Recruited by My Ex (Short Story)

 

“Recruited by My Ex” – A Short Story

The glass door slid open with a quiet hiss. The new hire stood framed against the light, clipboard in hand, her gaze sharp and unreadable.

Aditya froze.

The name on the onboarding form had struck him like a match: Aditi Mehra.

He’d thought it was coincidence.

It wasn’t.

She stood there—all grown up. Gone was the girl with wide, hopeful eyes and a messy bun who once dreamed beside him in the college library. This woman wore stilettos, a navy-blue formal suit, and a look that could slice through steel.

“Mr. Roy?” she said crisply. “HR told me to report directly to you.”

He cleared his throat. “Aditi…?”

Her lips twitched—was it recognition? A flicker of old hurt? But it passed.

“Yes?” she asked, cool as glass.

“You... you don’t remember me?”

A pause. “Of course I do. You were in my college batch. I also remember you didn’t show up to our last coffee plan… or explain why.”

His breath hitched. So she did remember.

That final conversation—when he ghosted her right before graduation. No warning. Just vanished, leaving only an apology email she never replied to.

“It wasn’t that simple,” he began.

“Isn’t it always ‘not that simple’ with people like you?” Her voice was soft, almost kind—but the edge was unmistakable.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Aditi.”

“But you did,” she said simply. “And now here I am. Your executive strategist.”

He blinked. “You’re not in marketing?”

“No,” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “HR offered me a role directly under you. And I accepted. Funny how life works, right?”

His throat felt dry. “You… knew it was me?”

“I read the offer letter carefully,” she said. “And unlike some people, I don’t run away.”

The room was silent. The air between them—dense with unspoken words, old wounds, and something else neither could name.

“Well,” she said, glancing at her watch. “You’re wasting company time, Mr. Roy. Shall we discuss my KPIs?”

Aditya watched her sit across from him like a stranger. But beneath the polished exterior, he saw her fingers tremble for a split second as she took out her pen.

And he realized—she wasn’t here to forget him.

She was here to prove she never needed him.

But what she didn’t know was… he had never stopped needing her.

And that’s how the game began.

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