Chapter 3
VEDIKA
The airport erupted into chaos all around her.
Vedika walked away from the annoying ass who was laughing at her and pulled out her phone to let her family know that she was now stranded in Goa for the near future.
A surge of unease had her hands shaking.
She hated deviations from her schedule. Anything that disrupted her carefully regulated life always brought on this sense of doom.
Like this flight getting cancelled was the first in a series of disasters.
She took a deep breath and found the center of her calm, just like her therapist suggested.
“Want to get a hotel together?”
The center of her calm shattered at the sound of that arrogant, smirky voice. And yes, she could hear the smirk in his voice. She didn’t need to look at his face to know.
“You,” she hissed, spinning on her heel, all semblance of calm and regulation flying away like debris on a strong breeze. Her phone rang in her hand as she glared at him and struggled to find polite words to express her anger. He was her future brother-in-law, after all, the smirking ass.
“Your phone is ringing,” he said, nodding helpfully towards her clenched fist.
“I know.” If she ground her teeth anymore, she was going to need dentures soon.
“Aren’t you going to pick it up?”
When she only stared at him, chest heaving, nostrils almost spouting smoke, he added, “You’re going to want to answer it.” He held up his own phone. “I’ve already gotten my version of it.”
Vedika swiped to answer and turned away from him, hoping for a modicum of privacy. The ass didn’t give it to her. He followed right behind, a giant shadow.
“Pa.” She smoothened out the aggression in her voice, so she didn’t worry her father. “The flight has been cancelled.”
“I know. I heard. I’m on it.”
“On it.” A scoff sounded as her mother’s voice intruded on the conversation. “I know your oligarch tendencies are in full force right now, Aakash, but even you can’t land a plane when the airspace is closed.”
A low growl told Vedika her father didn’t agree. “Vedu, I’ll-“
“Ashish says his brother is stranded at the same airport,” Kanak interrupted again before her father did try to open up the airspace just to land his private jet and whisk Vedika away.
Acutely aware of the giant shadow shamelessly eavesdropping on her conversation, Vedika took another few steps away from him. He took the exact number of steps behind her, although his giant legs doubled the distance.
“What about him?” Vedika asked her mother, irritably.
“Ashish says he’ll take care of you and –“
“I don’t need him to take care of me,” Vedika interrupted pointedly, hackles rising. “I’m a fully functional adult.”
For a moment there was silence on the phone. Vedika rolled her eyes, sure that her parents were conducting some kind of silent conversation on the other end of the line about their strange cuckoo of a child.
Then her father was back, smoothly taking the reins of the conversation from her mother. “Of course, sweetheart. Do you have a plan?”
She always had a plan, Vedika thought grimly.
She had plans about her plans. “I’m going to wait for a little longer at the airport, assess the situation, and see if I can get on the first flight that opens up.
I need to be back home for the final Banlay meeting scheduled for the day after tomorrow. ”
A pause and then, “I could take that for you,” Aakash Thakkar said. “If you want to just check into a hotel and wait this out.”
“Pa, they’ll faint if you walk into that meeting,” she replied, humour lightening her voice. “Let’s not give them a stroke so late in the negotiations.”
She took a deep breath and added, “I’ll be back in time, I’m sure. I just wanted a day in between to decompress and catch my breath.”
“Right,” Aakash said briskly. “So, you’ll keep us posted on your plans?
” His voice got a little squeaky on the last word and Vedika surmised that her mother had either pinched him or poked him with a sharp object.
He cleared his throat and tried again, “Are you okay? Is there any way we can help you? With anything?” He squeaked again and added, “And Ashish’s brother? ”
“What about him?” Vedika growled, sounding so much like her father that she surprised herself. And apparently, surprised him too for he asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said crisply, just as another announcement went off overhead. “Pa, I have to go. I’ll call when I know more.”
She’d barely hung up before the phone rang again. She sighed as she picked up. “Ashish,” she said. “I have to call you back. Things are a mess.”
“I heard.” His calm voice steadied her. “Daksh texted me. Vedu, I need to ask you a favour.”
There was that sense of doom again. She closed her eyes in defeat and said, “Sure. Tell me.”
“Could you help Daksh out? He’s been out of the country for so long that I just don’t want him deciding to sleep on the beach or something and getting arrested.”
The giant shadow behind me snickered.
“Your brother,” I gritted out, swiveling on my heel to glare at the ass in question, “is perfectly capable of taking care of himself.”
“I know but it would mean a lot to me if you could just keep a general eye out for him. He’s…different.”
What did that mean? She watched Daksh’s expression smoothen out, all hint of expression disappearing to leave a blank, stone face behind.
Was he differently abled or mentally unstable or just incapable?
Perplexed, she raised an eyebrow at him, knowing he could hear his brother.
He shrugged, giving her what he obviously thought was an innocent look.
He looked like a panther pretending he didn’t have a deer in his sights.
“I’m just going to hang at the airport till I figure out my next move.”
“Then let him hang with you.” Ashish’s voice brightened. “It gives you guys more time to get to know each other.”
She didn’t need more time. She didn’t want to know this ass.
But in the end, Vedika answered the only way she knew she could. “Of course,” she said softly. “I’ll figure it out.”
Then she hung up and watched the predator across from her, watch her. So much for safe.