Chapter 18
1
"Come out," said Rey in a warm voice from the other end of the line.
"What?" Kriya exclaimed getting up from her chair.
"I said, come out of your office," repeated Rey.
"You're here???" Kriya struggled to suppress the excitement in her voice.
"Lady would you stop asking questions and hurry up. Please," implored Rey.
"Ohkay..." Kriya sensed the impatience in Rey's voice. "Gimme 2 mins." She hung up and ran to her colleague Aditi to request her to take over the remainder of her page.
"Date hun??" Aditi chuckled seeing Kriya run hurriedly picking her laptop and cellphone. She made sure she visited the washroom once to take a look at herself before she made her way out of the plush building.
"Okay now where are you?" asked Kriya on the phone looking at the traffic rushing to and fro on the busy street before her.
"Look to your left," instructed Rey.
And before she could turn around fully, a familiar voice greeted her.
"Miss Ghai, this way please..." the man greeted her with a measured smile and gestured her to step into a black Jaguar parked right next. He also held a bouquet for her. Rey was nowhere.
What the...
More flowers! He didn't come. Uh!
She was flustered, disgruntled, overwhelmed and sad. Yes, sad. And her visage or her voice did little to hide her disappointment. Rey smiled to himself at the other end of the phone line.
2
Sitting in the chilly air-conditioned room for an hour now, Swayam's hands were almost numb. It wasn't just the cold outside, but the cold inside that was silently crawling under his skin. The giant exquisite chandelier illuminated the entire room in the familiar way. Sharon was going through the revised script, the thirteenth official' draft. Karan was probably the most inconsistent story teller Swayam had known. He liked to write his scenes, rehearse them, and then make last minute changes on the floor which would bear no similarity to the previous version. He was perfectly capable of changing dialogues during retakes. Sometimes Swayam doubted his sanity as a director. After all, how was one expected to retain the idiosyncrasies of the characters right, with so many abrupt changes in the script. Apparently insanity was the mark of a genius, although, in this case it was insanity sans any brilliance. But right now, it wasn't Karan's insanity that was Swayam's cause of concern. It's Sharon's extreme composure and presence of sanity that was ticking Swayam off! It had been an hour and she hadn't complained, hadn't once raised her voice, or her eye brow, heck she didn't even look at him. There was something ominously unusual about her. Her perfectly manicured fingers held a bunch of papers while she held a mug of coffee in her other hand. Sipping her coffee while reading, she exhibited a calmness that could easily throw a challenge to the ice bucket. Her semi bare legs, glowed as usual as she carelessly tossed them on the recliner.
What is going on!!
This is on purpose? Is she plotting something? She definitely is.
...
Or is she actually ignoring me?
And all of a sudden a growing realization that had been squirming in his belly, causing trouble for him all day, resurfaced, and this time with a finality that even he couldn't shrug off. Kriya was right. Sharon was ignoring him. And it was making him... that bitch is always right.
He adjusted himself in the couch that was getting way too comfortable for him. He doesn't want to get too comfortable around Sharon, not even her couch. He cleared his throat, just to kill the silence for a moment. It sounded feeble. Sharon looked up at him for the first time, in what seemed a very long time.
"Shall we begin?" She proposed. It was devoid of any foreseeable malice or artful wiles.
"Sure," responded Swayam, "how do you want to go about this?"
"You know... the traditional way. Grammar first." She was swift to answer.
...miserable!
It was making him miserable.
3
Chhabilal was awfully quiet for a chauffeur, or a valet, or a companion for that matter. Kriya wondered how Rey had him around, considering he was quite a talker himself. Kriya had already made a few unsuccessful attempts at a conversation, but that did not deter her. If need be, she could very well impose herself upon total strangers and get them to talk. But why did Rey have to send his grumpy butler cum manager to get her? Why couldn't he come? But of course, he's a superstar! How could he pick up a non-celebrity date from her office, somebody who was a nobody and probably never will be anybody, he couldn't make such a condescension.
What was that!
She was thinking too much. This is what happens when she has to travel in a car driven by a person who has no interest in interaction, yet addresses her as 'Miss Ghai'. Screw the Victorian etiquettes!
"So, Rey didn't come..." She followed up.
"No. He thought it'd be best if I drove you," replied the man.
This time Kriya decided she has to be more direct.
"And why is that?" she asked.
"Well, he has quite a few plans himself," the man reluctantly replied.
"Like what??" Kriya's eyes were growing bigger with uncertainty, and although she didn't want to react like that, it came out involuntarily.
"Uh, you know... plans for the night of course." The man's unease seeped through his voice.
"Uh, for the night. I see..." this time Kriya didn't let her impulse take control of her response.
For the night? What does that mean? Does he think I'm gonna stay for the night? This is f**ked up.
Kriya ruminated on what could be the 'plans'. But more importantly, what was the purpose of those plans? She was growing confused with each passing second.
"Mr. Rey likes to decorate the house himself, so perhaps he is invested in that," interjected the man sensing her discomfort.
"Wait, house? Are we... headed to his house now?" Kriya yelped.
Chhabilal answered in affirmative with a nod.
Oh boy! This can't be good.
Kriya rested on her back. She could find no hidden agenda behind Rey bringing her to his house, and he had to be particularly evil and methodical to execute his malpractices if he had any. Kriya knew inside that he could have no wrong intentions, but she couldn't help considering jumping out of the car. Damn! Why is he giving her flowers and then taking her to his house? This is so bloody personal now. Why is he serving himself on a platter to her, before a tabloid journalist?
"So, what else does Mr. Rey like?" asked Kriya. She had to continue the conversation, however lopsided, to keep the disturbing thoughts away.
"He likes to dance, watch films, gardening, swimming, skiing..." Chhabilal's voice began to trail, as in Kriya's head there were several voices, she continued to nod to him, while she sorted those chaotic voices inside.
After a while, the car took a sharp bend and found an upward slope, a driveway into an elegant seaside bungalow that was Reyaansh Singhania's house.
The white of the exterior was replaced by a mauve interior, but there was a predominance of white. Chhabilal ushered her in. A servant offered her water and then ran inside to call his master. Kriya looked around. The entire place had some beautiful flowers and a lot of lights- nothing gaudy though. From simple candles to handmade paper lanterns, Rey Singhania had it all. The wall facing her had a few modern art pieces, all in accordance with the colour scheme. At least he isn't trying to be a pseudo-intellectual, thought Kriya, and if he really designed the entire place himself, then he deserves some praise.
"You're here!" exclaimed Rey. His voice said that he was indeed ecstatic at her arrival. He was dressed in a casual black tee and corduroy pants, his hair slightly ruffled for the lack of any gel or other substance. But it only increased his appeal, decided Kriya. He probably wanted to hug her, but then settled for a brief shake of the hands.
"Your home has too much white for a colourful personality like you," said Kriya.
"Well... this is it, the real me, like you had wanted to see," said Rey with genuine affection as a smile lingered on his lips.
"I liked the flowers... a lot," she said. Rey nodded. "But I wonder," she continued, "why are you trying so hard to be cheesy... you know, chauffeur driven car, orchids..." she laughed.
Rey blushed. "Let's just say, I belong to the old school. Dinner?"
"Yeah. I'm starving," said Kriya more out of excitement than hunger. She wanted to find out what was next. Rey was indeed a great schemer and pampering a woman was certainly his thing.
He guided her to the dining area. It wasn't very different from the living room- white lacey curtains on lilac walls and a glass table not very big but again neatly set up, at the centre of which was a crystal vase containing white lilies. The house was a testimony to the dweller's taste, not a show of wealth.
The food was traditional Indian food. The manservant served them the food and then Rey asked him to leave. Rey poured himself a glass of whisky and turned to Kriya. "Drink?"
"I think I'll stick to water," she blushed, recalling her recent misadventure with him.
They ate the food almost in silence. Kriya couldn't help looking around herself and admiring every little piece of detail that made up the place- like a wind chime, a decorative candle stand, a hint of mahogany woodwork lending a brown aura to an otherwise white sobriety.
"You could talk, you know, there isn't a rule against that," said Rey.
She looked at him taken aback, for a while she had been oblivious to his presence. "Did you put all this together by yourself, this place I mean?" she asked.
"I did, yeah, that is to say I didn't take professional help. Sharon was there to help me, but that's just with the buying, uska bas chalta to she would have turned it into hard rock cafe," he laughed.
"You know Rey Singhania... I totally see how you get all the ladies to toe the line," she said bemused.
"Yeah, except those ladies that you speak of, have never been here," he responded with a playful firmness.
Kriya bit her lip. She was at a loss of words, or a retort, a comeback, anything at all. Could she ask a question here without sounding puzzled, desperate, in short, a fool? Asking anything indirect would give away her intentions too. But, but why, why is she here then, she wanted to know. She was in the middle of a crisis that was made up by her own complexes and she knew it. She didn't want to be one of those women, but now that she isn't one of them, who is she to him? Was she thinking too much? Maybe he flatters every woman, because it is easy for him, because he could, he didn't have to be interested in her to do all the things he was doing. Admittedly that'd break her heart a little, or maybe, she's different indeed. And how does what Rey Singhania thinks of her, how he rates her or not, matter to her? He isn't an absolute necessity for her existence. She existed even before, perfectly happy with her imperfect life. His acceptance, approval or admiration (?) of her should not be of any significance to her.
Or she could maybe ask the damning question instead of piling up redundant thoughts inside her skull and cause it to explode.
"I think I'll need some wine..." she said to him.
Okay so... there is a lot of Kriyaansh here, and in the next update it is likely to remain so, because it is an important phase for Kriyaansh, right after there would be an important twist in SwaRon story to give both the tempo and haul them in the right direction.
And yeah, I know this time it's too late... to apologise. :/
Edited by -bLEu98- - 11 years ago
326