Chapter 5
*****
San Francisco, California.
Isha was at her desk sending out the last set of emails before she shut her computer down for the weekend.
She looked away when she saw her phone ring and saw that Aman was calling her.
She had dated Aman back when they were in college, but after that they ended up being in some kind of a situationship.
They enjoyed each other’s company and they kept their dynamic super casual.
“Hi, Aman.”
“Isha, I’ll pick you up around six.” He was not her boyfriend but in her family’s eyes, they were a couple.
She looked at the time and knew she had another thirty minutes to wrap up the final review of one of the contracts before she left for the day. “Perfect, I’ll be done by then.”
She ended the call and returned to one final contract review. It was for a company acquisition, and she had to make the contract airtight so the big corporation didn’t go back on their agreements.
Isha was good at what she did as a corporate lawyer specializing in acquisitions.
As a fourteen-year-old, she lost her parents to an accident, which she knew had to have happened because her father was under stress about his company acquisition.
The big corporation had cheated him into not having anything left.
She had vowed that day that she would never let anyone else go through what her father did, and she studied corporate law.
She lost her parents to the accident and was separated from her older brother, Ravi. She was blessed to have an aunt who took her in as her own, but her aunt’s love never filled the void Isha felt after losing her parents.
She only wished her brother had moved to San Francisco after his education, but he decided to stay in India and start his own company with his best friend.
He was in college when their parents’ accident happened, and he had no way to take care of his younger sister, so they ended up growing worlds apart.
Her eyes averted from the contract she was reviewing, and they drifted to one of the pictures on her desk. One of them was of her biological parents, one of her aunts and uncle, who she addressed as Mom and Dad, and then her brother’s family.
Isha smiled, hoping to see her brother’s family over the summer. Her brother’s kids would be old enough to endure the long flight from India to celebrate the twins’ first birthday in San Francisco.
She was willing to tolerate and participate in the prep for the grand celebrations that her aunt and uncle were planning, only because she would get to spend time with her brother’s family.
She reached out to place her fingertip on the two babies in the picture, her brother’s twins.
She had never been great with kids but couldn’t wait to meet her brother’s kids.
She was never the motherly kind who would greet every baby or have the urge to hold them, but her niece and nephew were the cutest babies she had ever seen. She returned her attention to the contract she was working on, and in no time, she heard her phone ping a text notification.
Knowing it had to be Aman letting her know he had arrived, she shut down her computer, grabbed her tote, and headed to the office lobby to meet him.
Aman and Isha had dated each other on and off.
In recent months, her aunt had been dropping hints about them getting engaged, unaware of the nature of their relationship.
A good friend in college introduced Aman to her and they hit it off in their first meeting.
They were both lawyers, career-oriented and very practical.
She was glad to have met someone like him who understood what it took to be a lawyer.
He was perfect in every way, and they made a power couple, as their families saw it.
She smiled when she saw his new electric car drive up to the curb in front of one of the skyscrapers that sculpted the San Francisco skyline. She slid into the passenger seat and she kissed him softly on his cheek.
“Right on time.”
“I know you don’t like delays.” He winked.
She smiled. “You’re funny.”
He chuckled. “What’s not funny is the conversation we are about to have with our parents.
” He kept his eyes on the road. They were getting together at Aman’s parents’ place to discuss the upcoming celebrations during her brother’s visit.
They both knew they would be pressured to get engaged during her brother’s visit when that was the last thing on their mind.
Isha nodded. “I asked my cousin, Chandini to join us too so we have someone to create a distraction if needed.”
He chuckled. “I invited my brother too, for exactly that reason.” Neither of them wanted to get married as they were comfortable with their careers and the dynamic they had going on. She was glad neither she or Aman were giving in to parental pressure.
She smiled, surprised at how psyched up their thoughts were. “It’ll be an amazing night.”
“We might be able to catch a movie after if you’d like.”
She let out a sigh. “That would be perfect.”
“Perfect.” He nodded wondering what she would do if her friend had not introduced her to Aman, especially after what happened with her long-time college boyfriend. Not only was Aman not intimidated by her success in her career, but he also shared similar goals, making him a good match for her.