The second day at Saksham Industries began with the same illusion of calm as the first. The morning sun reflected off the tower's mirrored windows, casting a golden sheen over the city. But inside, beneath that polished exterior, tensions were beginning to rise—slowly, silently.
Dushiant Rajput arrived a little earlier than usual, his ID badge clipped neatly onto his coat. He had spent the previous evening poring over everything he'd observed, cataloging the smallest details into mental files. He had confirmed one thing: Ranjan Malhotra's confidential files weren't on his personal computer or email server. They were being stored—for some reason—on Ravi Tripathi's desktop.
That was unusual. In a company as hierarchical as Saksham Industries, department data remained siloed. For a board-level executive like Ranjan to be using the HR manager's system for file storage was not just a breach of protocol—it was suspicious. And it told Dushiant one thing: Ravi was either being used or was more involved than he seemed.
Either way, he had to be removed.
But not today.
Today, Dushiant had to gather more pieces of the puzzle. And to do that, he had to keep playing the part of Parth Bhardwaj—the soft-spoken, competent intern, who never seemed to pose a threat.
---
Ravi Tripathi strolled in half an hour late, reeking of cheap perfume and chewing paan like it was breakfast. His belly strained against the buttons of his shirt, and his bloodshot eyes locked immediately onto one of the new female recruits by the coffee machine.
"Shruti! You are becoming more and more beautiful day by day," he leered.
The girl laughed nervously and avoided his gaze.
Dushiant, watching from the side, noted it down without expression. He had already seen it the day before—Ravi's gaze, his body language, the way he made the female interns uncomfortable. One of them had even hesitated before entering the office, checking whether Ravi was already in.
This was not just office sleaze. This was predatory behavior.
Dushiant walked past Ravi's cabin, careful not to draw attention, and made his way to his own cubicle. As usual, his desk was tidy, minimalist. He turned on his system, logged in, and slipped a tiny USB key into the port—a custom tool that quietly scanned the network for data paths and device pairings.
Ravi's computer showed up almost immediately.
Device Name: HR-MGR User: rtripathi Connection Strength: High Shared Folders: 3 Secured Partitions: 2 (Password Protected)
The files marked under "RJM-Com" were the ones he was after.
---
Later that morning, Ravi called for him.
"Parth! Today you are coming to a meeting with me."
"Sure, sir," Dushiant replied, voice perfectly mimicking Parth's polite hesitation.
The meeting was nothing more than an excuse to flirt with a junior HR consultant from a sister company. Dushiant sat quietly in the corner, pretending to take notes. Ravi leaned across the table, smiling with all the charm of a used car salesman.
When the woman left the room, visibly uncomfortable, Ravi muttered to Dushiant, "This girl was awesome. I'll set her in just two months."
Dushiant did not reply. But in his head, the verdict was already sealed.
---
Back at his desk, he received an unexpected email. Subject: "Lunch?"
From: Ranjan Malhotra.
Dushiant blinked once, then smiled faintly. The bait was working.
He accepted the invitation.
---
The restaurant was upscale, not far from the Saksham building. Ranjan was already seated when Dushiant arrived. He wore a crisp blue shirt, his face unreadable.
"Parth, right? Sit," he said.
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
Ranjan wasted no time.
"I've been hearing about you. Ravi says you're sharp. He also says you're too curious."
Dushiant gave a modest laugh. "I just like to learn, sir. First job and all."
"Good," Ranjan said, sipping his wine. "Curiosity can be dangerous in corporate. Especially when it leads you to places you shouldn't be."
There it was—a warning wrapped in politeness.
Dushiant nodded slowly. "I understand."
Ranjan leaned back. "Do you know why Saksham was successful?"
"Because of innovation and trust, I believe."
"Because of control, Parth. Control and vision. Saksham had both. Now he has neither."
Dushiant kept his gaze steady. "I'll remember that, sir."
The rest of the lunch was casual, even friendly. But underneath, both men were testing each other. Feeling out weaknesses. Plotting moves.
---
Back in the office, Ravi was fuming.
"You went to lunch with Ranjan? Didn't even informed me?"
"Sir, I thought it was a private invite…" Dushiant said, tone confused.
"He always shared things with me. Did he said something to you—"
"Sir, never," Dushiant said. "Only general things."
Ravi calmed a little. But not much. His insecurity was obvious now.
---
By the end of the day, Dushiant had managed to install a network bridge from his system to Ravi's. With a single command, he could now duplicate files silently.
But he didn't. Not yet. Not until he knew what trap might be waiting.
He walked out that evening with the same calm, unassuming gait. No one stopped him. No one suspected him. He was just another face in a crowd.
But behind that face, the real Dushiant was already ten steps ahead.
He had found his enemy's files. He had seen the ugly truths of Ravi's behavior. And now, he was setting the chessboard for the next big move.
Day two was over.
Tomorrow, the real game would begin.