Bourbon & Chai: A Slow Burn Forbidden Romance Novel, Set in Philadelphia.

by Leah Kay

  Isha lets out a deep sigh. “I will block a conference room for us to buckle down and take care of next steps,” she suggests as she looks up available conference spaces in the building.

  “Good idea. Let me order a pizza since we will be here for a while.” Daniel looks up pizza delivery options close to the office building.

  “I have to cancel my dinner plans, Annie will be so upset.” Mark picks up his phone to call Annie, his accountant girlfriend from KPMG.

  Isha texts Liam and fills him in on her day. Minutes later, he replies, “Sorry to hear that, baby, take care of yourself, and you got this!”

  Putting her phone away, she walks over to the conference room with the others, and they get busy triaging the issue.

  Hours later, Claire stops by to find the three of them buried in paperwork and staring at their screens. She knocks on the door. “Mind if I come in?”

  Isha looks up and is instantly relieved to see Claire. “Let me step out for a few minutes, guys.”

  She steps out and gives Claire a hug. “It’s so good to see you. It has been painful working this out for the past few hours,” Isha complains.

  Fully understanding the magnitude of the situation, Claire says, “I am sorry I couldn’t stop by earlier. My meetings have been non-stop. But I am done for the day. Anything I can do to help?”

  Feeling defeated, Isha replies, “Nah, I think we got it. Besides, it is a systems issue and fits into their wheelhouse mostly anyways. I just need to pull it all together.”

  Claire feels bad that she can’t help. “How long do you think you need to stay?”

  “Perhaps till ten p.m.?” Isha looks exhausted, and she has five more hours to go. “And I was planning on finishing grocery shopping tonight for Liam’s birthday dinner. I need to somehow get groceries, cook the meal, pick up the cake all before six p.m. tomorrow, wish me luck,” she states apprehensively.

  “Let me help you with groceries,” Claire offers. “I can at least take care of one thing on your plate.”

  Isha feels as if a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders. “Are you sure?”

  “A hundred percent. Give me your keys, and I can drop them off at your place.” Claire takes her phone out to write down the list of groceries.

  Saying goodbye to her, Isha walks back to the conference room to complete the rest of the work.

  When she enters the room, she sees Mark visibly agitated with the repeated error coming up with one of the data systems. Slapping the desk with a stack of papers in his hand, he looks over at Daniel in frustration. “I don’t understand why this isn’t working.”

  Isha walks over to take a look at the issue and notices one of the prompts has been deselected. She selects the prompt and re-runs the page, and the system resumes activity as usual.

  Mark looks over at her. “Thank you. I don’t know how I missed it.”

  “It’s alright, we are all exhausted. Let’s take fifteen to have some food then we can get back to it,” she suggests, walking over to the buffet table to grab a slice of pizza.

  Daniel and Mark follow Isha, and they catch up on the remaining work and timeline for completion as they dig into their food. According to their best-case scenario, they should be done by 5:00 p.m. tomorrow and Isha feels anxious looking at her to-do list for the next day.

  As they finish their quick meal, Nathan stops by. “How’s it coming along?”

  Isha provides him with an update, and he recommends the necessary tweaks to avoid rework in the future.

  “I will be online tonight, feel free to ping me if you need any help. Good work!” Nathan leaves the conference room.

  Once Nathan has left the room Mark turns towards the others. “Of course he is going to be online. It’s not like he has a family to take care of,” he states with a derisive snort. His many attempts to butter up Nathan have failed miserably, leaving him resenting Nathan for not acknowledging his mediocre efforts at work.

  “Oh, drop it, Mark.” Isha tries to squash this tangent before it picks up more wind.

  “I mean it. Did you hear that he left his wife and young teenage daughter to fend for themselves so that he could rub shoulders with the big shots at the headquarters?” he continues relentlessly.

  “And how are you so sure, Mark?” Daniel interjects.

  “Well, for starters, he admitted he has a family back in San Diego. And we can all agree he is a workaholic.” Mark continues to let off steam at Nathan’s expense.

  Isha wants to come to Nathan’s defense, but it isn’t her place or her secret to share with the rest of them. However, she isn’t willing to let Mark wreck Nathan’s reputation either. “Nathan has been nothing but an incredible boss and a mentor. What he does in his personal time or with his family is none of our business. Don’t you think he deserves that respect?” She demands an answer.

  Daniel joins in, “Isha is right, Mark. How about we leave his personal life out of this? We shouldn’t be tearing him apart because he offered to help.”

  Mark leaves the room disgruntled to get some air while Isha and Daniel continue to power through the to-do list.

  Isha finds it hard to focus on work with Mark’s comments lingering in her brain. With every passing minute, her lack of focus turns into annoyance towards Nathan for sharing his personal details with Mark.

  Involuntarily she picks up her phone. “Next time, I would prefer you keep your personal details to yourself,” she texts Nathan.

  Minutes later, he responds, “Noted.”

  That angers her even more. “I don’t understand why I defend you.”

  “I don’t either. But thank you.”

  Exasperated by his responses, she goes back to work.

  Half an hour goes by, and Isha occupies herself with work, trying her best to ignore Nathan. Her phone pings with a message from him. “Are you done she-hulking?”

  That cracks a smile on her face. Although she didn’t want to admit it, her anger towards Nathan is completely irrational. However, in that moment, she can’t take it out on Mark, so she directs it towards Nathan. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” she responds, unwilling to throw in the towel.

  “Of course you don’t. May I know the reason for your pleasant disposition earlier?” He teases her.

  “Someone suggested you abandoned your family to take this job and that you stated so yourself,” she replies sheepishly.

  “Well, they are partially correct. I did abandon my family but on my wife’s request,” he replies casually.

  “That’s my point. They weren’t telling the truth,” Isha complains.

  “Why should we care about what others have to say?”

  “These false accusations don’t bother you?”

  “No. Out of curiosity, why were you bothered?”

  “I don’t enjoy hearing bad things about you.”

  He smiles reading her reply. “Has it ever occurred to you that I could be the bad guy?”

  “I have no doubt,” she teases him.

  “Great! Now, stop she-hulking and get back to work.”

  She feels better after letting it out with Nathan and they successfully complete the activities scheduled for the night. Planning to come in early tomorrow to get a head start, they call it a night.

  Chapter 12

  Under the stars

  Isha looks beat stepping into her house close to midnight after a tedious troubleshooting session with Mark and Daniel at work. She comes home to a full pantry and refrigerator and immediately sends a thank you text to Claire. She tiptoes up the stairs and notices her beautiful husband fast asleep underneath the covers, revealing just his left profile with his hair in a delicious rumple. She slides into bed next to him, running her fingers through his hair, and kisses his forehead. He pulls his arm slowly from underneath the covers and wraps around her, pulling her clos
er to him. Kissing his face gently, she whispers into his hair, “Happy Birthday Love.” Nodding a silent yes with his eyes still closed, he pulls her in closer. Giving into his warm embrace, she peels away for a quick moment to undress herself and slides into her nook in the cusp of his shoulder and chest.

  Friday morning, Nathan meets with the implementation team to get a status update on last night’s work. Satisfied with their progress, he discusses next steps and leaves the team to get on with the activities. Isha hurries to get it all done in time for Liam’s birthday dinner. Around 4:00 p.m., she receives text messages from her guests about their arrival time of 6:00 p.m.

  She texts Claire anxiously, “I am sorry to do this, but any chance you would be able to pick up the cake from Old City Bakery for me? I still have 30 min of work to finish before I can get going.”

  “Sorry, buddy, I just left work. I am seeing Molly tonight.”

  “I completely forgot. Enjoy your date night xoxo!”

  “Why don’t you ask Nathan? That bakery is right by his place,” Claire replies.

  Feeling awkward about asking Nathan to pick up Liam’s cake, she replies, “Never mind, I will figure it out.”

  Isha leaves the office at 4:45 p.m. and realizes she has no time to pick up the cake. Instead, she takes a cab home to get started with dinner preparation. After a five minutes cab ride, she drops off her bag in the closet and runs upstairs to change into something comfortable before prepping the food. She opens two bottles of cabernet sauvignon she has been saving for tonight and pours them into a decanter to aerate the wine before dinner. She demonstrates her calligraphy skills by sketching out the menu with liquid chalk on the black board frame hanging in the kitchen.

  Appetizers: Charcuterie and Cheese Board

  Main Course: Mushroom Chicken Skillet with Herbed Cream Sauce

  Sides: Curried Couscous with Roasted Cauliflower

  Dessert: Ice Cream

  She feels blue writing the words ice cream on the board. Letting out a disappointed sigh, she cooks the couscous and chicken in separate pans and continues with the vegetables. She transfers the skillet with chicken to the oven and allows the couscous to cool down before adding the vegetables and spices to it. In the meantime, she puts together a decadent charcuterie and cheese board. Removing the chicken from the oven, she adds the mushroom and cream mixture and lets it simmer. While it is simmering, she runs upstairs and changes into a cute outfit for dinner and walks over to the patio to set the table.

  As Isha finishes setting the table with six plate settings, wine glasses and a stunning charcuterie board in the middle, she receives text messages from both their parents that they are running 15 minutes late due to traffic. She immediately calls the bakery to see if they are still open but is disappointed when no one answers. It is Liam’s favorite bakery in town, and he loves their German chocolate cake. Trying to shake it off and not ruin the rest of the night, she lights the candles and sets up a Miles Davis record in the player.

  Liam walks in through the door and dances up to Isha with a fresh bouquet of daisies. “Everything smells and looks amazing! Thank you.” He kisses her.

  Holding him close, she kisses him right back. “Anything for the birthday boy, although I couldn’t make it in time to pick up your cake,” she says with an apologetic smile.

  “That’s okay, baby, let me run up and change before they get here.” He plants another kiss on her cheek and heads upstairs. She senses a slight disappointment in his face and chalks it up to her overthinking personality.

  Isha’s parents, Prakash and Anjali, walk in with gift bags and a bottle of Scotch and are welcomed with warm embraces. Living in Bryn Mawr, it is an easy drive for her parents to get into Philly and hang out with the kids. Anjali takes a seat on the bar stool across the kitchen island and engages in chitchat with Isha, who is the spitting image of her mom. Anjali looks elegant in her early 50s, dressed in a lavender wrap dress with soft shoulder-length hair. Prakash, on the other hand, is slim and tall and has a distinct long and sharp nose that complements his natural commanding personality. Liam and Prakash walk over to the bar to test out the new bottle of Scotch.

  A little while later, the doorbell rings and Isha rushes to the door to welcome Liam’s parents. Robert and Kimberly Turner walk in with excitement and give Isha a tight squeeze.

  “We missed you kids, where’s the birthday boy?” Liam comes around and wraps his arms around his mom and lifts her off her feet for a quick twirl. At five feet tall, Kimberly is a small but strong woman in her early 60s who recently retired from working as an occupational therapist at the Jefferson hospital.

  Robert, a retired cop with a portly belly and a menacing mustache, comes around to say hello to the Khannas before patting his youngest son on the back. “Is this the year I am going to see some grandkids?”

  Liam hugs his old man. “How about a glass of Scotch instead?”

  Robert shakes his head. “Alright, I can bug you better after a drink or two.”

  The party of six moves to the back patio to enjoy their charcuterie and drinks. As they catch up with each other under the twinkling string lights strung above them on this clear night, Isha steps inside to grab the decanter from the kitchen counter. The doorbell rings and it startles her. Not expecting any company, she walks over and opens the door.

  Dressed in dark denim and a grey T-shirt, she finds Nathan standing on the other side of the door with a box in his hands.

  Her eyes instantly light up at the sight of him, an involuntary reaction to Nathan that she has gotten used to recently. Amused to see him, she asks, “What are you doing here?” and steps outside the door.

  He notices that she is wearing the maroon dress he picked out for her while waiting in line to pay for their food at work and has trouble concealing his smile. “Nice dress.”

  Thoroughly embarrassed that he saw her in this dress, she says, “Umm, thanks. I picked it out all by myself.”

  “Sure, you did.” He stretches out his hands and places the box in her hands.

  She opens the box and notices the German chocolate cake and shrieks in excitement. “How did you get this?”

  His heart skips a beat noticing the beads of joy flicker in her eyes, which turns out to be his body’s spontaneous response to her happiness. “Claire was able to pick it up but wasn’t able to bring it to you. So she begged me to take it to you and offered to pay me twenty dollars for it.”

  Isha is now grinning ear to ear. “Thank you, thank you so much for doing this!”

  “You are welcome, She-Hulk. I gotta go. Have a good night.” He starts walking away.

  Liam walks up behind Isha and notices Nathan. “Hey Nathan! Pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?”

  Isha fills him in on Claire’s request. Thanking Nathan for his kind gesture, Liam asks, “You care to join us for dinner?”

  “I don’t want to intrude. Please enjoy your night.”

  “I insist, please join us. Besides, you don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to judge Isha’s food, do you?” he teases Isha.

  Nathan wasn’t planning on spending the night with Isha and Liam, but he agrees to stay for one drink and steps inside their house. Walking into their place, he takes in the cozy interiors, the whole place screams of Isha. He has always believed a woman is the soul of a home, and this home in particular was built out of love. Liam shows him to the patio and introduces him to their family. Nathan receives a warm welcome, especially after learning about the cake, and gains the title of Cake Hero from Isha’s mom. Isha, still shocked by the turn of events tonight, picks up the decanter and quietly follows them.

  Nathan has been feeling disturbed about the perception of his reputation. As much as he tried to play it off with Isha last night, it kept him awake. He understood his personal situation made it easier for folks around him to pass judgments, but by no means did it make
it easier to digest them. Adding to that, he hasn’t heard back from Sarah yet and that has left him feeling restless. When Claire called and asked him to do this favor, he agreed in order to keep his mind occupied with something and avoid digging himself into a bottomless pit. Being around a functional family momentarily erases his pain. After an hour, he ditches his plans of staying just for a drink and joins them for dinner, taking in the abundance of love at the table while dismissing his strong urge to want to be closer to Isha tonight.

  Dressed in a stunning maroon lace A-line dress with thin straps and her hair swooped over one shoulder, Isha looks darling to him. The way her eyes sparkle every time she smiles makes him feel right at home. As they move on from the appetizers, Isha brings out the rest of the dishes from the kitchen. She serves everyone seated at the table, and as she hands him his plate, he accidentally touches her fingers. They both feel a spark but immediately break their eye contact to avoid unnecessary attention. Isha feels vulnerable sitting across from Nathan. Although she is glad he was able to join them tonight, seeing Liam and Nathan together at the same table is causing a major emotional conflict. Irrespective of Liam’s presence, she feels a strong connection with Nathan and is petrified of it.

  The parents at the table waste no time in learning about Nathan and he does a good job at keeping the details to a minimum. They sympathize with his dilemma and immediately give him advice based on their hard-earned life lessons.

  “Compromise and Respect go a long way in a marriage…”

  “Have you tried counseling?”

  “You seem great, I am sure she will come around.”

  “Have you tried a grand gesture?”

  He politely responds to all of them and Isha feels sorry for him.

  Right when he thinks the awkward conversation is over, Prakash clears his throat. “Nathan, a good marriage involves a great deal of sacrifice; you just have to find the ones worth sacrificing for. Because the ones who are worth the effort will never put you through it and the ones that do never deserved you in the first place.” Prakash’s words strike a chord with Nathan and he nods to him, taking in his words of wisdom.