[FEATURED IN WATTPAD INDIA PROFILE]
❝Pioneering the art of constructing love, my Kanmani.❞
Xavier teased her skin, slowly caressing her cheeks and her lips trembled.
❝You don't dare!❞
And he kissed her.
------
When he had compromised his dreams and...
♬ kyun fudak fudak ke, dhadkano ki chal rahi gilehriyaan...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Year: 2022
"Ms. Karthika Ashok!" the receptionist's voice rang out, all business. "Please come forward."
Krithika snapped out of her spiraling nervousness, blinking herself back to reality.
This is it.
She was the last person waiting to be interviewed, and her body felt so tense it was as if she might snap like a dry twig.
This is it. Don't you dare run.
Standing up straight, she smoothed out invisible creases on her pleated saree—the one she'd worn for the first time, which only added to her anxiety. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and gave a polite smile. "Yes, I'm Ms. Krithika Ashok," she corrected, but the receptionist didn't even blink, just nodded her toward the interview room with a quick flick of her pen.
"You may proceed with your interview," she said, already back to pounding away at her keyboard like it was some kind of workout.
Krithika's fingers fiddled nervously with the file in her hands as her mind toyed with two choices—make a dignified entrance or bolt in the opposite direction.
Don't chicken out!
A few months ago, when she'd applied for this job, it had seemed like a distant fantasy, something that happened to other people. And now? She was here. In the flesh. On the brink of the final round, about to meet the Satya Devi. After clawing her way through five rounds, here she was, a bundle of nerves and energy, ready to face her role model. She shook her head slightly, reminding herself to channel confidence. No way was a jittery ball of anxiety getting hired by the Satya Devi.
Breathe, Krithika. Breathe like you've done this a hundred times.
This was it: her chance to work at Xhasis, her dream company, led by her ultimate idol. She'd followed them since her college days. Their groundbreaking ideas, their skyrocketing shares, their international investors and mergers—they were the talk of every business journal. She had watched them grow from nothing to a towering giant in the field, and it had inspired her at every step.
Sure, anyone could dream of launching a startup; some would even give it a shot. But only a rare breed—those like Ms. Satya Devi and Mr. Xavier L. Joseph—had the guts to actually make it work.
Satya Devi was more than a role model to her. She was a force. Growing up in a family of traditionalists with their textile business, Krithika knew how hard it was for a woman to command respect in a world of powerful men. And Satya wasn't just carving a place—she was running full throttle toward greater-than-life goals. She was the young cheetah of the business world.
Krithika's father had always dismissed her ideas and input, favoring her brother. She knew the business from top to bottom, yet her father insisted that only her brother should inherit it. Growing up in a household where her ambitions were met with scorn had been painful, and she'd cried each time they shunned her.
Her eyes stung with the memory.
She took a deep breath, steadying her mind. She had to get this job—to prove to herself that she was worth every ounce of effort she'd put in. No need for anyone's validation.
Knocking on the glass door, she watched in awe as her idol looked up with a smile and gestured for her to enter. "Hello, Krithika!" Satya greeted her warmly. "Please, take a seat."
Krithika was stunned; it felt unreal. She had only ever seen Satya in magazines and interviews, never in person, never so close. It felt surreal to sit across from her, to hear her voice in the same room. This was the ultimate fan-girl moment.
Don't be a dream. She pinched herself.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Do tell me what you feel about this and the upcoming chapters, always open to positive criticism.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
