15. Aarti
AARTI
I t had been a long time since I had enjoyed myself this brashly. I think the last time I was this uninhibited was in college with my friend Isha. Even when I was with Sameer and my other friends in Dallas, the performative elements in keeping with my social status always haunted me.
I was always Aarti Bhatia, daughter of Satish Bhatia, heir to the Bhatia empire, a socialite—a term I really hated for myself.
I could never be just Aarti, the introvert who could be playful under the right circumstances.
I had to project my social class and perfection in everything I did.
I could never be caught underdressed or overexcited.
I could never laugh loudly outside the house.
I could never flop around while walking.
Such was the burden of being in the public gaze at all times.
And yet, as I barked a rowdy laugh in the safety of Sujit’s presence and the security of his apartment, I felt completely at ease.
His friends were wonderful. Perhaps because they didn’t know who I was, I didn’t feel the pressure of being under a microscopic gaze as I always did.
But even the feeling of liberation didn’t dim my hyper-perceptive senses that I had honed over the years.
I noted the intensity with which Manoj was studying me.
Little did he know, I was also studying him, only I was smarter than to let it on.
Manoj seemed an anomaly for this nerdy group.
Sujit, Adil, and Chris seemed like they could be friends.
They were slightly nerdy but very gullible and straightforward.
Manoj, on the other hand, was a player and wanted to be seen as one.
He was good-looking and a charmer. But there was something about him that bothered me, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
It wasn’t anything he said or did. He wanted to appear funny and charming and a consummate gentleman, and he had certainly succeeded in that.
But the tiny hairs on my neck, standing on edge, said there was something off about him.
And now, he became a challenge I just couldn’t resist. I had to figure out what it was.
Playing on my wily charms, the sly smiles, and those oh-that-was-totally-an-accident touches as he sat next to me during the game were all ways to disarm him.
And sure enough, when Sujit excused himself to get the refreshments, Manoj asked if he could speak to me privately on the balcony. That was the moment I was waiting for.
“You are a sneaky little player,” he said as I pulled the door to the balcony closed behind me.
“Hmm, did you underestimate me because of my looks or on account of my gender?” I asked with a crooked smile. “Or did you overestimate yourself, as I suspect you often do?”
He laughed and put his hands up in surrender. “I did, but never again. Not with you, anyway.”
I slipped him another sly grin. “Good. A lesson learned, then?”
“Indeed,” he said and pulled out a vape pen. “Would you like a pull?”
I raised my palm to refuse the offer. “Thanks.”
“This is my only vice,” he explained, and I highly doubted that statement.
“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, eager to know what was transpiring in his head.
“No chit-chat, huh?” He tried to endear himself with another smile.
In response, I crossed my arms in impatience. He gathered I wasn’t interested in playing his games.
“Since you are in realty, I thought you would be the right person to advise me about this,” he said as he pulled in a drag from his device and blew out a cloud of vapor.
I merely nodded in response.
“I have been tinkering with a new idea, and no one knows about it yet.” He repeated his motions with the stick in his hand.
I waited in silence.
“That’s why I asked you out here,” he said and cast a quick glance at his friends, who were gathering around the food at the dining table.
I followed his gaze and found Sujit laying out the spread on the platter as I had suggested. My heart warmed at the sight. I longed to be inside with him, beside him. My unconscious mind had already memorized his scent. I pulled in a deep breath and felt another surge of warmth course through me.
I returned my eyes to Manoj. “Sure, what are you looking for?”
“I can trust your discretion, right?”
“My discretion is conditional,” I warned. “I need to trust you first to assure you of it.”
He gave a nervous laugh. When I didn’t react, he continued, “I’m looking for something similar to what Sujit is hunting for his new venture.”
Despite my best efforts, my eyes darted to Sujit again, but this time, I didn’t see him around the table.
I drew my brows in. “Sujit is looking for a new space?”
This took Manoj by surprise as his brows drew upward. “He hasn’t told you?”
I didn’t lie as a principle, but omission wasn’t akin to lying, I had determined over the years.
“What has he told you?” I asked instead.
Manoj’s face changed as he shuffled and took two steps away from me. He returned to the device in his hand and blew out another cloud of vapor. A bigger one this time.
“He hasn’t said anything to me either, but I know,” he said then instantly regretted it. “At least, that’s the rumor. He’s been most secretive about it.”
“Then why would you assume he would’ve shared it with me?” I asked, taking a single, measured step toward him.
Surprised by my advance, he studied me, then unleashed a menacing smile, at once charming and threatening. If only I were someone who would be impressed or intimidated easily.
“Well, I thought…” he said and trailed off, letting the pause linger between us.
I frowned. “Thought what?”
“You both are… aren’t you?”
I glanced indoors and frowned again. I was thoroughly enjoying this game. “We are what?”
“For goodness sake, you’re fucking him, aren’t you? And I’m going to be very disappointed if you say you aren’t because he’s clearly smitten with you.”
Finally, he’d said it, and I had him.
This time, I was the one unleashing a menacing smile. “I didn’t realize we were supposed to gratify you and your assumptions. I hope you are magnanimous in embracing your disappointment because we aren’t, and he isn’t,” I said and turned to leave.
“Wait!” The urgency in his words made me gloat. I stopped and turned back to face him. “Would you like to get coffee sometime?”
“As in getting to know me better coffee or a talk about work over a coffee?”
His lip curved at a corner and he raked a hand through his hair. That might have enamored many a heart, but I was immune to his charm.
“Well, a get to know you better coffee date. Or dinner, if you prefer.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t.”
His gaping mouth said he was taken aback. Men like Manoj weren’t used to rejection from women. But then, he had never met me before.
“Can’t or won’t?” he asked, trying to be witty.
“You want me to find you a space for your new project, don’t you?”
“What does that have to do with a coffee date?”
We heard a faint whistle and looked in through the glass door to see Adil beckoning us in. We both smiled back.
“You’re a business contact, and I don’t date my business contacts. It’s not in keeping with my professional ethics,” I said and turned to walk out without waiting for his response.
“All right,” he said as I slid the door open.
I cast him a quick look over my shoulder.
“A talk about work coffee, then,” he said hurriedly before I stepped over the threshold to reenter the living room.
I turned to him and nodded. “Sure. Text me what day works for you.”
As I turned back to leave, he said, “I don’t have your number.”
I looked at him and smirked. “I’m sure a well-connected man like you can find a way to reach me when you need it.”
With that, I went back in. The guys had already had their hands on the sandwiches, complimenting me for the great choice of grub.
I got my ham and provolone and settled down by Sujit.
I needed to feel his warmth after Manoj’s dastardly attempts at wooing me.
Sujit was all smiles, but there was something different about his demeanor.
I hoped he didn’t take my flirting with Manoj to mean anything other than getting under the man’s skin.
I positioned myself as close to Sujit as was appropriate for the setting, breathing in his masculine scent and relaxing in it.
It was all I needed after a perfect night of fun and games.
All kinds of games , I thought as I threw a quick glance at Manoj.