FF|All the Wrong Moves in All the Right Ways I - Page 39

Chapter 29: Never Judge a Book by Its Cover

Veera stared at her ticket stub and back at the numbers marked on the overhead compartments. She smiled as she found her seat and put her things into the overhead bin. She kept her New York City guide book, a fashion book by fashion guru Tim Ginn, and her iPod with her as she sat down. They were all recent birthday gifts that she had received. Harman had given her the New York City guide book to help her get around the city. Even though she had been to the city before she had usually gone with family; this time she was on her own. She tucked the guide into the seat pocket in front of her for later use and stared at the fashion book in her hands. She was moldy surprised that this gift was from Meher and Heer. They had also given her a gift card to Starbucks which she knew would come in handy once she reached the city. Her new iPod was the most prized possession she had received for her birthday. It was a gift from Prem and Preet. Her previous iPod had the unfortunate accident of getting run over by a car. She tucked the white ear buds in her ear and turned on the iPod. She had forgotten to check what types of songs Preet had put on her player the night before. She remembered on her old player Preet had decided as a practical joke to fill it with children songs. Veera sighed in relief as she checked the playlist and found no children songs in sight. She played the first playlist and smiled as Ke$ha's Tik Tok (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3Yp_gdAHHE) started blaring in her ear buds.

She was extremely excited that she was on her way to New York for Fashion Week. Her trip was a surprise gift from her parents. She never thought they would agree to let her go because almost every year they would deny her request no matter how much she pleaded or provided strong arguments for her case to go. She was thankful that this year she had finally received their blessings. Veera opened her purse to double check that she had her wallet with her. Kulraj and Kiran had given extra spending money as her birthday gift for the trip. Veera knew the extra cash would help her on her shopping spree. She breathed deeply and smiled brightly that today was going to be a good day. Veera opened her book ready to dive into the first chapter when she saw someone standing to the side of her seat. She pulled her ear buds out and stared in complete shock. "Hi," she greeted.

A tall model like figured girl with light brown hair stood before her with the same shock expression. "Hi again," she smiled warmly. She pointed to the window seat, "Would you mind?"

"Oh, not at all. I'm so sorry," Veera replied and got up from her seat to let the girl in.

"It's all right," the girl replied as she sat down. "So I think I should introduce myself. I'm Maya."

Veera smiled, "Nice to meet you again. I'm Veera."

"Nice to meet you, Veera," Maya greeted. "I can't believe we are running into each other again."

"I know." Veera laughed. "Who would have thought...from boutique to airplane?"

Maya grinned, "The world really is small. So, you're obviously going to New York...is it to visit family?"

"Sort of. I will be staying at my aunt's house. But I'm actually going to Fashion Week with my cousin who happens to work for Elle magazine," she explained.

"No way," Maya exclaimed. "I'm going too."

Veera's eyes widen, "You're kidding me?"

"Nope, I have a friend working the event and she was able to get me a pass inside," Maya replied. "Well, its official we have to meet up."

Veera nodded her head, "Most definitely."

As the girls continued talking they started finding out that they had a lot in common. They were floored when they found out they were both attending the same university. Maya was in her senior year finishing up her business degree and art minor. She had always been interested in art and fashion from a young age and hoped to one day open her own fashion line. She wasn't as skilled in designing outfits but she had a good eye on market trends. She wanted to focus on the business aspects of running a fashion line and was comfortable leaving the designing to a partnered fashion designer. Maya's eyes gleamed with hope that the new found friendship between her and Veera could possibly lead to a business adventure in the future.

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Sanjana smiled to herself as she walked across the grand entrance of the Juneja hotel. She scanned the room around her deciding where she should go to find him. As luck would have it her decision was made for her as she saw Prem coming walking down the hallway. She beamed a huge smile when he stopped in front of her with a pleasant but surprised look on his face. "Hey Sanjana, what are you doing here?" Prem greeted.

"Oh I was making dinner and I accidently missed measured and made more than needed," lifting up a large silver tiffin lunch box, "So, I just took the chance that you haven't had dinner yet and brought you some of what I made," Sanjana explained.

Prem grinned, "Good timing. I was just about to eat dinner and honestly I'm really tired of hotel food. So, it's great that you stopped by." Prem led Sanjana to his office unaware that some of the female workers were secretly watching them.

"Looks like Mr. Prefect has a girlfriend now," Alice whispered to Julie.

"She's probably a friend," Julie replied.

"Right and when's the last time your good male friend dropped by with a home cooked meal?" Alice asked sarcastically.

"What are you two young people gossiping about?" asked another worker as she interrupted their conversation.

"Oh nothing, Marci...just that Julie's dream man has himself a girlfriend," Alice informed.

"Well, things are about to get even more interesting then," Marci replied. "I just gave directions to another girl asking where she could find Prem Juneja's office. She was carrying a large paper bag and you could smell the food. Oh boy, did it smell good."

Alice and Julie both looked at her and mouthed, "No way."

The elder lady chuckled, "Yes way. She seemed like such a sweet heart. If only my son's girlfriend was like her I would be happy. He always ends up going out with the wrong girls. But enough gossiping back to work you two." Julie and Alice nodded their heads and went back to their work stations.

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Sanjana looked around the office amazed that the son of the hotel owner was actually working in a small cubical. Prem pushed another chair over and motioned for Sanjana to take a seat. "So," he said rubbing his hands together, "What did you make?"

She timidly smiled as she unstacked the tiffin, "Well, I'm still learning how to cook so it's nothing like your mom's cooking...but I made chicken curry, palak paneer, and chapati."

"Sounds great. Have you eaten yet?" he asked.

"No, Mom's working late tonight and Dad's on a business trip in England," Sanjana replied.

"Well, there's enough food for both of us to share," Prem suggested. He torn a piece of chapati and grabbed a piece of chicken devouring it hungrily. Sanjana giggled softly at his actions. "Not bad," Prem complimented. He then stared at Sanjana wondering why her hand was reaching out towards him. Prem felt the soft touch of her finger on the side of his mouth. He blinked a couple of times unsure how to react.

"You had some sauce," Sanjana explained.

Prem looked up when he suddenly sensed someone standing in front of his desk. It was Heer holding a large brown bag. He immediately stood up his eyes displaying an innocent shocked look. "Um, hi Heer. Sanjana had accidentally made too much for dinner and just stopped by to see if I had anything to eat yet...and well I hadn't so we were just eating...um, you eaten yet? What's in the brown bag," Prem rambled.

"You're mom made some food for you. She thought you'd be tired of eating hotel food. Preet dropped me off," Heer replied.

"You eaten yet?" Prem asked again.

"I've had dinner," Heer answered curtly. She walked over and handed him the bag. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

"You're not interrupting anything," Prem quickly said. "You've had dinner but how about some dessert. Why don't you join us? You know the hotel makes some really good desserts we just hired a new pastry chef. It's amazing what he can do." Prem pushed her towards his chair forcing her to sit down while he quickly picked up the telephone on the desk and made a call.

Sanjana sat there slightly peeved at what was occurring in front of her. She couldn't believe that Heer had just shown up like that and her moment with Prem had just been ruined. Heer glanced at Prem giving him a displeased look and felt extremely uncomfortable that she couldn't do anything with Sanjana sitting there in the room with them. Prem hung up the phone and laughed nervously as he loosened his tie. "So um, they should be delivering the dessert soon." He opened the brown bag and started pulling out the containers inspecting the food his mother had made for him. "Samosas, dal, and rice" he announced out loud. Prem smiled in relief as a hotel serving staff showed up with a push cart into the office. "That was quick Dean," he greeted.

"Here's your order Prem," Dean replied. "The chocolate mousse is really wicked today. Chef Pierre has out done himself."

"Thanks," Prem said as he and Dean slapped their hands together doing a secret handshake.

"I'll catch you later," Dean said and then looking at the Sanjana and Heer he bowed his head slightly, "Ladies," and walked out of the office.

Prem lifted the lid off of the serving tray to reveal a wide variety of small dessert samples. "Take your pick." He gave a slightly pleading look at Heer not to be mad at him. Heer remained tight lipped but obediently took a dessert to try. Prem spent the rest of the meal talking about random things in the effort to keep the awkwardness away. It wasn't long before the meal was finished and Prem was packing things away. "Thanks for dinner again, Sanjana," he said.

"It was my pleasure," she replied forcing a smile. Sanjana was feeling slightly depressed that her dinner plan didn't go exactly as planned but she knew she had to keep up the proper appearance in front of Prem. Sanjana glanced at Heer and knew she had to do something to keep Heer away from Prem. She smiled politely and offered, "You'll need a ride home, right? I'll take you home."

"Heer, don't you have like a group meeting down the street at the corner cafe? I thought you mentioned something about that," Prem quickly cut in.

Heer saw the pleading look in Prem's eyes for her to go along with his lie. She remained stoic and simply replied, "Yes, that is correct."

"Oh, well, I guess I'll be going then," Sanjana said. She felt annoyed that things weren't going her way and even though Heer was going to be at the corner cafe; she was still in the same area as Prem. She frowned slightly as she walked out the door following behind Prem and Heer.

Prem walked the girls out to the main entrance of the hotel and politely waved goodbye. He nervously rubbed the temple on his forehead with his finger as he watched Heer walk out of the hotel. He cautiously waited a minute before walking out the revolving doors to chase after her. He caught her in time before she crossed the street. "Heer," he said apologetically.

"Prem, not in public," she answered as she twisted her hand away from his grasp. He motioned with his eyes to follow him. She obediently walked with Prem through a service entrance to get back into the hotel. They walked through a long hidden hallway behind the main hotel area. Prem took his key card out and swiped to gain access to the service elevator. "I thought she'd never leave," he said once they were alone in the elevator. "It's not what it looked like."

Heer crossed her arms, "She was touching your mouth."

"I swear to you that nothing like what you thought was implied was happening. I had sauce on my face and she decided to wipe it away with her finger instead of giving me a napkin," Prem defended.

"Well, maybe next time you shouldn't eat so sloppily," Heer charged.

"It's not something I can control...it was an accident," Prem said. "Nothing to be jealous over."

"I'm not jealous," she replied turning her back towards him. "I'm angry."

Prem smirked ever so slightly, "Ah, you're angry and jealous at me." Heer shrugged her shoulders stopping him from putting his hand on her shoulder. His smirk deepened at her actions and Prem determinedly hugged her from behind. "You're cute when you act like this."

"This is not something to be cute about," Heer replied crossly.

He gently swayed her in his arms trying to sooth away her anger. "You know how I feel about you. I'm sorry I should have handled it better. Will you please forgive me?" Prem nuzzled his nose against her cheek. "Pretty please?" he pleaded.

"Preeem," she whined cracking a small smile while trying to break away from his hold when she felt him nibbling her ear.

He tightened his arms whispering, "My heart only beats for you."

Heer turned towards him, "You think saying sweet words to me is enough?" Prem could hear the light teasing nature in her voice indicating she was half way there to forgiving him. He grinned and tenderly kissed her showing her his love. "You're forgiven this time," Heer said after the kiss had ended. "But you need to stop being so complacent when Sanjana tries to hit on you...or when any other girl tries to do that."

Prem flexed his eyebrows, "Hit on me?"

"Prem, she's hitting on you. Gosh, you really are clueless," Heer said. "She was acting all flirtious with you at Veera's birthday party. And tonight...making dinner for you?"

"But she's a friend," Prem replied rather confused. "I've never thought of her as anything but a friend." He looked up pondering for a few seconds, "Okay, she has been acting a little strange lately."

"I know you'll keep your hands to yourself but that's not going to stop her or other girls from trying," Heer said.

"Too bad I can't have something stamped on my forehead that says 'Belongs to Heer Maan' or 'Hands Off, Property of Heer Maan'," Prem joked. Heer just sadly shook her head not sure how to respond. The elevator suddenly binged announcing their arrival at the 34^th floor. "We're here," Prem announced happily. Heer followed him out of the elevator wondering what they were doing on the 34^th floor. Prem pulled out his key card used it to gain access to a room labeled 'Presidential Suite'. Heer walked onto the marbled flooring of the foyer and followed it out to a beautifully decorated living room. The layout of the suite was an open floor plan design which allowed the viewer to feel the room's spacious and luxurious environment. To Heer's immediate rights she saw a mini kitchen, to the left of that was a mini office, and to her left was the master bedroom. Heer walked straight in heading for the large windows that were capturing some of the beautiful lights of the city below. Prem took his cell phone from out of his trousers and placed it on the coffee table. "It's beautiful up here isn't it?" he asked as he walked over to the window. He slipped his arms around Heer's waist hugging her from behind.

"Should we be here? What if a guest requests it?" she asked.

"This is Bauji's private cabin. It's not available to regular guests. It's only used when we have special guests like when we are trying to court business partners or when important officials come through the city. It's just as nice as the penthouse suite upstairs," Prem explained. "You don't have to worry no one is using it. I sometimes come up here and take naps." Prem gently pulled Heer towards the couch and made her sit down. He undid his tie and unbuttoned two of the top buttons on his dress shirt before grabbing a pillow and placing it on Heer's lap.

"Prem what are you do?" she asked holding the pillow.

"I'm taking a nap. I've been here since 7:00am," he said as he lay down. "I don't get off until 11:00pm."

"But can you do that? How long is your dinner break?" Heer asked with concerned.

"I took a 30 minute lunch. The night manager told me that I could have a two hour dinner break. Don't worry," Prem explained sleepily.

Heer smiled as Prem made himself more comfortable turning sideways with his back facing away from her on her lap. Heer gently caressed his cheek moving her fingertips softly down to his jaw line and then tracing it to his chin. She enjoyed the feel of his stubble which was surprisingly soft. She had always thought that all facial hair was hard and rough but Prem's was relatively smooth and soft to the touch. She figured that it was probably due to Prem's age since he was still young and hadn't been shaving that long. She remembered one time when her father hadn't shaved for a few days and had given her a hug; his stubblely face was harsh and prickly to her cheeks and had made them gone red. Prem closed his eyes enjoying Heer's touch. He pulled her hand down and gave a kiss on the palm. Prem then intertwined his fingers with hers and protectively clutched her hand to his chest. Heer used her other free hand to stroke his hair lulling him to sleep. She smiled at the sleeping figure of the man she had given her heart to. Heer couldn't believe that they were almost coming up on their third week of dating. Everything still seemed slightly surreal to her that this was just a dream and one day she would awake to find none of this had truly happened; that Prem never confessed his love, that they never went on dates, and they never kissed. She wondered how much longer things could go on before reality would catch up and bring their little world that they had made for themselves crashing down around them.

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Veera looked in awe at the fashion venue as she saw the throngs of people moving in and out getting the catwalk ready for the show. She followed her cousin, Joyti, around smiling politely as they met Joyti's co-workers and fashion contacts. Veera felt a soft tap on her shoulder and turned around to find the smiling face of Maya. They greeted each other warmly and then Veera introduced Maya to Joyti. After a few minutes of chit-chat Joyti looked at her cousin apologetically, "I hope you don't mind but I have to make a few phone calls. You won't mind hanging out here for 30 minutes? I'll be back to take you into the show."

Veera nodded, "Yea, sure. It's okay. I'm here with Maya." Once her cousin had left Veera smiled and excitedly asked, "So, have you seen any designers backstage yet?"

"No, I haven't but it's pretty hectic back there. So many staff members, makeup artists, and models running around'my friend Jessica is running around like a mad woman. I had to step away for a bit," Maya explained.

"Oh, poor girl. She's in charge of the staging?" Veera asked.

"Yes, she's one of the directors for the stage and lighting work," Maya replied. "She's really stressed right now." Veera frowned in understanding. They chatted for a little bit and then decided to walk around the venue taking in the sights. As they turned one corner Veera collided with someone. She teetered backwards from the force but was able to remain standing. She looked down to see a young man wearing a paint stained white t-shirt and faded torn jeans crouching down on the ground picking up posters that had spilled out during the collision. She gave a disgruntled scowl and huffed loudly, "Excuse me!"

The young man lifted his head and looked at her wondering why she was so angry. He simply stated, "You're excused," and returned to completing his task.

"No, you are supposed to say that to me. You're the one who bumped into me," she replied.

"You were the one who wasn't looking," the young man shot back. "I'm a little busy right now. If you care to help I'll forgive you."

"Forgive me?" Veera repeated in shock.

Maya put her hand on her shoulder trying to calm her down. "It's not worth it Veera. He obviously doesn't have any manners."

"It figures," Veera said giving him a once over at his outfit. "You're obviously some lowly staff member who can't handle important task so instead they send you to do the manual labor."

The young man looked up at her arching his left eyebrow, "Wow, you're so young and you are already thinking that you're entitled to everything. You're parents must be really proud that you like walking all over people. It must warm their hearts to think that all the values and traditions they've taught you have been properly carried on." He started clapping his hands, "I salute you having the courage to put little old me in my right place. I'm just a lowly staff worker after all."

Maya tugged at Veera's arm, "Let's go before it gets worse."

Veera removed Maya's hand from her arm. She was seething with anger. "Listen you," she started as she pointed her finger at him.

The guy just smirked as he picked up the last of the poster from off the floor and stood up. "I'd love to listen to more but since I'm such a lowly person I have to scamper off to my boss before he fires me for playing around on the job. So excuse me if I can't entertain you any longer."

Veera narrowed her eyes at his retreating figure. "Ooooh, I'm so mad! I just want to hit him."

Maya just looked on dumbfounded by the exchange that had occurred.

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Several hours later Maya, Veera, and Joyti came out of the fashion show with huge smiles. They were discussing all the clothes they had seen on the runway and their predications to what would be the newest and hottest fashion trend of the season. As they were talking one of the new hot young fashion designers suddenly appeared and started talking to them. It turns out that he was a close acquaintance of Joyti's. Veera was in awe that she was talking to one of the designers that had simply wowed her on the runway. He was soon complimenting her and Maya on their tastes and eye for style.

"You know I'm currently in the works with some sponsors in putting up a design contest. The contestant that comes up with the winning design will actually get to make that design through one of my new lines," he said. "You should submit your portfolios."

"Thank you so much Mr. James," Veera squealed.

He shook his head, "Please don't call me Mr. James. When you do that I look behind me looking for my father. Just call me Duncan."

"But, um, Duncan we're from Canada," Veera said.

"Will then we'll just have to amend the admission rules to include US and Canada then," he replied. Maya and Veera both looked at each other with glee. Duncan suddenly smiled as he saw a familiar face heading towards their direction. "And here is the the man who will be helping me set up this design contest...Mr. Marketing Consultant Extraordinaire and very good buddy of mine. I'll make sure he irons out all the details to include Canada."

"Canada?" a deep voice repeated. "We're including Canada now?"

"Of course, with such talented young ladies from Canada it would be a waste not to include them," Duncan replied gesturing with his hand towards Veera and Maya for his friend to see. Veer and Maya turned to see the associate Duncan was speaking to and were completely taken by surprise to see the young man they had an encounter with earlier in the day. He was no longer in his raggedy t-shirt and jeans but instead wearing a nicely tailored suit. Duncan noticed the same shock look on his friend's face, "Nihaal, you know these two already?"

He smirked while Veera looked at him with pleading eyes hoping upon hope he wasn't going to cause a scene. "I meant them early today. They've taught me the true meaning of the saying not to judge a book by its cover."

Duncan looked his friend a bit perplexed at his random comment. "Um, okay. Well, I have to get going. Great talking to you guys. Joyti, just call my publicist to set up a time for that interview. I'm sorry I have to do this to you. She insists everything has to go through her. I'll make sure to let her know it is an interview I personally want to do."

Joyti nodded, "Thanks Duncan. I'll do that."

"Nihaal, you talk to these lovely ladies. I have to go talk to Zoe otherwise I'll never hear the end of it," Duncan said and bid the group farewell.

At that moment Joyti suddenly received a phone call forcing her to excuse herself from the group. Nihaal grinned at the girls, Veera in particular. "Duncan must have really liked you two to request the design contest to be open to Canada. He may have a soft spot for the ladies but let me warn you when it comes to fashion he is very serious. So I certainly hope for your sake that you have the talent to back it up with. Otherwise you will be gone before the first cut is even made." He handed his business card to them. "We'll have the official announcement up and running on Duncan's website in the next couple of weeks. Here's my card if you have any questions in the mean time." Nihaal then did a polite nod of his head, "I guess I'll be seeing you two around."

"Great just my luck," Veera groaned once Nihaal was out of sight. "Why did it have to be him?" Maya just looked at her friend with a worried expression.

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Pre-Cap:

Chapter 30: SPELL The Magic

Valentine's Day is here and romance is in the air...😍

Will Prem and Preet succeed in creating the prefect romantic date or will it become an epic fail?

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Hope you guys enjoyed that!

See you on Wednesday!

Please Leave Comments as they are Most Appreciated!

---Grace 😃