“Oh, so we are outdoors now. Nice breeze,” she said.
“Almost there. But no peeking.”
He kissed the tip of her nose and she giggled. He’d never felt so enchanted by any woman as he did with her. It was as if his whole being was suffused with the lightness of her. He couldn’t describe the emotion that he felt. Could it be love? Whatever little he had known of love—had come from his mother but after her passing, the memories were tinged with pain and loss. Until Sanjana had arrived on the scene. She made him feel once again the effervescence of love.
“Okay. So, you may open your eyes now.” He swung her down from his arms, still keeping hold of her as she regained her balance.
They were on the terrace—at one end, there was a cosy divan with a colourful spread and lots of cushions and on overhead awning to provide protection. A music system had been hooked up on one side and a mini-bar was stood next to it. She looked at Ash with wonder in her eyes. “You set this all up for me?”
“For us,” he smiled and gave her a light kiss on her lips, before crossing over to put on some music.
She threw her arms around him and kissed him back hard.
He took her in his arms and soon they were lost in themselves. The sea breeze, the night sky, their beating hearts added a special magic to the moment.
It was some time before they collapsed into the divan, swigging from the beer cans that Ash had stocked in the mini-bar.
“This is heaven,” she sighed as she sank back into the cushions.
Ash licked the beer that dribbled down her chin. He slid his tongue over her lips and felt her shiver in his arms.
“Cold?” he asked.
She wrapped herself around him and said shyly, “Not when you’re next to me.”
His hand caressed her silken thigh under the hem of her dress. “I almost messed up my presentation today. I was too busy fantasising about you when I was supposed to be listening to the CEO’s brief.”
She laughed happily as the Moody Blues sang The River of Endless Love.
“And did you get the assignment?”
“Even if I hadn’t, I couldn’t care less.” He threaded his fingers with hers. “Because I had something more important to tell you.”
“I’m listening.”
“But before that, I want to tell you how sorry I am.”
“For what?”
“Promise me, you’ll forgive me, first.”
“Stop it, Ash. What are you going on about?”
He disentangled his fingers and pulled out something from under one of the cushions. Then he placed it in the middle of her left palm.
She took a look at the mangled piece of jewelry and then shrieked. “My missing earring! Gawd! What have you done to it?”
“Not guilty! That’s Dumbass’ work.”
She laughed. “You’re such a Jackass. You and your dog are a pair of jokers!”
“Phew!” He pretended to wipe sweat from his brow. “One self-goal saved!”
She was still wiping tears of mirth from her eyes when he said, “Today’s my day of howlers. Your Dad found that earring sitting on my bookshelf. I swear I felt worse than Dumbass would have if he’d dropped poo on the living room floor.”
The rumble of laughter rose up again within her. “What did you say to him?”
“I fell on my knees and begged for forgiveness. Sir, I will make an honest woman of your daughter. Please don’t kill me.”
She beat his chest with her fists, “You’re such a ham! You should have been in the movies. The B-grade Bollywood type that routinely run in Nagpur’s hole-in-the-wall theatres!”
“Ouch! That hurt! But your Dad is Mr. Cool. He quoted Asimov to me in response to my pathetic attempt to save face.”
“Well, you managed to pretty much impress him too.”
“Someone up there is looking out for me!” he said dramatically, folding his hands in prayer. “I seriously thought I would be in the dog house along with Dumbass and would be banished from ever seeing you again.”
She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close to her. “You still aren’t out of the doghouse.”
“I knew it,” he muttered as he breathed in her perfume. “There had to be a catch.”
“So,” she slipped a hand inside his shirt and placed it on his heart. “Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you’ve been wanting to tell me all evening.”
He looked deep into her eyes and felt his heart beat to the new music that was thrumming inside of him—and he placed his hand on top of hers. “Can’t you hear what it’s saying?”
“Say it!” she demanded.
He pulled her to her feet and holding her close in his arms slow-danced as Elvis Presley crooned, “Can’t help falling in love with you”. As the song played, they were lost to the music, the lyrics finding resonance in them. Under the canopy of the stars with the breeze rustling their hair, he gazed into her eyes.
“That’s what you have done to me, my beautiful Lara. You have taken my heart and turned my life upside down. I love you like I have never loved anybody. I could walk to the moon and back, if you’re with me. Will you be mine?”
She looked up at him with eyes spilling over with love. “I thought you would never ask. I love you too.”
Epilogue
The city had woken up to a manic Monday after the Diwali holidays but nothing could take the shine away for Sanjana. Welcoming a new day on the rooftop of Bombay Heights in Ash’s arms was a moment she would cherish forever.
Meghna had called to say they were on their way back to Nagpur and asked conspiratorially if she had had ‘sex on the beach’? To which she whispered back, ‘no, I had something better—‘sex on the rooftop’.
Still grinning at the thought, she walked into the office to be greeted by a sarcastic Sunrita. “Wonder if you’ll still be smiling after you get your termination notice today.”
That was enough to burst her happy bubble but Sanjana masked her anxiety as best as she could.
The peon turned up with glasses of water for everyone. As Sunrita took a glass, Sanjana said, “Drink up. Hydration is the only cure for hangover and bad temper.”
She didn’t wait to see the stumped look on Sunrita’s face. As she strode towards her desk, she did a mental high-five with herself.
Sir breezed into the office just then. “Good morning, Sanjana. Hope you had a good Diwali celebration.”
“Yes, Sir, thank you and Happy Diwali to you too.”
“I’d like to see you in my office in ten minutes, please.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Was she going to get her termination notice as Sunrita had predicted? The thought ran circles in her brain till she was ready to scream. The ten minutes crawled ever so slowly and by the time she knocked on Sir’s door, she had worked herself up into a state of total panic. Taking a deep breath, she stepped in at the brusque, “Come in.”
He didn’t look up from his computer and absently waved at her to sit down. At least she wouldn’t collapse when he gave her the bad news.
Finally, he looked away from the computer and said, “Sanjana, your internship period will be up in a couple of days. After observing your work and taking feedback from the entire team, I have decided that it would be best if...”
She felt her hands go all cold and clammy. This definitely sounded like she was going to be axed. “Sir, can I say something in my defence, please?”
He raised an eyebrow and said, “Go ahead.”
“I have tried to do my best. I know everyone is very upset with me for going beyond my brief in the Jeroobai Wadia assignment. I’m really sorry about it and my intention was to pacify Mrs. Wadia. Granted, I should have taken your permission first, but at that point of time, frankly, I was more focused on making sure it did not come to a situation where we would lose the client.”
She took in a breath to calm herself and found Sir frowning at her. “So, you sent a letter to her saying that you were wrong in offerin
g solutions to her without the team’s permission.”
She stared at him dumbstruck. Great! Now that too had turned out to be a stupid move? But she didn’t regret it. She could hardly leave the old lady in the lurch and she thought it was only right to offer an apology for suddenly disappearing from the scene.
“I will come to that soon enough,” said Sir. “But for now, may I finish what I was going to say before you interrupted me?”
She took a gulp and nodded.
“Here is the thing. I have got an official letter from the admissions department of UCLA, requesting me to provide my assessment of your work. If you’re still keen on pursuing this course, I’d be happy to do so.”
She gawked at him, her brain still trying to process what he was saying.
“But before I do that I have something to show you. And a proposal to make, after you have read it.”
He pushed a letter towards her written in a barely legible scrawl. It was written on J. Wadia’s letterhead.
Her hand trembled slightly as she read the contents. And by the time she reached the end, her jaw nearly dropped open.
“I…I don’t understand this.” She looked up at Sir. “She says she will go ahead with this project only if I’m on the team?”
“That scrawl can be difficult to read but yes, that’s the gist of it.” For the first time, his face cracked a smile. “And now, for my proposal. I’d be happy to offer you a job and make you team leader of the Wadia project.”
Her hands flew to cover her mouth as realisation hit home that she wasn’t about to become ‘the first intern in the history of the company to be let go’. She nearly jumped out of her seat and hugged Sir, but held herself back at the right moment. It was unlikely that Sir would appreciate such unabashed emotion in the workplace!
“I, I…Thank you, Sir. I would be happy to accept the job offer.”
“You don’t want to take up the UCLA course? You may talk to your family before deciding.”
She already knew what she wanted. She had a dream career in front of her and UCB could happen later if and when she wanted it. She had a difficult time keeping the grin off her face as she reached her desk. Pulling out her mobile phone to call Ash, she spotted a USB drive. As she speed-dialled Ash’s number, she slotted the USB drive into her computer. The phone rang for a while before disconnecting.
Her attention was now on the images that filled the screen. They were the crumbling portions of the Wadia mansion. Jeroobai was talking about the main problem of rebuilding the destroyed portions without the original plans; about her dreams for the reconstruction of this heritage building. Then followed a series of sketches—and Sanjana was surprised to see that these were her own, the ones that had caused her so much grief with Sunrita and the team. And finally, these sketches were transformed into an artiste’s version of the reconstructed mansion. It was as if the creator had peeked into her imagination and brought it to life.
“Like it?”
Wheeling around in her chair, she found Ash leaning against the door and her heart did an instant flip. Of course, it had to be Ash’s work!
“Oh my God. I love it!”
She jumped out of her seat and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. “You sure you didn’t get into my head and do some magic?”
He winked at her and looped his arm around her waist. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
She spied Sir coming towards them and quickly moved out of his embrace.
“Meet your new partner on the job, Sanjana. You’re going to be one formidable team.”
She looked up at Ash and in his eyes she saw all her feelings reflected in them. With Ash by her side, she knew she was ready for anything that life threw at her.
The End
Glossary
Pappaji - Father
Rajma-Chawal - A lentil dish made from red beans which is eaten with rice
Punju - Slang for Punjabi, a resident of the state of Punjab
Tej chalo, bhaiyya - Drive fast, brother
Diwali - Festival of Lights – a Hindu festival celebrated with much fanfare by all Indians.
Compliments dena toh koi tumse sikhe - You could teach people the art of paying compliments
Chhaja- A projected part of the roof
Doka – head
Tera doka toh phirela nahi hai? - Are you mad?
Iddhar aao - Come here
Kokum Kadi - A spicy curry that is popular among people of the Konkan region
Ghazal - Urdu poetry/song
Saab - Sir
Nahi - No
FIR - First Information Report or FIR is a written document prepared by the police when they receive details of a criminal act. Only after the FIR is registered at a police station does the police start investigating the case.
Diya - earthen lamp
Handi biryani - A meat-and-rice (or vegetable-and-rice) preparation cooked and served in an earthen pot
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Adite
Books by Adite Banerjie
Destiny’s Girl (Romance Drama) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079MJDM3K
Wedding Shenanigans (Romantic Comedy) – coming soon on Amazon.com
No Safe Zone (Romantic Suspense) – coming soon on Amazon.com
About the Author
Adite Banerjie discovered the wonderful world of books at an early age which sparked her interest in writing. After a fulfilling and exciting career as a business journalist she turned her attention to fiction.
Three of her romance novels have been published by Harlequin/Harper Collins India. She is now committed to being an indie author.
She also writes screenplays and in 2017 one of her scripts made it to the semi-finals of the prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowships.
When she is not grappling with her current work-in-progress, she enjoys spending time with her husband and watching back-to-back movies.
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Bombay Heights- Sleepless in the City of Dreams Page 15
