The heavy conference room doors shut, sealing Mr. Carter and his entourage inside. Outside, two women sat side by side on the waiting lounge chairs — Meera, Rudra's secretary, and Lily, Mr. Carter's assistant.
Lily leaned closer, whispering, "Tell me something, Meera. Is he always like this?"
Meera glanced at her boss's office door, then back at Lily. "Like what?"
"Like…" Lily lowered her voice even more, "…like he eats people for breakfast?"
Meera almost laughed, but quickly covered it with a cough. "Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Sometimes snacks in between."
Lily blinked. "I thought you were exaggerating. But he just turned down Mr. Carter. Do you know how many CEOs beg to get five minutes with him? And this man—" she gestured vaguely at the door, "…this man tells him 'no' like he's swatting a fly."
Meera leaned back in her chair, flipping through her notepad. "That was him being polite."
Lily's jaw dropped. "Polite?!"
"Yes," Meera said matter-of-factly. "He didn't throw the file across the table. Didn't get up and walk out halfway. He even let Mr. Carter finish a sentence. That's practically a bouquet of roses from Mr. Malhotra."
Lily stared, trying to decide if Meera was joking. She wasn't.
Inside the conference room, voices rose — Mr. Carter's booming laugh trying to cover his unease, Rudra's cold replies cutting like knives.
Lily leaned closer. "Tell me honestly. He's not… normal, is he?"
Meera closed her notepad, eyes serious. "He's not a businessman."
"Then what is he?"
Meera tilted her head, choosing her words carefully. "He's… a storm wearing a suit. The kind you don't stand against — you just pray it passes over you."
Lily swallowed. For the first time in her career, she realized she'd just seen a man who didn't bow to money, politics, or power. And that made him infinitely more dangerous.
When the doors opened at last, Rudra walked out with his usual frost-etched calm. Both secretaries stood immediately.
"Meera," Rudra said simply, and she fell into step behind him.
Lily's hand trembled around her tablet. She whispered under her breath as she watched them leave, "That's not a CEO… that's a weapon."
Meera glanced sideways at her, smirking faintly. "Welcome to my everyday."
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😏 That gives us the secretaries' POV — funny, a little dramatic, and highlighting Rudra's terrifying reputation.