Page 68 of Not Safe for Work
‘Right, blame it on your friend.’ His voice was low, almost teasing. ‘Classic defence.’
I kicked him under the table, my sandals connecting with his shin a little harder than I’d meant to, but he just smirked. ‘Only the guilty resort to violence, you know.’
‘Whatever,’ I muttered, crossing my ankles so I wouldn’t be tempted to kick him again. ‘So what happened? Why did you guys break up?’
‘Uh …’ He stirred the noodles absently, his eyes averted from mine. ‘We’d known each other forever. Grew up on the same street, same school, same group of friends … but I guess she just grew up faster than me.’
I tilted my head, curious. ‘Faster, how?’
‘She was a very sorted person, you know? Laser focused on her modelling career, future plans, all of that.’ He let out a short, almost sheepish laugh. ‘I, on the other hand, was a bit too unserious in my early twenties. I was just kind of having fun and winging it. Maybe she got tired of waiting for me to meet her at her level.’
It was strange hearing him talk like that. There was something unexpectedly sincere in his voice, something that made me rethink the version of him I’d built in my head. ‘And now you’re not?’ I asked. ‘Winging it, I mean.’
He gave a small, crooked smile. ‘Not entirely. I think I’ve finally figured out what I actually want to do.’
‘Which is?’
‘Start my own streetwear label,’ he said quietly, like he was half expecting me to laugh. ‘I know what you’re thinking. Rich guy wants to launch a clothing line … it’s not very original, but it’s the first thing that’s ever made sense to me.’
I nodded, thinking about how perfectly it suited him. ‘There may be many unoriginal things about you … but your sense of style isn’t one of them. Sometimes I still can’t believe you’re@devilwearscolaba … you’re basically thevoice of Gen Z fashion.’
He bumped his knee against mine, grinning. ‘Didn’t take you for a fan.’
I forbade my facial muscles to break into a smile. ‘So, what’s stopping you from launching the label?’
He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. ‘Ah, that.’ He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. ‘I kind of blew a lot of my dad’s money on random business ideas, so … let’s just say his faith in me is at an all-time low. Like, even lower than usual.’
I need to prove to my dad that I’m not a complete waste of space.His words from the other day echoed in the back of my head. Oh.Oh.Something clicked in my brain and it felt like I had finally figured him out. Like I had solved the mystery of Neil Desai.
‘So that’s why you need that recommendation letter.’
‘Yep.’ He gave me a small nod. ‘Man, I don’t know why I told you all that. Now I feel naked.’
Naked.My brain took that as an invitation to conjure a shirtless image of him, the vision of his abs still burnt into my memory from earlier.Damn it, Kavya. How about you try not mentally undressing him for the rest of the night?
I was fairly certain I had caught the flu. The sickness must’ve been making me delirious.
There was no other explanation for why my brain, which had done a fantastic job of being immune to Neil’s charms so far,had suddenly turned into mush. Hormonal, irrational—not to mention unprofessional—mush.
My phone buzzed on the table.Nikita.I grabbed it and practically sprinted to the hallway, hoping she could help me figure out what the hell was happening.
‘Where are you? Are you safe?’ She sounded worried.
I meant to tell her yes—I was safe and sound, albeit stuck at the office. What came out instead was a flood of frantic, unhinged word vomit. ‘I’m fine, I’m in the office, it’s flooding, I’m stuck here with Neil, yes Neil, and he waswet …and his abs and his stupid face and this stupid rain and he pickedtodayof all days to suddenly be smart and come up with a brilliant idea and now—’ I sucked in a sharp breath. ‘Now he seems so much hotter for no reason and I think my brain has melted into some kind of horny soup and I can’t stop thinking about him shirtless and I don’t know what to do … how do I make it go away?’ When I finally stopped talking, I was gasping and slightly dizzy.
There was a long silence on the other end before Nikita’s voice came through, calm and amused. ‘Babe, it sounds like you have a crush.’
I blew a raspberry into the receiver. ‘Shut up, I donot.’
‘No, this issogreat.’ She was beginning to sound breathless too. ‘You’re literally living every romcom girlie’s dream right now. Stranded in the office in the middle of a storm with the hot dude you’ve been hating on?Come on.’
She didn’t wait for me to respond. ‘Babe, you have a chance todo itat your workplace. That’s been on my bucket list for ages!’
‘Nikita—’
‘The conference room, your boss’ desk, the washroom … the world is your oyster.’
‘Oh my God, you need to stop.’ I was mortified. From the corner of my eye, I could see Neil getting up from the bench with the plastic bowls in his hands. I quickly turned my back tohim, worried that if he saw my face, he’d somehow read every inappropriate thought Nikita had just planted in my head.
