Intensely Twisted Fate

Chapter : 3

Laranya's POV

I was taken aback by Shravan’s recent behavior. I have a habit of calling him different names to irritate him, hoping he’ll keep his distance like he does with everyone else—anything to avoid getting dragged into his orbit. As I sat back in my cubicle, though, reality sank in again. Melissa isn’t just good at her job; she’s also exceedingly difficult.

She spun my chair around, fixing her glare on me. “Why were you with him? Did you even mention us this time, or were you too busy flirting to remember?” Her tone dripped with venom.

“It was strictly business, okay?” I retorted, attempting to turn back around, but she gripped the chair harder.

“Is your ‘business’ in his—" Her words were revolting, and I cut her off before she could finish.

“Don’t you dare complete that sentence. We were discussing a project. It’s common,” I hissed, keeping my voice low.

She shot back, “Then why is he only assigning projects to you? What’s wrong with us?”

“Ms. Melissa, the head needs to see you immediately,” someone called from behind. Melissa glared at me one last time, muttering curses as she stormed off. I let out a breath, grateful for the interruption.

Turning back to my screen, I noticed two emails from Shravan. I’d planned to finish gathering information by 2 p.m. and start drafting the article then. But working with Shravan had cut my workload in half, and he’d already sent over the missing pieces of data—it was only eleven. As much as I hated to admit it, he was actually helpful.

His second email caught my eye:

“Sorry for earlier. Can I make it up to you? How about we grab dinner after work? I’ll write the second half, you write the first, and we’ll edit tomorrow.”

Dinner? Really? Was he trying to get me killed? I didn’t know how to respond. Should I just ignore it? No, that would be rude. I guess I could say yes. Or maybe ask Dad? No, he’d freak out if he knew what I deal with here. Preeti? She knows Shravan, and she knows how much every girl wants him. But she doesn’t know about... the other stuff. No one does.

Another message popped up:

“Don’t overthink. I won’t do anything to make you uncomfortable. I’ll wait in my car if you prefer, and we can leave once everyone else is gone. I understand it might be awkward, especially after what Melissa said.”

How dare he eavesdrop! But his idea wasn’t half bad. Fine, I’d go with it.

Me: “Okay, but it’ll be a bit late; it’s interview day, and I need to start editing some articles. It can’t look suspicious.”

Shravan: “I’ll be in my car, and I’ll let you know if anything changes. Let’s focus on the project first. Good luck, Lara!”

Lara? Seriously? He used to call me that back when we were friends—why now? Whatever. I pushed the thought away and started working.

The hours ticked by, and I got lost in writing. Melissa popped by a couple of times, but she left me alone once she noticed Shravan lounging on the office couch. No one dared bother me during lunch, either, since the heads were present. At eight, the workday finally wound down.

Melissa shot Shravan a smile on her way out, which, thankfully, he returned. With a final glare in my direction, she left. A couple of people lingered, including one of Melissa’s closest lackeys. There are four of them who ‘befriend’ me but never hesitate to make trouble.

Shravan: “Made half your task easier. Waiting in the car.”

I smiled at his message, catching myself. Wait—why was I smiling? Shravan was nothing to me. I shook it off, grabbed my bag, and headed down.