“That’s the rumour.”
He stepped closer, yet she refused to move. Another step and the column of air between them would be far too thin for even their thoughts to pass through. She tilted her chin up just slightly, facing him with a confidence she had achieved through years of faking it in a male-dominated world. She wasn’t a short woman. At 5'-8”, she saw eye-to-eye with most men. Add to that her love for wearing heels, and on any given day, she was taller than a majority of the people in a room.
Still, Vihaan had a couple inches on her. If he thought he could intimidate her with his height, he’d leave disappointed. Her lower lip jutted out stubbornly.
“Quit,” he demanded.
“No. I came here first.Youquit.”
“I own this company now. Ican’tquit.”
She shrugged insolently. “Then I guess we both work here.”
“You work for me, actually. There is a huge difference.”
That he took so much joy in making that distinction clear had Vera wanting to claw his face and leave marks behind on his clean-shaven cheek. She’d rather eat a slug than let Vihaan know how she truly felt.
“You make it sound like that would be a problem.”
“Do you really want to work under me, Ms. Talwar?”
“Withyou,“ she corrected in a hiss.
Her objection to his verbiage caused him to let out an involuntaryha.His lips twisted, a sliver of cruel amusement in his eyes. “Why?” he goaded her. “Afraid of being under me?”
“I’ve been there, and I didn’t enjoy it,” she snarked immediately, her nostrils flaring. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop her reaction. He was succeeding in riling her up and his insinuation settled within her like a burning piece of charcoal. “Working with you isn’t an issue for me,” she stated again, waving one dainty hand gracefullyin the air, tilting her head to the side, her thick hair swishing with her movement. “Unless you’re afraid.”
“What do I have to be afraid of?” he scoffed. “You?”
“Yourself,” she exclaimed with a catty smile. “How ever will you fool people into thinking you’re better than you actually are without your daddy around to help you?”
“Of course you’d mention my father. He’s why you—”
Vihaan’s gaze grew shuttered, and he went silent, confusing her. She saw him wet his lips, as if finding some control within himself once more. She had wanted him to react and make a misstep. In the past, Vihaan had disliked being in his father’s shadow and given the news of the supposed competition between Stork Media and Reed & Co., she wouldn’t be surprised if those childhood tensions had deepened. If her comment triggered him enough to lose his composure, she could at least raise a complaint with HR. But instead of heat and fire, the air around them turned as cold as his gaze.
Unrepentantly, she raised her brows, waiting for him, daring him to say something wrong so that she could crush him like a filthy bug. Sadly, he seemed to have found some restraint.
“Quit,” he suggested, yet again. “Before I fire you in front of everyone.”
“Try. I’ve read my contract,” she revealed. “Unless you have just cause, you cannot fire me. I have done nothing to provide you with a reason to terminate my employment, and I certainly will not be quitting.”
Deal with that, ass-goblin.
“Ok then, Ms. Talwar. Let’s see how long you last at Ethos. If you don’t meet my standards, you will be out before you know it. Without reference.”
Standards? Yeah, she was well aware of his standards, or more precisely, the lack thereof. She wanted to roll her eyes, but she forced herself to paste a bland smile on her face instead.Fuck you, I hope you get a wedgie, you ass-wipe!
His eyes narrowed, as if he could guess that she was mentally cursing him. The fact that being polite or smiling at each other caused such suspicion was a clear indicator of how messed up things were between them. Their first conversation in fourteen years, and instead of pleasantries, it had been filled with barbed comments and barely-veiled threats.
“You won’t last a month.”
“I hope you’re used to disappointment,” she responded, fire flashing in her eyes. “Oops. Forgot who I was talking to. You’re a pro at that.”
When he bent towards her, it took everything in Vera to not bolt. Her heart thumped hard, her pulse going haywire as old memories of him looming over her, of stolen kisses, heated murmurs, and sweat-slicked skin, flooded her unwilling brain. The fact that his eyes held none of the warmth they once did was the only way she remained in the present.
“Careful,” he warned her under his breath, in a voice that almost felt like a lover’s caress. “I might take offence and then this little game you’ve begun will have a very abrupt ending.”
Go to hell tart-hole, I hope your breath stinks the next time you try to kiss a woman.