An Offer She Can't Refuse

He’d said he’d be in touch, but two days had gone by and he hadn’t called. Maybe he’d found someone else more suitable for the role. Someone who didn’t spot their boss and freak out halfway through a discussion, or run out on him without warning.

Idly she opened the contact list in her phone and stated scrolling down it. Darius Mistry. She had his mobile number and his email ID, and the temptation to drop him a text or a short email was huge. She could apologise once again for running out on him. Or tell him that she’d changed her mind about the job.

When it came to professional communications she was confident and practical, but somehow with Darius she found herself prevaricating. Her shyness prevented her from getting in touch for anything other than strictly business reasons.

She was still mulling things over when her phone rang, and she almost dropped it in surprise.

‘I was just thinking about you,’ she blurted out, and then blushed furiously. Darius was probably already convinced of her weirdness—she didn’t need to make it worse. ‘I mean … I was just thinking over what you said about this being the right stage in my career to change jobs …’

‘Reconsidering, I hope?’ he said smoothly, and went on without waiting for her to answer. ‘Look, I know you’ve said you’re not interested, but I’ve interviewed around a dozen completely unsuitable people and I’d really like a chance to pitch the job to you again. Preferably in a place where your boss isn’t likely to land up and ruin my sales pitch.’

One part of her felt disappointed that he hadn’t called just to speak to her, but she shook herself crossly. Of course his interest in her was purely professional. What had got into her?

‘I’m really not interested in changing jobs, Darius,’ she said, firmly suppressing the little voice in her head that told her to go and meet him anyway. ‘And I’ve wasted your time once already—I wouldn’t want to do it again.’

Darius briefly considered telling Mallika that time spent with her would definitely not be wasted, but he bit the words back. This wasn’t a seduction, and he’d already made it clear that when it came to business he was as determined as she to get what he wanted.

‘It’s part of my job,’ he said lightly. ‘Even if you don’t want to join us now, at least I’ll get to tell you about the company—and who knows? Maybe you’ll want to join at some later time.’

‘All right, then,’ Mallika conceded. ‘When shall I meet you?’

‘Tomorrow,’ he said decisively. ‘Lunch at one of the restaurants in Lower Parel? That’s nearer my office than yours, and hopefully we won’t run into anyone you know.’

Darius was beginning to wonder if he’d been stood up when Mallika finally walked into the restaurant. The first thing that struck him was that there was a strained expression in her lovely eyes. The second was that she looked anything but tomboyish now.

Granted, her hair was still styled for convenience rather than glamour, and her make-up was kept to the bare minimum. But she was wearing a sari today—a dark blue silk affair, with a muted print—and her figure was spectacular in it. And her spontaneous smile when she saw him was the best welcome he could ever have hoped for.

He stood as she walked up to him, and Mallika began to feel ridiculously nervous. It was a Friday and he was dressed casually, in a white open-necked cotton shirt over jeans. His thick hair looked slightly damp from the shower, and she had a second’s insane urge to reach up and run her fingers through it.

To cover her confusion she held out her hand, and he took it, briefly clasping it between both his hands before he let go.

‘Hi,’ she said. ‘I’m not too late, am I?’

He shook his head. That smile had lit up her face, but now the worried expression was back in her eyes.

‘Is everything okay?’ he asked quietly once they were both seated and the waiter had put their menu cards in front of them and retired to a safe distance.

Her eyes flew up to his. ‘Yes, of course,’ she said, sounding just a little defensive.

Aryan was going through a particularly problematic phase, and in the normal course of things she wouldn’t have left him alone at home. But she’d promised Darius, and there were meetings in the office that she couldn’t avoid. Just this once Aryan would have to manage on his own, with just Lalita the cook to check on him.

‘You look tense,’ he said. ‘Like you’re trying to remember whether you locked your front door when you left. Don’t worry about it—burglars are usually deeply suspicious of open doors. If it’s unlocked, there’s absolutely no chance of a break-in.’

She laughed at that. ‘What if I did lock it?’

‘Ah, then I hope you have a good security system.’

‘A simple lock, and a brother who won’t notice if someone puts every single thing in the house into packing cases and carries them away under his nose. As long as they don’t touch his computer.’

He smiled, his eyes crinkling up at the corners in a maddeningly attractive way. ‘Sounds like my kind of guy. Younger brother?’

Mallika nodded. She hardly ever mentioned Aryan in casual conversation, and the ease with which the reference had slipped out surprised her. Darius was beguilingly easy to talk to—she’d need to be on her guard a little.

The waiter was hovering behind her, and she turned her attention to the menu.

‘The fish is good,’ Darius said.

‘It looks delicious,’ Mallika said, glancing at the next table, where another waiter had just deposited two plates of grilled fish. ‘I’m vegetarian, though.’

‘Then the gnocchi?’ he said. ‘Or the spaghetti in pesto sauce?’

Mallika finally chose the spaghetti, and a glass of wine to go with it—Darius, who’d never paid good money for a vegetarian meal before in his life, found himself ordering grilled vegetables and pasta. A lot of strict vegetarians were put off by someone eating meat at the same table, and he definitely didn’t want to risk that. He was on a charm offensive today, and determined to win her over.

‘How’s your boss?’ he asked.

‘She’s miffed I didn’t tell her I was dating someone,’ Mallika said with a sigh. Vaishali was a lovely person, but the concept of personal space was completely alien to her. ‘She wanted to invite both of us to her house for dinner—I had a devil of a time wriggling out of that one.’

‘What did you say to her?’ Darius asked, unable to keep a glint out of his eye.

‘That I’d been wrong about you and you were actually really self-centred,’ Mallika said, delighted she’d managed to keep a poker face. ‘And possessive—and controlling.’

She sounded remarkably cheerful about it, and Darius’s lips twitched.

‘So we aren’t dating any longer?’

‘We are,’ Mallika said. ‘You have a few redeeming qualities, but I’m not as sure about you as I was. We’re dating, but I’m not introducing you to friends and family just yet.’

‘Wouldn’t it have been easier to remove me from the scene altogether?’

‘If I’d written you off she’d have tried setting me up with a perfectly horrible second cousin of hers. She’s spent the last two years trying to palm him off on every unmarried woman she knows.’

‘Maybe he’s not so bad?’ Darius suggested carefully. ‘You should meet him—keep your options open.’

Mallika shuddered. ‘No, thanks. I’ve met him once, and that was once too often. He spent forty-five minutes telling me how rich he is, and how he made his money. And he breathes really heavily.’

‘Hmm …’

Darius’s eyes were dancing wickedly, and Mallika felt a little jolt of awareness go through her. It had been so long since she’d spent any time with an attractive man that she was ridiculously susceptible.

‘Can I ask you something?’

She gave him a wary look. ‘Yes.’

‘Are you atoning for the sins of a past life by working for Vaishali?’

‘She’s been very good to me,’ Mallika said stiltedly, and when he raised an eyebrow she went on in a rush. ‘No, really. She can be a bit overpowering at times, but I owe her a lot. I didn’t mean to make her sound like a nightmare boss.’

She sounded as if it really mattered, and Darius nodded.

‘If you say so.’ He was silent for a few seconds as the waiter put their drinks in front of them. ‘So, should I tell you a bit more about the job and the company? You can make up your mind then.’

She nodded, and listened carefully as he explained again about the company structure and the role that he was offering. Unlike her current company, which invested solely in real estate, the Nidas Group had evolved into a conglomerate of companies that included a brokering house, a consumer lending company and the fund where Darius was offering her a job. Darius himself was moving on—he didn’t give her any details, but she assumed it was to head up a new division—and he didn’t have enough capacity to manage the fund as well.

‘I have a question,’ she said, once he’d finished telling her about the job. ‘Why do you think I’m right for the position?’

‘You have a superb track record,’ Darius said. ‘And Venkat was very impressed after he interviewed you.’

‘But you haven’t interviewed me,’ she pointed out. ‘Or do you trust Venkat that much?’

‘I have every intention of interviewing you,’ Darius said, his brows quirking. ‘The second you tell me that you’re actually interested in the job I’ll start firing questions at you.’

Mallika stared at him for a few seconds, and then burst out laughing.

‘You have a point,’ she said. ‘So—the job sounds perfect. It’s the logical next step in my career and like you said, I’ve been in my current job for five years and I’m beginning to stagnate.’

‘I can see a “but” coming,’ he murmured.

‘Yes … I mean …’

‘It’s not convenient from a personal point of view?’ Darius supplied when she hesitated.

Mallika nodded. ‘That’s it. I can’t tell you the details, but …’

‘I don’t need to know the details,’ Darius said. ‘But if you tell me what exactly it is that your current company is doing to help you maybe I can see if we can work something out.’

Darius could smell victory, and he wasn’t about to let this one go.

‘I don’t have fixed hours,’ she said in a rush. ‘Some days I reach work at eight, and some days I go in only in the afternoon. And I do site visits on my own when it’s convenient to me. Sometimes I work from home, and there are days when I’m not able to work at all.’

She ground to a halt, her eyes wide and a little apprehensive. Clearly whatever was happening on the personal front was very important to her. He wondered what it was. The kind of flexibility she needed was normally required only if an employee had to care for a sick child or an elderly parent. Mallika wasn’t married, and from what she’d said her younger brother sounded responsible. A parent, then, he decided.

The unwelcome thought that she might be going through a messy divorce came to mind, but he pushed it away. A divorce might need her to take time off work, but it wouldn’t need her to work from home. It was far more likely that one of her parents needed to be cared for.

He thought for a while. ‘We might be able to let you do the same,’ he said slowly. ‘Can I work this out and get back to you?’

‘But when I asked Venkat he said you don’t have a flexible working policy!’ she said.

‘It hasn’t been formally approved yet,’ Darius said. ‘We’re still working on it. Yours could be a test case.’

Their food had arrived, and Mallika took a bite of her spaghetti before answering. ‘You know,’ she said conversationally, ‘the job market’s really bad nowadays.’

‘It is,’ Darius agreed, frowning a little.

‘And bonuses are dropping and people are getting fired every day.’

‘Yes.’

‘So you could probably hire anyone you wanted, right? With just as much experience and no complicated conditions. Why are you still trying to convince me to take the job?’

When it came to work, Mallika was sharp and to the point. She was intelligent—obviously she was, or Venkat wouldn’t have considered hiring her. But Darius found himself wondering why exactly he was trying so hard to convince her. He’d never tried to recruit an unwilling candidate before—he’d never had to. And while she was definitely his first choice for the job, there were at least two others who could do the job equally well.

Had this just become about winning? Or perhaps he hadn’t been thinking clearly since taking her hand in that coffee shop several days ago. What was going on?

‘Venkat’s interviewed pretty much everyone in the industry,’ he said. ‘You’re the best fit for the role.’

‘But the second best might end up doing a better job,’ she said. ‘He or she’d be more inclined to take the offer to begin with.’

‘It’s not just about technical skills,’ Darius said. ‘We think you’d adjust well to the organisation’s culture. And we also need to improve the firm’s diversity ratio, now that we’re likely to get some foreign investment into the company. That’s one of the things investors are likely to look at. There are a lot of women at junior levels, but very few at middle or senior management. There weren’t too many CVs that fitted the bill and belonged to women—and other than you none of them made a decent showing at interview.’

‘But I’m sure you have male candidates who’re suitable,’ she said, her brow wrinkling. ‘Surely this diversity thing isn’t so important that you’ve not interviewed men at all?’

‘Venkat’s interviewed quite a few,’ Darius said. ‘Apparently you did better than them as well. Diversity’s not more important than talent—it’s just that now we’ve found you we don’t want to let you go.’

His gaze was direct and unwavering, and Mallika felt herself melting under it. The attraction she’d felt the first time she’d met him was back in full force—if he told her that he wanted her to join a cult that ate nuts and lived in trees she’d probably consider it seriously. Shifting jobs was a no-brainer in comparison—especially when he was guaranteeing a higher salary and no change to her timings.

She was about to tell him that she’d join when a shadow fell across their table.

‘Darius!’ a delighted male voice said. ‘It’s been years, my boy—how are you?’

The speaker was a stalwart-looking man in his early forties, who beamed all over his face as he clapped Darius on his shoulder. The blow would have pitched a weaker man face-down into his grilled vegetables, but Darius hardly winced.

‘Gautam,’ he said, standing up and taking the man’s hand in a firm grip. ‘Long while … I didn’t know you were back in Mumbai.’

‘Just here for a visit. And …? You’re married and everything now? Is this the new Mrs Mistry?’

He looked as if he was about to clap Mallika on the shoulder as well, and Darius intervened hastily.

‘No, Mallika is … a friend.’

‘Aha! A Miss Mystery, then, not a Mrs Mistry—is that right?’ Clearly delighted at his own wit, Gautam smiled even more broadly. ‘I’ll leave you to it, then. Catch you online later—I’m in Mumbai for a week more … we should try and meet.’

‘Yes, I’ll look forward to that.’

Darius waited till the man had moved away before sitting down, shaking his head.

‘It’s fate,’ he said solemnly. ‘Last time it was your boss—this time it was Gautam. We can’t meet without running into someone we know.’

Mallika chuckled. ‘He seemed a cheerful guy. He reminds me of a story I read as a kid—there was a man who smiled so wide that the smile met at the back of his face and the top of his head fell off.’

‘That’s such an awful story,’ Darius said. ‘Were you a bloodthirsty kind of kid?’

‘I was a bit of a tomboy,’ she said, confirming Darius’s first opinion of her. ‘Not bloodthirsty, though.’

She frowned at her plate as she chased the last strand of spaghetti around it. Finally managing to nab it, she raised her fork to her mouth. The spaghetti promptly slithered off and landed on her lap.

‘And that’s why my good clothes never last,’ she said, giving the mark on her sari a resigned look as she picked up the pasta and deposited it back on her plate. ‘I’m as clumsy as a hippopotamus.’

Anything less hippopotamus-like would be hard to find, Darius thought as he watched her dab ineffectually at the stain with a starched table napkin. Her curly hair fell forward to obscure her face, and her pallu slipped off her slim shoulder to reveal a low-cut blouse and more than a hint of cleavage.

Darius averted his eyes hastily—looking down a girl’s blouse was something he should have outgrown in high school. The one glimpse he’d got, however, was enough to make him shift uncomfortably in his chair. Really, Darius was so off-kilter he could hardly understand the effect she was having on him.

‘Here, let me help with that,’ he said, after Mallika had dropped the napkin twice and narrowly missed tipping her plate over. He got up and, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket, wet the corner in a glass of water and came to her side of the table to attend to the sari.

Mallika went very still. He wasn’t touching her—he was holding the stained section of sari away from her body and efficiently getting rid of the stain with the damp handkerchief. But he was close enough for her to inhale the scent of clean male skin and she had to fold her hands tightly in her lap to stop herself from involuntarily reaching out and touching him.

‘Thanks,’ she said stiltedly once he was done.

‘You’re welcome.’ Darius inclined his head slightly as he went back to his side of the table. ‘Dessert?’

‘I should choose something that matches the sari,’ she said ruefully as she recovered her poise. ‘I love chocolate, but I’m not sure I dare!’

‘Blueberry cheesecake?’ he asked, his eyes dancing with amusement again. ‘Or should we live life dangerously and order the sizzling brownie with ice cream?’

‘The brownie, I think …’ she started to say, but just then her phone rang, and her face went tense as she looked at the display. ‘I’m sorry—I’ll need to take this call,’ she said.

‘Haan mausiji,’ he heard her say, and then, ‘Ji. Ji. Nahin, I had some work so I had to go out. Calm down … don’t panic. I can get home in ten minutes—fifteen at the most, depending on the traffic.’

Her face was a picture of guilt and worry as she closed the call, and his heart went out to her.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I need to go. It was a lovely lunch, and thank you so much for putting up with me. I’m really sorry about rushing off again …’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said gently. ‘Do you need a lift anywhere?’

She shook her head. ‘I have a car. Is it okay if I go now? I hate leaving you like this, but I really do need to get home as soon as possible.’

‘It’s not a problem at all,’ he said. ‘Take care, and we’ll talk soon.’

He put enough money on the table to cover the bill plus a hefty tip, and walked her to the door of the restaurant. Her driver took a couple of minutes to bring the car round, and Mallika was clearly on tenterhooks until he arrived.

‘Bye,’ she said as the car pulled up and she slid into the back seat. ‘I’m really, really sorry about this.’

She clasped his hand impulsively before she closed the car door, and Darius was left with the feel of soft, smooth skin on his. The subtle fragrance of her perfume hung in the air for a few seconds after she left.

He gave himself a shake before turning away to walk back to his office. This was not the way he’d planned to end their meal. He’d sensed she was on the point of accepting the role when they’d been interrupted and he could not be more frustrated with his lack of success so far. But it wasn’t over—not when he was this close to getting what he wanted.

CHAPTER THREE

‘WELCOME TO NIDAS,’ Venkat said, giving Mallika a broad smile. ‘I’m so happy you finally decided to join.’

‘Same here,’ Mallika said cautiously as she shook his outstretched hand.

All the old doubts about changing jobs had come flooding back now that she’d actually done the deed. She’d told Vaishali about the job the day after she’d met Darius, feeling like a complete traitor. But Vaishali had been surprisingly nice about the whole thing. Apparently she had been toying with the idea of taking a sabbatical herself, and she wasn’t sure if Mallika’s flexible working hours would be acceptable to her replacement.

Feeling a bit like a fledgling, shoved out of its nest before it could fly, Mallika had emailed Darius, confirming that she’d be able to join Nidas in a month. He’d been travelling, and someone from his HR team had got in touch to figure out her salary structure and joining date. Darius hadn’t even called her, and Mallika couldn’t help feeling a little upset about it. And now that she was actually part of Nidas and about to start work, she was very nervous.

The sight of Venkat wasn’t exactly inspiring either. Short and squat and rather belligerent-looking, Venkat was as different from her previous boss as possible.

‘We’ve set up an orientation for you with the team,’ he was saying now as he ushered her into his room.

‘Darius told me—’ Mallika began, but Venkat interrupted before she could complete her sentence.

‘Oh, Darius is a busy chap—he won’t be able to take you through everything himself.’ He peered at her owlishly. ‘You do know he’s moving out of the firm, right?’

Mallika drew in a sharp breath. A lot of things were suddenly falling into place. Darius’s insistence that she join as soon as she possibly could. His asking Venkat to set up her induction plan instead of doing it himself. The lengthy meetings with the other directors, ostensibly to help her get to know them before she joined.

A black curl of disappointment started up in the pit of her stomach. He’d had multiple opportunities to tell her and he’d consciously decided not to. It felt like a betrayal, unreasonable though that was. Unconsciously, a large part of her decision to take the job had been based on the assumption that Darius would be around and that she’d be working closely with him.

Serve her right—trusting a man she hardly knew, she thought, squaring her shoulders and doing her best to keep Venkat from noticing how upset she was.

‘He didn’t tell me that he was moving out altogether,’ she said crisply. ‘Though I did get the impression that he’d be cutting off from this part of the business in a month or so.’ She was determined to cover her disappointment with cool professionalism.

‘Even less, if he has his way,’ Venkat said, and an expression of bewildered loss crossed his face for an instant. ‘It was a shock when he told me. We’ve worked together for years—we set up this business together—and out of the blue he tells me he’s quitting. I still don’t understand why he’s doing it.’

Strongly tempted to find out more, Mallika bit down on her questions. It shouldn’t matter to her where Darius was going or why.

‘When you interviewed me you didn’t mention that Darius was leaving the firm,’ she reminded Venkat. ‘Why did you assume I’d know now?’

He had the grace to look embarrassed. ‘I couldn’t tell you before you joined,’ he said. ‘Darius is a pretty big shareholder, and the news of his leaving isn’t public yet. I thought he might have told you since—I got the impression you guys are pretty friendly.’

He took in Mallika’s suddenly stormy expression and changed the subject in a hurry. ‘Now, I thought I’d first introduce you to some of the key people in your team, and then you can start going through our current investment strategies. The team’s brilliant—I’ve been working with them pretty closely for the last few months. I’ve put them on to a few good things as well. Of course now you’re here you’ll be in full control, but you can reach out to me whenever you want.’

As the day went by Mallika found herself feeling more and more confident. Venkat evidently valued her input, and his style of working wasn’t as different from hers as she had feared.