7. Sujit
SUJIT
A regular at Marco’s, I had my own table, a quiet spot in a corner.
“What will you have?” I asked Aarti when Fernando came for our drink order.
“A glass of the sparkling white, please.”
I ordered whisky and waited until Fernando left.
“The name sounds familiar. Is this where we were supposed to meet today?”
“Yes,” I replied. “I thought the good food might make you more amenable to kindness.”
“Then you underestimated me,” she said with a straight face.
“That was a joke. I really like this place.”
She sipped her water. “There’s something I must tell you. I didn’t know what to make of your visit to my room this morning.”
“How do you mean?”
She didn’t respond to my question. “Can I be honest with you?” she asked instead.
“I hope you do.”
“Why is this so complicated?” I caught the exasperation in her tone.
She waited a full two breaths before continuing, “On the one hand, we have this formal business relationship, and I need to honor that. On the other, I feel like you know exactly what I’m going through right now, and that kind of weakens my position. ”
“Hmm, if I understand what you’re going through, it’s because I’m in the same situation. Doesn’t that also weaken my position? And come to think of it, don’t they cancel each other out?”
Fernando returned with our drinks, and we silently raised our glasses and took our first sips.
“This is crisp and really refreshing,” Aarti said, pleased.
“I’m glad. This place has never disappointed me.”
She began to peruse the scant menu placed before us.
“What did you mean when you said you couldn’t figure out why I visited you this morning?” I asked.
“I’m putting aside our business relation for the rest of the evening,” she said, returning the menu back to the table.
“I thought we did that already when you asked me to drop the honorifics,” I argued.
Her lips lifted at the corners. “Okay, this is what confused me. I was conflicted about whether it wasgenuine concern for me or…”
“Or?” I said curious about the dilemma on her mind.
“I couldn’t figure out if you really cared about how I was after last night, or was it merely…”
I smiled. “Merely a way to appease you so you’d reconsider the rent hike?”
She lowered her eyes to the table. “Something like that.”
“And have you arrived at a conclusion?” I asked.
“I’m going with genuine concern,” she answered, then put the wine glass to her lips.
The shape of her mouth around the clear glass created flutters in my stomach.
I promptly redirected my gaze to her eyes.
“If you were someone who believed in playing games, Tara would have flung you away as far as she could throw you.”
I picked up my glass. The color on her bronze face resembled the liquid gold I was holding up. “None of what happened yesterday or this evening, neither our business association nor our past, precludes us from having a friendship, does it?”
She looked up at me as if my words had shocked her.
“But I wouldn’t impose either way,” I added quickly.
“No,” she replied with equal haste. “That’s…exactly what I was going to suggest. If you were amenable, that is.”
“Amenable?” I said with a gentle frown. “Didn’t we decide to suspend our business relations for the night? That’s a rather formal word, I believe, business-like even.”
She smiled. “Okay, smarty-pants. Is that better?”
“Much.” I smiled back.
Fernando came back with our food and laid it out before us with graceful finesse. Marinated chicken breast on a bed of mushroom risotto for her, and a steak with seasonal vegetables for me.
“Thank you, Fernando,” I said and signaled him to bring more wine for Aarti.
“I don’t think we need to read too much into it,” I said as I sliced into my steak. “Seeking camaraderie at this time, especially with someone who knows exactly what you’re going through, is natural, normal. It could be healthy. Who knows, it might even help us move on from the heartache.”
A faint curve danced on her lips while she sliced a small piece off her chicken breast. Her eyes stayed on me as she placed the knife back, returning the fork to her right hand.
“Like I said, you’re a romantic. You believe in hope and rosy endings.”
“And you believe in surviving the now. Our friendship helps with both situations, as I see it,” I contended.
“One of these days, Sujit, I will have the last word. I promise.”
I laughed. “Okay, I will shut up.”
“Don’t,” she said softly. “I like hearing you talk.”
“Yeah?” I pulled myself upright comically. “Is it the sound of my voice, or is it my words that you enjoy?”
Fernando came back with her wine and brought another whisky for me even though I hadn’t asked for one. He knew me well, and I offered him a grateful smile.
“It’s everything,” Aarti confessed when we were alone again. “It’s your gentle spirit, your kindness, your intellect. It’s your subtle wit. It’s everything,” she repeated.
I decided to underplay the weight of her compliments. We both were vulnerable at this moment and it wouldn’t be smart to read anything into what she was saying.
“Well, now I know the reason for your success,” I said instead.
“Oh?”
“You know how to read people.”
She relaxed back in her chair and picked up the wine glass. “It’s an acquired skill. Cultivated out of necessity.”
“And you do it very well.”
“Couldn’t read Sameer or Tara, so it’s been pretty useless in my personal life if you ask me. Although,” she said, taking a sip of the wine. “I did ask Sameer about Tara the very first night I met her. I knew something was off. So maybe I just trusted the wrong person.”
“Let’s talk about something else,” I suggested. “How’s the city treating you?”
“It’s still bloody cold!”
“Winter is just a long, circuitous route to Spring,” I said and watched as she resisted rolling her eyes.
“Where are you getting all these? The Hopeless Romantic’s Handy Guide to Platitudes ?”
I feigned shock. “How did you know? Do you also own a copy?”
We both split into what I’m certain was impolitely loud laughter.
“Tell me about this place you’re scouting,” she said as she picked up the orzo on her fork. “What exactly are you looking for? Maybe I can help.”
I hesitated. It was too soon in our relationship, business or personal, to confide in her about my new project. But if anyone could help, it would be her. She had that clout and the brilliance. Was I getting enamored by her?
Reading my hesitation, she smiled. “It’s not for a satellite office. It’s something you can’t share yet.” A statement, not a question.
“It’s for a new project I’ve been thinking about,” I found myself blurting. She had the knack of rendering me defenseless against her brilliance. “There are maybe five people who know about it.”
She picked up her wine. “I can keep a secret if you feel inclined to share.”
Inclined, I was.
“My younger cousin is a sculptor, and during a conversation with her some months ago, I thought of creating an online marketplace for freelance artists.”
“That’s why you’re looking for places in Brooklyn. I thought it was only because it’s cheaper than leasing another place in Manhattan.”
Her changed posture suggested that she had put her businesswoman hat back on. She sat upright, and her legs were crossed under the table. With the wine glass in one hand, she pulled her free arm across her chest,
“Price is one factor,” I replied.
“What’s the other?”
“I’m thinking of a workspace, a studio of sorts that artists can use when they need to.”
“That’s a great idea, Sujit. Like a rent-an-office space.”
“Yes, but less pricey, and will offer more flexibility for short-term rentals and be close enough for effective and practical use.”
“I think you might be on to something interesting here. Tell me how I can help.”
“I need a space for backend work and a large space for multiple studio offices.”
“I think we might have just bought something that I can offer you for a reasonable rent. Let me talk to Dad.”
My hand stilled at the mention of her father. Would he agree to lease it to me if he knew who I was?
Again, Aarti read my face with the perceptiveness that I had come to expect of her by now and said, “Of course, I wouldn’t mention who you are.”
Her words intrigued me, maybe stung me slightly.
“Would that be a problem? Knowing who I am? Or was, rather. It’s all in the past now, isn’t it?”
“I wish we could shove it aside that effortlessly.” She sighed.
“Dad took my breakup the hardest. The night of the party, he had stood before the city that respects him and declared he was making Sameer a partner in his business. A couple of weeks later, Sameer had made him look like a fool. But it was my broken heart that made him the most furious.”
Her eyes glazed for a moment like she was revisiting that day in the past. When she finally steadied them on me, I said, “For me, it was my sister-in-law Cathy who took it the hardest. She wanted to call Tara and blast her for her behavior, but of course, that would’ve hurt me, so she didn’t. She wanted to, though.”
“My dad called Sameer’s father and went off on him.
He threatened to ruin Sameer, and I think he did cause some damage to his reputation and business.
Mom is magnanimous. Dad isn’t. He still keeps oscillating between injury and anger.
So, yeah, he hates Sameer, and he probably hates Tara and everything associated with them.
He’s like a wounded lion right now, especially with the extravagant wedding Sameer has planned. I’d definitely not mention you to him.”
“I wouldn’t want to put you in an awkward situation, Aarti. We both have been through enough. I don’t want more trouble.”
“Please!” she said with a whiff of dismissal for her father’s anger.
“If I couldn’t keep emotions out of business, I wouldn’t be here.
Dad’s not that person, either. But Sameer hurt his daughter, and somehow, that took precedence over everything he’s held about running a business. It’s silly if you ask me.”
“Can I count on you, then? I’ll stop my inquiries immediately, especially because I don’t want the idea leaked before I have a chance to implement it in its entirety.”
She returned her wine glass to the table and nodded. “I’ll take care of it, Sujit. If we don’t have something to offer, I will find you the right place. You can rest assured. It’s off your plate. You don’t need to worry about it anymore.”
“Are you helping as a friend or as a business associate?” I don’t know if I should have asked that question, but her tone and words compelled me to.
She gave me her most elegant smile. “A friend. We suspended our business relations for the evening, remember?”
And suddenly, I was glad I asked because the warmth that coursed through my body at her words felt different than the whisky running through my system that night.
“I owe you a dinner,” she said when I dropped her off at the hotel. “Thank you for a wonderful evening. I’m glad we did this.”
“Me too,” I said, holding out my hand. “Goodnight.”
I saw Imran grinning wide when I returned to the car, and we started toward my penthouse.
“Go on, say what’s on your mind.”
“Is she the one who fixed what you couldn’t?” Imran asked.
I smiled.
“I’m happy to see you happy, Boss.”
“It’s not happiness, it’s relief.”
“Whatever you say, Boss,” he said and grinned wider.
“Drive, Imran.”
“It’s been a long time,” he murmured, then sighed.
He wouldn’t be this pleased if he knew who she was. No one in my family would be pleased.
I had no doubt in my mind that our connection needed to remain a secret.