By him, though she didn’t know it yet.
Teddy Day
The morning had settled into its usual rhythm. Ishani glanced at her watch: 11:17. She’d been checking the time every few minutes since ten, though she wouldn’t admit why. Her eyes drifted to the elevator, then back to her screen. Three days in a row now. Would today make four?
The elevator doors chimed. Ishani’s head snapped up before she could stop herself. The receptionist approached her and Ishani saw a small package balanced carefully in her hands.
All eyes on the floor followed the receptionist’s movement with renewed interest.
“Ms. Rao?” she said, placing it on her desk with a smile.
The moment she left, Ishani unwrapped it carefully. A small plush puppy emerged—cream with floppy ears and a brown patch on its chest. Her breath caught. Not just any stuffed animal, but an exact replica of Kaju. Her parents’ new dog that she’d only seen through video calls. The dog no one at work could possibly know about.
The familiar cream envelope waited beneath one paw. “While the real one awaits,” the printed text inside read.
Her stomach tightened. How could anyone know about Kaju? She’d only spoken to her mother about the puppy in the break room after hours. When everyone was gone.
Except someone hadn’t been gone. Someone had heard.
Raghav’s face flashed in her mind, unexpected and unwelcome. She shook her head.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Ishani. Raghav Khanna doesn’t send plush toys, he sends termination notices.’
Yet the timing... and the specific gift...
“Oh my god, is that today’s delivery?” Kavya’s voice cut through her thoughts as she appeared beside the desk, coffee in hand. “It’s adorable!”
Before Ishani could answer, three other women from accounting huddled around her desk, exclaiming over the puppy.
“It looks so expensive,” one of them said, touching the fur reverently.
“What does the note say?” another asked, trying to peek at the card Ishani had quickly slipped into her drawer.
Kavya’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “Your secret admirer is getting serious. First flowers, then jewelry, then chocolate, and now this? Valentine’s Day is going to be spectacular.” She lowered her voice, leaning closer. “My money’s still on Samrat.”
“It’s not Samrat,” Ishani said with more surety than she felt. She picked up the puppy, cradling it in her hands. “It’s exactly like my parents’ new dog. Exactly.”
“How would anyone know what your—”
The sudden hush that fell over the floor cut Kavya’s question short. Heads turned toward Raghav’s office, where the door had swung open with enough force to make the glass wall vibrate. He stood in the doorway, his gaze locked on Ishani’s desk and the gathering around it. His jaw clenched tight enough that a muscle twitched visibly along his temple.
He approached her desk. The crowd dissolved instantly, women scattering back to their stations.
Only Kavya and Ishani remained, the former taking one strategic step backward.
“Ishani,” Raghav said, his voice low and controlled, “is this becoming a daily event?” His eyes fixed on the plush puppy she still held, his expression tightening as if the toy had personally insulted him.
Ishani straightened her spine, meeting his gaze directly. “I don’t control when or if gifts are delivered, Boss.”
“And you’ve made no effort to discourage them? Despite our discussion about workplace distractions?”
Something in his tone made her fingers tighten around the soft toy.
“I don’t know who’s sending them,” she replied, the words precise and measured, “so I have no way to discourage them.”
Their eyes locked, neither backing down. The silence stretched between them, charged with something more complicated than simple irritation. His gaze dropped to her hands where they cupped the small plush dog, lingering there before rising slowly back to her face.
“The puppy resembles something specific to you,” he said, not a question but a statement.
