Wounded Heart ✔

Chapter - 9

Morning light cut through the glass of the conference room in hard, clear lines. It fell over polished tables, over the expectant faces of new hires, and finally over her — Amira Kapoor — who stood like a fault line in an otherwise ordinary office. Her hair fell loose; her coat hung with the same simplicity as her posture: economical, controlled, unadorned.

She looked at them all for a long, slow beat. The room tightened into a single held breath. There was no warmth in that look and no invitation. There was only attention — precise, assessing, final. Nerves sharpened. Few people in that room had met anyone who could make silence feel like a verdict. She enjoyed it without spectacle. Then she spoke. Her voice was flat, exacting, the sound of decisions already made.

The new branch of Kiara Industries — a U.K. company with a reputation for exacting standards — had just opened its doors in Kolkata. The staff expected a welcome; they received a collar that tightened.

"Good morning," Amira began, looking each person in the eye. Her face remained still; her tone gave nothing away. "I'm Amira. I'm your boss."

She paused; her gaze swept the room again. Some people shifted in their seats. She did not.

"This is Kiara Industries," she continued, voice firm and unadorned. "We are expanding in India because we meet standards and we deliver results. That is what is expected of you here. I will be direct."

Her rules arrived like an order of business — clean, uncompromising:

• "Punctuality is mandatory. Work begins at 09:00 and ends at 17:00. For critical projects you may be required to stay until 18:00–19:00; you will be informed in advance."
• "Dress neatly. Keep your workspace tidy. Mess breeds mistakes; mistakes cost clients and reputations."
• "Errors will be discussed, corrected, and learned from. Repeated negligence will lead to progressive disciplinary action up to and including termination. There is no place here for office politics, gossip, or attempts to undermine colleagues."
• "Lunch schedules are staggered to ensure coverage: Group A 13:30–14:30, Group B 13:00–14:00. A half-hour tea break is from 15:00–15:30. We operate a five-day week: Saturdays and Sundays are off."
• "Health matters: company-funded health checks every six months, and an annual family health package. Use it."
• "If you have suggestions, concerns, or requests for policy changes, raise them through Sri. He will bring valid proposals to me. I will listen. I expect proposals, not complaints."

She let the list sit in the room like a measured pulse. Then, almost without expression:

"I value discipline, competence and honesty. I will be strict because I demand that you protect the business — and one another — through professionalism. I will not tolerate betrayal, deliberate sabotage, or behaviour that jeopardises our clients or colleagues. Consequences will be severe and professional: formal investigations, immediate suspension where warranted, and termination for proven sabotage or fraud. This is a workplace, not a battlefield for petty vendettas."

Amira's final sentence landed cool and final. "Welcome — to Kiara. Be ready to do your best. We start now."

A stunned silence thinned into a ripple of applause — polite, then sincere — as the room realised that the woman who had stepped into their office had not come to charm them. She had come to run the company. Chairs scraped, conversations began, and the staff dispersed, already adjusting the tone of their workday to match the unflinching standard she had set.

Outside the conference room glass, a few family members had followed. They watched from the doorway and did not move. Pride, surprise, confusion flickered across familiar faces as they took in how naturally she belonged in that hard light — how calm, how precise, and how utterly emotionless she could be when she chose.