Chapter 12 #2
At nineteen she had been their lead guitarist for two years, until she had to give it up and take over the business on the death of her grandmother.
Now six years later, Rhapsody was one of the most successful bands not only in India but abroad too.
She missed the boys, missed being a part of the crew, playing with them, creating music with them.
But, that was another life and she had taken it in her stride.
However, being personal friends with them ensured that she met them whenever they were in town and tonight for the first time they were going to play for her at her restaurant.
It was going to be fabulous, she was sure of it.
Her phone buzzed in her hand and Raashi smiled on seeing Rishi’s name flash on her screen.
Rishi returned to where Sameer and Natasha were waiting, in less than a minute.
“So, did you get us a table?” Natasha asked haughtily.
“I’m not sure. I’ll know in five minutes.”
“Sameer, in five minutes if we don’t have a table, we’re leaving. I refuse to be standing here among so much crowd and God knows what kind of people,” Natasha complained.
Rishi’s phone buzzed almost immediately.
“Yes,” he said.
“You owe me big time for this, Rishi,” Raashi told him.
“You mean you got something for me.”
“Of course, anything for you,” she replied.
Actually, it was plain luck that one of the prior reservations had been canceled just when Rishi had called requesting for a table.
“You’re my favorite girl.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Rishi,” Raashi quipped, laughing. “Tell me where you are, I’ll show you to the table.”
“I am right behind in the crowd, towards the entrance, near the bar.”
“Alright, walking towards you,” Raashi said, disconnecting the call.
“OK, we got it,” Rishi told them.
“Good,” Sameer said. Natasha didn’t say anything, but Sameer could see her lips set in a straight belligerent line.
Raashi made her way through the crowd, smiling and greeting many people on the way.
As she neared the entrance, she spotted Rishi a second before she saw Sameer standing next to him.
She did a double take on seeing him and her heartbeat slipped into an uneven rhythm.
Get a grip, Raashi told herself. She walked towards them, only to realize that he wasn’t alone.
Natasha was standing next to him, her hand tightly intertwined with his.
For four days she hadn’t heard from him, hadn’t seen him.
She had hoped she wouldn’t have to meet him again.
But here he was looking handsome as ever in blue jeans and a black shirt, his sleeves casually folded, looking straight at her.
Their eyes met and she saw his eyes light up, as he took her in from head to toe.
Her expression faltered for a second, but she quickly masked her features and put her social smile in place as she walked towards them.
Sameer had spotted her long before she’d caught sight of him.
He could see the pleasant smile she was showering on her patrons.
He also noticed how she stopped by to chat briefly with several of them.
Dressed in black and gold, she looked like a million bucks.
Her skinny black cutout jeans fit her snugly.
They were tucked into stiletto ankle boots that made her look taller than usual.
She had teamed these with a shimmering gold spaghetti top that made her warm complexion glow in the lights.
Her lips were painted a bright red adding to the stunning effect.
Thick gold earrings dangled from her ears.
Her hair cascaded down her shoulders in loose, long curls.
Damn! She looked good. He saw her smile at Rishi but saw the smile waver for exactly a second as she caught sight of him and Natasha. And then immediately the smile was back on her face as she came closer.
“That’s Raashi, isn’t it? What is she doing here? That woman seems to be everywhere,” Natasha complained.
“Excuse me?” Rishi said.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Natasha said.
“But you were talking about a friend of mine,” Rishi stated.
“I didn’t know you were friends with people like her. She’s a waitress for heaven’s sake, Rishi!”
“Didn’t you ever learn that you have to respect people, no matter what they do for a living?” Rishi asked. “Besides, she’s not a waitress. She owns this restaurant. In fact, she owns The Nox group. And if I were you, I’d watch my mouth around her, unless you enjoy being thrown out of restaurants.”
“Sameer! I can’t believe you’re letting him talk like that to me,” Natasha lashed out.
Except, Sameer wasn’t listening. In fact, he had barely heard a word.
He hadn’t even realized that his brother and Natasha were arguing.
He was completely and undividedly lost in watching Raashi float towards them, her hips swaying slightly, her bold red lips parted in a smile, her hair flowing, her warm complexion glowing golden in the lights.
His stomach fluttered and his heart sped.
Oh, God...how she made him wish for things he didn’t want.
..things he didn’t need...and yet his heart refused to slow down from its lightning fast pace.
Natasha nudged him, squeezing the hand that she was holding, pulling him close towards her. He blinked and looked at her, confused by the questioning expression on her face. He hadn’t a clue what she had asked him.
Before he could make an inconsequential reply, Raashi reached them.
Rishi went forward to hug her. “Hi, there! How are you Raashi?”
In her ear, he whispered, “Thank you for doing this for me. Otherwise, Madam here would have never have let me hear the last of it.” He looked pointedly in Natasha’s direction.
Raashi couldn’t help but laugh. Rishi was really cute but very wicked.
Watching Raashi and his brother interact, Sameer removed his hand from Natasha’s and approached her.
“Hello Raashi!” he said.
“Hey, Sameer!” Raashi replied.
Natasha came forward too. The girls exchanged awkward hellos. The last time he was in one of her restaurants with Natasha, Raashi had unceremoniously thrown them out and here he was repeating history, standing again in one of her restaurants with Natasha by his side.
“So, you own this place and AquaNox?” Natasha asked.
“Yes,” Raashi replied. She saw the other woman sizing her from top to toe. She appraised her too, looking her over deliberately. She was not going to be cowed down by her.
Sensing the obvious tension between the two girls, Sameer stepped in, “Thanks Raashi, for your help.”
“Anything for Rishi,” she replied, smiling at Rishi.
“Great band playing tonight, Raashi. Isn’t this the same band that you...” Rishi said, moving closer to her.
“Yes,” Raashi replied quickly. “Come on, I’ll show you to your table?”
Sameer and Natasha followed behind Raashi and Rishi. Sameer heard Rishi ask her, “And this lead singer was the same one that you once...”
The remainder of Rishi’s question and Raashi’s reply was lost as they moved through the crowd.
The music got louder as they got closer to the stage.
Raashi pointed at someone in the crowd to Rishi while speaking very softly to him.
A tinge of envy stabbed Sameer on seeing his brother interact so easily with Raashi. What was she telling Rishi?
Damn! He was envious of his own brother now. Before he could give it any more thought, Raashi stopped in front of their table. She had organized one for them right in the front of the stage.
As soon as they reached, the band took a break. Raashi settled them at their table and motioned to a nearby waiter, who came forward to take their orders.
“Thank God, they’ve taken a break. It’s just too loud and I think it’s going to be worse from where we’re sitting,” Natasha grumbled.
“Sorry,” Raashi spoke absently, shaking her head, her attention fixed on the stage. Sameer turned to see what had distracted her. One of the band members was pointing to her and then to his guitar and Raashi shook her head vehemently. Then with a strongly mouthed NO, she turned back to Natasha.
“Sorry! It was the best I could do in the circumstances,” Raashi said.
“Don’t apologize, Raashi. It’s great,” Sameer remarked.
“Yes, it’s so cool. Thanks to you, I have front row seats to watch Rhapsody play live,” Rishi beamed.
Sameer frowned when he saw the band member waving to her again.
Raashi quickly turned to the, “Well, I’ve got to get back. You guys enjoy yourselves.”
Sameer saw the guy leap off the stage and go after Raashi as she disappeared into the crowd.
Instantly, Sameer recognized the guy. That was Dheer Malhotra.
He had read somewhere about him. He was the lead singer of the band and a darling of the female populace.
He also wrote most of his music himself plus he had his own successful music company and a movie production house.
Sameer had heard some of his music and it was quite good.
Rhapsody normally played a mix of fusion and rock, though he couldn’t claim to be an ardent fan.
A moment later, the crowd parted and he could see Raashi and Dheer arguing and Raashi kept shaking her head.
She finally splayed a hand out stopping him and pointed at the stage.
Sameer saw him turn to see that the band was ready to play again and were waiting for him.
With a shake of his head he walked back, crossing their table and in the same stride leapt back on the stage.
What was going on? And what had Rishi been asking Raashi earlier about her and the lead singer of the band? Sameer started to inquire, but
the band started playing again and he turned to watch them play.