The Heirs - MG - chapter 4, pg 7, 2/8 - Page 3

Bundling herself into a phone box, Geet threw a few coins in and dialled Pari's number. Crossing her fingers and her toes, although it was difficult to do under her sneakers, she waited with bated breath for her sister to pick up.

"Hello?" came a gruff voice.

"Um, hello. Is this Pari's number?"

"Pari? What's one of them?"

"It's my sister, Parineeta Handa?"

"Ohhh, you mean Paris! Yeah, she's at work, what do you want? Hey listen, if you need some supplies I'm the man, she just deals with monetary transactions."

"Supplies?" Geet felt her heartbeat raise, but she brushed it aside and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, I think I have the wrong number-"

"Hey no, hold up. Listen, you're talking about the petite Indian woman, right?"

"Yes... um, you must be Paul?"

"Who?"

"Her fiance? You met at university, right?"

The man chuckled. "Darling, I wouldn't be allowed ten feet near a university. And Paris is always at work, maybe you're mistaken."

"Wait, please I just... could you um, could you put me through to her?"

"Like I said she's at work. Look, you seem like a nice girl and all but I have things to do. Call back later, yeah?"

And with that the call was disconnected. Geet stepped out of the phone booth, trying to process all she had heard. She didn't want to believe it, but it seemed like Pari's reality and the fantasy she had created were two separate worlds. The trouble was, how she was ever going to find out the truth - and what would she tell Rekha?

***

"Rich boy, wake yourself up! It's 12pm and we have to hit the waves!"

A cushion was thrown at the head of the recipient, and he woke up groggily, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Just gone noon. Still rough from last night, huh?"

Maan sat up in his bed, blinking furiously whilst holding his head with one hand. "I remember nothing."

"I recall you saying something along the lines of 'I'm Maan Khurana, the heir to a huge construction company back in India, and I do not give two hoots about the consequences of any actions of which I'm about to take part in on this very night.' And then you proceeded to drink the entire bar and flirt with every girl that passed you by."

He chuckled. "Sounds like it was a good night."

"You bet. Ana's had her eye on you all summer, and she was all over you last night. Put the girl out of her misery, eh?"

He shook his head. "I'm not interested in hook ups. It's the real deal or nothing."

"Beneath your westernised ways lives the Bollywood hero, I see. Trying to be like that Sha... Shakeel, Shakeel Khan is it?"

Maan scoffed. "Shahrukh Khan. And he's not my preferred Khan so you're off by a long shot."

"Whatever, let's catch some waves."

"Why don't you feel as crap as I do?"

"Experience, my man. I've lived through many hangovers; I learn how to deal with them. Here, I'll get the housekeeper to make you a strong coffee but you have to be on that beach in half an hour, all right?"

Maan sighed, giving up against his friend's persistence. "Sure Ryan, I'll see you then."

Ryan left and Maan checked his phone habitually. There were 5 missed calls from his father. Choosing to ignore them, as always, he turned his phone off and headed into the shower.

***

Dev was sat at his desk, throwing paper balls into the bin aimlessly when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, thought twice about ignoring it, then decided against it for his own well being and answered the call.

"Naina, the light of my eyes. How is my darling on this fine summer's day?"

"Cut the crap, Dev. My mother is driving me insane and I need to get away. Can you book last minute tickets, to anywhere but the perimeters of Asia?"

"Have you gone insane? I can't just up and leave. I'm working under my father this summer, you know that, and I got this post with much difficulty."

"You don't want to pay? That's fine, I have my mom's credit card details. It's not like she'll notice anyway."

"Naina, you're talking to the heir of KC. Money is not an issue and never will be. I can't leave my duties behind. My family think I'm incompetent already."

Naina scoffed over the phone. "Fine, have it your way. I'll go alone, I don't need anyone anyway."

"Naina, wait-" but she was gone. Sometimes Dev wondered how the stars had aligned to make him fall in love with Naintara Rathod, the most notorious brat in all of Delhi. But she was privileged, as was he and everyone else he knew in their social circle. And the privileged, despite living in the luxury of money, were never quite as content as the world made them out to be.

***

Jay Singhania walked in and removed his sunglasses. Spotting the familiar girl behind the counter, with her hair tied back and her face a sheen of sweat, he smirked and decided to try his luck; at least to alleviate his boredom.

"Geetanjali, am I right?"

Geet looked up from behind the counter. "Just Geet. Can I help?"

"I was looking for directions but I seemed to have gotten lost in the maze of your eyes."

She rolled her eyes and pointed to the menu board behind her. "You can order something from there or you can leave."

"Do you treat all your customers like that?"

"Just the spoilt ones."

Jay scoffed. "You're one of the ones who hate the rich and famous, don't you? Yet you attend the same prep college as I do. Does your sarcasm pay your fees?"

Geet didn't reply, and Jay watched her with enough intensity to try and make her feel uncomfortable as she kept herself busy. But before he realised, she placed a mug of coffee on the counter and knocked it over - the coffee staining his designer shirt.

"Oops. Innocent mistake." She shrugged, and watched with amusement as Jay glared at her and stormed away. As she was cleaning up the mess she had created after his departure, her thoughts went back to Pari. She devised a plan in mind, but it was controversial and it meant risking everything behind; her job, her prestigious education - and even her relationship with her mother.

***

Precap: "I'm on the next flight out, and I'm sorry but there's nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me."