Page 61 of Not Safe for Work
I hesitated. ‘But her whole brand is—’
‘Confidence,’ he finished for me. ‘And if she wants help with that, that’s her business.’
‘Huh,’ I said, more to myself than to him. ‘So youdohave a moral compass.’
He chuckled, shaking his head. ‘Would it kill you to look less surprised?’
I was so busy studying him that I didn’t notice where we were headed until we were standing outside Fable Café. I blinked up at the signboard, then at him.Thiswas where he wanted to go? I’d walked by the fancy bistro hundreds of times without ever bothering to stop and look at the menu. What was the point? It was bound to be out of my budget. I’d never even considered it for a special occasion, let alone a random weekday lunch.
He pushed the door and held it open before I could protest and a hostess immediately materialized in front of us. ‘Table for two?’
I don’t know why, but my brain chose that exact moment to stop functioning.No, thank you, I willed myself to say.We changed our mind. We got lost on our way to McDonald’s. We’re not even hungry.Anything, literally anything would’ve done, except for what I ended up saying: ‘Sure.’
I guess I’d just have to order the cheapest thing on their menu.
The cheapest thing on their menu, as it turned out, could’ve gotten me a week’s worth of groceries. I inspected the bucket of truffle fries suspiciously. Had they freckled it with gold dust or something? Neil, of course, shared none of my unease. Places like this—where cutlery came in one size too many and waiters made small talk instead of glaring at you for asking for extra sambar—were his natural habitat. He’d barely glanced at the menu before ordering a burrata salad and a kombucha, of all things. Why someone would choose to do this to themselves, I had no idea.
‘So,’ I said, tossing a stupid, overpriced fry in my mouth. ‘What’s this proposal you wanted to discuss?’
He ignored his food, his gaze fixed on me. ‘You should partner with me for the pitch.’
‘Huh?’
‘The relaunch campaign for the clothing line? Let’s work on it together.’
‘Weareworking on it together,’ I reminded him after I’d gulped down my bite. ‘You’re my intern.’ Is that why he’d dragged me all the way out here? Maybe if we left right now, they wouldn’t bill us. I’d only had one fry.
‘No, not as your minion intern who you have to blackmail to do all the boring, mindless work.’
I raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, what did you have in mind?’
‘I want to be involved. Like creatively.’
I studied him with a mix of suspicion and curiosity.What was he playing at?‘Where has this sudden sense of initiative come from, if I may ask?’
‘Let’s just say I have something I need to prove to someone.’
I rolled my eyes at his inability to be direct. This mysterious, broody thing was getting old. ‘Don’t go all Preeti Sabharwal on me.’
‘Huh?’
Should’ve known he wasn’t aChak De! Indiafan. ‘Never mind. But you’re going to have to give me a lot more thanthat.’
He hesitated just long enough for me to notice how his shoulders tensed up. ‘My dad,’ he finally said. ‘I need to prove to my dad that I’m not a complete waste of space.’
I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the table. ‘Why does he think you’re a complete waste of space?’
‘That’s a story for another day. What matters is that I need a solid recommendation letter from you at the end of this internship.’ He looked down at his plate, stabbing the burrata with his fork. ‘Something that convinces him that hiring me was the best decision of your career.’ The smirk was slowly coming back.
‘A recommendation letter fromme?’ I blinked. ‘Why not ask your Rajat uncle? I’m sure he’d write you alove letterif you asked nicely.’
‘That’s exactly why I can’t. My dad knows Rajat uncle would sing my praises even if I set the whole office on fire.’
That made me laugh. He wasn’t wrong. ‘You’re really serious about this, huh?’
He nodded. ‘You want your promotion, I want my reference. We can help each other out.’
‘And how do I know you’re actually going to be of any help? No offense, but you’ve kind of been dead weight so far.’ So, what if he had been proving me wrong lately? I didn’t need to admit it tohim.
