"Yes."
It was Ethan Agarwal. I couldn't believe my eyes.
Andrew blinked in disbelief. "You? Ethan? I mean, how? No... you guys are dating?"
I sat frozen, unable to process what was happening. Ethan calmly walked over, sat beside me, and took my hand. That was all the confirmation Andrew needed.
"Ethan, it's really nice meeting you. I'm Sana's friend, Andrew Alfonso. Let's catch up sometime," Andrew offered.
Ethan didn't look at him. His eyes stayed on me. "Yeah, sure. Excuse us, I need a word with her."
He gently pulled me up and started walking, still holding my hand. Was I dreaming? I pinched myself. Nope. It hurt.
Once we were out of the hotel, I pulled my hand away, forcing some distance. "Ethan, what the hell was that?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Sir," he corrected.
"Yes, sir," I replied tightly. "Why would you let him think you're my boyfriend?"
"I never said that. He assumed. That's on him."
His tone was so indifferent it made my blood boil. Just then, Neha walked up.
"Ethan, can you drop me home?" she asked casually, giving me a once-over. She was drop dead gorgeous, I just wanted to talk to her or take a selfie with her. Maybe this was my fan girl moment. Are they to dating? There were rumors that they had a breakup.
He didn't even glance at her. Instead, he tossed me the keys. "You drive."
I bit my tongue. Great. Chauffeuring my boss and his maybe-ex? Perfect.
The car ride was awkward from the start. I focused on the road, trying to remain calm and professional. Ethan, however, was on a mission.
"You're constantly late, your emails are riddled with spelling mistakes, your designs barely meet the brief, and your typing speed? Honestly, it's embarrassing."
I kept my eyes on the road and held the steering wheel tightly. "I understand your concerns, sir. I am trying to improve."
"Trying doesn't count when clients are involved. This isn't college."
"I know, sir. And I genuinely appreciate the opportunity, but I believe I can do better with more guidance."
"More guidance? Sana, I don't have time to handhold. You should know the difference between serif and sans serif fonts at the very least. And maybe learn to align elements before calling a design complete."
His tone stung, but I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"I didn't come into this role claiming to be perfect. But I am committed. That should matter."
Neha, in the backseat, remained eerily quiet. She looked at Ethan in the rearview mirror a few times, then out the window. Her expression wasn't exactly neutral. It was as if she was evaluating me.
"Stop the car," Ethan said abruptly.
"Sir?"
"I said, stop the car."
I slowly pulled over, confused.
He opened the door. "If you think you're right for this job, prove it tomorrow. I'm going another way. Change of plans."
He stepped out, slamming the door shut.
I sat in silence for a few seconds, stunned.
Was he seriously kicking the driver out of the car? The audacity. I wanted to drive the car straight to hell with him tied to the roof rack. But it was his car. I got out without a word. Is he serious, he is leaving me at some random place, I step down and kept walking without looking back, cursing him.
Was this necessary? Who does that?
The next few weeks were chaos. I barely had time to breathe. The workload was insane, and I was constantly running around trying to impress a man who seemed impossible to please.
To cope, we started a work group to vent about him. Back home, I bitched about him to Alex, Dia, and Dadi.
Dadi, meanwhile, had launched her bakery business. Alex was designing the website. Dia took over packaging and managing the Instagram page. I barely contributed thanks to my job.
"I don't like your boss," Dadi declared.
"No one does," I muttered.
Our company was collaborating with another major firm. A grand party was scheduled. Of course, I was tasked with organizing everything.
I finalized the invitation designs and headed to Ethan for approval. Just as I was about to enter, someone tugged at my wrist.
"Don't tell me you designed this," Noah said, eyes wide.
My heart skipped. "Does it look that bad?"
He grinned. "Bad? It's stunning. I thought you were just pretty, but you're creative too. Impressive."
My cheeks warmed. "Thank you."
He leaned in slightly. "So... who are you going with to the party?"
"I… uh... alone."
"Not anymore. You're coming with me," he said smoothly, looping his arm through mine.
I smiled, caught off guard by his easy charm.
"I'd rather dance with someone fun than get stuck next to some boring business guy talking about stock prices," he added with a wink.
"And you think I'm fun?" I raised an eyebrow.
"You don't even realize how fun you are, Sana. That's the best part."
My smile deepened. This boy was dangerous.
As I walked into Ethan's cabin, he was walking out. I stopped to avoid colliding, dropping the card. He picked it up, glanced at it.
"They look fine. You can distribute them."
Then, without a pause: "We're going shopping. I need a suit for the event."
Why did he speak like he was issuing military orders?
The showroom looked like a palace. Everything gleamed and sparkled. Gold accents, velvet walls, chandeliers—every corner screamed luxury.
I kept close to Ethan, trying not to look too awestruck.
He picked out a dozen suits and walked into the dressing room without a word. I sat down with a sigh and decided to get my revenge by picking the worst one.
But when he walked out in the first one...
Damn.
Perfect jawline, structured blazer, smug confidence. Everything looked good on him, and it was infuriating.
I rejected the first suit. Then the second. Then another. Three hours passed with him trying on suit after suit.
"You know you could've chosen the first one," he said finally, voice dry.
"Just making sure you suffer as much as I do under your management," I replied, crossing my arms.
He smirked.
Finally, I approved a navy-blue one that made him look ridiculously elegant. To my surprise, he didn't say a word.
Just as we were about to leave, he turned toward me and looked me over—head to toe. His gaze made my skin crawl.
"What now?" I asked.
He didn't answer. Instead, he whispered something to a staff member.
As we stepped out, he handed me a sleek garment bag.
"I don't want my secretary to show up looking like a tomboy. Just wear it."
He didn't wait for my reaction. Just turned and walked away.
I stood there, stunned and annoyed. Did he really just—?
Back home, Dia practically squealed when she saw the dress. With Dadi and Alex's help, she got me ready. The gown fit like a dream. Dadi couldn't stop taking pictures.
Noah picked me up. As we entered the party together, we saw Ethan walk in from the other entrance with Neha .
To my surprise Neha was also wearing a very similar gown with very little changes, this made me question did Ethan gift similar dress to her?
Had he bought her one too?
I didn't dwell on it. I had guests to greet, people to meet.
Ethan was preoccupied with business discussions. So I helped myself to a couple of drinks. Noah asked me to dance, and we were laughing and swaying when someone spilled red wine on my dress.
Mortified, I rushed to the bathroom to clean it.
When I returned, the room had fallen into a tense silence. I glanced up and froze.
The presentation on the screen wasn't ours.
Ethan stood still, his expression blank but his jaw tight.
Noah and Raha rushed over to me.
"Someone changed the slides," Noah said, panicking.
I remembered I had a backup on my phone. Without a word, I ran to the stage, plugged in my phone, and replaced the slides.
Ethan resumed speaking like nothing happened. But he didn't look at me once.
I was humiliated. I left the hall, grabbed a bottle of whatever alcohol I got there and headed to the terrace.
I couldn't process what just happened, it just had been hardly a month I joined the work, but I couldn't even handle anything, I ruined the whole event.
"I ruined it. I ruined everything," I whispered to myself.
"Ahem," someone cleared their throat.
I turned. Ethan.
"You gonna fire me, you ugly robot? Hahaha—"
I toppled.
When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar bed. The room was enormous. Richly decorated with muted wood, grey tones, and cold lighting. Definitely a man's place.
Panic hit me like a truck.
Before I could scream, there was a knock. Ethan stepped in, hands in his pockets.
"What are you doing here? I mean ehy am I here? Did you seriously kidnap me?! What the hell happened?!"
I was asking questions non stop.
He didn't even blink , expression unreadable and said "you still asking me this after last night?"