Dedicated to dpsdevuu 💜
Thank you for seeing the potential in me and being the first one to follow me ^-^

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Vikram had thought it would be easy to figure out the boy. While he was positive that he could handle a teenager, the boy is proving him wrong miserably. 

He doesn't know whether to believe him or not. He acts like an airhead but doesn't miss to utter witty remarks where it's needed. To the naked eye, he can be perceived as someone as harmless as a newborn puppy. He has that aura around him that screams innocence. However, Vikram is a man on a mission. Under his careful eyes, the personality of the boy can be put under spotlight for some questioning. 

He acts as if he didn't need the job yet he applied for it. It's also suspicious that he acted not to recognize Vikram Singh Arora when his face was everywhere a week ago as he won the award for the businessman of the year. He needs to know if the boy is more than meets the eyes or he is just like this. 

At this very moment he looks scared. Good. Vikram has him where he wants him. That boy was getting on his nerves with all this nonsense. Porn? Really? What does the boy take him as? 

"Let's believe that you are telling the truth." Vikram says, moving an inch away from the boy to get his phone from the desk. 

"I'm telling the-" 

"Then what's this?" Vikram asks, showing his call records to the boy. 

"Can you stop cutting me off mid-sentence? It's annoying as well as very disrespectful. Bhaiya says you should never be impatient enough to do so though he cuts me off most of the time just like you. Talk about hypocrisy!" The last thing Vikram needs is a lesson of hypocrisy from the boy. 

He hardens his glare and repeats his question. The boy stops his nervous blabbering before taking a look at the phone screen. 

"What's this then?" 

"Umm…. Your call records?" The boy looks like Vikram is the stupid one here.

Actually, talking to the boy makes him feel stupid, he can't lie. He has never met someone so peculiar as him and he has met many people in life, both pleasant and unpleasant. This boy makes it out like he is an open book yet Vikram doesn't know the language. One moment he is sweating buckets and the next moment he is acting like the most confident person ever to walk on the earth. 

"Are you thick in the head? Don't you see your number there?" At this, the boy takes Vikram's phone from his hand to inspect it better. 

The audacity. 

"How dare-" 

"Actually, I've never memorized my number." The boy confesses with a nervous chuckle. 

Vikram narrows his eyes at the teenager. He snatches his phone away from the boy which starles him as it seems.

"You can't seriously think that I will believe this nonsense. Who doesn't memorize their number?" 

"Me?" 

Vikram clicks his tongue. He reminds himself that he needs to calm himself and deal with the boy. It isn't still confirmed if the boy is somehow behind it so he can't treat him like he's the culprit. But boy, is he making it challenging for him? 

"Well, this one is indeed your number. I got a call from this number 2 days ago and that person said something wrong and I'm not letting it go." Vikram says through gritted teeth. 

"How do you know it's my number? You can be a psychopath looking for a reason to corner me before you have your way with me and kill me. Also are you a diva or something? You are making a big fuss over someone saying something that you didn't like? What did he say huh?"

"Look kid-"

"Did he go like this "mirror, mirror, on the wall, you are not the most handsome man for whom women fall?" Well, Sir, with due respect, it sounds like a you problem." And he goes on with it again. 

He looks like he will shit his pants any moment yet he is carrying himself like he isn't in a scary situation. Even though the kid is the most annoying person Vikram has ever met, he gotta admit the kid has got guts to be this way in a very stressful situation. 

"Listen kid, I'm not here to play. My men had tracked down the number and it's registered under your name." 

"Well, that's not very nice of you to stalk me this way." The boy mumbles to himself, clearly alarmed. 

"Tell me why I got a call from your number. You don't wanna test my patience." Vikram is finding it hard to hang on the little bit of patience he is left with. 

"When did you receive the call?" The boy asks in a shaky voice, suddenly shaken up by the anger that Vikram's voice holds.

"2 days ago." 

"Well, you see, I-I got my phone stolen 2 days ago. So, I don't know who called you and why." The younger one says. 

"What do you think I'm?" Vikram says in a lethal voice. 

"T-The CEO of this company?" 

Vikram is ready to either smash his own head against his desk or the boy's. 

"You know what I meant. However, I refuse to believe this little story of yours. You walked to the lion's den yourself so now you gotta face the consequences." Vikram states, crossing his arms over his chest, a smug look plastering on his face. 

"Fine, if you don't believe me then let me show you something." The boy fishes out a tiny button phone from his pocket as he speaks. 

"This is my new phone, given by my great best friend. See? She is so kind to give me this piece of shit. I mean she is rich but that miser ass decided to give me this shit instead. Can you believe it, Mr.Arora?" 

Vikram has noticed one thing. The boy keeps rambling whenever he is nervous. He can clearly see the worrying line on his forehead, it makes him look older than he is. Now, Vikram just needs to find out if it's his true personality trait or just an act to make himself look gullible. 

"Get to the point, kid." The boy lets out a nervous chuckle at that. 

"I mean that you can call that number that you are claiming is mine. You will see I won't receive a call because I don't have it with me anymore. I lost it 2 days ago." 

Vikram thinks for a while. He will go with his storyline for now. He wants to see where the boy goes with this. 

"Fine. I will give you the benefit of doubt. But if that's the case then why didn't you file a complaint?" 

"Can I be honest with you, Mr.Arora?" 

"Feel free." 

"I didn't even run behind the thief who stole my phone. Though my brother will say I did it because I was too lazy to run. While it is true, the main reason is because I needed a new phone. That phone was even shittier than this one. But then my brother decided it would be my punishment to be stuck with this one. I'm not getting a new one anytime soon. Can you believe it? I mean even children carry iPhone with them nowadays." The boy says the whole tale in a hushed tone, afraid that someone else will learn his secret. 

Vikram can't be any more surprised by this boy. If the situation was somewhat normal, he would laugh his ass off at his confession but now he finds himself being even more annoyed. 

"What are you implying?" The boy shakes his head as if Vikram was an idiot for not getting it. 

"The bottom line is that why would I file a complaint for something that I didn't even want?" 

He did make sense. His story is still suspicious to Vikram so he goes on with his army of questions. 

"Did you at least see the man who stole your phone?" Vikram asks, glaring down at the kid. 

The boy bobs his head in fear like an obedient child. Vikram can be intimidating but this boy is making the point clear to him that he can be a downright evil with his glare when he wants to be. 

"Good. Draw me the sketch of that man." He deadpans. 

"But-" 

"If you want to get out of this trouble, draw me his picture and you will be free. I know you are capable enough to draw a good portrait. You did commission work 2 weeks ago, didn't you?" 

"How did you know?" The kid asks with disbelief. 

"I told you before I knew everything about you, didn't I?" 

"That's an invasion of privacy!"

"Don't make me do worse than that because trust me, I can." He threatens the boy who keeps his head down in fear. 

"But sir-" 

"Not a single word." 

Vikram calls someone through the intercom and asks for paper and pencils. Within a few minutes, a person enters the cabin with the asked materials. Surprisingly, the kid sits through the whole thing without saying anything. Vikram wonders what's cooking in his head. 

"You promise to let me go if I draw his picture?" 

"I said so, didn't I?" The boy gives a hopeful nod. 

If the boy is really telling the truth, maybe this will lead him to the real culprit. 

"I will give you an hour. I will go on with my work while you draw. Don't try anything else, alright? If you make me upset, I can be very scary to you, Kid." 

"Can I at least get a cup of coffee? Drawing a portrait isn't that easy also it's not like you are paying me or anything. So, you can at least offer me some coffee. It's common courtesy, isn't it?" Vikram rolls his eyes but makes a phone call to order. 

"Cold coffee, please. With extra whipped cream on top." The boy lets Vikram know his preference. 

Vikram will be understanding for the time being and give the boy what he wants. If he is able to come up with something useful, he might even offer some money to him. He is even willing to offer his apology if it turns out that the boy is indeed right and he has been wrong all along to judge his character and intention. 

"Can I get some snacks or something? I'm hungry." He demands after a while. 

Vikram has to keep his eyes off his file and look at the boy for a while. He is taking advantage of the situation. But Vikram doesn't say anything to him. "To get a lead out of it" he tells himself and orders a pizza for him, the boy demands to eat a pizza that's why. He is very specific about his food. At this point, Vikram is sure the boy doesn't realize the gravity of the situation that he is in. 

After a pizza, another cup of cold coffee and yeah, a chocolate brownie, the boy declares that he is done with the sketch.

"Here it is, Mr.Arora." The boy gives the sketch to Vikram after a moment of hesitation. 

Vikram's blood boils at the sketch. What does the boy think he is doing right now? 

He's gotta be kidding me. 

"Do you think I'm kidding? What the fuck is this?" Vikram yells, long forgetting to control his anger. 

The boy, Kairav, flinches at the loud voice. He looks like he is about to cry any moment. 

Vikram leaves his seat and goes to the kid, grabbing him by his shirt collar. Anger is prominent in his eyes, in his face, in his voice.

"I-I tried to tell you that t-the thief wore a monkey cap but you didn't let m-me. You even told me you would let me go if I drew the picture." The boy confronts in a fearful tone. 

Vikram admits he interrupted him but the boy didn't have any problem asking for food so why couldn't he tell him about it before? Now, no one can be this naive, can they? Vikram isn't even sure if he should call it naivety. It's plain stupidity. 

"You are really pushing my buttons, kid." Vikram says, letting him go. 

The boy staggers back at the force but he handles himself. 

"You know, if I was really behind this, I would have sketched a random person's  face to mislead you. But I drew what I really saw. You can't blame me." Now he sounds sad instead of being afraid. 

"I'm not falling for this. You deliberately wasted my time knowing damn well what you were doing. It must be fun for you but trust me it's not for me. Tell me where the damn video is!" 

"I don't know!" The boy lets out a frustrated yell. 

Vikram sighs. As of now, he doesn't have evidence against this boy. But after this, he can't trust him. It's too much to ignore. Looks can be deceiving, Vikram tells himself that. Seeing the saddening face of the kid makes him feel somewhat bad but this is not the time to feel pity for someone else. He will have to prioritize himself and his mission.  

Hence, he will go with the old way. They say keep your friend close but your enemies closer. He will have to keep close eyes on the kid. He will of course continue his investigation but he will have this boy as the main lead for now. His gut feeling says the boy has something to do with it.

"I will let you go but I still don't believe you. I will let you be alive if you do what I tell you to do, alright?" 

"L-Let me be alive? Were you going to kill me!?" He exclaimed, a horrified expression making its way towards his face. 

"You don't understand the gravity of the situation, do you? Let me make it clear, you live if you do what I tell you to do, understand?" Vikram says in a no nonsense voice, making the boy nod his head furiously.

He looks like he has seen a ghost. Vikram is sure he looks scarier than a ghost to the kid now. 

"Good. But you can't share it with anyone. If you do, you will put them in danger as well." 

"No!" 

"Yes. Now, the choice is yours." 

"I…. I won't tell anyone, I promise." The boy finds his voice finally to reply to Vikram. 

"Good. And yeah, from tomorrow you will be assigned as my personal secretary." The boy nods his head desperately until he comprehends what Vikram actually said. 

"Say what?" 

"My personal secretary." 

Trust him, he doesn't want it either. But he needs to examine the boy himself. He won't be able to do that if the boy is a mere intern. He will have another assistant of course. Now, he can't expect the kid to do the job of a secretary perfectly. He doesn't need him to do that anyway. 

"I want you here tomorrow at 7 am sharp. My current secretary will tell you everything about the job." He informs which goes over the kid's head. 

"B-But-" 

"But what?" 

"I mostly wake up at 9." 

Vikram gives the boy a "Are you fucking kidding me?" Look. 

"If you think I'm just giving you empty threats then think again. I can ruin your life with just a lift of my fingertip." He smirks. 

The kid doesn't say anything. Vikram's offer has rendered him speechless it seems. 

"And don't worry, you don't need to attend your classes to keep your grades up. I will take care of it." 

"B-But I didn't apply for this post. Why are you doing this?"

"To spill out the truth from your mouth, Kairav Sharma." Vikram answers.

Kairav looks disgusted as well as annoyed. 

"What's with the video, man? Are you looking for a rare blue film or something?" The boy tries again but Vikram's glare shuts him up. 

Now, he looks like he is going through the 5 stages of grief. The situation is finally hitting him. 

"Fine. But in that case, my salary will be like tripled or maybe more than that than an intern's salary, right?" The boy asks as he is done with grieving. 

Is this kid for real? I just gave him death threats, forcing him to work for me and he is worried about the salary? 

"You will know about it." 

"Yeah and that's why I'm asking." The boy retorts. 

Really? Where's the confidence coming from? 

Vikram is really surprised by his newly found confidence but he lets it slide. 

"You will learn everything tomorrow. Just be here at 7 am. If you are even 1 minute late, you will be dead." The boy looks like he is now used to Vikram's threats. 

"And don't you dare tell anyone about the whole ordeal or else you are-" 

"Dead. I know." He says in a bored tone. 

Vikram is about to reply back to the boy when he gets a call on his office telephone. 

"Mr.Arora, someone has sent a parcel for you." Says a person over the phone. 

"Who's it from?" 

"The sender is unknown, Sir." 

"Fine. Send it to my office." 

I don't remember receiving any parcels from my clients nor did I order anything online. 

He wonders what the parcel holds. He is afraid it's something from the blackmailer or maybe he is just being too paranoid.

A/N: Don't be like Kairav if you are in this kind of situation. You will be dead in seconds 💀

Anyway, how's the story going? Are you guys enjoying? Let me know please ^-^