Leo's Desire (Written in the Stars Book 2)

by Sundari Venkatraman

  “Bye. I’ll see you guys in a year or maybe two.” Nishaan waved to his parents before getting into the silver BMW that he had gifted himself for his birthday, which had been delivered the day before, and drove away, without looking back.

  Aadarsh gave his wife a reassuring smile. “Don’t you worry, Nalini. I have great faith in our son. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, he’ll always land on his feet.” Throwing an arm around her shoulder, he walked into their bungalow with her, only blessings in his heart for his only child.

  1

  “Hey! Aren’t you aware that smoking isn’t allowed here?” Shaan stared at the young woman who was leaning against a tree trunk, puffing away at a cigarette. Dressed in a pair of purple cargo pants and a matching hoodie in a lighter shade, she appeared painfully thin, almost as if she suffered from malnutrition.

  “Says who?” Chaahat gave the man walking towards her a disdainful look as she answered him in a hoarse voice, even as she took another puff.

  “Dev Wadhwa, the man who owns the farm.” Shaan declared as he forcefully removed the burning cigarette butt from her fingers, threw it on the ground and stepped on it with the heel of his track shoe.

  “How dare you?” Her steely grey eyes sparked venom at him. “And who the hell are you?”

  “I’m Shaan.”

  “I suppose that tells me a lot.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice as she continued to glare at him in the fast approaching twilight.

  Shaan looked at her, a small smile playing on his hard lips. Her face was a slim oval, her thick, dark hair appearing rather dull. She looked as if she had lost weight in a hurry. Her eyes looked familiar, the colour a deep steel grey. He guessed that she must be closely related to Dev Wadhwa. Was she his sister? It looked like she had been ill. But he hadn’t heard Dev mention anything, if that was the case. Shaan and Dev had grown pretty close during the fourteen-month stint that the former had put in as the latter’s farm manager.

  “You’re Chaahat Wadhwa, Dev’s sister.” Shaan was sure that his guess was right. He hid his surprise well as he guessed why he hadn’t recognised her at first glance. He had seen her at Dev and Anya’s wedding that had taken place some months back. At that time, Dev’s sister had been plump. They hadn’t had a chance to interact as she hadn’t said anything more than a ‘hello’ when they were introduced.

  “Aren’t you intelligent? I’m so impressed.” The woman in front of him fluttered her eyelashes at him, pretending to be awed. She dug into a cavernous pocket to remove a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.

  Shaan caught her hand midway. “Don’t. Dev has worked hard to build this lovely farm and keep it healthy. His whole business depends on the quality of flowers he supplies. You shouldn’t...”

  “Damn you! Spare me the lecture. Can’t a girl find a secluded spot in a bloody, sprawling forty-acre farm? And who are you? Dev’s bouncer?” A deep frown had brought her dark eyebrows close together on her forehead as she squinted up at him.

  “I suppose you can call me that.” Shaan shook his head as he removed the cigarette packet and lighter from her hand. “I’ll return them when you leave the farm.”

  Chaahat stamped her foot, her temper blowing out of control, her hands fisting at her sides. Her chest heaved, drawing the eyes of the man in front of her, making him swiftly change his mind about her suffering from malnutrition. “Will you just get lost? And give me my stuff before you go!” There was authority in the hoarse voice.

  Honey gold eyes clashed with steel grey as Shaan calmly placed her ‘stuff’ in the inside pocket of his jacket. “Wish you a good evening.” He turned to leave.

  Chaahat took a leap to stand in front of him, her hands gripping the lapels of his jacket. “Are you for real?”

  He grinned, his face suddenly glowing with mischief in the light reflected from the rays of the setting sun bouncing back from the Sahyadri Hills. Shaan really didn’t know what prompted him to do what he did next. His hands on her shoulders, he pulled Chaahat close to his chest and placed his lips on hers, kissing her hard. A deep sigh shuddered through him when he felt her lips fluttering under his, her mouth opening to let him in. Shaan pulled her closer, his arms enclosing her thin body, not really surprised when he felt the pair of her lush breasts pressing against his iron hard chest. He rubbed his tongue against hers, painfully aroused by her taste as she gave him as good as she got.

  With a great effort, Shaan brought his senses under control before he stopped kissing Chaahat, lifting his head to look down at the now pliant woman in his arms. “Do I seem real enough?”

  Chaahat stood away from him, the back of a hand pressed against her mouth, anger blazing in her stormy grey eyes. She pierced him with her gaze before lifting the middle finger of her left hand, turning away to jog towards the farmhouse, flinging the words, “Fuck you!” over her shoulder.

  Shaan was torn between mirth and regret. He wanted to laugh at her gesture while he regretted kissing her like that. No, he had enjoyed kissing her. But he wasn’t happy with the abrupt way he had gone about it. What the hell had come over him? Why had he kissed a stranger, that too, his boss’s younger sister? Was it because he had never met a woman that he had felt attracted to in all the time he had been living at Wadhwa Farm as Dev’s manager? But did that still call for such desperate measures? Shaan shook his head to himself, flummoxed at his own reaction to Chaahat.

  On that fateful day, the day he turned twenty-five, when Nishaan had left his home, he had driven over to Chirag Bhatia’s advertising agency. He walked directly into his friend’s cabin on the right-hand side. No one had stopped Nishaan as he was a familiar face in the office.

  “Hey buddy! Happy birthday again.” They bumped fists. “Would you like a beer?” Chirag greeted Nishaan Ahuja, who had been his best friend since they were toddlers. Their sprawling bungalows graced the same neighbourhood.

  “I’m off the hard stuff. But I wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee.”

  Chirag looked at Nishaan’s face as if to check if he had heard him right. “What’s up?”

  “I’ve left home.”

  “What?! Come again!”

  “You heard me.” Nishaan plonked down on a chair after turning it around and hugging its back, his chin resting on it as he stared at his friend. “I need a plan.”

  “I’m sure. But since when?”

  “Since when what?”

  “You left home. And while we are on the subject, I refuse to believe that Aadarsh uncle let you leave, just like that.”

  “Since half an hour ago.” Nishaan grinned at his friend. “Pop didn’t need to ‘let me go’ as you delicately put it. He was the one who suggested, forcefully, that I leave his home.”

  Chirag jumped up from his chair. “You’re joking.” He knew how Nishaan’s father worshipped his only child.

  Nishaan shrugged, grimacing. “Well, he gave me an ultimatum—that I join Ahuja Constructions or leave home. I jumped at the chance to get out. You know what I think about going on board at the second top most position.”

  Chirag grimaced too, knowing only too well that Nishaan wasn’t for the idea, though he hadn’t really told Chirag the reason for it. “So, what’s the plan?”

  “I need a job, something I’d enjoy doing. But I can’t use my surname, not even my own name actually. I...”

  “Hold on a minute. I need the coffee, and urgently.” Chirag raised a hand to stop his friend in mid flow as he picked up the phone, pressed a number and barked into it, “Two coffees please.” He placed the receiver back on its rest before talking to Nishaan, “Now let’s get this straight. You need a job?”

  “Yeah,” Nishaan gave Chirag a wide smile, “you got that right, bro.”

  “Something you’d enjoy doing is your second condition.”

  Nishaan’s smile turned into a grin as he nodded. “You’re my man.”

  “Why don’t you come to work with me?” It wasn’t as if Chirag hadn’t made that offer before. And it wasn’t as if he was doin
g Nishaan a favour. Chirag had tapped his best friend’s mind for ideas many times and Nishaan had always delivered. The man worked from both sides of his brain and was extremely creative as well as intelligent. Ideas seemed to flash from him at the drop of a hat. Chirag was grinning by now. It would be just perfect if Nishaan came on board his agency.

  “Bad idea! You know that this is not my line of work, Chirag.” Nishaan gave him a reproachful look. He raised both his hands in front of him to stop him when Chirag would have interrupted. “I know, I know. Ideas strike me the moment you ask me for my inputs. But still, somehow...this is not what I want to do.”

  Chirag grimaced. “You na, Nishaan, you always aim for the skies. So much so, that your goal is yet unseen.”

  “Haha! That’s funny.” Nishaan laughed. “No, I mean it. It’s really funny.” He rubbed a hand over his fuzzy cheek, scratching his chin. “And you’re right this time. I don’t really know what I want to do. I graduated with a degree in architecture and went on to finish my MBA in marketing so that...”

  “I know what goes into your CV.” Chirag frowned at his friend as he sipped his coffee. “Get to the point.”

  “Patience man. The plan was to ultimately join my father’s business.”

  “Exactly. You’d always been clear about that. It was I who wanted to do something different from what my father’s doing.” Chirag’s father worked for a private bank and hadn’t been keen when his son wanted to start his own business.

  Nishaan nodded absentmindedly, his eyes unfocussed as he looked within. “My plan had always been clear, and I haven’t changed my mind. But you know what the problem is?”

  “I’m sure you’re going to tell me.” Chirag grinned at Nishaan.

  “I don’t want to become the Vice President of Ahuja Constructions from the first day. Isn’t there something about learning on the job? Going up the steps of the ladder?” Nishaan pinned his friend with his gaze. “Don’t you think so?”

  Chirag shrugged. “I suppose you’ve got a point. But Nishaan, you already have a few years of experience from working in the USA. Won’t that hold good in your father’s business?”

  “It somehow doesn’t feel right. Anyway, that option’s not open any more. My Pop told me to leave home and here I am.”

  “That’s what I’m finding difficult to digest—Aadarsh uncle telling you to leave and that too on your birthday.” Chirag shook his head in a daze. “He adores you.”

  Nishaan sighed, a frown puckering his forehead. “That he does. But I suppose a parent can be tried only so far.” His expression turned lighter as he grinned. “I haven’t been the ideal son since I got back from America. You know that.”

  Chirag laughed. “So, your heavy boozing and womanising have finally got to uncle’s ears? Serves you right.”

  “You don’t talk, you bastard.” Nishaan laughed right back. “And what womanising? A few affairs! Big deal! It wasn’t as if I forced myself on someone. It was all in fun...”

  Chirag guffawed. “Did you explain that to your dad?”

  “Very funny! Now forget all that. I need a job that I...”

  “...will enjoy. And you don’t want to use your father’s name or yours for that matter. I’m sure we can do something about that. But tell me something, you’re there all over the internet, on social media. How do you plan to handle that? Nowadays, it’s too easy to trace anyone through their footprints on the World Wide Web. So, first you’ll need to do something about that.”

  “Point! I’ll erase all my profiles.”

  “All? Are you sure?” Chirag frowned.

  “Yep. All of them. I don’t want to be known as Nishaan Ahuja of Ahuja Constructions.”

  Chirag nodded. “So, you are going to get yourself a new name?”

  Nishaan nodded. “Shaan. I’m going to call myself Shaan.”

  Chirag raised a thumb. “Sounds good. And for a surname?”

  “No surname. I don’t want to tell too many lies. You know how it is, getting caught up in a web of lies. Not for me.”

  “What about identification and all that? Do you plan to add your qualifications and real-time experience on your CV? Then what in case you need certificate copies and all that?”

  “One week is what I’m going to give myself. One week in which I come up with a plan. I’m sure I’ll manage something.” Nishaan was confident. “I’ll probably look for a job far away from Delhi.”

  “That might be a good idea.” Chirag had a deep frown on his face as he dug into the recesses of his mind. “Wait a minute. Someone had recently mentioned about a job of managing a farm near Mumbai. Who was that?” He scratched his head, trying to recall.

  “Managing a farm? What kind of job would that be?” Nishaan’s curiosity was tickled. “Could that be a commercial farm or some such thing? I’ve heard of those in the USA. But right here in India? Are you sure?”

  Chirag snapped his fingers. “Commercial farm, that’s exactly it. This guy grows exotic flowers and supplies to big hotels and high-end outlets, some kind of a huge operation that’s grown so big that he needs a manager.”

  “Big? How big? I wonder if growing flowers can be commercially viable.” But when he really thought about it, Nishaan wasn’t too surprised. He immediately called to mind the elaborate flower arrangements at 5-star hotels, airport terminals and even many of the shopping malls.

  “I don’t know. Sunidhi mentioned it a few days back. A friend of a friend owns the place. Do you want me to find out more?” Sunidhi was a common friend who’d gone to school with them. Though they all hung out together sometimes, it was Chirag who was in touch with her nowadays.

  Nishaan nodded, his curiosity tickled. “If nothing else, I’d like to know more about such an operation.”

  Chirag nodded right back, scrolling down his contact list before finding Sunidhi’s phone number and calling her. He spoke to her for a couple of minutes before handing over the phone to Nishaan.

  “Hey Sunidhi! How’re you doing?” They chatted for a while before Nishaan got all details about the Wadhwa Farm, its owner Dev Wadhwa and his contact details. “Thanks, Sunidhi. I’ll be in touch.” Nishaan gave his phone back to Chirag, saying, “That sounds promising. I’ll call him tomorrow, after I get a new SIM.”

  “You’re still planning to erase your identity?” Chirag shook his head in surprise.

  “Why not? It might be fun, don’t you think?” asked the irrepressible Nishaan, a roguish smile on his face.

  An answering grin tugged at Chirag’s lips as he looked at his friend’s mischievous face. “Now don’t make me regret my sedate existence.”

  “Hahaha!”

  There was no question of Nishaan staying anywhere other than at Chirag’s home. They left the office at seven in the evening and had drinks and dinner before heading to the Bhatias’ bungalow. That same night, Nishaan sat down to remove all traces of himself from the internet. He placed all social media accounts on hold, all posts on his blogs were converted to drafts and he meticulously removed all pictures of himself that he had shared. He didn’t have a choice but to leave alone the few online news articles that were floating around. Well, his father couldn’t really accuse him of using the Ahuja name to secure a job if his employer came upon the articles after Nishaan landed the job, could he?

  It was three days later that Nishaan, armed with a new SIM card, left by flight to Mumbai and took a bus to get off at Karjat and walk to Wadhwa Farm. Yeah, the Ahuja scion was all set to lead a rough life if that was what was required to help him survive as a nonentity.

  It was eleven in the morning when he knocked on the open door to Dev Wadhwa’s farm office that appeared to be empty. “Hello!”

  A man, as tall as Nishaan, walked from behind him to enter the office. “Hello!”

  “I’m Shaan. I have a job interview with Dev Wadhwa.”

  “That’s me.” Dev smiled at Shaan, shaking his hand. “Come on in.”

  They chatted for some time when Dev explained wha
t he exactly needed to be done. Nishaan—Shaan now—asked him a lot of questions about the size of the farm and the whole operation, beginning to admire what the other man was doing. Shaan had also read up quite a bit about Dev Wadhwa and his flower farming on the internet.

  “So, do you think you can handle all that?”

  Shaan nodded, quite confident. “I am sure, Mr. Wadhwa.”

  Dev shook Shaan’s hand. “Then that’s fine, Shaan. You can call me Dev. We don’t stand on formality here.”

  Shaan smiled. “So, is the job mine?”

  “Just one more thing before I answer your question. You haven’t given me your full name. Is there a reason for that?”

  Shaan sighed. Why had he even imagined that Dev Wadhwa wouldn’t have noticed that? “Will you believe me if I told you that I’m trying to make a name for myself without using my father’s?”

  Dev Wadhwa’s parents had done their best to stop him from becoming a farmer as they had believed that it was a menial career for someone who had topped his class in MBA. Thankfully though, all that was water under the bridge.

  It didn’t take Dev more than a few seconds before he arrived at a decision. He had noticed the honesty in the other man’s eyes, the way Shaan had looked back at him squarely in the eye while they conversed. Dev had always gone with his instincts and it had brought him nothing but success. And well, he had nothing to lose since the other man was so obviously over qualified for the job. Why not give Shaan an opportunity to work as his manager on a trial basis? If it worked, nothing to beat it.

  Dev got up from his chair and put his hand out to shake Shaan’s, a smile on his face. “I understand parent trouble only too well. Welcome on board, Shaan. Let’s say we give this a try for a month and see if it works for both of us. What do you think?”

  “I say yes.” Shaan got up too, to shake his new boss’s hand. And it was as simple as that. Luck had favoured Nishaan turned Shaan and he became an able second-in-command to Dev Wadhwa.

  Shaan called his mother that night and told her where he was. “I’m absolutely fine, Mom. I’ll just get some work experience and get back home to join Pop’s company. Just bear with me for a year or two.”