Page 6 of Love Locked
TWO
Scanning the crowd from a distance was okay, but being in the centre of it was pure hell. That’s what Kyra Kapoor thought when she spotted the traffic congestion on the route in her navigation app. She groaned loudly and slammed her head against the window for the hundredth time.
“Sanket Bhaiya…we should have taken another route, even though it was longer. Almost 20 minutes have passed since we last moved,” she complained.
“Don’t worry, baby ji. Only this lane is jammed. After this, the road is empty. Once this gets cleared, we’ll be at the office in 10 minutes,” he replied.
A car honked on her right, and she iterated that they should have used another route. She couldn’t afford to be late today as she wasn’t just an employee, but also sort of a boss.
It was her first day at work as the new Chief Strategy Officer for the Oberoi Infra. Being hired by Prithvi Oberoi and his son, Adil Oberoi, was a big deal. She had begged her father to let her collaborate with Adil. Her father wanted her to work in New York with his brother Ranjeet to get more expertise, but she yearned to work with Adil. So, despite her uncle’s slight displeasure, her father had agreed with her decision.
She had never felt more confident about herself than today, given the excellent training from her father and the fact that she was wearing her favourite power suit. The powder blue skirt suit she wore made her look amazing, and she knew it. The diamond studs in her ears and minimal makeup on her oval face made her look fresh and not overdone, while her hair was pulled up in a sophisticated high ponytail. With her beauty and brains, she was ready to take on the corporate world.
She had recently graduated from college and intended to join her father, Digvijay Kapoor, in the family business as a Chief Strategy Officer, like her other sister, Nitya. Nitya was previously responsible for managing their Australian headquarters, but now, she was back in India and was living with Kyra.
Kyra’s father had given her the option to work with the Oberois’ on their collaborative project - The Uprise Snowtop, which was the most blessed thing that could have happened to her. She was excited and full of dreams for her first day at the office and was raring to meet everyone.
Well, not everyone.Only a certain someone she had been trying to forget for the past four years.
Kabir Oberoi.
Her belly tightened, and she pulled in a deep, soothing breath through her nose and exhaled it slowly through her mouth. He probably won’t see you much, Kyra. So, it was not a big deal.
Kyra couldn’t remember when she was first attracted to Kabir, who was not only her sister’s brother-in-law but was also ten years older than her. Now that she thought about it, she had a fuzzy memory of the exact moment she had tangled into this web of infatuation. It all started when she was nineteen and her older sister, Mira, got engaged to Adil Oberoi, the eldest son of the Oberoi family.
The Oberois’ owned the Oberoi Orbit. It was one of the most influential companies in the nation, with its headquarters in Mumbai’s most impressive, opulent and magnificent towers.
The Oberoi dynasty had three heirs. The oldest brother, Adil Oberoi, had married her elder sister, Mira; the youngest, Vaayu Oberoi, had recently married her friend, Ruhi; and Kabir Oberoi, the middle brother, was the one who left her mesmerised. He closely resembled a good-looking, brainy Greek god who had descended on earth just to torture her. Of the three handsome men, he was the sexiest, and the most mysterious.
When she first saw Kabir, he literally took her breath away. But she was a teenager at that time, and he had a girlfriend. Of course, he had a ton of relationships from then on till now.
She’d collided with him in the dark hallway leading to the backyard garden. In an awkward apology, he’d caught her by the arms and tried to save her from falling. She had tried to ignore the sizzle she’d felt where his skin touched hers. She also saw how he’d noticed that she was holding a bottle of wine.
Yes…she was sneaking wine out of her own house at her sister’s engagement party.
She was frustrated because she hadn’t done anything rebellious or out of her comfort zone like people her age did. She was surrounded by friends who drank, partied, dated, and basically had a lot of fun. Unlike others, she never did any such things and spent her entire time studying. Feeling left out, she decided to drink alcohol for the first time.
Looking at her questioningly, Kabir frowned. “You’re sneaking wine? How old are you? Eighteen?”
She spat out the words nervously. “Nineteen, and I’m not sneaking it. I’m just going to try it. It’s my first time tasting wine. That’s it.”
Kabir’s face was blank for an entire minute, and she felt relieved, thinking he would leave her alone. But out of the blue, he spoke those golden words that changed everything for her.
“Ok. Let’s drink. Come here. I know a good spot.”
“Together?” Her steps faltered.
“Of course. I’m not letting a nineteen-year-old drink wine on her own for the first time.”
And that’s exactly what Kabir did. He never made her feel like she was doing anything wrong as he briefed her about the basics of wine etiquette, and she was enraptured.
After the first glass, he noticed that she had started to become a little tipsy, so he gently took the bottle away, saw to it that she had eaten something and escorted her to her bedroom. He then advised her to sleep it off and calmly left.
That was the moment she was attracted to him. His authority, his cool composure, and his know-it-all demeanour with a dash of maturity were a few things that pushed her buttons and made her crazy for him. And also because she repeatedly saw him wearing those sexy power suits. God! They were absurdly well-fitting and made him look fucking hot. She couldn’t help but develop a crush on him. In a matter of time, she was obsessed with Kabir.
At that time, it was almost impossible for her to imagine herself with anyone else. Her life had become monotonous and dull. Boys came and went in and out of her life, but still, she hadn’t been in a serious relationship, not even at the age of nineteen. She tried to date but just couldn’t.
Good God. It was pathetic and embarrassing now that she thought about it. She invariably had high expectations from the boys she dated, and they always fell short compared to Kabir.
