08-06-2026, 01:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-06-2026, 01:27 PM by heygiwriter. Edited 1 time in total. Edited 1 time in total.)
Chapter 15: The Slow Game
Two weeks passed.
The new project team had been officially formed, and the work moved at a brutal, unrelenting pace. Long hours, tight deadlines, daily stand-ups, and endless brainstorming sessions became the new normal. The pressure was immense, but the team was delivering.
Jay watched everything like a hawk.
But nothing happened.
Tharun was the perfect professional. He treated Nikitha with respect — friendly, appreciative, and entirely focused on work. In meetings, he praised her ideas publicly, asked for her input on gameplay systems, and occasionally discussed proposals over group calls. There was no lingering eye contact, no unnecessary touches, no private late-night sessions. Everything looked completely normal and above board.
Jay grew more and more uneasy with each passing day.
He had expected Tharun to make quick, aggressive moves. Instead, the man was playing a patient, calculated, long game. Jay even started wondering if Tharun had changed his mind or if the entire conversation in the cabin had been some kind of twisted test.
Nikitha, too, began to doubt.
One evening while working late at home, she looked at Jay and said half-jokingly, “Are you sure about what Tharun told you? Because from what I’ve seen in the last two weeks, he’s been completely professional.
I’m starting to think you made up that whole conversation just to play with me.”
Jay didn’t laugh. He stayed silent, a deep frown etched on his face.
Midway through the third week, Jay couldn’t hold it in anymore.
He waited until the office was almost empty and walked straight into Tharun’s cabin, closing the door firmly behind him.
Tharun looked up from his screen, calm as ever. “Jay. What’s on your mind?”
Jay didn’t sit down.
He stood straight, arms crossed, voice low but sharp.
“What’s your game, Tharun?” he asked directly. “It’s been two weeks.
I don’t see any move from you.
You talked so big that day, but now you’re acting like nothing happened.”
Tharun leaned back in his chair, studying Jay for a moment before a faint, knowing smile appeared on his face.
“You’re impatient,” he said. “That’s why I’m the manager and you’re not.
Do you know why I got this role so quickly?”
Jay stayed silent.
“Because I do things faster, but I also know when to be patient,” Tharun continued smoothly. “My top priority is works and results. Dont you remember we pick this team, if something goes wrong we have to answer, work comes first. And we started seeing result in the three weeks, now no one will doubt and no one would question, we have lesuire time.
Regarding Nikitha.
I’m not rushing this. I’m building something natural. Right now, Nikitha is very comfortable around me. She talks freely, shares ideas openly, laughs at my jokes. Last week, I got her personal number to send proposals. Soon this official talks will change to personal... Slowly. Naturally.”
He paused, then added with quiet confidence, “I don’t plan to have quick sex with her. I want her for the long term. With her husband away, I have time. I’ll take all the days I need… just like you did with Anjali. Once I’ve had enough of Nikitha, I’ll move on with my life.”
Jay’s jaw tightened hard.
He suddenly asked, trying to sound casual, “You’re not married, right?”
Tharun shook his head.
“No. I have a girlfriend. We’re planning to get married next year. Until then… I’ll have Nikitha.”
That evening , Jay left the cabin with a storm raging in his chest.
He felt deeply uneasy. If Tharun had a girlfriend and planned to marry her next year, then Nikitha would never be anything more than a temporary fling for him. She could end up badly hurt.
He remembered Nikitha casually saying Tharun was unmarried and that she could “try” him.
Now everything felt even more dangerous. He hated sensing, Nikitha will get used, than living a proper life.
He decided he would warn her as soon as he reached home.
But the real shift happened later that night.
Nikitha was in the kitchen, preparing a milk before bed, when her phone buzzed with a new message.
It was from Tharun.
Two weeks passed.
The new project team had been officially formed, and the work moved at a brutal, unrelenting pace. Long hours, tight deadlines, daily stand-ups, and endless brainstorming sessions became the new normal. The pressure was immense, but the team was delivering.
Jay watched everything like a hawk.
But nothing happened.
Tharun was the perfect professional. He treated Nikitha with respect — friendly, appreciative, and entirely focused on work. In meetings, he praised her ideas publicly, asked for her input on gameplay systems, and occasionally discussed proposals over group calls. There was no lingering eye contact, no unnecessary touches, no private late-night sessions. Everything looked completely normal and above board.
Jay grew more and more uneasy with each passing day.
He had expected Tharun to make quick, aggressive moves. Instead, the man was playing a patient, calculated, long game. Jay even started wondering if Tharun had changed his mind or if the entire conversation in the cabin had been some kind of twisted test.
Nikitha, too, began to doubt.
One evening while working late at home, she looked at Jay and said half-jokingly, “Are you sure about what Tharun told you? Because from what I’ve seen in the last two weeks, he’s been completely professional.
I’m starting to think you made up that whole conversation just to play with me.”
Jay didn’t laugh. He stayed silent, a deep frown etched on his face.
Midway through the third week, Jay couldn’t hold it in anymore.
He waited until the office was almost empty and walked straight into Tharun’s cabin, closing the door firmly behind him.
Tharun looked up from his screen, calm as ever. “Jay. What’s on your mind?”
Jay didn’t sit down.
He stood straight, arms crossed, voice low but sharp.
“What’s your game, Tharun?” he asked directly. “It’s been two weeks.
I don’t see any move from you.
You talked so big that day, but now you’re acting like nothing happened.”
Tharun leaned back in his chair, studying Jay for a moment before a faint, knowing smile appeared on his face.
“You’re impatient,” he said. “That’s why I’m the manager and you’re not.
Do you know why I got this role so quickly?”
Jay stayed silent.
“Because I do things faster, but I also know when to be patient,” Tharun continued smoothly. “My top priority is works and results. Dont you remember we pick this team, if something goes wrong we have to answer, work comes first. And we started seeing result in the three weeks, now no one will doubt and no one would question, we have lesuire time.
Regarding Nikitha.
I’m not rushing this. I’m building something natural. Right now, Nikitha is very comfortable around me. She talks freely, shares ideas openly, laughs at my jokes. Last week, I got her personal number to send proposals. Soon this official talks will change to personal... Slowly. Naturally.”
He paused, then added with quiet confidence, “I don’t plan to have quick sex with her. I want her for the long term. With her husband away, I have time. I’ll take all the days I need… just like you did with Anjali. Once I’ve had enough of Nikitha, I’ll move on with my life.”
Jay’s jaw tightened hard.
He suddenly asked, trying to sound casual, “You’re not married, right?”
Tharun shook his head.
“No. I have a girlfriend. We’re planning to get married next year. Until then… I’ll have Nikitha.”
That evening , Jay left the cabin with a storm raging in his chest.
He felt deeply uneasy. If Tharun had a girlfriend and planned to marry her next year, then Nikitha would never be anything more than a temporary fling for him. She could end up badly hurt.
He remembered Nikitha casually saying Tharun was unmarried and that she could “try” him.
Now everything felt even more dangerous. He hated sensing, Nikitha will get used, than living a proper life.
He decided he would warn her as soon as he reached home.
But the real shift happened later that night.
Nikitha was in the kitchen, preparing a milk before bed, when her phone buzzed with a new message.
It was from Tharun.
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