The First Step

The morning sun of Bangalore spilled through the glass windows of the metro as it cut across the city. The air buzzed with its usual chaos—honking cabs, impatient bikers weaving through traffic, and the endless rush of people heading to work. But for Ruhi Khanna, today wasn’t just another morning.

It was the beginning of something she had dreamed about for years.

Clutching her leather folder tightly to her chest, she glanced at the towering skyline in the distance. The building that stood tallest among them all—the shining glass structure with OE etched boldly across its façade—was her destination. Oberoi Enterprises.

The name itself carried weight. OE wasn’t just a company, it was a brand, a legacy in the business world. And at the heart of it was a man everyone knew but few had ever truly met—Reyansh Oberoi. The youngest CEO the conglomerate had ever seen, he was known for being ruthless in boardrooms, brilliant with strategies, and coldly unreachable outside of them.

Ruhi’s lips curved nervously as she exhaled. “This is it, Ruhi… no turning back now,” she whispered to herself.

She had left her modest apartment an hour earlier, dressed in a crisp white blouse tucked neatly into beige trousers, her hair tied back in a sleek ponytail. It wasn’t about looking stylish; it was about looking professional, confident. The kind of image that could survive first impressions inside OE’s intimidating corridors.

The glass doors of Oberoi Enterprises slid open as she stepped in, and for a second, she almost forgot to breathe.

The lobby was breathtaking—marble floors polished to perfection, chandeliers casting golden light, employees walking with purposeful strides. Receptionists answered calls with trained smiles, and large screens displayed OE’s recent achievements: mergers, launches, charity events. The aura screamed success, but it also whispered something else—competition, ambition, pressure.

Ruhi straightened her shoulders. This was the world she had worked so hard to step into. She wasn’t here to get intimidated. She was here to belong.

“Excuse me, are you Ms. Ruhi Khanna?” a voice interrupted her thoughts.

She turned to see a young HR assistant holding a clipboard.

“Yes, that’s me,” Ruhi replied, smiling politely.

“Welcome to OE. I’ll guide you to the orientation room. Please follow me.”

Her footsteps echoed as she walked behind the assistant, her eyes stealing glances at the sprawling office floors they passed—glass partitions, workstations buzzing with activity, teams huddled in discussions. She could already feel it—the pulse of OE was fast, demanding, relentless.

And somewhere above all this, sitting in the corner office that overlooked the city, was him.

Reyansh Oberoi.

At that very moment, on the top floor, Reyansh stood in his office, one hand resting on the glass wall as he gazed at the city below. His sharp jawline and perfectly tailored suit added to the commanding aura that made people look twice when he walked past. But behind that composed face, his mind was a battlefield of decisions—numbers, risks, deals.

“Mr. Oberoi, the new interns have joined today. Would you like to meet them later?” his secretary asked, entering cautiously.

Reyansh’s gaze didn’t shift. “Only if any of them prove to be worth meeting.”

The secretary nodded quickly and left. Reyansh was not known for small talk or pleasantries. He believed only results mattered. And in his world, emotions were a distraction.

Back in the orientation room, Ruhi sat among other fresh recruits. She listened attentively, taking notes while others scrolled through their phones or exchanged whispers. Her determination stood out, though no one noticed—not yet.

But fate had a strange way of weaving its threads.

Because soon enough, the paths of the ambitious girl who dreamed of making a mark, and the CEO who believed he had no space for anything but power, were about to collide.

And nothing about their lives would remain the same.

To be continued ~~

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