“I have a presentation to get to,” she seethed, her skin prickling at his threat.
With a show of exaggerated politeness, he stepped out of her path, waving a hand towards the exit.
“By all means,” she heard him murmur just as she was about to pass him by. “I am sure you need time to prepare for failure. Or are you just used to it by now?”
The haughty look she slanted him would have made lesser men sweat.
“Was there anything else, Mr. Oberoi?” she asked, emphasising the wordmisterto sound like she’d uttered a curse. “Or do you plan to waste more of my time with your non-existent wit?”
The smug smile she hated made a reappearance.
“Mr. Oberoi is my father. You can call me sir.”
“When pigs fly.”
“I can put one on a helicopter in about twenty minutes.”
“Then be there with it, far away from me, in the company of your kind.”
Without waiting to hear a rejoinder, Vera walked out of the coffee room with her head held high and her nerves wrapped around her feet. She was going to present the fuck out of this proposal if it was the last thing she did. And if her career was going to go down in flames because of the petulant little douche-canoe who was now her boss, she would make sure to bring him down with her.
How?a curious little voice piped up in her head as she marched to her desk to pick up the material she’d prepared.
She didn’t know, but she’d figure it out. She had survived Vihaan Oberoi before, and she would do it again.
She had no other choice.
6
Pride
Vera
If she were thereligious sort, she’d say god had a bad sense of humour. Either that or Vera had done something terrible in a past life and the laws of karma dictated that balance would be restored by making her repent all her life this time around.
She didn’t usually dwell on such woe-is-me feelings. After all, so many people had it much worse than her. But sitting out here, waiting for her turn to walk into the conference room to present her ideas to a board of people, the head of which she knew was a man who hated her, she had to wonder if she needed to invest in some sort of good luck charm. Maybe hiring a priest to exorcise any malevolent spirits lurking about her would be prudent. Somebody orsomethingwas pulling the string upon which she kept tripping into chaos.
She had become the poster child for talent without success. Nothing she’d achieved so far had come to her easily because her start to life had not been easy. Born to an absentee father who’d wanted a son, and an immature mother who’d blamed an infant forher marriage falling apart, Vera’s foray into life had begun with a series of rejections. Her maternal grandfather had stepped in, and for the first few years, Vera had happily lived under the misconception that her parents were working in a different country to earn money and would soon return to take her to a home that would be filled with every toy she could ever want. When she’d found out the truth. . .
Vera sighed, shaking the thought from her head. There were certain moments that would always stand out starkly against the beige canvas of one’s memories. The memory of her mother’s voice telling her she should’ve been abandoned at an orphanage? That still held the power to hurt her.
Were she inclined to moan and bitch about her life, she would have no dearth of topics to do so. But that wasn’t how she was built and that was certainly not the woman her grandfather had brought her up to be.
Ah, Nanu,she smiled. The thought of her favourite person in the world cooled her spiralling anger and her focus returned. She inhaled deeply, letting out a stream of air through pursed lips, taking the necessary time to regain control over herself. She pulled out her phone from her pocket, tapping the screen to see the wallpaper.
One of the nurses in the care centre had clicked it—a candid photo of Vera sitting on the floor, her head in Nanu’s lap while he brushed her hair out. Only Vera knew how much his hands had shaken, or how frustrated he’d gotten each time the brush slipped from his weakening grip. Parkinsons was taking away his ability to do the things he loved, bit by excruciating bit.
Despite the worry of his worsening health, every time Vera looked at this picture, she was reminded that no matter her struggles, she was loved beyond measure by this one man. Ambernath Talwar was the best grandfather anyone could ever have, and Vera would do everything possible to make him proud. She owed it to him to do well at her job and give him a chance to celebrate her successes withher. For as long as she could remember, it had always been them against the world—two peas in a pod—Vera and her Nanu.
Ambernath had been everything she had ever needed: a parent, a friend, a cheerleader.
It was her turn to take care of him now. While she was doing as much as she could, he deserved better. Which meant that she could not afford a petty and egotistical boss-hole to derail her from the presentation she’d been working on for months.
With that thought providing her with renewed motivation, she pasted a confident smile on her face when her name was called, heading straight to the front of the boardroom to pull up her slideshow. She took a quick scan of the panel of five within the room. Of all the creative directors present, one had been her mentor and nodded at her in support. The other three, she’d met in passing. And then, there was Vihaan. She may as well count him as opposition because he’d never vote in her favour.
But his status as the CEO of the company was new. It was unlikely he’d force a unilateral decision upon the rest of the department heads if they were sufficiently convinced by her. Which meant that if she could sway at least three votes for herself, she could get her project passed into production.
The lights dimmed, signalling her to begin. Vera clicked on the play icon and squared her shoulders, taking a fortifying breath before delving into her topic.