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Chapter 7
2001 – After the race He joined Monica in the balcony again to watch the rest of the races, but his mind kept pulling him back to the petite woman who fell into his arms – he still felt the tingle from the warm body that slid against him – he felt confused at the strange feeling that came across him. He saw her as an eight year old and later a twelve year old, he felt a deep connection before, but what he was feeling now was different! He was almost embarrassed at the imperceptible hardening of his body, as she looked deep into his eyes – she was definitely not the kind of women he dated - not the sophisticated, spoilt women who dressed up like dolls and adorned a rich man's arm – the kind that bored him out of his mind. For the first time in many years, he felt excited and exhilarated. After the races were over, he took Monica to the stables with a pretext of meeting the Jockey who made half a crore for him.
Bani's little sister was hanging around outside the stables regaling the stable boys with a tall tale. When she saw him, he came running to him. "Hey Mister, I got some of thing that belongs to you, I think you gave this to me by mistake" She pulled a thousand rupee note from her jeans back pocket. An honest and straight shooter, he guessed the genes run in the family – the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He knew it would be useless to argue with the girl, he shoved the bill carelessly in to his Gucci wallet.
"Mister, I want to say thank you, if it wasn't for you, Rano Dixit would not made 10,000 rupees today!!" She stepped closer as if she wanted to hug him. Jai laughingly stepped back, scared by her exuberance.
"Rano Dixit, I guess that must be your name" Jai mocked her gently. "Ms. Dixit – I am Jai Walia, it's a pleasure meeting you" He extended his hand in shook the girl hand firmly.
"Walia? Of Walia hotels and industries?" Rano's eyes widened, behind the thick glasses.
"The one and only!" Jai smiled and bowed sweeping his arm in front of him. He straightened to see the girl staring at him open mouthed. He had the sudden urge to laugh at her expression. With determination, he tried to have a straight face.
"Ms. Dixit, I have a favor to ask you, I am throwing a small party for my family on the eve of my nephew's graduation from high school. You made me win a lot of money today on your 'Pipedreams'." He laughed at the irony of it.
"Would you do me the honor of accepting my dinner invitation? Of Course, the invitation includes your whole family" Jai crossed his fingers behind his back.
Rano looked surprised but gathered her wits back quickly. She grinned showing her gums along with perfectly formed teeth.
"Do I get commission on the winnings?" She was openly audacious. Jai laughed again, he liked the mischievous teenager.
"That could be arranged!! What is your commission? I would of course have to consult my legal department before agreeing to anything!" Jai drawled with a poker face. His eyes belied the mock seriousness as they twinkled with merriment.
Rano looked at him calculatingly. He wore a casual docker pants with a Ralph Lauren full sleeved polo shirt, probably about thirty, good looking in a rakish way, totally unlike the chocolate heroes she liked. He had a square chin and had a shadow of stubble that probably needed shaving twice a day. She liked his eyes, they were the color of the chocolate mocha that Bani di liked at Coffee Day. He was tall, with wide shoulders and narrow waist. He was also trim with a hint of hard muscle under the woven T-Shirt. She wondered silently if he was a pervert who liked young girls, God knows, he was too good looking and way too rich for his own good.
"Mr. Walia, consider the gratitude even, if you hadn't bought the ticket at that moment, I would be short of 10,000 rupees." She hesitated before saying, "My sister is very strict, she doesn't like us going to parties with strange men" Her expression was woebegone.
"She is right!" Jai didn't know why he defended Bani at the moment. "There are a lot of men out there who would take advantage of young women." He brought the hand he was holding at the back to sweep it over his dark, silky hair.
"But you are not like that!" It was more of a statement than a question. Jai agreed with her statement by nodding. "You are right, I am not one of those men – I am also not a stranger." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "Your sister and I are old acquaintances – from Mt. Abu" his eyes scanned behind Rano to get a view of Bani in the vicinity. She was no where to be seen.
"Bani Di knows you?" Rano looked surprised at the news. "Jassi, Jassi!" She yelled loudly to get the attention of the Punjabi lad that was going into the stable. As he looked up, she asked him to call her sister from inside.
Jai's discomfiture was increasing by the second. He questioned the impulsive action that brought him here to ask the girls for dinner.
Jai looked at Monica who was aloof and trying to file her nails. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw her. His heart skipped a beat for a second. He half turned to look at the young woman stepping out from the stable. As the sun rays hit her face, she blinked at the brightness and shielded her eyes. She was still dressed in her riding habit, the riding boots gave her couple of inches, but she could have been no more than 5 ft 4 inches tall. Her legs were long and slender, her hips widening gently and tapering again at a narrow waist that boasted a tight ribcage. She had small yet firm breasts that confirmed she is all woman. As his eyes went up to her face, he saw that she was looking back at him. Jai blushed hard, the color slashing into Jai's cheekbones while Bani dropped her eyes in confusion. She too had the color of roses blooming in her cheeks.
Rano looked at each of them wondering what this was all about. She was missing something here.
"Mr. Walia! Mr. Walia! Hello, are you there!!" The rude and insistent voice of Rano brought him back to the world again.
"I am not deaf, Ms. Dixit" He drawled testily. He took a determined step towards Bani. Rano tagged along, curiosity written all over her.
"We didn't talk about my commission yet!" She was plaintive as he kept moving towards Bani.
"Party for you and your friends at Walia hotels, tell me when and where, I will arrange it", Jai walked away, his footsteps taking him to Bani without his volition.
"Bani!" he breathed in. "We meet again!"
She was tongue tied to answer him back and nodded silently. Her eyelids fell heavily over her eyes.
"That was a good race!" Jai pointed to the racetracks with his head. "your sister told me that you were a sure shot winner." As Bani looked up questioningly, he told her how Rano made him buy the ticket and how he himself placed the bet on her even when he knew nothing about the horse or it's rider.
"But you chose not to bet on your own horse" Bani looked horrified.
Jai shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, "Yes, sometimes, a business man takes a chance on an unknown"
"I would always bet on my own" The words escaped Bani before she could stop them.
Two minutes into the conversation and they were already at loggerheads with each other. Jai looked at her impatiently.
"When I need your opinion, I will ask you" He squared his chin and gritted his teeth as he spoke.
Bani and Rano looked at him in alarm. Jai's face had a closed expression on it. As the seconds ticked by, Jai controlled his anger and smiled politely.
"Bani, Rano – you are invited to a party at my house. My whole family will be present at the party. You don't have anything to fear. I would like you and your family to come – it would please me if you grace it with your presence." Jai's cool manner reminded Bani of Mr. Udai Walia, the surface charm, the impeccable manners and the stiff upper lip.
A rage started building inside Bani, her eyes flashed dangerously. It was with great will power, she controlled her temper.
"Mr. Walia – I am not sure we can make it to your party tonight, you see it's our sister's birthday, and we want to celebrate it privately" Bani took pleasure in stating their disinterest in the Mighty Walia party.
"In that case, I will leave you alone, please wish your sister a very happy birthday!" then he turned to Rano and said quietly, "The offer of the commission is still open, if you want to have your birthday party at the Walia hotels, please call this number and he will take care of you" He gave her a business card of an associate and nodded at Bani before walking out.
"Mr. Walia! Mr. Walia" Rano shouted as he turned to leave. He stopped in his tracks but didn't turn back.
"We would like to come to the party!" Rano rushed into a speech. "It's just Bani Di and Pia Di" She gave him a shy smile. "And thank you for inviting us!!"
Jai looked down at Bani's sullen expression unsmilingly – "Ms. Dixit? If that's OK, I will send a car to pick you up, if you give me your address and phone number"
"We will come in a taxi, if you give us your address!" Bani refused his offer of the car, making him grit his teeth again. But he chose to keep his mouth shut, at least for the time being.
He gave them his card with his cell number and home address scribbled on it.
"The party is at seven and the dressing is semi-formal" He stated as he left them staring at him.
"Wow, what a hunk?" Rano made ogled at his backside as he walked away.
"Shut up, Rano!" Bani was irritable, "Who asked you to accept the invitation? You know it's Pia's birthday, she doesn't want to go and spend it with the Walia family.." Bani was concerned how her sister would take it.
"Aww, don't worry about Pia, she loves going to rich people's parties, I am sure she will try to find a rich guy there with loads of money" Rano made a face.
"Rano, don't talk about your Di like that, Pia is ambitious, not a gold digger!" Bani admonished Rano.
"Sure, and I am the queen of Ireland!" Rano scrunched her face. "You always have a hard time seeing the true colors of some one you love" Rano did not believe in pulling in punches.
Bani sighed deeply, this is an argument they had frequently.
She thought of the modest purse money she got from the race. Jockeys did not make that much money, most of the purse money goes to the owners, some to the breeders and trainers and a little bit trickles to the Jockey. She had been winning a few races lately, but mostly Maiden races in which the participating horse never won before, then allowance races.
This was the first real stakes race she won. She was excited about it. But she was excited about seeing him foremost.
He looked so handsome, even better than she remembered. Her first crush, infatuation – whatever it was. He still had traces of the brooding, aloof Jai Walia she remembered, but now there seems to be a hard, brittle quality about him. The sensitive, and caring Jai Walia seemed to have gone hiding. She didn't like the way he snapped at her even though she knew it was not entirely his fault.
She remembered an incident when she was eight, he almost paddled her when she ignored his protests and rode Jugnu hard almost injuring herself in the process. He had a nasty temper that flared immediately but went away as quickly too!
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They were staying with the breeder's family. These past 10 years life was rough, she worked in the stables as the trainer's assistant, the money was decent, but barely enough for the rent, tuition and a modest living in Chandigarh. Most of the stud farms were based in Punjab and the horse training happened right there. They rented a small cottage from a local farmer and made it their house. Pia complained bitterly about the rural life and the fact that she didn't get to meet any young and exciting men in the outskirts of Chandigarh.
The party at Walia's worried Bani – she didn't have any suitable clothing, she wondered what semi-formal meant? She had one black salwar kameez with gold embroidery that was fairly decent, and Rano was probably going to wear a long skirt with the black sequin blouse that she bought recently. Bani made a note to herself about buying Pia some clothes for her birthday, may be she can wear the new clothes.
Even though, she didn't express it, she was excited about today's party, going to the Walia mansion and seeing Jai again, even if he was a first rate grouch.
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Hi guys, I was under a lot of pressure from T.A.T.A to get this chapter out tonight - they know who they are! so if the update is not good, blame it on them!! 😉
If it's good, blame it on me!! 😆
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
