Not A Simple Engineer Boy! | ✓

088 • sweet rage | one

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Scrollstck- Suganthi Lakshminarayanan

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"Bloody hell, I'm not answerable to anyone about my emotions," she muttered, striding toward Satya's cabin.

What does he even think about me?

After Rathna's cold accusation, she'd left him to rot in the cafeteria—if that was even a possibility. The nerve of assuming she was some scheming gold digger! Of course, that's what he'd think. It's what everyone thought. Who the hell would buy the idea that she was dating Xavier for love? No-fucking-body.

"Small-town girl snags big-shot millionaire"—that's the headline they'd slap on her life. If this ever turned into a love story, that is. And honestly? She wasn't sure it even was one. And Rathna, her so-called friend, had decided to paint her as an opportunistic trollop.

She hadn't shared Xavier's identity with Priya or Rashi, but they'd been shocked enough to learn that a wealthy man had taken interest in her. Priya's reaction still stung: "Rathna sir is ruled out, obviously. He can't afford all this fancy shit. But wow, Krithika, talk about hitting the jackpot!"

Why was everyone so mean to her? Was it so hard to believe she had genuine intentions? Why the fuck was it so impossible for people to see her for who she was? Was it her face? Her average looks? Her small-town roots?

But then, why did Xavier keep calling her the most beautiful woman? It was obvious he didn't see her as just someone to screw and leave. Maybe—just maybe—he was falling for her, like Rathna had so confidently declared. Out of all the women in the world, why her? And yet, even he hadn't explicitly said love. Why was everyone jumping to conclusions?

Her hands balled into fists. She wanted to scream until her lungs gave out.

Caught up in the shitstorm of her thoughts, she didn't notice the thick glass door ahead of her. She walked straight into it, her forehead slamming with a painful thunk.

"Fuck you, Xavier," she muttered under her breath, wincing and rubbing her forehead.

When she glanced up, Satya was smiling wide, probably laughing at her clumsy display. Mortified, Krithika knocked on the door, her voice tight. "Ma'am, you'd emailed me to come see you."

"Ah, yes. Come in," Satya replied breezily. "What's your phone number?"

Krithika blinked, puzzled. "Uh... why?"

Satya's smile didn't falter, but her gaze sharpened. Krithika immediately regretted opening her mouth. No one in the office was allowed to share work details on their personal phone, so she was a bit surprised when Satya asked for her phone number. Also, she might get it easily from the HR department, why did she call her for that?

Even though her boss wasn't glaring at her audacity to throw a question back at her, she could feel Satya's change in mood.

"You're quite the fiery one, aren't you? Just like Xav said," Satya said, leaning back in her chair, one leg elegantly crossing the other. Her eyes were like lasers, drilling straight into Krithika's soul.

Oh. My. Gawd.

A wave of heat flushed through Krithika's body. She felt like her skin was suddenly three sizes too small. Xavier had been talking about her—to Satya of all people?

He'd promised her—PROMISED—that no one at work would know. They'd fought about it when he let slip that Alisha knew, and she'd lost her shit, telling him how much it would fuck up her life if the whole world knew about "The Employee Dating The Boss"—aka the 'Boss's Bitch' label. She had stormed out of his penthouse, furious at the breach of privacy. And later, he'd called her, all smooth apologies and promises to keep things private.

And yet, here she was. Fucking exposed.

Fuck you, Xavier. A thousand times fuck you.

"Now," Satya said, tilting her head, "are you going to give me your number, or do I need to pull rank?" She held her phone out expectantly.

Krithika grit her teeth but forced a polite smile. "Sorry, ma'am," she muttered, punching in her number. Inside, she was cursing Xavier with every filthy word she could think of—and inventing a few new ones for good measure.

"Thanks." Satya took the phone back, her tone light. "What should I save you as? Just 'Krithika,' or maybe..." she paused with a wicked glint in her eye, "...'Xavi—'"

"Whatever you prefer, ma'am," Krithika cut in, her voice sharp with embarrassment. "Is that all?"

Satya smirked, clearly enjoying herself. "Oh, by the way, Xav and I are heading to Italy next month," she said casually, completely ignoring Krithika's question. "We'll be gone a whole week. I thought I'd send you some pictures while we're there, just so you don't miss us."

I want to die. Right here. Right now. Muruga, please take me.

Krithika forced herself to blink, her voice strained. "Okay, ma'am."

Rathna had already seen her acting like a horny teenager with Xavier. Now Satya—her boss—knew about them too and wasn't holding back on the teasing. Was there no end to this public humiliation?

"Ma'am, may I leave now?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh, yes. Off you go," Satya said with a dismissive wave.

Krithika nodded stiffly, practically running out of the cabin. As soon as the door shut behind her, she pulled out her phone and messaged the man who was responsible for turning her life into a live comedy show of mortification.

I need to talk to you. Pick me up on your way home.

As she hit send, she thought bitterly: Murder shouldn't be illegal. At least, not this once.

Do tell me what you feel about this and the upcoming chapters, always open to positive criticism.