“Yes. Come out.” She beckoned to him with two fingers, stepping back to let him exit. The minute he did, she swiped the car keys from his hand and pointed to the passenger side. “Sit. I’m driving you home.”
Vihaan’s brows almost flew off his forehead. “You are?”
“Yes. I don’t want you to die in a fiery car crash on the way back.” She put up her palm to stop him from questioning her further. “And it’s not because I like you. It’s because you’re my boss, and you pay my salary, and I like my job. So really, it’s for the job.”
“I didn’t ask,” he chuckled, giddy at the thought that she cared enough to do this for him.Grumpy caretaking by Vera Talwar? Sign me up!
He buckled himself in, waiting patiently while she checked her mirrors and adjusted her seat. He should’ve been worried. She was about to drive his very expensive car, and he had no idea what her driving history was.
But if a minor crash or car damage was the price for a couple extra hours with Vera, it was a trade-off he was willing to make. He popped a painkiller and washed it down with a massive gulp of water.
The engine purred to life as Vera shifted the gear into reverse. Vihaan watched with unabashed fascination as she stretched one arm out, cradling the back of his headrest while she glanced over her shoulder, single handedly spinning the wheel. Her focus remained firmly behind her until they’d pulled out of the parking spot. Just as she turned to set herself straight again, she caught his gobsmacked expression.
“What? Do I have something on my face?” she asked, self-consciously checking the rearview mirror.
“You reversed the car with one hand.” And it was so fucking smooth! Was there anything she didn’t do well?
“So?”
“So, I think I got pregnant watching you do that,” he muttered, feeling irrationally attracted to her because of it.
Vera made an odd, choking sort of sound, choosing to press on the pedal instead of responding to him. “Go to sleep. You’re delirious.”
“I’m not sleepy yet. The meds haven’t kicked in.”
Silence.
“You did a good job out there today,” he blurted out after a moment, the words out of his mouth before he could stop himself. To his fascination, a touch of pink bloomed across her skin, growing above her collarbone.
“Th—thanks.”
“I’ve been learning a lot from watching you do this. You should’ve been promoted a long time ago.”
Vera looked like she didn’t quite know what was happening. She threw him a wary look, choosing to refrain from commenting.
“Maybe it was because your degree was from a lesser-known institution,” he supposed, pausing in case she elaborated.
Again, silence. Vihaan didn’t have the patience to play the polite game anymore, so he came right out to ask the question that had been bothering him for days. “How come you went to night school?”
“I’m a vampire,” she answered, not sparing him a single glance.
“Why didn’t you go to a proper university like you’d planned? With your grades, you could’ve gone anywhere.”
“Wanted clown school and couldn’t find one.”
“Why did you apply for an office loan a few years ago?”
“Gambling addiction.”
Vihaan drew in a breath, trying to not get annoyed with her flippant answers. She wanted to keep him at an arm’s length, but his curiosity was driving him insane. Their night together had only heightened his zeal to figure her out.
“What have you been up to lately?” he tried once more, hoping that she’d share something of her life outside of work.
“Breathing.”
If he’d been feeling better, he’d have snarked back. But he was drained from the pounding inside his skull. “Do you really want to be like this?” he sighed, looking out the windshield, noting a sign that listed the distance left to reach Mumbai.
“What I really want is for you to stop asking questions.”