Chapter One
Bangalore, October 2026Everyone at work knew Naina Shetty was the queen of confrontation. No one could be a good lawyer without easily facing things head-on, and Naina was the best junior legal associate on the Akhtar, Kumble & Co. team.
But right now, as she crouched under her perfectly tidy desk, hoping the two short walls of her cubicle hid her from view, confrontation seemed like the most terrifying thing in the world. She peered through the glass windows of her boss’s office in the distance, recognizing the handsome not-at-all-a-stranger shaking Iqbal Akhtar’s hand, and whispered, “Shit.”
“What are you doing?”
Naina didn’t stand. Instead, she turned and gestured for Anil to crouch down beside her, then put a finger to her lips.
Anil quirked a brow, but as her work bestie of five years now, he did as he was told, no questions asked. He got down and looked in the direction of Iqbal’s office. “Why are we spying on our boss?” he asked.
“I’m in trouble,” Naina said softly. She pushed her glasses up on her nose and sighed. “And it’s all your fault.”
“My fault?” He jostled her shoulder as he shifted in place. The cramped space under her desk was too small for his gigantic gym-bro frame. When Naina said nothing, he pressed, “Can you please tell me what is going on?”
Naina finally tore her gaze from the glass windows and locked eyes with Anil. “Remember when I went to Goa in May last year and had that”—she winced—“summer fling?”
Anil snorted. “Oh, yes, the sexy stranger with the cliché nickname. I mean, he called himself Prince Charming? Anyway, that fling was probably the only time you took my advice.”
“Well . . .” Naina jutted her chin in the direction of the private office. “It seems like Prince Charming is the firm’s new client. Don’t look,” she added hastily as Anil gasped.
He didn’t listen. He gripped the desk and pulled himself up to his full six-foot-five height, training his wide eyes straight ahead.
Naina grumbled and stood up too, just as the office door swung open and Iqbal walked out with Prince Charming—his real name was Tejas—in tow. She had never referred to him as anything but Prince Charming when telling Anil about him, but she’d moaned his
actual name enough times last summer to have it imprinted in her memory, along with the searing-hot touch of his hands on her bare waist and the roughness of his stubble between her thighs.
And here he was now, presumably the anonymous high-profile client her boss Iqbal had been in talks with for the past week. It didn’t make sense. If Tejas was rich, why had he shared a bunk bed with her at the youth hostel last summer?
“Folks, can I have your attention?” Iqbal called out, and everyone in the office looked up at the sound of the managing partner’s voice.
Naina wanted to hide under the desk again, but Tejas had already spotted her. For a brief second, she hoped maybe he wouldn’t make the connection. After all, since returning from Goa seventeen months ago, she’d let her beachy brown waves grow out into her usual straight black hair, stowed her contact lenses away in the drawer under her bathroom sink, and dumped her sundresses at the far end of her closet, opting for business casuals instead. Her hot girl summer phase had ended as soon as the plane touched back down in Bangalore.
But she wasn’t that lucky, because Tejas’s dark eyes widened a fraction, and his chest rose and fell deeply underneath his lime-green collared shirt. He opened his mouth, then shut it and looked elsewhere, hands in his pockets. Yep. He remembered her.
Shit. Naina was gripped by the sudden fear that this super-important case might slip through their fingers, all because of the stupid summer rebound idea Anil had put into her head last year. And if they lost this deal because of her, she’d never get promoted to senior associate and be on track to eventually make partner.
Iqbal put an arm around Tejas and grinned. “This is Tejas Rajput, one of my childhood neighbors from Jaipur, and”—he beamed—“our newest junior associate.”
Naina reached for Anil’s arm instinctively, and he shot her an alarmed look as Iqbal’s words hung in the air.
Junior associate.
Not client.
Junior
f***ing associate.
Just like Naina, Anil, and three others at the firm.
She swallowed the bile rising in her throat and plastered a smile on her face to match those of her colleagues. Some people clapped, while others walked over to Tejas to greet him. Naina, on the other hand, sat back in her revolving chair and refreshed her inbox on her laptop.
Anil nudged her heel with his boot, an exasperated sigh on his lips. “What are you doing, Nay?”
“Working,” she answered in a monotone. “Like we’re supposed to?”
He closed her laptop and ignored her squeal of protest. “We should go say hi, like everyone else in the office, or it’ll seem weird. Do you want to draw attention to the fact that you and he—”
Naina glared at him, and he said, “Come on, then,” and mimed zipping his mouth shut. He led the way to the group of people still talking to Tejas and Iqbal. Naina followed behind, wiping her clammy palms on her beige A-line skirt.
“Oh, there you both are!” Iqbal drew them closer as the rest of the group dispersed. “Tejas, Anil Puranik is the coolest guy at work, and he’s a born-and-bred Bangalorean. If you need anything from anywhere in the city, just ask him.”
Anil held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, buddy. Welcome to the office.”
“Glad to be here.” Tejas smiled, eliciting the faintest of dimples on one cheek, and returned the handshake firmly. Naina recalled smothering that almost-dimple with kisses late one night when they were both drunk off their asses on coconut feni, the local liquor in Goa.
Her heart thudded when Iqbal gestured to her next. “And this is Naina Shetty, the smartest gal on the team, especially when it comes to criminal law. She’ll help you get acquainted with some of our current cases, won’t you, Naina?”
Naina nodded in lieu of saying anything more. She kept her hands clasped firmly behind her back so she wouldn’t have to touch Tejas at all. F***, this was disastrous. She’d seen her newest colleague naked.
Multiple times.
Thankfully, Tejas didn’t extend his hand. He simply ran his fingers across his dark stubble, the beginning of a smile on his lips. “It’s a pleasure, Naina Shetty,” he said, and she’d have been lying if she said her name from his mouth didn’t make her shiver. Well, whatever. She bit her lip and nodded again, deciding it was better to play it cool than reveal her cards.
Iqbal put his arm around Tejas. “Come on, catch me up on everything you’ve been up to until IT logs you in!”
Tejas turned back once to grin at Naina before letting Iqbal steer him away.
“Wow.” Anil whistled once the two men were out of earshot. “Did you see the way he smiled at you? He’s—”
“He’s going to stir up trouble.” Naina clenched her jaw, hoping her blush had faded. “I won’t let him get to me. Especially not after how we ended things. Or rather, how
he did.”
Anil tugged on her arm so she’d face him. He shook his head at her, looking morose. “Are you kidding me? You were so—dare I say it—
happy in Goa. Smiling like a fool every time we FaceTimed and you went on and on about Prince Charming.” He chuckled dryly. “You haven’t smiled like that since you came back.”
Naina pulled her glasses down an inch, batted her eyelashes, and smiled widely and sickeningly at her best friend. “Are you satisfied now? I’m smiling.”
“You know what I mean.” As they headed back to their cubicles, Anil lowered his voice. “Nay, maybe this is a sign that you should get back out there.”
“And hook up with my new co-worker?” She turned on her laptop again, while Anil took his seat behind her desk. “Not a chance.”
Tejas walked by, holding some reports in his hand. Naina ducked down before he could grin at her again, and when she resurfaced, Anil laughed. “If you don’t hook up with him,” he said, smirking, “I will. He’s gorgeous.”
“Shut up,” Naina admonished, though her cheeks colored anyway.
Anil’s lips quirked. “Look, if it was me in your situation, and Tejas and I had done it a whopping twenty-one times over the course of two steamy weeks—”
Should have never told him that, Naina thought.
Copyright © 2026 by Swati Hegde. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
