chapter 4

Nitika stormed into Ivan's private office the moment the basement door shut behind her. Her hands trembled, but her eyes burned with something neither Ivan nor Kabir ever saw from her:

Fury.

Kabir leaned casually against the desk, rolling his sleeves back down, while Ivan stood near the window, expression unreadable.

She pointed at them both.

"Enough! LISTEN to me-both of you!"

Kabir blinked, amused. "Oh? The hurricane speaks."

"Kabir, shut up!" she snapped, surprising even herself.

Ivan turned slowly, brows lifting. "Nitika-"

"No," she cut him off, voice shaking. "You listen to me this time. I did not sign up for this. It is not written in my contract-anywhere-that I have to witness you torturing someone in the basement!"

Kabir shrugged. "Technically, you weren't supposed to watch. You walked in."

"I walked in because I work here!" she shot back. "And I have a very weak heart, sir. A VERY weak heart. If you two keep doing things like this in front of me, I swear I will resign!"

Kabir laughed. "Relax. Take a chill pill. Drink water. Meditate. You'll be fine."

She glared at him as if she wanted to throw the entire water cooler at his head.

"I swear, Kabir, one day someone will actually put tape on your mouth."

"Promises, promises," he muttered.

Nitika turned to Ivan again, chest heaving. "Sir, please. You are a businessman, not some... mafia villain in an action movie. What are you doing? I can't handle this level of madness! I coordinate your meetings, not your interrogations!"

Ivan watched her carefully. Then he walked toward her, slow and composed.

"You will not leave your job, Nitika."

"Oh, really? And why not?" she shot back.

"Because," Ivan said calmly, "I give you the best salary in this entire building."

Nitika opened her mouth-then closed it.

Kabir snorted. "He got you there."

"But that doesn't give you the right to-" she tried.

"My bad," Ivan cut in dryly, "I forgot."

She blinked. "Forgot what?"

"That you are narcissistic enough to think your resignation scares me."

Kabir's jaw dropped. "Oof. That one burned."

Nitika's eyes widened, offended. "Narcissistic?! Me?!"

"Yes," Ivan said without hesitation. "You assume the entire operation collapses if you quit."

"Well-well it would certainly shake things!" she protested.

Kabir nodded. "To be fair, she does half the work while you brood."

"Shut up, Kabir," Ivan muttered.

Nitika folded her arms. "Sir, I'm serious. If I see something like that again-something violent, something horrific-I will leave. Salary or not, I cannot handle that."

Ivan studied her face for a moment.

She wasn't bluffing.

Her fear trembled behind her anger, but she was standing her ground anyway. And Ivan respected that more than he would ever admit.

He finally exhaled. "Fine."

Kabir's eyes widened. "Fine? As in fine-fine? Or fake-fine?"

"Fine," Ivan said again, sharper. "I will make sure you don't witness anything like that again."

Nitika let out a shaky breath of relief. "Good. Because this place is starting to feel like a psychological thriller."

Kabir grinned. "Great genre, honestly."

"Kabir, please stop talking," she groaned.

He saluted dramatically.

Ivan adjusted his cuffs. "Now, if your emotional outburst is done, we have work."

She glared at him again. "...You deserve stress."