Made in Mumbai

15. Mere Jaise Ban Jaoge Jab Ishq Tumhe Ho Jaayega

He had just set the lid on the poha he had stir fried when Maya stumbled out. The early morning sun streamed into his house, lighting the space up. And she was padding across that lit floor, all glorious goddess.

“Good morning,” she wished him shyly, then walked towards the deck. Gautam pressed his palm on the kitchen counter, observing her venture out and tip her face into the sun. One eye was open, another comically shut, as she worked to come awake.

He quickly brewed the newest coffee he had ordered this morning, grabbed his own cup and padded out behind her. Even before he had made it, her nose made a deep whiffing sound.

“Drink your coffee close to me,” she ordered with a smile in her voice.

“You can drink one too.” He pressed a cup into her hand. “I ordered a decaf brand.”

“But why?” She whirled on him, all sleep gone. “I am not a coffee fan, Gautam. I just like the smell nowadays… who will finish this dabba now?”

“If you don’t, then I will. Now try it.”

She took a sip. And the momentary pleasure flickering across her face was worth tens of those ‘dabbas.’ Maya sighed, smacking her lips together — “This is good.”

“Mmm…” he gave her a knowing smile over his own cup. They sipped their coffees in silence, enjoying the wide deck, the cool Diwali-time wind and the soft sun. The city was beginning to slow down as well as perk up. It was morning now, but come night and homes would be twinkling in the newest Diwali lights on their balconies, shops grandly lit, avenues decorated.

“Gautam?”

“Hmm?”

“About yesterday…”

“Do not say it was a mistake or that you didn’t mean it.”

“I wasn’t going to say that,” she put her tongue in her cheek, a clear sign that she was lying. He leaned in close to her face and poked the said tongue through her cheek. Her surprised eyes widened. Yes, he remembered it.

“Listen Gautam…”

“G.”

“G,” she rolled her eyes. “I can’t just…”

“I agree.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!”

“It must be some reason to not go forward. And I agree. But,” he turned, grabbing her hand in his — “Can you deny that the last few days together have been something… right ? Like something felt good after a long time? Maybe you have been feeling good in your life even before that but I haven’t felt as… myself as I have with you. Like I met that young boy again and liked him again.”

She stared at him, her eyes luminescent under the sun’s rays.

“I know your life is going to change, I know your responsibilities, I understand them. All I propose is that we let this flow. Low key. Just go with the flow and say our most honest feelings and intentions out loud. It’s one hell of a gamble, to be vulnerable to each other without any commitments. But I don’t know anything else in this situation, M. I cannot let this go without trying.”

She swallowed. “So, no expectations, no pressure?”

“No. Whatever is comfortable for you. Whatever you want. Just… don’t stop being with me like this.”

“Ok. But I have to shift out for that.”

“No way,” he recoiled. “Then we can be complete strangers, but you stay here until the baby is born. Even after that if you need help.”

“I don’t want charity, Gautam. Or pity.”

“I don’t feel pity for you, crazy! That’s the last thing I feel for you.”

“Then what do you feel?”

“Insanity! I don’t even know what that means but that’s what you make me feel. Nothing in my head makes sense. Yet. Except that without you, even if it all made sense, I wouldn’t like it.”

She looked away.

“Listen, Maya,” he stepped back from her to give her space — “This is a bigger gamble for you. I shouldn’t even be asking this of you at this time. But please. Please. If you feel the same, then give it to me.”

She peeked up at him through her lashes — “Then I will pay you rent.”

“Again that?”

“Otherwise I am going from here.”

“M…”

“I need to, ok? My baby needs to know that its mother is capable of taking care of it. I have to know it.”

“Alright,” he agreed. “Alright. I respect that. As you say… So?”

“Ok, let’s see where this goes,” she said quietly. So unlike his Maya. And he couldn’t stop. Gautam pulled her to him and took her mouth to her surprised gasp. She laughed then, finding anchor on his shoulders, her fingers threading into his hair. The sun was warm, the winds were cool, and there was this girl in his arms who had the capacity to make grown men blush, who was now melting into him. Gautam silenced all other voices in his head.

————————————————————

He had to work extra hard to steal her bag and wallet today to get her to ride with him. But at the end she came along, grumbling and cursing him in her very innovative ways. Gautam had never laughed throughout a drive from his home to his office. Even the potholes didn’t make him grimace with her yapping in his ear.

“Get down,” he stopped by the office gate. “I’ll park and come.”

“Are you mad? What if the watchman sees me.”

“What then?”

“He will tell Leela didi and she is very sweet but the loudest gossip.”

“You mean our head maid?”

“Yes, my sharp-as-tack kisser.”

He blushed before his chest inflated. “ Your kisser?” He flirted.

“Aren’t you?” She flirted back, now in her Maya-element of making grown men blush. “Where else can you kiss like that?”

“Come up to my office and I’ll show you,” he challenged.

“And what about all that glass?”

“We can use that too.”

“Hmm?”

“Hmm.”

She leaned closer, meeting him over the gear console.

“I can’t wait to be between that cold glass and your hot body,” she whispered in his ear. The image that conjured made him literally hot all over, not to mention the soft kiss she pasted behind his ear before ducking out of the car. Gautam exhaled. He wanted to wait to see if she went in but her hand gestured vigorously for him to go. So he drove, praying that by the time he entered his office, his colour would be down.

————————————————————

Workload was heavy. His table was full from yesterday’s disappearing act. The spices business was taking off. He had to allocate a small office space for it in this property and hire 2-3 people to start off. He had all this on his mind, and then Leo called.

“Yes?” He answered, ticking things off on the list of spices he was sourcing from Thekkady.

“Hello, sir? I was sitting with Trisha and… Maya and everyone. For Diwali.”

“What about it?” Gautam pulled out his cost sheet, going down it as Leo yapped about some Diwali party.

“No,” he cut off.

“But, sir, if…”

“No. We will have your usual bonus cheques and a small dinner if you want. Decide what and where to order from.”

He replaced the receiver and got back to work.

Then, twenty minutes later, Trisha knocked on his glass door.

“Come on in,” he muttered distractedly.

“Gautam Sir, do you have a minute?” She smiled, tentatively entering the space.

“If it’s about your party then turn right back.”

“Sir, the staff is really excited. We have never had it before. And I promise it’s a great team building…”

No. He had missed out on the sheet of final numbers from Misir Carsisi. And the one he had was in Turkish. No. No. No. He would have to contact his translator now. Or find a new one. Or use Google translate.

“…and I will personally make sure that everything is done respectfully.”

“I said no!” He blasted, glaring up at her. “We will be closing the office for five days for Diwali holidays after tomorrow, and I do not want any mess before we do. I told Leo, you can have a dinner planned and order in for everybody. Something non-messy. Now, anything else?”

“No, sir.”

“Then you may go.”

Gautam thought biting two heads off would be enough. But a third head darkened his door. This one was a head he liked.

His muddled brain cleared up as Maya whirled into his office and shut the door.

“The glass is there, my body is here,” he began to get up with a smirk when she shook her head — “Umm mmm mmm… don’t smile at me. People are watching.”

“What?” He rounded his desk.

She gestured not-so-subtly to the side, and sure enough, his staff was unsuccessfully hiding behind tree trunks. The lamp lights in his office were on, which meant they had clear vision of them both.

“What’s going on?”

“The party.”

“No,” he crossed his arms across his chest. “They make a mess every year when we don’t have a party. If we have it? No, M. Absolutely not.”

“You better say yes now because they think I can sweet talk you into anything.”

“Then sweet talk me,” he flirted. “Look angry at me!” She hissed, and he drew his brows together — “Angry enough for you?”

“Don’t try acting Gautam, you suck!”

“Way to go with the sweet talk.”

She huffed — “What will it take?” She opened both hands, gesturing randomly, as if she was making some great points. Her acting wasn’t Oscar-worthy either.

“A kiss,” he threw out. She narrowed her eyes. He shrugged.

“Fine,” she hissed.

“Or three.”

“What?! That’s blackmail for one party.”

“I hold the power. Think it through, the offer is on the table.” He threw his arm out angrily at his desk.

“Fine. But my time and my choosing.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.” She lay her hand on her belly.

“Is she kicking?”

“Yes.”

Gautam side-eyed the group hanging onto the terrace parapets now.

“Come up behind the cabinet here, I want to feel her too.”

“Not here! Now… I am going to make an exit. You look defeated, ok?”

“Two more kisses then.”

“In your dreams!”

“I don’t get to feel MM kick, I have to act defeated,” he counted on his fingers. “That’s two more. Agree or no party.”

“Fiiine,” she snarled into his face, then gave him a sweet smile. “Thank you,” she stretched her hand out for a shake. And he took the opportunity, circling his thumb on her wrist — “I look forward to my payment, M.”

A moment of red, then her face transformed into a naughty grin — “You know what? So do I.”

Before Gautam could fully absorb that statement, she was skipping out of his office and down the terrace, giving out high-fives to her minions. Some of them glanced back at him, and he had to shake his head in ‘defeat’ before settling into his chair.

————————————————————

It was nearing seven when he wrapped up, and his hand went automatically to his mobile to call her.

“Yes boss?”

“You ready to leave?”

“Don’t worry, we will stay till late and plan everything here. No mess, no damage of company property. You have my word.”

“What staying late? Are people around you?”

“Yes, we finished our work and are now planning everything.”

“No way. You are coming home with me. What about dinner?”

“Yes, yes, we will lock everything here and clean things up after we order .”

Gautam squeezed his eyes shut.

“You wait there.”

He shut off his office, grabbed his things, and brisked down to Made in Mumbai. And sure enough, it was already a party. Leo, Trisha, Riya, even Rustom was involved with his pain-in-the-ass as they squeezed around a table with loud music and lots of papers.

“Neend churayi meri, kisne o sanam!” Maya sang and pointed at her minions.

“Tu ne!” They cheered back, singing along to the song, scribbling things on papers. What were they, writing scripts?

“Maya?” He barked. The lot of them froze. She turned.

“Can I speak to you in your office?”

As he led her back to her office, her friends looked at him like he was taking her to the gallows. Did he look that angry?

“How will you come home?” He asked her the moment they were locked away.

“On my two legs, see?” She walked a straight line on tiptoes away from him, then towards him. He laughed, opening his arms until she was in them. Her soft giggles made the fatigue of his day disappear. He reached down and pressed a hand to her tummy, but MM was inactive.

“Probably went to sleep,” Maya smiled. He kissed the side of her head. Then her cheek, moving down to her mouth. A soft hand slapped on his lips — “What, huh, what?”

“You forgetting my payment.”

“Which payment?” She asked innocently.

“I was thinking, let’s cancel the party…”

“Ok, ok, ok…” she gave him her sweetest smile. “I was joking.”

“So?” He quirked an eyebrow. “Give it up.”

“Close your eyes first.”

“Why?”

“I’m shy.”

“You? Shy?”

“Close, naa!”

He shut his eyes, exasperated. Five seconds passed. Ten. The sound of her desk drawer opening and closing.

“M?” He began to open his eyes. “Keep them closed! Or no kiss.”

“What are you doing?”

“Mouth freshener.”

“Just come,” he reached back blindly and pulled her to him. She came willingly, her body melting into his as her mouth came closer. He could feel her breath on his face, her hair tickling his shoulder. His neck bent, ready to take her mouth when something burst on his lips.

He startled his eyes open to her laughter.

Gautam reached up and pulled the fruity-smelling sticky thing from his lips, coming up with chewing gum. The minx had blown a bubble and burst it on his mouth! And was now bent in half wheezing with laughter.

“That is why you need to watch my kind of movies. If you’d watched Josh, you wouldn’t have closed your eyes!” She panted, still chewing her leftover gum.

He pulled her hand until she was back in his arms and took her laughing mouth. That shut her up. Gautam smirked, tangling his tongue with hers until he had scooped her bubblegum out and into his mouth. Her hands came up to circle his neck but he stepped back, leaving her eyes at half-mast.

“Did this happen in Josh?” He asked with a smirk, chewing her fruity gum. She blinked, all red, flushed, a small incredulous smile unconscious on her lips. Her sparkly eyes were so alive, that he was afraid that if he didn’t leave now, he wouldn’t leave here without her. So he shook his head and stepped towards her.

“I’m going now,” he pressed a kiss to her head. “Be careful please.”

“This is Mumbai, G,” she smiled, recovered. "Nothing ever happens to anyone here.”

“I know. I still worry.”

“Fiiine,” she gave him that exaggerated expression again, grinning up at him. “Now go. And look angry, like you gave me a dressing down for keeping everyone back.”

“Let me give it to you to be accurate…” he playfully reached for the neck of her shirt. She whacked him.

“What are you planning for this party?”

“Prepare to be surprised,” she waggled her eyebrows, then opened the door behind him. True to his promise of dancing to her tunes, Gautam channeled his earlier anger and stormed out of the room.

“What did he do to you?” Her colleagues whispered to her behind him.

“Uski himmat?!” He heard her show off. “He just wants us to be good, and not damage company property…”

Gautam walked out of his office, suddenly having a free evening like every other evening before Maya came to him. But now, he didn’t know what to do with it.

————————————————————

Soft fingers ran down his cheek, then back into his hair. Gautam squinted one eye open to Maya sitting beside him on the sofa, the lights of his hall on, his tape still playing Jagjit Singh ghazals. He shifted on his stomach, his arm dead after he had slept on it.

“I fell asleep…” he groaned. “What time is it?”

“11.30,” she smiled, caressing his face. “Sleep,” she whispered, about to push to her feet. He pulled her gently until she was horizontal beside him, in his arms.

“G…” she laughed as he curled his body around her and spooned her tight. “G, I have to go change…”

“Do you have to?” He whined, burying his head into her hair.

“I must stink…”

“I have slept beside Kumar bhai in the back of our truck.”

“You are comparing me to Kumar bhai?” She wiggled her bum in his lap. He clamped a hand on her thigh — “Sleep, M. Don’t make me wake up.”

Soft giggles, and her warm sigh. He flipped her over slowly until she was on the inside, then gathered her close between him and the backrest. She didn’t complain, being cocooned there. In fact, she gave another happy sigh.

“M?”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing.”