6 hours ago
The email came in later that evening, as Sharath and Kusha were sprawled out comfortably on the couch. Sharath was absent mindedly rubbing Kusha's legs in his lap while focused on the TV show they were supposedly watching together. Kusha, as usual, was catching up on some work emails, because they never fucking stopped when you ran a business like hers.
Kusha didn't handle initial business inquiries. Her assistant Payal fielded all of the requests for Kusha's services and selected only the most important ones before sending them along to her boss. So any email about a potential client deal in Kusha's inbox was automatically a good potential prospect.
This one definitely looked good. At the stage Kusha was in with her business right now, she had two types of clients. Some were prestige clients, like the TV actress she was currently designing a living room for. Taking these kinds of jobs built her portfolio and her reputation, but weren't actually that good for her bottom line. It wasn't that famous people were stingy or cheap... but Kusha was always forced to go the extra mile with materials and work hours to make sure she gave her prestigious clients the best experience possible, and that cost money.
The other kind of client was the cash cows. Upstarter rich idiots with questionable taste who were willing to pay anything she asked in order to bring in the hot designer who worked for celebrities. With this type of client, she could turn in competent, but low-effort designs and not need to waste much time with revisions or feedback.
Her business needed both types of clients currently, and it had been a while since she had landed a cash cow. This request seemed straightforward and easily accomplished: A redesign of a bedroom in one of the tacky Mansions up in Banjara hills.
The potential client was willing to pay an amount that Kusha would have considered borderline robbery if she had suggested it first. It was perfect. A simple little job that would fit into her schedule and pay well. She was about to snap off an email to Payal telling her to proceed with the paperwork until she saw the name of the client.
She must have made a sound of displeasure, because Sharath looked over from the TV with a worried expression. "Everything ok?" he asked curiously.
"Fine," said Kusha with a frown, her mind whirling furiously. It’s Rakesh. Why would her husband's goofy ex-friend want to hire her to design a room for him? She was under no illusions that this was a coincidence. Based on the timing, he must have requested her services shortly after his meeting with Sharath concluded.
Was it some sort of attempt to butter her up and get her to change her mind about Sharath cutting him out of his life? That was annoying. Maybe it was a petty power play... "You don't want to associate with me? Fine. Now you work for me." She could see that. Some men just couldn't take a slight to their ego. Maybe the simplest and safest solution would be to tell Payal it was a no-go and let her deal with sending out a polite rejection.
But fuck that. Why give that ugly worm the satisfaction of thinking she was scared? She would take his money and simply ignore any game he was playing. If he was hoping to get on her good side, he would soon find that a professional and a personal relationship were very different things to Kusha Kapoor. And if he wanted to order her around like a servant, she would just terminate the contract and keep his deposit money. Either way, she’ll win.
Kusha scoffed and looked up at her husband with a confident smirk. "Looks like you're finished with Rakesh... but I'm just getting started."
Kusha didn't handle initial business inquiries. Her assistant Payal fielded all of the requests for Kusha's services and selected only the most important ones before sending them along to her boss. So any email about a potential client deal in Kusha's inbox was automatically a good potential prospect.
This one definitely looked good. At the stage Kusha was in with her business right now, she had two types of clients. Some were prestige clients, like the TV actress she was currently designing a living room for. Taking these kinds of jobs built her portfolio and her reputation, but weren't actually that good for her bottom line. It wasn't that famous people were stingy or cheap... but Kusha was always forced to go the extra mile with materials and work hours to make sure she gave her prestigious clients the best experience possible, and that cost money.
The other kind of client was the cash cows. Upstarter rich idiots with questionable taste who were willing to pay anything she asked in order to bring in the hot designer who worked for celebrities. With this type of client, she could turn in competent, but low-effort designs and not need to waste much time with revisions or feedback.
Her business needed both types of clients currently, and it had been a while since she had landed a cash cow. This request seemed straightforward and easily accomplished: A redesign of a bedroom in one of the tacky Mansions up in Banjara hills.
The potential client was willing to pay an amount that Kusha would have considered borderline robbery if she had suggested it first. It was perfect. A simple little job that would fit into her schedule and pay well. She was about to snap off an email to Payal telling her to proceed with the paperwork until she saw the name of the client.
She must have made a sound of displeasure, because Sharath looked over from the TV with a worried expression. "Everything ok?" he asked curiously.
"Fine," said Kusha with a frown, her mind whirling furiously. It’s Rakesh. Why would her husband's goofy ex-friend want to hire her to design a room for him? She was under no illusions that this was a coincidence. Based on the timing, he must have requested her services shortly after his meeting with Sharath concluded.
Was it some sort of attempt to butter her up and get her to change her mind about Sharath cutting him out of his life? That was annoying. Maybe it was a petty power play... "You don't want to associate with me? Fine. Now you work for me." She could see that. Some men just couldn't take a slight to their ego. Maybe the simplest and safest solution would be to tell Payal it was a no-go and let her deal with sending out a polite rejection.
But fuck that. Why give that ugly worm the satisfaction of thinking she was scared? She would take his money and simply ignore any game he was playing. If he was hoping to get on her good side, he would soon find that a professional and a personal relationship were very different things to Kusha Kapoor. And if he wanted to order her around like a servant, she would just terminate the contract and keep his deposit money. Either way, she’ll win.
Kusha scoffed and looked up at her husband with a confident smirk. "Looks like you're finished with Rakesh... but I'm just getting started."
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