Page 13 of Not Safe for Work
‘Why?’ I asked after a few seconds, at a loss.
‘Because I don’t see how that would help me,’ he said, his voice devoid of emotion. When I just continued to stare at him dumbly, he added, ‘There are far better ways to use this info.’
Better ways? What … what kind of ways did he mean?
The words seemed to hang in the air, heavy and suggestive. Indignation prickled under my skin as I realized what he was hinting at. I opened my mouth to cuss him out, but before I could bite his head off, he yanked my wrist and pulled me into him.
‘What the fu—’
‘Shhh,’ he cut me off, tilting his head sideways towards the sound of footsteps approaching. They belonged, I realized, to Varun.
Neil manoeuvred us into the narrow gap between his car and a concrete pillar, hiding us from my boss’s view. My back brushed against the cold cement and his chest formed a wall in front of me, his grip on my wrist never loosening. My breath came out shallow and fast, every cell in my body tangled in a mixture of outrage, panic and the electric awareness of how close he was—close enough to smell his smoky, no doubt expensive cologne. Neither of us moved. The echo of Varun’s steps drew nearer, then faded, followed by the low rumble of an engine starting. We stayed locked in place until the sound of his car pulling away finally broke the spell.
‘I’m not,’ I hissed as I wrenched my wrist free, ‘going to sleep with you.’
He bobbed his head back in amusement, as if I’d said the most absurd thing in the world. ‘You think I’m hoping to get laid?’ His broad shoulders shook with laughter. ‘Trust me, I don’t need any help in that department.’
I hated to admit it, but he kind of had a point there. If Tanya’s intel was to be believed, he had gathered two unsolicited phone numbers and three invites to ‘hang out’ from various ladies in the grand total of two days he had been at the office.
‘Then what the hell do you want from me?’ I snapped.
‘Get in the car.’
I narrowed my eyes at him and he just shrugged. ‘Unless you’d rather wait for Rajat uncle to find us here, discussing how you’ve been conning him all this while.’
I bit my lip, considering my options. I could do as he said and find out whatever twisted, unethical BS his scheming brain had cooked up … or I could walk away clinging to my leftover dignity and watch my career go up in flames.
So, of course, I opened the passenger door of his stupid, shiny Mercedes and got in.
‘Are you going to explain?’ I asked
Neil kept his focus on the road ahead, even though we were stuck in the same spot we had been in for the last twenty minutes.
‘Explain what?’ he asked just as the traffic signal turned green. ‘Come on, come on, come on.’
The twenty or so cars in front of us continued to move at a snail’s pace, making it clear we weren’t going to make the cut this time around either. It didn’t really bother me, to be honest. If anything, Neil’s growing impatience was comforting. It felt like a strange win—knowing that people in fancy cars were not automatically excused from the miseries of Mumbai traffic.
He cursed when the signal turned red just as we were about to cross the threshold.
‘Patience, Mr Mercedes,’ I said sweetly, folding my arms. ‘The universe doesn’t bend to your will.’
He raised an eyebrow, finally taking his eyes off the road. ‘Maybe not the universe. You, on the other hand …’
I rolled my eyes. ‘May I know what it is I’m being blackmailed to do?’
He scrunched his nose. ‘That’s such an ugly word. Let’s just call it an agreement between friends.’
I scoffed. ‘I’mnotyour friend.’
‘Suit yourself,’ he said, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. ‘You’ll still have to hold up your end of the bargain if you want me to keep your secret safe, though.’
‘And whatismy end, exactly?’
He shrugged, as if his next words should’ve been obvious. ‘No more boring work … actually, no more work, period.’
‘Huh?’
‘You heard me …’
