Page 53 of Yes Boss
The elevator doors opened, and Raghav stepped inside, still murmuring to the puppy as the doors closed. The moment he disappeared, the office erupted into hushed conversations.
“Did that just happen?” someone whispered loudly.
“Boss Man has a soft spot for puppies?” Samrat said, leaning against a nearby desk. “Who would have thought?”
“The way he held it...” Kavya marveled, turning to Ishani who had finally moved from the doorway. “Like he’d done it before.”
“Like he was a completely different person,” another added.
Ishani returned to her desk in a daze, her colleagues’ chatter fading to background noise as her mind raced. The image of Raghav laughing—genuinely laughing—as the puppy licked his face refused to leave her thoughts. She’d never seen him like that. Unguarded. Human.
And then there was the puppy itself, another perfectly tailored gift that seemed impossible for anyone but Raghav to know about. Yet the same man who might have sent it had also spent days lecturing her about these gifts being inappropriate. The same man who’d frowned at her rose collection had just cradled a puppy with startling tenderness.
“Earth to Ishani,” Kavya waved a hand in front of her face. “The betting pool just doubled. Half the floor is now convinced Raghav himself is your secret admirer.”
Ishani blinked, focusing on Kavya’s excited face. “That’s ridiculous.”
The words somehow sounded hollow to her own ears.
“Is it though?” Kavya pressed, lowering her voice. “He gets weirdly intense whenever a new gift arrives. And did you seehow he took that puppy without hesitation? Like he already knew the puppy?”
“He was being practical,” Ishani argued, though her certainty wavered. “I can’t keep it at work or at home. He’s just... problem-solving.”
“Right,” Kavya drawled, clearly unconvinced. “And I’m just developing a sudden interest in corporate finance. Come on, Ishani. Even you must suspect something by now.”
Before she could say anything else, the elevator chimed.
Raghav stepped onto the floor.
The shift was immediate.
The warmth was gone. The man who had laughed with a puppy in his arms vanished behind straightened shoulders, a tightened jaw, eyes sharpened to steel. By the time he crossed the floor, he was once again the CEO everyone recognized.
He walked directly to his office without acknowledging anyone, the door closing softly behind him. Seconds later, Ishani’s phone rang.
“My office, please,” Raghav said, his tone clipped. “Bring tomorrow’s schedule.”
Ishani gathered her tablet and a folder of notes, heart racing as she approached his door. Would he finally address what was happening? Admit to the gifts? Explain the incidents that had been driving her mad for days?
She knocked once before entering. Raghav sat behind his desk, typing rapidly on his laptop, looking exactly as he had every day before the puppy incident—controlled, focused, completely in command.
“Close the door,” he said without looking up.
Ishani did as instructed, then took the seat across from his desk. She waited, pulse quickening with anticipation.
“Tomorrow’s meetings,” he said finally, looking up from his screen. “I need to reschedule the morning conference call with Dubai. Move it to next week.”
Ishani blinked, thrown by the mundane request. “Of course. Any particular day you prefer?”
“Tuesday. Early.”
“I’ll make the adjustments,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Anything else?”
Raghav shook his head, his attention already returning to his laptop. “That’s all for now.”
No mention of the puppy. No acknowledgment of the gifts. No explanation for his contradictory behavior. Nothing but work, delivered in the same professional tone he’d always used.
Ishani hesitated, waiting for something more, but Raghav had already returned to his typing. The dismissal was clear.
