ADHURI KAHANI: A tale of an amnesic bond

28. ANGER

ISHAAN'S POV

I flipped through the file, signing it with my approval before placing it on the right side of my desk. As I glanced out the window, I noticed that night had already fallen. The last time I checked, the sun was still up. My eyes drifted to the clock; it was well past working hours. My gaze then shifted to the large screen on the wall, which showed a view of the office. Everyone had left, except for one light still glowing-Inaaya's cabin. She was still here.

A dull ache settled in my back, likely from working so late, or maybe it was the constant workload. Either way, I knew I needed rest, but taking a break wasn't an option right now. Trying to shake off the fatigue, I decided to review the PDF Inaaya had sent me earlier this afternoon.

Just as I was about to open the file, the phone on my desk rang. For a moment, I debated whether I should ignore it and focus on my work, but I ultimately decided to answer. I picked up the phone, and my eyes fell on the caller ID. As I recognized the name, a burning sensation flared in my chest, intensifying with each passing second. The seething anger within me grew, and I felt like I was on the verge of exploding-or even throwing the phone across the room.

Why is Niraj Agnihotri calling me?

With gritted teeth, I tapped the green button to pick up the call.

"Helloo Ishaan Shekhwat" He said

I could practically feel his smug expression seeping through the phone, and it made my blood boil. My fist tightened involuntarily, and all I wanted was to wipe that smug look right off his face.

"Why did you call?" I got straight to the point.

"Tch, tch. Where's the 'hi'? Where's the 'hello'?" he mocked.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay composed and not lash out. I had no idea why he called, but knowing Niraj, it was probably another one of his twisted schemes. He thrives on playing dirty because he lacks the brains, intelligence, and knowledge to grow his own business. Instead, he focuses on tearing down others. That's been his method ever since the last CEO joined Epoch Insights-a greedy piece of trash that Niraj manipulated to his advantage.

But that all changed when my father fired the old CEO and I took over. From that day forward, Niraj has tried every trick in the book to harm Epoch Insights. Whether it was planting spies, attempting to steal our ideas, or other underhanded tactics, he failed every single time.

"Just tell me why you called Niraj."

He chuckled.

"Angry young man, huh?"

"Stop the bullshit. Just tell me why you called. I don't have time to waste."

"Whoa, young man. I'm just calling to make sure everything is going okay with your magazine release."

Before he could spew more nonsense, I abruptly cut the call, but it did nothing to cool me down. If anything, my anger only intensified, surging through me until it felt like I was radiating heat. My knuckles turned white from how tightly I was clenching my fists.

Needing a distraction, I forced myself to dive back into work. There was too much on my plate to waste time stewing over that worthless excuse of a man. I opened the PDF file Inaaya had sent me earlier that afternoon, hoping it would pull my focus back. But when the document loaded, it was just a plain PDF-devoid of the comments and notes that were supposed to be there.

For fuck's sake. This was the last thing I needed right now.

INAAYA'S POV