you.

Till now, you have only seen Vedika. But now you'll see Vedika Roy, the crime journalist people usually avoid crossing paths with.

And trust me, Mr. Oberoi, if you knew me well enough, you would never want to meet that side of me. But now you have to.

And if there's one thing I'm good at, Mr. Oberoi, it's finding the truth, no matter how deeply it's buried.

You welcomed me into your office, so I accepted your challenge. Now let's play the game.

And trust me, I will definitely win.

Because if the truth is dangerous, then I was born to chase it.

And suddenly, a peon came carrying a large pile of files in his hands, so large that it was practically covering his face.

He somehow managed to place them on my desk before letting out a relieved breath.

"Ma'am, Suryansh sir sent these files."

I looked at the mountain of files and then at him.

"These are the past two years' project records. Sir wants you to review them, prepare a summary report, identify any inconsistencies, and submit your observations before leaving today."

"What?"

I stared at him in disbelief.

"Before leaving today?"

"Yes, ma'am."

I slowly turned my head towards the huge pile of files sitting on my desk.

There had to be at least a hundred files.

Work is just an excuse. He is simply taking revenge on me for the parking lot incident.

He is seriously insane. How will I do this? And that too before evening? How is that even possible?

Uhmmm... God, help me please.

I can do my journalist work very well, but this is completely new. I have never done anything like this before.

And then my phone rang. I quickly opened my bag and saw Mihir's name flashing on the screen. Looking around, I noticed all my colleagues were nearby, so I couldn't talk here. I immediately got up and found a corner near a window, a little away from everyone.

I picked up the call.

"Hello."

"Hii Vedika... I mean Prisha, is everything alright? Sorry, I was so tensed that I ended up calling. I know you told me not to, but I can't explain how stressed I am. Just tell me you're fine. Please."

Mihir bhi na, kitna stress leta hai. He is so like...

(Mihir worries too much. That's just how he is...)

I have missed them so much in Mumbai because no one has ever cared for me like this there. But leave that.

"Just relax. I'm fine, but the person I met definitely isn't. I'm very sure he is mentally ill."

"What are you saying? Who is mentally ill?" he asked in confusion.

"My new boss, Suryansh Oberoi. And the same café person who collided with me, remember?"

"What? He's your boss? He's the person we were looking for?" he asked, sounding a little shocked.

"Yes."

"Usne kuch kaha toh nahi na? Usne tumhe pehchana toh nahi kahin?"

(He didn't say anything suspicious, right? He didn't recognise you, did he?)

"No, he recognised me, but he doesn't know anything about me. Don't worry. But usne kaha nahi, bahut kuch kiya hai."

(He didn't just say things, he has done a lot more than that.)

I replied with an annoyed expression, almost sounding ready to cry from frustration.

"Kya kiya?"

(What did he do?)

"He gave me a pile of files from the company's past two years of projects and told me to review them and prepare a report. And there have to be at least a hundred files. That too before I leave today. How am I supposed to do that? You know who I am."

"Bas itni si baat ka tum stress le rahi ho yaar, Vedika? Matlab tum bhi na."

(You're stressing over such a small thing, Vedika? Seriously?)

"Did you forget what I told you? It's not a big deal. You just have to use your journalist analysing skills. Remember?"

And suddenly I remembered.

Oh. Yeah

He had already explained this to me before.

"Thank you so much, Mihir. I was just so annoyed at Mr. Careless that it completely slipped out of my mind. But now I understand what I have to do."

"Ab tu mujhe bhi thank you bolegi? Haan? Bas itni hi friendship thi?"

(Now you're thanking me too? Really? Was our friendship only worth this much?)

There he goes again with his drama.

"Areyy sorry, bas galti se bol diya."

(Sorry, it just slipped out.)

"Ab sorry?"

(Now you're saying sorry too?)

"Ab bas drama band kar."

(Now stop the drama.)

And just like every time, he started acting offended dramatically.

But before I could say anything else, someone suddenly appeared right in front of me.

I froze.

Mr. Careless.

He first looked at me. Then at my phone. And I immediately disconnected the call. I just hope he didn't hear our conversation.

Why does he always have a habit of appearing out of nowhere?

"What is this?" he asked, raising an eyebrow while looking at my phone.

"What are you doing?"

"What?" I looked at him in confusion. "I was just talking on my phone."

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm asking. Why are you talking on your phone in my office?"

"What? Can't we even talk now?" I asked, frowning.

"One second."

Without answering me, he called out a little loudly,

"Nisha."

She immediately walked towards us.

"Yes, sir?"

"What? I told you to make her aware of all the office rules clearly, right?" he asked, looking at her. "Didn't you tell her that personal calls are not allowed in my office?"

Nisha's expression instantly changed.

"I am very sorry, sir. I think I forgot."

What kind of strange rules are these? Can nobody even talk on the phone now?

He looked at her for a moment.

"Sorry?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow.

A shiver practically ran through the entire floor.

"I'm noticing a lot of mistakes from you these days, Nisha."

My brows frowned slightly.

"And you know I don't like mistakes. But this is the last time I'm warning you. If you make another mistake, leave the office yourself. There shouldn't be any need for me to tell you that. Okay?"

"Yes sir," she replied immediately, looking frightened. "I won't make any mistakes next time."

I looked around instinctively.

Everyone was staring at us. And the fear on their faces was impossible to miss. Nobody was talking. Nobody was even moving.

They were all just standing quietly and looking towards us with nervous expressions.

Then he looked at them too.

"What are all of you looking at?" he asked coldly.

The entire floor went silent.

"Do I have to tell you all as well? Get back to work. Now."

And immediately everyone returned to their desks and started working. It was almost like everyone was scared of him.

Then he turned towards me.

"So, Miss Mehra."

I straightened slightly.

"Now I hope it's clear that no one can attend personal calls in my office. Understood?"

"Yes sir, I understood," I replied quietly.

But honestly, none of this was settling properly in my mind.

I walked back to my desk and sat down.

What is going on in this office? Itna dar ka mahaul kyun hai yahan?

(Why is there so much fear in this office?)

Itne ajeeb rules hain yahan. You can't roam around without work. No personal calls. No questions. You just have to follow whatever you're told. And there are probably many more rules I don't even know about yet.

(The rules here are so strange. You can't roam around without work. No personal calls. No questions. You just have to follow whatever you're told. And there are probably many more rules I don't even know about yet.)

Seriously.

It's only my first day in this office, and I'm already feeling that something is definitely wrong here.

It wasn't just our suspicion. Something is genuinely wrong. Like The security. The rules. The people.

Everything here is hinting towards it.

.......................

𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙤 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 💓🤗

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