Everything by Design
Author's Note: I had an idea for this fic that had bugged me until I wrote it. This was originally on my Ao3 page, but I thought I'd post it here. It takes place after "Building a Better World" and that'll be relevant in the story later. Inspired by the song "Make it to Me" by Sam Smith.
"My heart tells me this is the best and greatest feeling I have ever had. But my mind knows the difference between wanting what you can't have and wanting what you shouldn't want. And I shouldn't want you."
― Cassandra Clare, City of Glass
"To every question I have ever had, or ever will have, you are the answer."
― Deborah Harkness, The Book of Life
By: VampireQueenAkasha
~o~
Aasakti
It was a good, quiet morning.
Satya prepared herself for the meeting as scheduled. It was a calm, ordered ritual that she engaged in every day; hair, teeth, breakfast, research and finally, on her way to work. There was nothing out of the ordinary, no change in the pattern; just as she preferred it to be.
But today was different.
Sitting in the cafe that morning, Satya was speaking with Satosh; he was one of her former classmates who had joined with her on their employment with Vishkar Corporation. He was a short, but stout man with a constant, confident air about him that she lacked at the proper times.
Satya never considered herself as someone who would willingly look for a friend, despite how lonely she did feel at times; but Satosh was closer to her than most were allowed to be. It helped that they talked a lot and grew up together at the academy - without parents to raise them.
However, the subject of discussion today was particularly embarrassing for her.
"...it's inappropriate." Satya finished, with a long, tired sigh. "I won't discuss it further. After all, I'm a little uncomfortable with this anyway."
"But you like her." Satosh prodded, with a smile. "I can help you."
Satya's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Relationships within Vishkar are forbidden."
A small, bored sigh from Satosh at the mention of the rules; the man leaned back in his chair, folded his arms across his chest and watched the various employees walking by, talking about their latest projects and new task for the day. It was absolutely boring.
"Well...what can you tell me about her?" Satosh asked.
Satya shut her eyes before she smiled thinly. There was a warmth she felt when she began to talk about the woman of her interest. "What could I say about her, really?" she said, "Well, she handles Human Relations within Vishkar. She consults with several of the companies' other departments as well."
"So, does she know you're interested?"
"No."
Satosh raised an eyebrow and stared at her expectantly. "Alive?"
Satya thought about it for a moment. In truth, she wasn't so sure. The other woman rarely engaged her unless it was necessary, and it wasn't even in person, but via messages in texts and computers. Nothing was really exchanged between them.
"There is a meeting scheduled today," she explained, "She's very passionate about a project that she believes will be of help to the company's image; despite her desire to work amongst street ruffians, I find her passion and work commendable."
"Wait, you said she handles Human Relations, yes? Would that be Leni Ambani?" Satosh questioned, after a moment of contemplation. He smiled at the thought now. "Gajab ka."
Satya frowned at him. "What?"
"I know how to get her to see you, Satya."
O
Leni was sitting at the vast table with several other members of Vishkar's finest.
Satya had been watching the young woman in silence; she had her black hair done nicely into a braid, her glasses framing her narrow face. When she looked up, her green eyes lit up at the sight of the chairman entering the room. She looked eager, perhaps too excited to sit still, even. How positively shameless, and yet, somehow it was still charming all the same.
She didn't understand, truly, what had captured her interest in the other woman. She had always kept her eyes low and on her work - which was preferred. But Leni was different. There was a passion to her that she could not deny.
"Let's begin." That was all that was said before the meeting started.
They had begun discussing departments and where they were at with current projects. Satya had remained silent and focused on a screen in front of her. She wanted to prepare her report on a future project in Dorado, but Leni's smooth, light voice filled the air. It was so gentle, yet cut through the delicate silence like a knife and raised a shudder in her.
"...But what I would really like, and what I was wondering is...if I could have the funding to invest on my own."
Satya furrowed her brow and glanced up, looking toward Leni, then to the chairman. The older man wrung his fingers together thoughtfully, smiling at her. He considered the idea for a moment before he tilted his head.
"And what were you thinking of investing in, Leni?" he questioned.
Leni looked happy, unveiling a holographic image of a park map layout; Satya studied the map and murmured at the sight of it, realizing that it was something meant for children and their families. How positively quaint.
"Well, it's just something that I really have a passion for." Leni explained, "I want to do something that can bring the communities together. We can really set a good image for Vishkar if we provided a park to this little village I've been speaking with. Let the public see that we are truly for them. My friend is a talented designer. This would certainly give us a friendly image to the people and I would really like to get involved."
Satya smiled a little, nodding her approval. It was a good ideal to have and she admired the other woman for it. She glanced toward the chairman and he wrung his fingers together once more before he spoke.
"I'll tell you what. Let us come up with a range of investments that we think you might be interested in and next month, we'll run the whole lot of them by you."
Satya glanced sidelong toward Leni now, reading her expression; it was clearly a disappointing thing to hear. The other woman looked devastated by his answer, but nonetheless, forced a smile on her face. She lowered her eyes, her voice dropped softer.
"Okay."
The chairman immediately returned his attention to the others in the room. Satya watched Leni intently; the disappointed look on her face as she focused on her reports. She wanted to say something, just as Satosh had instructed her to do.
I don't do this.
"Fine. Thank you. All right, gentlemen," the chairman continued, "Now we have to move forward with our next project in Numbani so..."
Satya cleared her throat and looked toward him now. "Excuse me, sir."
"Yes, Satya?"
"Forgive me, but I don't agree with your decision."
Leni looked up briefly, confused by the change in discussion. The chairman was equally confused as well, studying the other woman.
"Which part about it don't you agree with?" he asked.
Satya shifted where she sat, took a moment before she cleared her throat once more. "I believe that Miss Ambani is correct. I think if she wants to invest money into this endeavor, she should do so."
Leni blinked, astounded by the fact that Satya spoke on her behalf. The others in the room seemed equally surprised, but more confused when they considered it; she never spoke on someone else's behalf regarding matters of the people. It was strange.
"The image we seek to maintain is important." Satya continued, crossing her legs and speaking prim and proper. She felt Leni's eyes on her. "Leni's work is valuable in that regard and we should be open to the possibilities. The street ruffians prove to be difficult. She believes if we pacify them this way, they will follow our way of thinking. I believe it will be useful."
A few curious murmurs from those around her. Leni looked at Satya with a mixture of confusion and wonder; she clearly didn't know how to react to the way the other woman spoke for her.
"Interesting." the chairman answered, with a small chuckle. "Perhaps we will need to deliberate on this further if our best engineer speaks highly of you."
Satya smiled a little, avoiding Leni's eyes.
O
"How'd it go?"
Satosh was standing by the front doors, smiling when Satya approached. She had intended to leave the building, rather embarrassed by how she'd spoke up. She had often sat in silence and did her tasks as necessary; she did not deviate from such norms.
"It went well," she finally said, "Though I don't know what Leni must be thinking."
Satosh shook his head with a thoughtful murmur. "Well, what... Oh, I suppose we'll be hearing it from her."
He looked beyond Satya and noticed Leni was walking up to them. She seemed happy, waving at them to stay put so that she could come over. Satya furrowed her brow, cautious about the approach, but nonetheless put on her air of superiority.
"Hello," Leni greeted, "Satya, I was hoping to catch you before you left. Could I speak to you a second?"
Satya glanced sidelong to Satosh, who smiled his reassurance. She nodded briefly to him before looking at Leni. "Of course. What would you like to speak about?"
Leni seemed thoughtful for a second. "People don't usually take my requests and projects seriously around here." she told her. "Well, I'll correct that. NO ONE. Speaks like that for me. I suppose it's strange for anyone to speak on my behalf under the circumstances." She gave a little chuckle, but continued on. "But that's why I really appreciate what you did in there."
Satya said nothing, but gave the faintest of nods. This was going well.
"I was hoping, perhaps, that you and I could get together sometime this week?" Leni offered, with a hopeful look on her face, "We could go over things. Financial things. I'd like to see the areas where I can afford to take some risks and you are the architect in Hard-Light technology. I could benefit from your presence."
Satya glanced at Satosh, who grinned encouragingly. She nodded to Leni. "I'll check my schedule, but I'm sure it won't be a problem."
"Great!" Leni brightened. "Let me give you my number. Do you have a pen?"
Satya reached into her chest pocket, removing a pen and handing it to her. She looked at Satosh again and the man smirked, flashing a thumbs up. She gave him a weak smile in return, nodding briefly before returning her focus to Leni, who was scribbling her phone number down on a note pad she'd removed from her own chest pocket. The entire time, Satya observed this mundane act with bated breath.
"There. Here you are." Leni offered the paper to her, which Satya took gingerly into two fingers. "I'll be speaking with you soon."
"I understand." Satya answered. "I'll give you mine as well."
Leni bid her another farewell after Satya wrote her number down and she walked away, leaving Satosh and Satya to themselves. Satya glanced down at the paper and the man beside her chuckled warmly.
"Well, that went splendidly!" he said.
Satya continued to study the paper in silence.
Later that evening, she was sitting in her apartment, studying the shimmering blue screen in front of her with every bit of information she required for her next trip; it would be a prime location for a new Vishkar development, which she would oversee as usual. It was too quiet tonight, for some reason.
Frowning, Satya looked over at the paper of Leni's phone number she'd placed on the wall nearby. She contemplated the action for a moment, considered calling her herself. But that would be inappropriate at such an early stage of their communication, wouldn't it? This wasn't the first time she'd engaged in these rituals, so why did it make her flustered so?
"Hm..." Satya glanced toward her video phone on the wall, unsure of whether or not she'd even be called.
It was foolish to waste time thinking on this when work had to be done.
Yes, the work.
Her whole reason for being.
O
How could she handle the sloppy angle of that painting?
Satya studied the portrait of the mayor and her family with a small hint of dismay. Adjusting it delicately put it back into a perfectly straight line. She had been here visiting the mayor of the little town to get the contact needed to begin construction of a new Vishkar development and distractions were constantly there.
"Vishkar is changing the world for the better," Satya informed the mayor. "You're being offered an opportunity to improve the squalid life of your town and its people."
It seemed uncertain. Satya didn't understand why people struggled to decide on these things. Why did they insist on living in filth when Vishkar could improve their lives for the better?
Why did they struggle?
"Miss Vaswani," the mayor continued, ruefully, "A decision such as this must be left to the people."
"You are mistaken. The people do not know what they want," Satya argued, evenly, "Their lives are swept up in the mire of filth and poverty. We make the choice for them and they will come to understand."
"It's a choice of the free people."
Satya sighed with dismay. "What you call freedom is an illusion that causes more harm than good." she told her.
There was a ringing noise in her head.
Too much.
She needed air.
Stepping outside proved to be worse for her as she could taste the stale, unholy scent of the city below her. The chaos of aimless chatter reminded her too much of home. She felt a wave of nausea take her and she could deal with it no longer -
Suddenly, there was a ring at her wrist and Satya blinked, surprised to see someone attempting to contact her. She looked down, touched her wrist and a holographic projection of Leni's face appeared in a screen. She looked happy for a few moments.
"Ah! I was hoping to contact you!" she said. "I would have sooner, but I had to review my finances with the Board of Directors and - Oh, are you alright?"
Satya blinked once. Twice. She felt her head relaxing and her heart calming. "Yes, I'm fine. There's no need to worry." she replied. "I am pleased to hear from you. Did they approve?"
Leni grinned and nodded. "The approval went through! Thanks to you, I now have plans for my park. I had hoped we could schedule a time to discuss when to begin work over coffee. Would you like to meet me in the town square tomorrow morning?"
Tomorrow morning? Did she have a schedule set? Did she have plans? Satya would have to go through them, of course. It wouldn't do to make such decisions before -
"I will be there. The little cafe by the fountain, I assume?" she said.
Leni laughed with delight. "Only the best!"
A smile tugged at Satya's cheeks, but she repressed it for the moment. It was premature of her to grow too thrilled by the idea of finally being able to have some time with Leni. It would be a discussion regarding business; that was a good enough start to learn about her more.
O
She was uncomfortable.
Satya had dressed properly for her trip to the cafe; she was wearing her dress suit, skirt and visor. Gold earrings with emerald stones. Makeup done up to perfection. It was far too over-dressed for a trip to the coffee shop, but she wanted to look her best.
She smiled thinly, glancing around at a few people in passing who dared to give them rather curious, lingering looks. Satya watched Leni from behind her coffee cup as she took a careful sip. Neither one of them had spoken yet and Leni seemed interested in looking over a few plans on her holo tablet.
Finally, Satya sat the cup down and cleared her throat. Leni spoke before she could. "Oh, Amita is going to be at the park," she told her, "Everything I have laid out are just simple additions that I would like for you to look over and tell me what you think."
Satya raised her eyebrows and looked at the plan laid out in front of her. Overall, it seemed suitable enough, but her mind lingered on the name. It wasn't typical of her to be so distracted by such a trivial detail.
"Oh, your friend, I assume?" she questioned.
"Yes, you'll like her!" Leni assured the other woman.
Leni glanced up at her and Satya stared back with a small hint of a smile on her face now. It wasn't unfriendly, but carried a curiosity that interested Leni a little. Still, she didn't note on that and continued speaking about her plan for the park and when she'd invite the people of the village to see it.
It was a simple plan and one that seemed to thrill Leni to discuss, but Satya had matters of her own to deal with regarding the town she was sent to gain approval from for Vishkar to create a new development. She hadn't succeeded yet and that lingered on her mind.
"...If...you have matters of your own to deal with, then I'd understand."
Satya snapped out of her reverie and blinked at Leni, who had been confused by her silence. A demur clearing of her throat, followed by a tapping of her fingers against the table.
"No. I have a task I've been dealing with today and it's become a bother," Satya explained. "A new Vishkar development had to be placed on hold as the people are stuck in their own ways. They refuse to see reason."
"Mm," Leni agreed with a nod, "That can be difficult. Vishkar is good for the people, but we must also not force that choice." Off of Satya's impatient frown, she smiled and continued. "That is why I want to make this park a reality. Think of it as trying to tame a wild bull. Would you pull it toward the barn with rope while it struggles? Or would you give it a tender hand instead? Let it choose it's way there."
"Such an unusual way to look at it."
Leni tittered behind her hand. "Yes, I know. My father was famous for such things. I suppose I learned much from him."
"Your father," Satya was curious - how unlike her.
"Yes. He was an explorer of sorts," Leni explained, "He was from New Delhi, but he traveled the world and found his way to Egypt. Where he met my mother. Then, they settled down, he opened a little shop and had me."
Satya raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I see."
"I understand that must bore you."
"Not at all. I'm learning much."
"Oh." Leni was pleasantly surprised to hear that, but happy.
So for the rest of that afternoon, they talked about work; only rarely did they discuss personal matters of their lives and what they had spent them doing. Satya was aware of the odd stares they received from people in passing, but she paid no mind to it. The only thing she had her mind on was Leni.
And how being in her presence certainly made her smile more.
O
It was a busy morning and Satya planned her meetings accordingly.
She could see the main vestibule from her office on the fifth floor of the building through a vast sheet of glass; many employees of Vishkar went about their daily routine, like clockwork. That was how it should be for humanity - everything and everyone in their proper place.
Satya never understood what had made people value anything else.
At least, not at first.
Her mother and father had been flaws in the design; she never grasped their ideas and knew that she had been different to most. She had allowed it to bother her at first, but not anymore. She worked hard to keep those from noticing where she fit on that particular spectrum.
Satosh walked up to Satya's office door, set a few files down on her desk. She frowned, looked down at them before staring up at the man.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Those are the registration forms the chairman needs." Satosh told her. He turned to go, but stopped and grimaced. "Oh! And I am getting this... Vihaan on my phone. He has called me ten times this morning."
Satya frowned curiously. "I know him. He's the secretary for the mayor I was to speak with. Did he say what she wanted?"
Satosh made a face. "She wants to know when you're free. Apparently, she wants to talk business affairs over dinner. She plans to make the switch to Vishkar's way." A small smile lit his face. "Mm, you must have made the impression on her."
Satya smiled her approval. "Ahh, good. That's good. It always takes time for them, but they eventually see that Vishkar is good for humanity."
The phone at her desk suddenly rang.
It was a simple phone that did not use holograms to project calls. Under normal circumstances, Satya would have disapproved of such a primitive thing, but she rarely took calls at her office desk and she didn't enjoy the disturbances under any circumstances. She only kept it when the board of directors needed to speak with her.
Satosh frowned, tilted his head down at the ID on the phone. "Oh! It's Leni!" he said, "How convenient she would call you here!" He gave her a funny look, knowing completely what was going on. "You're not answering her calls, are you?"
Satya sighed, shaking her head. "Ungli mat kar. I simply need a moment to - "
"Are you scared of her?"
"What? No! Don't be absurd."
Satya stared down at it as it continued to ring loudly almost like an insistent employee; it was strange for her to hesitate so and she didn't pick it up. Satosh had been looking at her blankly for a few moments before he sighed and rolled his eyes.
"he bhagavaan..." he muttered, picking the phone up and bringing it to his ear.
Satya made a note of dismay and attempted to focus on her work while he wasted his time.
"Yes, hello!" he greeted. His features lit up and he looked at Satya with a wink. "Ah! Miss Ambani! It's good to hear from you... Oh, you tried to contact Satya, but she didn't answer? I'm sorry to hear that."
Satya sat at her desk, a little annoyed by his obnoxious drawl. She had stopped focusing on her work and stared at him. She didn't know what he was up to.
"Yes, you are speaking at her home office. I do have her here for you."
He held out the phone to Satya and she waved a dismissing hand. "No. Tell her I'm at lunch." she said, hesitantly. She still felt a little strange about their interaction yesterday.
"Why?" Satosh asked, stifling his giggle.
"Because I simply need time to think on my next approach."
"Well, you have little time for that and she's here. Talk to her."
Satya glared at him impatiently before she took the phone and held it up to her ear. "Ah, hello, Miss Ambani." she said. "How are you?"
"Good. I'm doing good." Leni sounded happy enough. "I'm glad I can finally speak with you. The reason I'm calling is about our appointment this Wednesday. The one regarding the visit to the plot of land for the park?"
Satosh looked at her with interest when she frowned thoughtfully. "What is it?" he mouthed.
She cupped the receiver and addressed him now. "She wants to know about the plans to see her park location."
"Tell her you can't make it."
"What? Why? That would be a lie."
"Trust me."
Satya didn't seem to trust him, but she had little to work with at the moment. Instead, she sighed and spoke to Leni on the phone. "Forgive me, but I won't be able to make it."
"Oh. I see. Well, when can you make it?"
Satya glanced down at her wrist and it produced a hologram of a calendar of her schedule. Realistically, she wasn't as busy as she usually was in a month and most of her tasks had been finished ahead of schedule. She looked at Satosh, who made an enormous gesture with two hands; a pained grimace touched her face and she sighed, going along with it for now.
"I don't know, because my whole next week is filled with meetings."
Leni sounded a little disappointed. "Of course. You must be busy as an architect. That's alright, I can plan for another week."
"No, no of course not," Satya told her, grimacing at the lie, "I am going to be seeing someone tonight for a meeting, but we can meet together after that."
Leni's tone lit up. "Oh! That's wonderful! I can send you the location and we can meet there."
"Good. I will see you then."
She hung the phone up, glanced up at Satosh's wide grin before she made a face. "Don't look at me that way."
"I'm glad that disastrous conversation ended well for you."
Satya resumed attention on her work and rolled her eyes with dismay. "No thanks to you and your deceitful ways."
"Oh! You hurt me so much, my dear friend!" Satosh gestured to himself with a clenched fist to his chest and feigned to be in pain before he continued. "Well, when you see her, remember... It's not about Leni."
"No?" Satya found that odd and stared at him quizzically.
"No. It's about her friend." Satosh explained, taking a seat across from her desk in one of the smaller chairs. He smiled at her encouragingly. "Her friend will be the one who signs off of you. You cannot mess anything up."
Satya glared at him. What an affront to assume she'd mess anything up.
"Don't look at me that way, Satya." he said, sputtering a laugh. "I know you aren't thrilled about it. But just tolerate her for now. Put on a face if you must. But above all, be nice."
Nice.
Of course. She wasn't a brute. She understood her manners were important.
O
Leni was quite eager to discuss the matter of the park that evening as they made their way to the location she had planned for; a lovely, grassy hillside overlooking the ocean waters. She was also eager to introduce her friend to Satya as well - her name was Amita; though Satya wasn't quite interested in meeting her, it seemed important to Leni, so she indulged in her request. Whatever hastened their meetings further.
Amita was a young, dainty thing and stood a head shorter than Satya. She had long, shining black hair wrapped up into a bun, a violet blouse peppered with designs of flowers, brown slacks and shoes. She also had quite a bubbly personality and one that somehow repulsed Satya a little. She didn't find such behavior very appealing nor very professional.
Satya rebuked her when she approached with arms outstretched. "I don't hug." she said, her tone a bite.
Amita laughed, embarrassed. "Ah! Of course. Mujhe kshama keejiye."
She crossed her hands out in front of her and Leni let out a little chuckle before shaking her head. She gestured to her friend and looked at Satya. "Amita has plans to expand the park out this way," She swept her hand behind her to the little grassy hill nearby. "We're going to put in an entire play area for the children there. Maybe a fountain here..."
Amita was clearly thrilled with the idea. She patted Leni's shoulder and the gesture caught Satya's eyes. She furrowed her brow with disapproval.
She didn't like that.
Satya didn't know what she didn't like about such a simple, mundane contact between them. Perhaps it was Amita's bubbly mannerisms, or the way she engaged Leni, but it bothered her nonetheless.
Why are you so bothered?
Perhaps it's the approach, or the way she presents herself. No, no surely -
"We will know what funding we will receive in a few weeks," Leni explained, snapping Satya from her reverie. "But I'm very excited to begin working!"
She murmured something in her native tongue before embracing Amita. The sight of that drew a deep frown on Satya's face.
Emotional.
This was an emotional action.
Later, the three women had gathered together at a cafe to further discuss their plans for the park. Leni had been looking curiously at Satya's replacement arm and the other woman caught the stare. It made her frown deeply and she anticipated questions she had always been asked. Fortunately, Amita had gone to use the bathroom, leaving them both alone - Satya would have preferred the other woman hadn't come along to begin with.
"What is it?" she asked, a touch harder than she'd planned.
"Your arm." Leni told her, reaching out. She hesitated once, then looked at her. "May I?"
Satya didn't move for a second; but she eventually cleared her throat delicately before resting her arm on the table for her to look at closely. Leni gently took it into her hands and studied the mechanics that made up the replacement limb. She ran her fingertips through Satya's palm, marveling at each little detail.
Such a curious, yet still intimate gesture. It made Satya stare at the other woman, wondering what she could have possibly been thinking. The limb had been attached to her nervous system, allowing her the chance to receive such sensation as she would any normal human hand.
"Such fine work went into this." Leni said.
Satya murmured a note of thought. "Yes. Only the finest of Vishkar."
"Did it hurt?" Leni asked.
Satya looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Was it an accident?"
Satya hesitated to answer before she shook her head. "No." she answered.
She wouldn't discuss it.
"Oh." Leni seemed embarrassed now and leaned back. "Forgive my rudeness, I shouldn't have assumed the right to know about it."
Satya felt a little shaken to have that part of her acknowledged, but only for a second as Leni seemed genuinely remorseful about making her uncomfortable.
"Well..." she began, eager to discuss work instead, "I have a few ideas for your park that you could look over. Feel free to dispute whichever you'd like."
Leni brightened. "You've thought about it, too?"
Satya tittered with a small laugh. "Well, I am to be the architect, am I not?"
"Of course." Leni also laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm just so excited about finally doing this. Amita and I have been planning it for a long time."
"Yes." Satya's features darkened a degree. "Her. Of course."
She brought up a hologram of fountain designs that would be appropriate for the image of their company while her tone went unnoticed by Leni; the concepts were abstract, yet brilliant. Leni was already scrolling through the ideas she had on display with a small swipe of her finger.
"Oh! I like this one!" Leni indicated one of the sculptures designed with diamonds.
Satya smiled a little. "As do I."
Leni met her eyes and smiled, giving a small laugh. Satya found comfort in that look and she thought their interaction had been going well so far.
Amita made her way over to them and took a seat, earning an unhappy frown from Satya. "Well! Have we gone over the designs?" she asked.
Leni nodded. "We have. I think we've decided on what fountain would be nice for the park."
"Ooh! Which one?" Amita was excited to see.
Satya made a face, but held up the hologram for her to look at. Amita nodded her approval, touching the hologram once with a single finger. She looked at Leni and grinned, giving an excited clap of her hands.
"I cannot believe we're going to do it!" she said.
Leni nodded, quite pleased. "Yes! And we have Satya to thank for it."
Satya's smile thinned. She certainly could take pleasure in something meant to improve the image of Vishkar at any case, but she felt it bittersweet. Something about what she was doing for these two women brought an unusual taste in her mouth that she couldn't quite define.
What is it?
What bothers me so?
Once they left the building, Satya was making her way to her vehicle when she heard a conversation between Leni and Amita; the two women were talking as they walked to their respective vehicles and seemed interested in what had happened inside.
"...I don't know, Leni." Amita said, unsure, "She seems a little harsh, don't you think?"
"Amita, it's alright," Leni argued gently, "She is helping us create this park for my work. We should be grateful. Perhaps this is just her way of handling things."
Satya's brow wrinkled somewhat. While she was somewhat smiling at Leni's words, she found Amita's remark to be a bit annoying. Harsh was a weak assessment of her personality; Satya was professional as she should be and approached matters with a sharp eye and intellect. Who was this woman to assume something so base?
"Alright, that's fair." Amita replied, with a small laugh.
Satya huffed out a disgusted noise as she turned to her car. She thought about the project and how it had made Leni smile. It filled her chest with warmth and made her smile thinking about it.
But then, the doubts came.
What if Leni did not prefer her company? What if she laughed her advances away?
A series of hypothetical ideas in her head that she had no answer for.