Short Stories collection

STILL IN LOVE (1)

Still in love...... lost beneath the silence

Malhotra's modern, sleek office in his startup, successfully Start up, S & S Company. The cabin is minimalistic, with glass walls and a commanding view of the city below. On the desk, a laptop glows faintly in the low afternoon light, papers neatly arranged, and a few awards displayed on a shelf, signaling His's rise to success.

Samay sat behind his polished mahogany desk, the room humming with the low buzz of office life beyond the glass walls. His eyes were trained on the screen in front of him, scrolling through reports, but his mind was elsewhere. His thoughts were a cloud of focus and detachment, a mask he wore daily to keep his emotions in check. But today, there was something nagging at him—a feeling that he couldn't quite place.

The door clicked open, and Samay looked up, his expression remaining unreadable as his three new employees walked in.

"Mr. Malhotra," the first employee, Rajesh, greeted with a slight bow, his tone formal but respectful. He was the senior-most of the three, a seasoned marketing professional who had worked at a few top firms before joining S & S.

"Good afternoon, Sir,"the second one, Priya, said with a bright smile, her confidence shining through. She was younger than Rajesh, eager and optimistic, likely to make a name for herself here.

But it was  "Aradhya" who caught Samay's eye
She entered last, her steps measured but steady. She didn't look at him directly, instead focusing on the files she held in her hands as if they were the only thing in the room that mattered. She was wearing a light pink saree, elegant and beautiful. Her posture was perfect, shoulders squared, and despite the soft smile she greeted him with, Samay could feel the undercurrent of tension that hung between them. Her presence triggered an involuntary, almost imperceptible shift in his chest, a pang of recognition that made his heart beat a little too fast.

"Aradhya," Samay said her name without thinking, and the moment he spoke it, he knew he shouldn't have. It slipped out before he could stop himself, and the weight of it landed heavily in the air between them.

She stiffened, a small flicker of discomfort crossing her face with his gaze and presence, before she masked it with professionalism. "Mr. Malhotra,"she replied, her voice smooth, calm—entirely neutral, as if she were addressing her boss like an obedient employee, which he was anyway.

Samay cleared his throat, his fingers tapping the surface of the desk in an almost imperceptible rhythm. "Please, have a seat," he gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. Rajesh and Priya sat without hesitation, but Aradhya remained standing for a beat longer than necessary, as if unsure of her place in this space.

"Welcome to S & S," Samay continued, his voice businesslike, colder than it needed to be. "I trust you're all familiar with the projects we're working on. Let's start by going over your roles and expectations."

He spoke like a leader—cool, distant, with a level of authority that demanded respect but offered little warmth. He could see Aradhya's face, poised and composed, but in her eyes, he caught a flicker of something deeper—a momentary flicker of recognition, of hesitation, before it was quickly hidden away behind a professional mask.
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The office floor of S & S Company. The room is bustling with activity—people typing away on their laptops, discussing strategies in hushed tones, and clicking through presentations. Samay's cabin is located at the far end of the open-plan space, giving him a clear view of the entire office. Aradhya's desk is a few rows away, near the window, and she sits facing the same direction, though she often finds herself distracted by the weight of Samay's presence just beyond the glass walls of his office.