Chapter 2:Collision Course With Mr.heartless
Zayan Khan sipped his perfectly brewed Colombian black coffee in complete silence. The air in his office was as cold and crisp as his personality. His suit was sharp, tie in place, and expression unreadable. Across the glass wall, his assistant Aryan had just dropped that one ridiculous line:
"Don't be surprised if this nonsense changes your life."
Zayan scoffed under his breath.
"Nonsense never changes lives. Logic does."
Still, as he sipped the last of his coffee, his eyes—without permission—wandered across the hallway, straight to the new cubicle facing his office.
There she was.
Andaleeb Shah.
Feet propped on the edge of her desk, earbuds in, munching loudly on a packet of lays as she scrolled her phone. Her desk was covered in sticky notes, a tiny snack basket, and two mugs: one filled with tea, the other with pens.
No discipline. No fear. No sense of office decorum.
Zayan's eye twitched.
He tapped the intercom. "Aryan, get me the new intern from Marketing."
Seconds later, Aryan appeared, trying to hide a smile. "You mean Miss Shah?"
"Obviously."
---
Inside Zayan's Office
Andaleeb walked in, a tea cup in one hand, notepad in the other. "Yo. You called, Mr. CEO?"
Zayan glared. "Don't address me like that."
"What, Mr. CEO? That is what you are. Or do you prefer Mr. Robot? Or... Mr. Heartless?"
Zayan inhaled slowly. "You're drinking... tea?"
"Yes. The drink of civilized humans. You wouldn't know. You people drink bitterness in a cup."
He stared. "That bitterness is coffee. And it's—"
"Burnt water," she interrupted, sitting uninvited on the chair. "You called me. What's up?"
Zayan straightened. "You're working directly under Marketing's senior associate now. Your cubicle has been moved for performance monitoring."
"Performance, huh?" she smirked. "Or proximity?"
"Dismissed."
She left, slurping her tea as she went.
Zayan rubbed his forehead. Aryan peeked in.
"Still sure you don't like her?"
"She spilled lays on her keyboard yesterday."
"That's not a no."
---
The Next Morning
Zayan entered the office earlier than usual. His black coffee in hand, everything meticulously perfect—until...
"Oyeeee! Move!" came a sudden shout.
And then...
Crash.
Andaleeb, running through the hallway, slipped on a mop-wet patch and slammed into him full force.
His coffee went airborne.
His back hit the floor.
Silence.
Andaleeb, horrified, lay sprawled on top of him. Brown coffee soaked his white shirt.
"You—" he began, livid.
"Oops," she said.
"You spilled coffee on me."
"Yes, but technically, gravity helped."
He stared at her. She blinked. Still lying there.
"Get. Off. Me."
She scrambled up, trying not to laugh.
Zayan stood, drenched and furious. "This was an imported Italian suit."
"Then it just got an imported Pakistani flavor.
"The stain of coffee and love never fades," she sang"
He gave her a death glare. "You are chaos. Stay away from me. Every time you're near me, I lose something. Time. Patience. Dry clothes."
She gave a mock salute. "Copy that, Mr. Heartless."
He stormed off to his office.
---
Mid-Morning Mishap
The office was buzzing with whispers. Word had spread about Zayan falling flat—literally. Aryan walked past Andaleeb's desk with a teasing smirk.
"Nice takedown, Miss Shah. Going for the championship belt next?"
"Next time I'll try a spinning kick," she replied, still sipping tea.
Aryan chuckled and leaned closer. "You do know he hasn't let anyone speak to him like that since... ever, right?"
"And yet, I live. Miracles happen, Aryan."
Suddenly, a paper plane flew into her head. She looked up—an intern ducked behind a cubicle wall. She grinned and tossed it back.
Chaos followed. A paper plane war broke out, briefly turning the office into a battlefield.
From his glass office, Zayan watched in disbelief as his employees laughed and ducked behind chairs.
He stepped out. The laughter died instantly.
"Who started this?"
Andaleeb raised her hand. "Technically, gravity again."
"You're fired."
"You said that yesterday. I'm still here."
He stared at her. She smiled innocently.
---
Office Lunch Break
Zayan walked into the pantry only to find Andaleeb heating up spicy Rice in the microwave.
The aroma hit him instantly.
"What are you doing in here?"
"Using this space for its intended purpose—feeding starving interns."
"This is not a canteen. It's a professional environment."
She opened the lid and fanned the smell toward him. "Still want to kick me out, Mr. Heartless?"
He stepped back. "Unbelievable."
She handed him a spoon. "Want a bite? I promise it's less bitter than your coffee."
He stared at the spoon like it was poison. "Absolutely not."
She shrugged and dug in. "Your loss. It has extra spices."
---
The Missing File Incident
Later in the afternoon, Zayan called a meeting with the board. The presentation slides were ready. The projector was set. But one crucial file—the final contract draft—was missing.
He tapped his laptop frantically. It wasn't there. Aryan looked confused. Panic flickered in Zayan's eyes.
Just then, the door burst open. Andaleeb, holding a USB drive, walked in. "Looking for this, Mr. Heartless?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Why do you have it?"
"Because someone dropped it near the coffee machine and didn't notice. You're lucky I was craving tea. Again."
She handed it over like a mic drop. The board members clapped as the projector lit up.
Zayan blinked.
"You're welcome," she said, with a cheeky wink.
---
Aryan's Commentary
"That's twice now," Aryan whispered later. "She saved your life, or at least your career."
Zayan said nothing, just stared at his monitor.
"And you're still pretending she's just another intern?"
"She is chaos. And chaos has a pattern. I'll find it."
Aryan laughed. "Or fall for it."
---
Something Odd
Late in the evening, the office lights flickered once. The security camera monitor outside Zayan's office glitched, then resumed. No one noticed it—except Aryan.
Inside, Andaleeb sat under her desk for some reason, muttering to herself.
Zayan passed by and frowned. "What are you doing under your desk?"
"Just... recalibrating. Stretching. Humans do that."
"Humans?"
She blinked. "I said... humans like us. Obviously."
He stared at her.
She stood up quickly, brushing imaginary dust from her sleeves.
"You've been watching too much sci-fi," she said quickly and walked off.
Zayan didn't say anything.
But he was watching her differently now.
---
End of the Day
Andaleeb packed up her desk, still munching on trail mix. As she passed Zayan's office, she paused and made a dramatic bow.
"Goodnight, Mr. Heartless. May your coffee be strong and your shirts stain-free."
He looked up. "May your snacks not destroy another keyboard."
She grinned and walked off.
Behind her, Zayan stared at the now empty hallway.
He didn't smile.
But he didn't frown either.
Instead, he whispered to himself, "Burnt water, huh? We'll see who wins this war, Miss Shah."
Then quietly, he opened his drawer and pulled out the tea sachet she left on his desk.
It was jasmine tea.
He held it for a long second.
Then, almost like a ritual, he made his first-ever cup.
He sipped.
His expression didn't change.
But Aryan saw from the door and smiled. "That's not a no."
---
Far above the Earth, in the cold vacuum of space...
A silver light blinked once inside a distant satellite orbiting the planet. A small monitor displayed a glowing signal: "Andaleeb-01 active. Earth link stable. Emotions log—compromised."
But no one saw it.
Not yet.