Not Likely

Sober Realizations

Mom smiled. "Tell that to your face."

I gave her an exasperated look. "She and I- are nothing. There's nothing going on. I am not stupid." Privately very stupid, but publicly, I knew the ramifications more than them; having considered it a dozen times a day.

"She is...an asset to the company." Dad said slowly. "I want her to remain so. I want her to learn and grow without being weighed down by rumours or gossip or whatever it is that will come out because of this."

"There's nothing going on between us." I repeated.

"So you don't like her?" Ma challenged.

"No." I said, looking away.

"You don't prefer her work to the others?"

"She's just better than all of them."

Combined.

And in her sleep.

How is she that good?

Her brows lifted in response to my remark. "Is that an impartial thing for you to say?"

"It is."

The two looked at me with appraisal in their eyes. I bit down my anger.

This is what I hate about businesspeople. They think everything is a problem they must solve.

"Okay," Dad said finally, getting up. "I trust you to make the right call."

"Thank you."

"Remember that if things escalate, I will not be taking it lightly."

"You can't fire her." I said firmly.

He raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"

"You said it yourself." I said shortly. "She's an asset. She got this job in less than a day. The day she announces she's done with Kleitos, she might get 10 more right off the bat."

That smart ass.

Mom seemed to be trying to hide an array of emotions. I couldn't quite understand her smile. "She is an asset, Vijay. For a multitude of reasons. You can't fire her."

"I know. Dhruv. I want you to sort this out. Quickly and effectively."

I nodded.

Sort out what?

Why did I bring her here? Bodyguards can disappear if I want them to. I just...wanted to chill with her. Just be normal with her. Be in a space I can be myself with her.

And she came along.

Why did she come along? Why did she stay?

Did she actually like me? I knew she was attracted to me, but liking is a whole different ballgame.

How do I sort out things I can't control?

I poured the coffee into two cups, my mind preoccupied with both sleep and her.

She said so many things today. Does she regret sharing them?

Do I wish I hadn't heard them?

Not at all. I feel...she's more three dimensional now. She's got problems and worries and parents who do not acknowledge the fact that they have birthed an extraordinary woman.

Her parents.

A wave of annoyance hit me at the thought of her self righteous father and her insensitive mother. I knew it was horrible to say it but I did not like them. I could see how they diminished her into a disappointment and how she looked both the times they talked to me.