by Shilpa Suraj
‘I wish I’d been there for that. It must have been priceless.’ Still chuckling, Minty leaned back against the couch and let her head loll back against the backrest. It really did feel like it might roll off. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘For?’
‘For whatever it is you’re feeling right now. I know what it took to put Ryan behind you and it can’t be easy to have to relive it. I wonder why he’s back.’
Letting her head rest on Minty’s shoulders, Sia ran through a list of appropriate responses in her mind. When nothing rang true, she let the conversation stall instead of attempting a lie. The truth was she had never completely put Ryan behind her. As to why he’s back, they’d just have to wait and see. Shrugging off her flicker of apprehension, Sia turned the television on and channel surfed till she found an old episode of ‘Friends.’ Letting the quiet wash over her, she watched as the show’s soundtrack of ‘I’ll be there for you’ rang through the room.
* * *
Monday morning dawned bright and early, unfortunately. Having to rely on the alarm on her mobile phone had made Sia over half an hour late for work. She’d checked her email the previous night and grimaced at the sudden early morning meeting added to her calendar. A meeting she was now not going to have time to prepare for.
Leaving her car parked at a strange angle in the first available parking slot, she ran into the office building. Taking one look at the crowd of people waiting for the lift, she took the stairs two at a time up to the third floor. Dumping everything but her laptop, she entered the conference room with minutes to spare. Minty and a few other colleagues glanced up, a little startled by her dramatic entry.
Collapsing into a chair next to Minty, she grabbed for her cup of coffee and took a large swig of it. The coffee in office sucked at an epic level but it was definitely better than nothing at the moment.
‘How in the world were you not able to wake up in time with that annoying alarm clock of yours?’ Gone was the hung over ghost who had visited her the previous day. In her place sat a perfectly groomed Marketing Manager. In a black pant suit teamed with a blood red shirt, hair pulled back into a tidy French braid and make up slicked on, she looked professional and in control.
Sia, on the other hand looked and felt frazzled. In her hurry to make it to the meeting on time, she’d dragged a brush through her hair and put on black pants and a white shirt. Thanks to her outfit, she didn’t just look frazzled, she also looked like a frazzled waitress.
She opened her mouth to answer Minty and shut it quickly when the senior management team walked in. A Vice President, two Directors and a whole slew of managers and associates filled the room. This was starting to look a lot more serious than a regular meeting.
Once the room had settled into silence, Martin D’ Souza, Vice President - Marketing, stood up to address the meeting. Given that Martin was a portly little tub of a man who topped off at 5’2’ he didn’t always command respect at first glance. He looked a lot like a genial Santa Claus but the people who worked closely with him knew better than to take his appearance at face value.
‘Thank you everyone for coming in at such short notice. As you can see we have quite an important announcement to share with you. Let me not take up too much of your time and get straight to the point. Our market research team has recently come up with some rather disturbing findings. According to recent surveys, Trends Now’s image is taking a bit of a beating in the market. We’re being viewed more as a company that’s catering to an older, more staid market. People see us as a company which publishes books more in the genres of self-help, philosophy and biographies. Very few of the people surveyed seem to recall that we publish books in genres like romantic fiction, comedy, travel and even children’s stories. So we’re looking at an image revamp going forward. We’ve hired an external advertising agency to come in and work with all of you. We’re specifically looking at promoting our romantic fiction and children’s stories divisions. Does anyone here have any questions before we bring in the advertising team to introduce them to you?’
Minty spoke up. ‘Is the external advertising team going to work on marketing and promotion campaigns of specific books with us? Or will they just work on an advertising campaign that will look at changing the image of the company and need inputs from us on that?’
‘The team is going to work on building an advertising campaign that will showcase all the divisions of our company while trying to give us a more trendy image.’ Martin answered. ‘Having said that, they are going to work very closely with all of you to understand the work that you do. It will go a long way in helping them conceptualize and create the new brand image. I expect every member of this team to cooperate with them and help furnish them with whatever information they may require. Are there any more questions?’
When it didn’t look like there were any more questions, he picked up the phone in front of him and spoke into it. ‘Sheela, can you send the team from Hope inside please?’
Sia’s body jerked forward, splashing hot coffee all over herself. Minty grabbed furtively for tissues and passed them over just as the door opened and the team from Hope walked in. Three men and two women, all dressed in suits walked in and took their places at the head of the table. It took all of Sia’s will power to stop staring at the table and to look over at them. For the first time since Ryan had come back, she allowed herself to really look at him. He looked all grown up. Sitting there at the head of the table with his team behind him, his natty red tie setting off his cream shirt and navy blue double breasted pinstriped suit, he looked in control. His features were the same but they looked so much more refined. His short, dark brown hair was mercilessly groomed into submission with only one errant lock falling over his forehead. He looked gorgeous, successful and so very remote. She worked at making sure her face was expressionless while the introductions were made and waited. He locked eyes with her when it was her turn. A flare of recognition, a polite smile which never reached his eyes curved his lips and his gaze moved on. She saw the surprise in his eyes when they landed on Minty and the genuine smile that spread across his face. Introductions, a brief pep talk and some ‘good to have you on boards’ later everyone spilled out of the conference room and headed back to their desks. Sia was the first one to make her escape.
‘Sia, wait up.’ Minty tried to push through the crowd gathered at the entrance of the conference room to get to Sia. By the time she’d gotten free, the only thing she could see of Sia was her stiff back vanishing through the end of the corridor.
* * *
Four hours, five cookies, three coffees and an entire 500 ml bottle of Pepsi later, Sia still wasn’t feeling any better. Her stomach was a knot of nerves and the only thing keeping her going was her current caffeine high. Ryan was certainly making up for the last six years of absence, she thought. It didn’t matter, she reminded herself. He wasn’t back permanently and she could handle his temporary invasion of her life. They were both adults and professionals and could definitely manage to behave with decorum. Her telephone rang providing her with a much needed distraction.
‘Sia Sharma.’
‘Good afternoon Ma’am. My name is Tara and I am part of the team from Hope that’s going to be attending the four p.m. meeting with author Ms. Nisha Malik. My boss was hoping we could connect for a few minutes before the meeting so we’re better prepared.’
‘Sure. What time’s good for your team?’
‘Would three thirty work Ma’am?’
‘Yes. That should be alright. I’m booking conference room number five on the second floor. I’ll see you all there. Oh and Tara?’
‘Yes Ma’am?’
‘You can call me Sia. Ma’am makes me feel like you’re addressing one of my school teachers.’
‘Thank you Ma’am. I mean Sia. I’ll see you at three thirty then.’
‘Sure. Oh and one other thing, who else from Hope will be attending?’ Sia fought to keep all traces of anxiety from her voice.
�
�Ryan, our boss, Adarsh who works on design and me. Is there a problem with that?’
‘No. No problem. Just wanted to check if everyone would fit into the conference room I booked or if we would need a bigger room. I’ll see you later then.’
Sia dropped the receiver back on to the headset and dropped her head onto the desk. It connected with a nice loud thunk.
‘Is this banging your head on the desk thing going to be a habit?’ Minty queried from the doorway.
Sia looked up beseechingly. ‘I need to pull myself together Min. I’m a mess and I can’t go into those meetings looking or feeling like a mess. Help!’
‘Alright. We can fix that.’ Minty eased the door shut and moved forward. ‘We just need to tame your hair and do something about that manic gleam in your eye.’
‘What?’ Sia yelped. ‘What’s wrong with my hair?’
‘Nothing. It looks gorgeous as always. You just need to brush it out a bit.’ Minty soothed, privately thinking Sia looked like she’d stuck her finger in an electric socket.
‘You need to calm down. Remember what we discussed yesterday? You’ve put Ryan behind you and moved on. You can handle this.’
‘That was before I thought I had to see him at work too. Putting Ryan behind me didn’t include having him pop up in my face every single day.’ Sia wailed.
‘What does it matter? It’s just a couple of meetings, a couple of conversations. What’s the biggie?’
Calming slightly, Sia pulled out the hair brush she kept in her drawer and started to brush out her hair. ‘You’re right. I’m being silly and now that I have had my meltdown, I am going to be fine.’
‘That’s my girl. Now let me put some foundation on the red spot on your forehead. You really need to stop whacking your head on the table.’
‘Just trying to knock my thoughts into order.’ Sia muttered. Sighing, she put the brush down and let Minty smooth some foundation over her face.
‘Hmmm. Did it work?’ Not waiting for a reply, she continued, ‘There, I’m done. Now please stop running your fingers through your hair and put on some lipstick. I’ve got to run now. I have a three o’ clock deadline on a report for Martin. I’ll see you at Nisha’s meeting at four.’
Reaching the door, she hesitated for a second before turning around. ‘Sia? He looks good.’
Dropping her gaze to the table, Sia started to fiddle with her paperclips.
‘We caught up over coffee together after the meeting today.’
‘Oh?’ Unable to manage more than that, Sia mangled a paperclip.
‘Are you okay with me talking to him? Does it make you uncomfortable in any way?’
‘Min, we’re adults.’ Managing to flash a semblance of a smile, Sia said, ‘I don’t expect you to go to war with him on my behalf. Sia kept her gaze trained on the paperclip in her hand. ‘How is he?’ The whispered question had Minty snapping out of her troubled stroll down memory lane.
The silence between them stretched and ballooned while Sia reached for another paperclip to destroy. Sia was her best friend and she hated to see her hurt like this but there was a part of her that hadn’t forgotten what a good friend Ryan had been to her in the past. While her loyalties and priorities were very clear, her heart still warmed to old friendships and the fond memories they brought with them.
After what felt like forever, Minty’s quiet voice reached her. ‘He seems more comfortable with himself and who he is now. It felt good to see him that way.’
‘I’m glad. He deserves his happiness.’
‘I never said he looked happy Sia.’ Smiling sadly, Minty patted Sia’s hand gently before leaving for her next meeting.
Chapter 4
Ten minutes into the meeting and Sia was officially in hell. Her past sat across from her in a pinstriped suit. Doing her best to ignore him, she tried to get her mind to focus. Minty and she had heard Nisha’s ideas on the new novel before and thought they were great. Once she was done running through it again for Ryan’s team, they could get down to discussing what they were here for.
‘Your heroine is Indian and divorced?’ Looking over, Sia saw Ryan raising his eyebrows and checking his notes before saying ‘Aren’t the heroines supposed to be blushing virgins?’
‘Dinosaur.’ It took Sia a moment to realize her inaudible mutter had been extremely audible.
‘Excuse me?’
Scanning the slightly stupefied expressions around the table, she took a deep breath and tried to pull her foot out of her mouth.
‘That caveman like mentality is exactly what Nisha is trying to move away from with this book.’ Even as the words left her mouth, she winced. She didn’t need Minty’s not so subtle kick under the table to know she’d just made it worse. ‘Anyway, can we move on to the next item on the agenda list?’
‘No.’
Ryan’s soft reply had her looking warily over at him. This couldn’t be good. His expression didn’t bode well for her.
‘Did you have something to add?’ She asked as politely as she could.
‘Well, I haven’t finished thumping my chest yet. Surely you’re not going to deny me the time to thump my chest and club a woman over her head to show my interest?’
When she opened her mouth to reply, he just turned away, dismissing her. ‘My team will stay behind to observe the rest of the discussions. Miss Malik, may we set up a separate meeting for you and I to discuss this further? Apparently, my questions are too basic and unrefined for this meeting.’
Since Nisha still had her mouth open at the turn the meeting had suddenly taken, he took her acquiescence for granted and turned to say bye to Minty before walking out without a backward glance. Face flaming, Sia kept her gaze on her laptop screen until Minty cleared her throat and spoke. ‘So the next item on the agenda would be the promotional activities we are planning for the book.’
Speaking only when spoken to, Sia waited for the meeting to finish before making her excuses and bolting from her chair.
* * *
Hours later, Sia finally shut her laptop down, gave in to her exhaustion and buried her head in her hands. A sharp knock on the door had her scrubbing her hands roughly over her face and straightening before calling out a quick ‘Come in.’
When Ryan stepped in and shut the door, her tension ratcheted up a notch. With his jacket missing, shirt sleeves rolled up and tie loosened, he was a mouth-watering sight. Grabbing the bottle of water on her desk and taking a hasty sip to ease her dry mouth, Sia stood when he took a couple of steps into the cabin.
‘Did you want something?’
She watched as he stepped closer to her desk and picked up the picture she kept there. Watching his face soften at the sight of her parents, she waited as he stared at it like he’d never seen them before. Of course, he hadn’t seen them in six years. That was close enough to never in her book.
‘No picture of the husband?’
His low question had her exhaling hard before asking wearily, ‘Ry, did you want something specific?’
Eyes flashing up to meet hers at her use of his nickname, Ryan put the picture down slowly and shoved his hands into his pockets. Regretting the slip, Sia looked away from him just as Minty barged in.
‘Sia, let’s go get some dinner. I’m starving.’ Coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the room, her head swivelled from one to the other. ‘Is there a problem?’
His face inscrutable, Ryan spoke without looking away from Sia, ‘Min, could you give us a minute? This won’t take long.’
‘Sure. Sia, call me once you’re done.’ Raising her eyebrows at Sia from behind Ryan, Minty backed out of the room.
In two long strides, Ryan rounded the desk and came to stand in front of her. Sia had taken an apprehensive step back before she stopped herself and stood her ground.
Taking in her defensive stance, he waited for her to make eye contact with him before saying, ‘You do not get to talk down to me like that in front of my team or others. Keep your personal feelings outside
this office. You have something to say to me, you say it in private. We are going to be working closely together over the next few weeks so I would appreciate it if you could be professional about it. I’m not going to sit through a repeat of today’s performance. You’re not my girlfriend anymore and we’re not even friends now, so don’t think you can say whatever you want and get away with it.’
Dumbfounded, Sia watched as he stalked out of the room. He was halfway down the corridor by the time she caught up with him. Too incensed to care that despite the late hour, there were still some people working, she grabbed his arm and swung him around.
‘I have never talked down to you. Not once. How dare you -?’ Cutting her off, he wrapped a hand around her waist and ushered her into the nearest conference room. Stumbling a bit when he suddenly released her, she spun around to face him.
‘Don’t you ever touch me again!’ The vehemence in her voice had his back going up. Trying to remind himself she was someone else’s wife now didn’t help with the emotions roiling through him. Even knowing he was crossing a line, he couldn’t stop as he strode closer.
‘Why? You never had a problem with it before. Don’t trust yourself around me or won’t your husband trust you?’ He taunted even as he grabbed her by her arms and backed her up against the desk.
‘Back off, Ryan.’
‘A caveman? Isn’t that what you called me? Want me to drag you by your hair back to my cave, darling?’
‘Back off!’ Hearing the underlying panic in her voice, he took a closer look only to realize she was trembling. Letting go of her quickly, he took a startled step back.
‘What the hell?’ Narrowing his eyes, he watched her get a grip and steady herself.
She calmed down enough to say, ‘I need to leave. Minty is waiting for me.’
‘You owe me an apology for today.’
Anger brought the colour back into her cheeks. ‘I owe you an apology? You think I should be apologizing to you after what you just did? I owe you nothing!’
