Chapter 5 #2
“Sameer, I didn’t want to pry, but what did happen between you two back then?
” Rishi inquired. “You got along so famously that I thought something more was going on between you two. Then suddenly after Kabier’s wedding reception, Raashi disappeared from all our lives and now you’re planning to.
..” Seeing that Sameer was about to interrupt, Rishi quickly corrected his statement.
“...OK, considering to marry Natasha. I had assumed there was a stronger bond between Raashi and you. What went wrong?”
“Rishi, just stop, I don’t want to talk about this,” Sameer growled.
“Hang on! Let’s rewind a bit,” Kabier held up his hand. “Earlier when I asked you to talk to Raashi and negotiate a deal, you said you weren’t sure about that. Why?”
Sameer took a deep breath before saying, “She’s won’t sell to me.”
“And why is that?” Rishi narrowed his eyes.
Sameer gave his brother a stern look and before he could say something in response, he heard Kabier say, “Sameer, why don’t you tell us what’s really going on?”
Sameer looked at his brother and cousin, two of his closest confidantes.
The three of them practically knew everything about each other’s lives.
This was probably one of the rare situations he hadn’t told them about.
How was he to explain to them the messy situation between Raashi and him?
That he was the cause of this mess. And because of that, he might not be able to construct his dream project.
Closing his eyes for a second, he confessed, “I slept with her.”
“What?” Kabier and Rishi said together, exchanging a quick surprised glance.
Sameer observed their scandalized expressions, and remained silent.
Rishi pulled up a chair and sat on it folding his arms together, “Out with it then. Are you going to share the details or not?”
Sameer stood up and walked up to the full wall length windows of his office. Staring at the view below, he started to explain.
“I think I was attracted to Raashi the first time I saw her. I couldn’t get my eyes off her.
She made my blood sing every time she came close to me.
I knew I just had to have her. But she treated me like she did any of you, like a friend.
The first time I knew she felt something for me was during that damned game we played on board Rajiv’s yacht.
Remember when I was paired with her and I licked the salt off her neck?
” Sameer asked, turning to look at the two of them.
Both Rishi and Kabier nodded, remembering the incident.
“She melted to my touch then. I could see that finally I had stormed her walls and caused havoc with her feelings. I started openly pursuing her. I made it abundantly clear to her that I wanted her. Then on the night of your wedding reception, Kabier, she looked so stunning that I knew I couldn’t wait any longer.
That was the night I seduced her into my arms and into my bed. ”
Sameer shut his eyes for a moment recollecting the explosive night he had spent with Raashi. How could he ever forget the utter bliss he had found in her arms? He had never felt like that with any other woman. She had been absolutely perfect in every way.
Kabier and Rishi looked at each other stumped, baffled by what they were hearing.
“What happened next?” Kabier’s question jerked him back to reality.
“The next morning, I left before she woke up.”
“You left?” Kabier repeated, his eyes wide.
“Well, I hadn’t promised her the happily ever after...”
“Hang on, one second,” Kabier said, raising his voice, “You had sex with her and then you left? Was she okay with that?”
“I don’t think so. She had asked me to stay the night with her and I didn’t. So I doubt she was OK with it, Kabier.”
“I can’t believe this is you we’re talking about. How could you do that to her? Sameer, this was not a random woman you met somewhere. This was Raashi. Sheena and Keya’s best friend,” Kabier said.
“I know that. But I never spend the night with any of the women I sleep with. Being there in the morning with them means I am interested in taking the relationship further, which I never am and so I always leave,” Sameer said, trying to defend himself and knew he was failing miserably.
“Exactly the point, Sameer. Raashi isn’t like your other women who probably know and understand this.
She’s different. She slept with you because she must have felt strongly for you.
She asked you specifically to stay with her the whole night just to ensure that you felt something for her in return as well.
That she was important enough for you to stay and to figure out how to take things going forward.
She wanted more,” Kabier yelled. “It's not like you don’t know how to stay away from women who want that little more from you than you are prepared to give. So I just fail to understand why you did this.”
Sameer sorted Kabier’s words in his mind. He had absolutely no response to give. Kabier was right. Thankfully, he didn’t need to respond because Rishi asked, “But then what happened? Didn’t you meet her again, like bump into her somewhere?”
“No, for three months I avoided being in any place I knew she was going to be and I was traveling a lot as well, so I didn’t meet her.
But two weeks back I had taken Natasha out for dinner to AquaNox and Raashi was there.
I thought she worked at that restaurant.
I had always wondered how she would react when we met again.
I expected her to be cold and formal, which she was.
But I wasn’t prepared for how mad she was at me.
She dumped an entire bowl of piping hot pasta on my lap and then threw us out.
Little did I know at that time that she owned the restaurant.
And the next time I met her was last week when. ..”
He stopped mid-sentence and regarded both Rishi and Kabier. The two of them exchanged a strange look before they burst out laughing.
He gave them a moment and then said, “Guys. Can you cut it out? It wasn’t so funny.”
But they wouldn’t stop. They continued to laugh and make fun of him.
“Enough, OK you guys,” Sameer repeated.
Still laughing, Rishi said, “You deserved that. Wish I was there to see that.”
“No wonder you’re so confident that she will not sell the land to you. Anyway, what’s done is done. What do we do now? We need that land, Sameer,” Kabier said.
“I know, I’ll do something,” Sameer responded.
“Sort it out, Sameer. Work your magic on her and get her to like you enough to sell the land. And if you can’t, I’ll talk to her because I know for sure she will not refuse me,” Kabier told him confidently.
“I can talk to her too,” Rishi offered.
Sameer glared at him in return.
“I said I’d do something about it. You both don’t need to get involved. This is my project and I’ll get it done, no matter what,” Sameer spoke with a sharpness that was quite unlike him.
“One more thing, I know Keya doesn’t know, otherwise she would have told me about it. What about Sheena or grandfather?” Kabier asked.
“I don’t think grandfather knows. But Sheena is aware of the whole situation.”
“Oh! That’s why Sheena’s been so rude to you the past few months,” Rishi remarked.
“I didn’t quite understand why, though it was entertaining as hell.
I thought it was some silly tiff you guys were having because you didn’t do something that she asked you to or some other inane reason. But I like this more and more.”
“You know I will have to tell Keya,” Kabier stated.
“I know,” Sameer accepted.
“More fun! Can I come and watch when Keya gives you a verbal bashing?” Rishi gave him a naughty wink.
“Rishi, behave,” Sameer said sternly.
Rishi made a face at him, “And now I understand why Raashi was so cold to you the other night when we bumped into the three of them when they were out driving so late.”
“What are you talking about?” Kabier asked, looking confused.
“Sheena, Raashi and Keya. We bumped into them on their night out. They were driving their car at full speed at four in the morning. You should have seem them zipping on the empty streets,” Rishi replied with a fond smile.
“The girls were racing a car in the middle of the night? I don’t know anything about this,” Kabier remarked, alarmed.
“You were in London last week,” Sameer reminded his cousin.
Kabier’s lips flattened into a hard line before he exploded, “And my wife uses the opportunity of me being away to be in a speeding car for fun and then conveniently forgets to mention it to me?”
Sameer exchanged a look with Rishi.
“There’s more?” Kabier asked the two of them, not missing the look that had passed between them.
“Uh, actually, it was Keya who was racing the car and it was your Cayenne that she was driving,” Rishi said.
“My God!” Kabier stood up. “I’m going home. I need to have a very serious conversation with my wife.”
His cousin took a deep breath to calm himself before he turned to look at Sameer. “I trust the land issue will get resolved.”
“Yes, you can count on it.”
Kabier waved at the two of them and marched out of Sameer’s office.