The new hire
HR girl
Reyan, this is Aira. New junior designer.
From Delhi. Top of her class.
Reyan Malhotra
(short nodded)
Portfolio?
Aira Verma
Already mailed. Would you like a printed.....
Reyan Malhotra
(interrupting)
No. I already reviewed it.
You are on the project team 3.
No Phones during briefs.
Reyan Malhotra
(eye lingering a second too long)
That name....
Aira, right?
Reyan Malhotra
(sharply)
Nothing. Go.
Dev
(senior designer)
So.... First impressions?
Aira Verma
Everyone seems cool.
Except the boss. Little...... intense?
Dev
Reyan? He's brutal.
But genius.
Don't take his stares personally. He's just...like that.
Aira Verma
(nervously)
He looked at me like he remembered something.
But I swear we've never met.
Aira Verma
Rough day. New job. New rules
Old silence
Reyan Malhotra
Sounds like your skin doesn't fit right in the new place.
Aira Verma
Exactly.
The office feels like glass. Everyone is watching
One pair of eyes, especially!
Aira Verma
Yeah.
He talks like a knife.
I don't know if I hate it or want to earn it.
Reyan Malhotra
Careful.
Men like that don't just see you.
They study.
Reyan Malhotra
Want to disappear with me for a while?
Reyan Malhotra
Here.
No names. No walls.
Just the ghosts of who we used to be.
Aira Verma
Okay.
Let's haunt each other then.
VELVET notification - contact saved "THE GHOST"
Aira Verma
Ever feels like you don't belong in your own skin?
Reyan Malhotra
Every day.
Feels like I'm just.... pretending to be functional.
Professional. Calm. Controlled.
Aira Verma
Yeah. That word!
"Controlled"
I hate how people worship it.
Aira Verma
Because being in control usually means you've buried something deep.
Reyan Malhotra
You think I have?
Aira Verma
Your texts scream it.
Reyan Malhotra
You're sharp.
Most people don't look past the formatting.
Aira Verma
I'm a designer.
Details betray people.
Reyan Malhotra
What's one sentence that always gets stuck in your throat?
Aira Verma
(sends a voice note since her hands are busy in cooking midnight meal)
...." I'll try harder next time.
I used to say it a lot.
Now I only whisper it to the ceiling at 3 AM."
Reyan Malhotra
That Sentence has blood on it.
Aira Verma
Yeah.
And still....I say it.
Comments
Bé tít
Author, you got me hooked. Please give us the next chapter!
2025-08-21
0