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Rohan greeted him with a nod.
Paras had been working with Varun Bali for a little less than two decades, and for the last five years, he had been working with Rohan. When Varun Bali had divided the reins of his giant company Fortuna, he’d done so equally between Rohan and Rithwik.
Fortuna Pharma and the stud farm had been handed over to Rohan, while the company’s retail, software, multimedia, and telecom arms were handed to Rithwik. Rohan’s companies were equivalent in wealth and standing to Rithwik’s share. More recently, Rithwik had added Fortuna Productions, a film and TV production house, to his portfolio while Rohan had diversified into Fortuna Finance, or FF, as it was nicknamed. That’s where his current CFO also played an important role. Paras Modi led the FF team along with his other responsibilities.
Paras crossed one leg over the other. “About that Financial Manager’s position, you magically opened up last week for FF…”
A corner of Rohan’s lips tipped. “What about that?”
“The candidate you recommended—Jiya Deewan—fits the bill perfectly. She’s intelligent, astute, and has a way with numbers that is quite rare. I couldn’t find a single fault with her. But I’m not convinced we need to add someone to the team right now. We already have that other boy… He came through a reference, right?”
Rohan played with the paperweight on his desk. “One cannot say no to Janak Sehgal. Besides, Akash will leave in a few months. He’s just here to learn with us, while Jiya might stay for a longer duration.”
“Hmm. I thought you’d say that. Anyway, I sent Jiya the appointment letter, and she signed and sent it back. She even agreed to join us immediately, today, in fact. She’s already here, talking to the HR, after which I’ll get someone to set her up on the FF floor.”
“Did she sign all the paperwork?”
“Yes, although she was sceptical about it.”
His lips curved. Of course, she’d be. But that part was non-negotiable.
A surge of excitement bubbled through him. Jiya was actually here. His lips began to curve, but he stopped himself. She was going to be working for him, which made her off-limits because he never mixed work and pleasure as a rule. His excitement dimmed, and disappointment filled him instead.
She’d always been off-limits, he reminded himself, but now she was even more so.
Paras stood. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll let myself out. And I’ll send Jiya to meet you once she’s finished her briefing with me.”
Rohan nodded, his eyes on his laptop screen already. But he was unable to put Jiya out of his thoughts. For days, he’d been thinking of her, and each time, he’d convinced himself that there was nothing special about her. That when he’d pecked her cheek at the airport, he hadn’t felt a thing. That his heart hadn’t sped up, and his blood hadn’t thickened. But now, even knowing she was in the same building as him was disrupting his mind.
The urge to see her and confirm that he’d actually felt none of these things was consuming him. But he controlled himself, forcing himself to concentrate on the spreadsheet opened on his laptop.
* * *
It waspast two in the afternoon when there was a knock on his door, and Jiya entered, her face bright with excitement. His heart jumped when he saw her, and a smile threatened to break free. He controlled the impulse, keeping his expression cool.
“Hi,” she greeted, coming to stand in front of him.
Was it his imagination, or was the room suddenly fragrant from her fresh scent?
Cut it out, he scolded himself.
He stood and offered her his hand. “Welcome to Fortuna Finance.”
Her smile widened as she accepted his hand. A strange sensation rushed down his spine the second her skin touched his. He ignored it and shook her hand firmly. Formally.
“Please take a seat,” he told her.
She took the chair facing him and looked around his vast office while he took a moment to study her. Today, she was dressed in a stylish black pant suit, with a white shirt tucked out, and her sleeves rolled over along with the jacket sleeves to just below her elbows. A long gold chain dangled from her neck, and her hair was left loose with those red streaked tips spread below her shoulders. She was beautiful.
His eyes stayed on those red-streaked tips. He wondered if they were as soft as they looked. Shit. He was getting distracted by her again.
“I’m glad you accepted the position.”
Her warm brown eyes landed on him. “Thank you for offering it to me. I look forward to working with your team. But was the nondisclosure agreement regarding your private life really necessary? I’m not one to talk about you in public.”
“I know, but I don’t want to take a chance. I’m a very private man, and I don’t like being spoken of or being interviewed. And I’ve seen how employees sometimes use their access and position to give out information to the media to suit their own purposes.”
“Wow, that’s being very harsh.”
