Page 4 of Love Locked
“Dad, there are times when a person needs comforting words rather than the harsh truth.” Adil shook his head.
Prithvi arched an eyebrow. “Now that you’ve told me this, I can confidently say that Mira has definitely transformed you.”
“Of course, she has transformed me. Not just me but my entire existence. And I’m not ashamed to accept it,” Adil stated.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of when you’ve changed for the better.” Slowly, Prithvi sipped his drink.
“Gentlemen, everything else aside…” Vaayu told his father, “…we are here for Kabir, and we should just focus on that.”
“All right, everyone. Don’t talk about me like I’m not there. Moreover, I’m not hurt. Dad is right. I’m over it. And if it’s okay with everyone, I don’t want to talk about the entire affair,” Kabir justified.
“So, we don’t need to intervene? To cheer you up by having a boys’ night out or just stroll inside a strip club?” Adil asked.
“Nope. I’m all good. However, I’d like to see Vaayu trying to enter a strip club only to witness Ruhi’s reaction.” Kabir grinned.
“Well, he just asked you out of the kindness of his heart. We believe you’re fine,” Vaayu replied when the doorbell rang. He turned around and got up to open the door. “That’d be our breakfast from Caffeine Kiss.”
“And that’d be the chickenshit son of mine opening the door. Look at him. He’s totally a changed person.” Prithvi waved a hand toward Vaayu with a huge smile plastered on his face.
“Well, I’m no chickenshit, Dad. It’s just that I love my wife and my balls too much.” Vaayu walked back inside with a bag of food, and everyone laughed.
All of them began loading their plates with food, digging right in. After a beat of silence, drinking the last of their coffees, Prithvi cleared his throat.
“Kabir, we wanted to tell you that we hired a new CSO last week.” Prithvi chewed his bite slowly. “So, you better be ready to come to work, or else you’ll miss the introductory meeting with her.”
Adil nodded with a severe look gracing his features. “Absolutely. The meeting is in the office in about three hours.”
“Newly hired CSO? Wait… Do you mean Kyra? When were you going to tell me that you interviewed her?” Kabir paused.
They had already recruited her? He assumed they would settle that together. His senses were suddenly overtaken by a rush of anger and resentment. He slammed his coffee mug with a thud on the centre table, startling Woofer. The dog gave him a look as though he was crazy. If Kabir lost his composure over this, he was apparently going to meet a newer version of himself, the one who was easily angered. He kept telling himself that it was okay if they didn’t tell him everything as he was on leave.
“Mom told us not to bother you.” Adil shrugged helplessly.
“As for the interview, we just went through the formalities. Kyra is excellent at what she does. She has worked at Digvijay’s office for a long time, and Adil has worked with her too. We are confident she will be able to handle things here,” Prithvi replied.
“Great. If you say so.” Kabir shrugged.
“What was with that tone?” His Dad gazed at him accusatorily.
“Nothing.”
“What’s wrong, Kabir?” Adil regarded with confusion.
“Nothing. I’m just wondering where it is written that a person cannot be asked for an opinion or called into work if they go on a vacation post their break-up?” Kabir finally snapped.
“Take a chill pill, okay?” Vaayu pacified Kabir. ‘Don’t take it personally. We just wanted to give you a little space since you were on leave wandering around the country.”
“I would have done a video ca–” Kabir stopped. He could have caused a scene like Adil or reacted recklessly like Vaayu, but he chose not to. That wasn’t how he operated. Sighing, he made an effort to maintain his composure. “Fine. I got it. But enough with the theatrics around the breakup. As it is, I was coming in today. So, I’ll be at work. Just don’t try to hide anything from me from now on.”
He muttered, ignoring the image of those chocolate brown eyes that had just flashed through his mind. It was happening a lot these days. He closed his eyes to block out the images and allowed his mind to concentrate on his current project.
He diverted his thoughts to Uprise Snowtop, the proposed luxurious Resort project in Roopganj, Shimla, and his mood immediately improved. This was part of a project that was the Kapoor-Oberoi Partnership’s second undertaking. As long as Kyra’s new position had nothing to do with him, he was happy for her. He was already immersed in enough personal conflicts regarding her without adding to his professional ones.
“So, when is the visit to Roopganj due?” Kabir asked, looking at Adil before flicking his gaze to Vaayu.
“Soon. After a few months of brainstorming, we’ll do the scouting before finalising our proposal. Then let’s evaluate and see if there are any issues.” Adil replied.
“Sounds great.” Kabir nodded.
