The Rose & Her Thorn

Part 14

"Does the company have to be taken over just 3 months after we join? Why do we have to face the uncertainty if we will be retained or not?" whined Rohan, burying his head into his palms as he sought to ease the throbbing ache making his head heavy.

Shikha could not believe that the startup offering the most handsome package in the entire city had nosedived into losses, and had no choice other than selling its crucial shares and transferring the ownership to a bigger company.

The mention of the internship at VSTech had helped her land the job, and she wondered if she could use the same card twice and land another job if they were not retained by the company taking over. Apprehension and dread pooled in the pit of her abdomen as bile rose to her mouth out of sheer nervousness.

Her surprise and shock knew no bounds when she saw the man, who haunted her fantasies and nightmares alike, Vikram Singhal, being escorted by her former boss, Rajesh Verma, into his cabin. Many possibilities and myriads of questions played out in her mind as she pondered over the possibility that it was VSTech which had taken over their startup.

The dread turned into a dreamy reverie while the apprehension turned into anticipation as she felt excitement bubbling inside her. She had obsessively and devotedly stalked his social media profiles in the period of three months since her internship ended, and she had stared at his dazzling smile more often than her own reflection.

At every small joy, for every scolding she received from Sunaina or her seniors at work, every time she received her salary, and following every appraisal that found its way to her, she went back to his picture and bare her heart. His striking and piercing eyes, which roused fear in the entire state, appeared to be the harbinger of peace and solace for her.

Hushed whispers and rising confusion in the room brought her out of her reverie. She could not wait for her thoughts to turn into reality, and she could not help but imagine the first thing that they would say to each other. Would he be thrilled like her about their reunion, she wondered, but shrugged away the thought while telling herself that she would just be another employee of him.

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"Thank you, Mr. Verma. It has been a pleasure working for you," stated Vikram, shaking hands with the young and vibrant entrepreneur.

"I should thank you, Sir. Thank you for helping us out and allowing me to keep 49% of the crucial shares. It has been an honor to work with you. Are you sure that you don't want to address the employees right now?" asked Rajesh, not to incite the infamous temper of Vikram Singhal.

"Let us wait for the paperwork to be processed, Mr. Verma. I would love to address our employees, but at a later time. Hope you understand," replied Vikram, his dangerous tone hinting to Rajesh to stand down.

"Sure, Sir. As you deem fit. I will take your leave now," said Rajesh, before staging a walkout from the cabin, unable to understand the workings of Vikram's shrewd mind.

"Mission accomplished, Sir. Although I would imagine none of your plans to fail but, this one worked better than our expectations if her constant browsing of your profiles was any hint," averred Shekhar, unable to choose between regretting or rejoicing at the success of their plan.

"I think not meeting her for the last time on her last day worked wonders. We created a mysterious persona, which poked at her curiosity. Be it using Niti or Sukriti, we have given her so much food for thought that her thoughts will continue to revolve around me. She was naïve enough to give away her weakness on the very first day at work, and we ensured to use it against her. Of course, the plan had to work," revealed Vikram, rotating the paperweight on the table with a triumphant smirk playing on his lips.

Shekhar sighed to erase the guilt tormenting his conscience, which played the image of a desperate Shikha, waiting to catch the last glimpse of the man who manipulated his way into her heart and mind.

"What are you going to do next, Sir? Did you refuse to address the employees so that she would grow impatient after seeing you on the premises and make the first move herself?" he asked, knowing well that his senior never acted with no reason.

"Yes. Shikha is already under the stress of losing employment and, from what we know, she has been stalking me since the day her internship ended. I don't think that she could stop herself from approaching me herself. When she learns I have kept all the employees, she will be back to feeling gratitude and her admiration will grow by leaps and bounds," explained Vikram, his smirk widening.

Shikha was the only one who had resorted to satiating her urges by reverting to the social media profiles to avoid a sense of loss. Vikram had taken it a step further by watching her sometimes as she waited for her bus and sometimes at the orphanage where she grew up and visited every weekend.

His heart had swelled with pride and the attraction towards her transformed into something more profound and poignant when he found out that she had spent the money saved for celebration on providing a scrumptious feast to those at the orphanage, and had also forced Rohan to do the same. Her caring and affectionate side had empowered a part of him that was oblivious to him till her arrival - his heart.

Alas, it was the same part of her he had broken by his actions and words.

Shikha felt devastation dance to the tunes of betrayal and melancholy as she heard the men discuss the plan to trap her in the web of deceit they had woven around her.

Her eagerness had overpowered her fear when she saw Rakesh exiting the cabin and she rushed to let her presence be known when she heard their triumphant and arrogant speech, thanks to the lack of soundproof rooms unlike at VSTech, breaking her from within.

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