Page 31 of Born in Ruin

Ishaan frowned at the text on his screen. All around him, people argued, the budgetary meeting for his company had everyone divided on future plans. After two days of radio silence, this was what Mayukhi decided to text him? He tapped out a quick reply, knowing exactly what to say to infuriate her.

Thanks baby…but mine are titanium.

Someone called out his name and he refocused on the conversation swirling around him. A few moments in, his phone lit up. He’d put it on silent at the start of the conversation but Mayukhi calling him out of the blue was startling enough to draw his attention. He excused himself from the meeting and stepped out of the conference room to take the call. By the time he could find a pocket of privacy, the phone stopped ringing.

Ishaan stepped into one of the smaller conference rooms at the end of the floor, shutting the door behind him and called her back. The phone rang and rang but Mayukhi didn’t pick up.He was about to go back to the meeting when another message came through.

Tiny Titanium Balls

Ishaan’s jaw clenched at the reminder of school and the bullying he’d been subjected to. It had been nothing compared to what came after…but this still stung because clearly he wasn’t the only one who remembered it. He stifled his tangled emotions, leaving the conference room without responding to her. He had work to do and didn’t need the reminders from his past.

The phone started ringing. Furious with her for her comment and with himself for still caring, he answered with a taut, “What do you want?”

It was only then that he realised that she’d made a Facetime video call. Mayukhi’s cheek came into focus first, accompanied by loud music and strobe lights in the background.

Ishaan frowned. It was four o’ clock in the afternoon on a weekday. Where the hell was she?

“It doesn’t matter,” Mayukhi’s cheek screeched at him. “Your tiny balls don’t matter. You know why?”

“My balls are normal sized,” Ishaan muttered before sighing and asking, “Why?”

“You have a killer butt, idiot. Tight, buns of steel.” The screen shook before her nose reappeared. “Tight.” That last word was slurred.

“Thank you,” Ishaan said dryly. “Was there anything else you wanted to enlighten me about?”

Mayukhi giggled. “See?” she said to someone out of view of the camera. “He’s like this tight ass when you say anything even a little-“

She disappeared from view, the phone making a loud clattering noise like it had been dropped.

Ishaan leaned against the wall, waiting patiently for her to fumble the phone back into her grip. This time, the face that appeared in his view had alarm shooting through him.

“Goody, what the hell are you doing there? With her?” The rough demand had Dhrithi’s flushed face settling into a mutinous frown.

“I can go wherever I want,” she announced. “And whenever I want.”

“Yes.” Mayukhi’s nose re-entered the conversation.

Ishaan reined in his impatience and worry and asked the more reasonable woman of the two, “Where are you guys?”

Dhrithi looked delighted at the question. “Are you going to join us for a drink?”

“No.” The nose wiggled a little as it interjected, “No him. This is girls only.”

“I won’t come,” Ishaan muttered even as a loud burst of laughter in the background had his stress spiking. “I just want to know where you are, so I can avoid you, Kraken. Then I can make sure I don’t come anywhere in that vicinity.”

Mayukhi cackled, a drunk, messy sound. “Tiny balls can’t come in my vicinity.” That was accompanied by more laughter.

“It’s not you,” Dhrithi told her. “He’s always like this. He hates everybody and everything. He hated me also but I wore him down.”

“How?” Mayukhi asked. “It’s not possible. He is only Kraken this, Kraken that. I destroy you. I ruin you. I am evil doer extraordinaire.”

Ishaan shut his eyes, his fingers going to pinch the bridge of his nose. He had a migraine coming on or maybe it was just Mayukhi who was the blooming pain in his arse and everywhere else, including his so-called tiny balls.

“Where. Are. You?” he gritted out.

Dhrithi frowned at him. “Don’t be like that Ish. You’re not evil doer anything. You’re like a choux bun, all soft and gooey inside that hard exterior.”

“Choux buns are soft outside also,” Mayukhi’s voice interjected.

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