“Do you think sexual harassment of women is a joke, Vansh?” She took a sip and burned her tongue. And swallowed down a yelp of pain.

“Not even a little bit. But I’m not a fan of double standards either.”

“You know there’s a history of unbalanced power, lack of safety and consent, that makes it different when it happens to a woman, right?”

“I do know that, even though it’s not that simple. I hope you’re not planning to accuse me of encouraging them and asking for it.”

“You were, as a matter of fact, encouraging it greatly.” Before he could argue, she raised a hand to stop him. “It was still inappropriate, the way my team behaved. I apologize and will reprimand them.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“I know. But I will anyway. But the next time you pretend to know what it feels like to be violated by the unwelcome attention of the opposite sex, I want you to know that if as a result of it there was any chance that you could get hurt in any way, you should absolutely feel free to put an end to it by letting them know that you aren’t interested and that it makes you uncomfortable.”

“I appreciate the advice.” He took a sip of the tea. “Were you always this humorless, Knightlina?”

“Pretty much. Now, do you want to tell me what you’re doing in my place of work, uninvited?”

“I’m not uninvited. Remember how our boss invited me to pitch some ideas for a project? The one that you so delightfully christened my Emma Project. I told you I have an idea and I’m here to share it with our boss.”

“Will you please stop calling him that? He’s not my boss. He is a donor. And he is most certainly not your boss.”

Vansh shrugged. Which made his pecs pop. Possibly because the shirt was so tight that lifting his shoulders was a workout.

She started walking back to her office, again not waiting for him to follow. He followed.

“Tell me about the project,” she said.

“No thank you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Wow, does that stick get uncomfortable? The one that you have . . .” She narrowed her eyes at him and he thought better of finishing that sentence. “I’m yanking your chain. Jiggy wants us to go up to his office and I might as well lay it out for both of you together.”

“Now?”

“In a half hour. Actually, since we have time, I can fill you in and you can help me come up with the details.”