Aisha arrived at the office that morning with a hollow feeling gnawing at her chest. Ever since the incident in Raj's cabin, the air seemed heavier, the walls closer, and every glance from colleagues sharper. She tried to focus on her work, but the memory of his thumb brushing her cheek—and the unspoken threat behind his words—haunted her relentlessly.
By 10:30, she was hunched over her laptop when a knock at her workstation made her flinch.
"Excuse me, are you Aisha Khanna?"
She looked up to see a woman with sharp features and a polite, too-bright smile.
"Yes… I am. Can I help you?"
"I'm Tanya Mehra," the woman said. "I work with Raj in the corporate strategy team. I… heard you'll be assisting him closely. Thought I should introduce myself."
Aisha forced a smile. "Of course. Nice to meet you."
Tanya's eyes lingered a little too long, and Aisha felt a flash of warning in her chest. Something about the woman's confident poise, the way she carried herself… it felt like a challenge.
Before Aisha could say more, a voice echoed from the corner of the office:
"Aisha."
Her pulse skipped. She froze.
Raj stood at the edge of the cubicles, hands in his pockets, his gaze sweeping the floor until it landed squarely on her. The entire room seemed to still.
Tanya, however, didn't look intimidated. She extended her hand toward Raj with a warm smile. "Raj! Good morning. Did you see the revised projections I sent?"
Raj's eyes flickered—just briefly—toward her before returning to Aisha.
The way he looked at Aisha made the air between them almost visible: tight, charged, suffocating.
"I see them," he said flatly. His voice was calm, but every word carried an edge that made Aisha's skin prickle.
Tanya, oblivious—or maybe deliberately challenging—kept talking, her enthusiasm spilling across the space.
Aisha wanted to sink into her chair.
Raj didn't move. Not until Tanya finally excused herself, leaving the two of them alone.
Then Raj's gaze snapped to Aisha.
"Do you see why I don't like interference?" he asked softly. His eyes darkened, his jaw tightening. "Do you see what happens when someone tries to take attention that belongs to me?"
Aisha's mouth went dry. "Raj… it's just professional courtesy. She wasn't—"
He cut her off with a hand raised, pointing toward her chest.
"Don't justify anything to me." His voice was low, precise, and lethal. "I don't care about intentions. I care about results. And I care about my boundaries. You… are my boundary. And I will not allow anyone—even a colleague—to cross it."
Aisha swallowed. She tried to meet his gaze but faltered under the intensity.
Raj stepped closer. One step. Another. His presence filled the space between them until she could feel the warmth radiating off him.
"You will learn," he said softly, almost whispering now, "that in my world, only two things matter. You. And my control over everything else."
Her chest tightened, caught between fear, desire, and something dangerous she didn't dare name.
"Raj…" she whispered.
He bent slightly, his lips dangerously close to her ear. "Do not test me."
Aisha's knees nearly buckled, but before anything more could happen, a chime from his office phone echoed through the cubicles. He straightened instantly, regaining his composure with ruthless efficiency.
"Bring the financial reports to my cabin in ten minutes," he said, voice regaining its cold, commanding tone.
Aisha nodded, clutching her folder as though it were armor.
As she walked away, she felt his gaze burn into her back. Tanya's warning had been real—Raj's possessiveness wasn't just about her tasks. It was personal.
And with every step toward his office, Aisha realized that working for Raj Malhotra wasn't just about surviving his temper.
It was about surviving the obsession that already claimed her.