The car rolled to a stop in front of TitanCorp's towering glass entrance. Morning sunlight scattered across the building like shattered diamonds, but inside the car, the air was darker than night.
Aisha's fingers curled tightly around her bag.
Raj Malhotra stepped out first.
He didn't offer her a hand.
He didn't look back to check if she followed.
He simply walked—long strides, powerful, assured—like the world was obligated to move out of his path.
And somehow, without a word, she followed.
The automatic doors parted for him as though bowing. Employees stood straighter. Security stiffened. Even the air seemed to hold itself differently when Raj Malhotra passed.
Aisha felt eyes burning into her.
Whispers followed them.
"Who is she?"
"Did he… bring her?"
"No way—he never brings anyone."
"Is she his—?"
"Careful, he'll fire you for a wrong look."
Her face flushed. She wanted to disappear.
Raj didn't slow down, but he spoke, voice low enough that only she could hear.
"Ignore them."
She stiffened.
"Hard to ignore when everyone is staring," she murmured.
Raj's gaze flicked to her for a fraction of a second—dark, sharp, unreadable.
"Let them," he said.
It sounded less like reassurance and more like a warning to anyone watching.
They reached the private elevator—the one only Raj used. It required a fingerprint, a card, and a code. He entered all three with smooth, lethal precision.
The doors slid open.
He stepped inside.
He waited.
His eyes met hers—not patient, not gentle… commanding.
Aisha stepped in.
The doors closed.
Silence wrapped around them like a tightening rope.
This elevator moved faster than any elevator should. Or maybe it was the pressure of him standing so close that made her heart race.
Finally, she found her voice.
"Why am I here?"
He didn't answer immediately.
He was watching her. Not her clothes, not her bag—not the surface.
He watched her like he was dismantling her thoughts, one by one.
Aisha felt exposed.
Then—
"You want a job," he replied.
The air left her lungs. "How do you know that?"
"You walked into my building three times in two weeks."
His voice was quiet but heavy.
"You went to HR. Twice. You left your resume. You followed up. And you were turned away nine times."
Her eyes widened. "You… you knew?"
He stepped closer.
"TitanCorp is my empire," he said softly. "Nothing happens in it without my knowledge."
She swallowed.
He continued, "You needed a job. I needed you."
The way he said "needed"—deep, controlled, dangerous—sent a shiver through her.
"But… why?" she whispered. "There are hundreds more qualified—"
"I don't care about them."
The elevator pinged.
The doors opened to his floor—silent, spacious, intimidating.
Raj walked out.
Aisha stayed frozen.
He turned, eyes narrowing slightly. "Are you waiting for permission to breathe too?"
Her face heated.
She stepped out quickly.
His office was enormous—floor-to-ceiling windows, cold marble, a desk that could swallow her tiny room whole. Everything was sharp, modern, ruthless.
Just like him.
He stood behind the desk, watching her.
"Come here," he said.
Aisha hesitated, but his eyes hardened slightly.
She moved closer.
Closer.
Until she stood on the other side of his desk.
Raj leaned forward, resting his hands on the polished surface. His sleeves shifted, revealing veins that ran like dark lines of power across his wrists.
"Your job," he said quietly, "is whatever I decide it to be."
Aisha felt her breath hitch.
"Sir, I don't understand—"
"You don't need to," he replied. "Not yet."
She forced herself to meet his gaze. "Are you hiring me out of pity?"
Something dangerous flickered in his eyes.
"Pity," he repeated softly, the word dripping disdain. "I have never pitied anyone. Especially not you."
"Then why me?" she whispered.
His jaw tightened. His voice dropped, rough.
"Because you walked into my life uninvited… and stayed."
She blinked.
Raj straightened, walked around the desk, and stopped inches from her.
Inches.
He smelled like crisp rain and something darker.
His presence pressed against her without touching.
"You think I don't notice people?" he asked. "You think I let strangers slip into my thoughts and disturb my sleep?"
Her pulse spiked.
"No," she whispered.
"Correct."
His eyes locked onto hers—intense, consuming, frighteningly focused.
"You came into my building by accident," he said. "You should have remained irrelevant."
He lifted his hand.
Her breath froze.
He didn't touch her. He traced a line near her hair, close enough to feel the tension.
"But you… didn't."
The air between them burned.
"You have something I don't understand," he whispered. "Something that draws me."
Her heart pounded against her ribs.
This wasn't admiration.
This wasn't romance.
This was obsession—sharp, dangerous, barely contained.
"What if I don't want this job?" she whispered, forcing her voice steady.
Raj's expression didn't change.
His voice did.
"You do."
"I—"
"You need money," he said calmly. "Your rent is overdue. Your mother's hospital bills are rising. You've been skipping meals."
Her eyes widened in shock. "How do you know that?!"
His gaze hardened.
"I know everything."
Her breath trembled.
He didn't say it like a boast.
He said it like a truth she should have always known.
Raj stepped even closer. The edge of his suit brushed her arm. She flinched.
His voice dipped low.
"You need stability."
A pause.
"And I," he said slowly, "need you where I can see you."
She stared at him.
"Why?" she whispered.
He looked at her for a long, heavy moment.
As though weighing what she could handle.
What she was worth.
What he was allowing her to know.
Finally—
"Because things I want," he said, "I keep close."
Her heartbeat stumbled.
"I'm not a thing," she whispered.
A faint smirk touched his lips—not mocking, not cruel… satisfied.
"No," he agreed. "But you are mine."
She stepped back, breath shaking. "I'm not—"
Raj caught her wrist.
Not tightly.
Not painfully.
But firmly enough that she couldn't move.
His voice was a whisper that felt like a promise and a threat.
"You walked into my world, Aisha."
His eyes darkened.
"And I don't let go of what my world claims."
Aisha pulled her hand back, pulse racing.
"I haven't accepted the job."
"You have," he murmured. "You just don't know it yet."
He reached for a file on the desk and handed it to her.
"Welcome to TitanCorp, Miss Khanna."
She stared at the contract.
"Report to me directly," he added. "Every day."
Her breath caught.
"And Aisha…"
She looked up.
Raj's gaze trapped her in place.
"If anyone in this building looks at you the wrong way…"
His voice turned lethal.
"They'll regret it."
Her stomach twisted.
This wasn't a job offer.
This was a claim.
A warning.
A beginning she never asked for.
A beginning she wasn't sure she could escape.