The Runaway Bridegroom (7 page)

  
Chanda looked at Ranveer. There was a flush of colour on his tanned cheeks. And his brown eyes glittered with temper. She could see that he was angry. But then he couldn’t blame her for the situation.

  
She said, “Megha’s staying with her aunt. Their apartment’s so small that she’s just managing to squeeze. I don’t know anyone else in the office and don’t want to stay with strangers. Nor do I know anyone else in Delhi other than those at the hostel.” There was no apology in Chanda’s voice as she was very clear that she couldn’t do much about the way things were.

  
Ranveer considered the situation for a minute before coming to a quick decision. After all, speedy decision-making was the foremost trait that had brought his business this far, so fast.

  
“Okay, you can go home with me,” he said, his voice firm, making it clear that he wouldn’t put up with arguments.

  
Chanda’s jaw dropped! Go to his house? She looked at Ranveer strangely. A number of questions rose within her. What will his parents think? Or the other members of his family? Coming from a big family with everyone living in, it didn’t even strike her that Ranveer could be living alone.

  
Chanda mentally shrugged her shoulders. If he thought it was alright taking a strange woman home, then why should she worry her head about it? Ranveer seemed too decent to misbehave and that way she could trust her instincts around him. She concluded that this was probably the only way that she could attend the party and she was keen about it.

  
Chanda nodded her head much to Ranveer’s amazement. He had been expecting a number of questions and at least a few protests. He couldn’t believe his luck that she had agreed to his suggestion almost immediately. Despite her estranged marriage, Chanda’s close-knit family had helped her keep her faith in humankind and she tended to trust easily.

  
And so it was decided that Chanda would go with Ranveer after the party. He gave a soft grin, his temper having disappeared as he sent her on her way to her desk.

  
The scene left a bitter taste in Shikha’s mouth as she watched Ranveer get up to open his cabin door to send Chanda on her way. She could see his wide smile all the way from her cabin.

  
What the hell was happening?

Twelve

   The party was loud and cheerful. Chanda couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed herself so much. Everyone was friendly and she realised that having a couple
of drinks not necessarily meant getting drunk.

   The venue had been chosen well. It was the big hall where everyone got together when there was a common meeting. All the chairs had been pushed against the walls while the few tables that had been placed together groaned under the weight of food and drinks. There were soft drinks, sodas, fruit juices, beer and hard liquor. A professional bartender had been roped in to do the honours. A couple of chefs had been hired to handle the food for the fifty-odd staff. There was a variety of snacks -
nachos piled with cheese; thread paneer; garlic bread; potato wedges; cheese toast; chicken wings; fish and chips
. Everything was hot and simply delicious.

   There was loud music with a mix of Bollywood and pop numbers. The centre of the hall was kept free of furniture to accommodate the dancers. There were coloured streamers and balloons adding to the festive air. It was obvious that someone had gone all out to make the party a great success.

   Shikha sat in a chair all by herself, her lips drooping in dissatisfaction. She couldn’t find anything right. The drinks were too soft, the food too bland and the décor - oh, so childish! Her cynical mind just couldn’t accept that everyone was having fun. Nor could she forget Ranveer’s expression when Chanda was leaving his cabin. What had she been doing there? The question ate into Shikha.

   It was barely a couple of hours since the party began and Shikha was already into her sixth whisky. The bartender looked askance as she went up to him yet again for a refill. She was not interested in eating anything. Her eyes were following the movements of both Ranveer and Chanda. And she was quite surprised to note that neither seemed inclined to be with the other.

   Chanda was with her friends from college while a few others from the office hung around with them. They were all very young, thought Shikha, with a scowl on her face. They were going easy on the drinks and eating well into the snacks. She wondered what they had to laugh so much about as yet another peal of mirth sounded from that end of the room.

   The group then moved to the dance floor and began to swing to the music. They didn’t follow any particular step as they all swung in rhythm. More people joined in and soon it appeared as if everyone was dancing. Shikha watched in anger as Ranveer went to join the dancers.

   Shikha and Abhimanyu were the only ones left. She refused to join the others as she felt they all were too immature for words. She couldn’t stand the young crowd.

RANVEER DANCED HIS WAY slowly towards Chanda. He had been watching her surreptitiously all evening and couldn’t help but like what he saw. She looked lovely and her laughter seemed to ring the loudest. He was glad that he had had the party organised. More than anything, he was looking forward to taking her home tonight.

   Chanda smiled up at Ranveer when he moved to dance in front of her. It was
n’t easy when her heart picked up at double speed at his appearance. But then, she was very careful as she kept a tight rein on her heaving emotions. She raised her hand to bring her thumb and forefinger together in a gesture of appreciation. Ranveer nodded his head in understanding with an answering smile on his face. Conversation was impossible above the din.

   They danced for a while before Ranveer gently pulled her to the side. He took her along with him to the food table. They both picked
a plate each and added a few tit-bits before walking over to a corner of the room in mutual agreement.

   Chanda gave him a nervous smile before saying, “Lovely party. I’ve never had so much fun.”

   Ranveer grinned his appreciation before drinking from his bottle of beer. “So, what’s your poison?” he asked, noticing that Chanda was not having anything to drink.

   “Water,” she answered promptly. She had already had a couple of vodka-based cocktails and was definitely not going to have any more.

   Ranveer left his plate on the chair beside her before going to get a glass of water.

   Shikha had been watching them like a hawk and walked over the moment Ranveer moved away. She sat next to Chanda and gave her a saccharine smile. “Hello! I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Shikha, Ranveer’s secretary.” Her tone clearly suggested ‘lover’ instead of secretary. But Chanda was not tuned in to the nuances and took her at her word.

   “Hi,” she smiled innocently. “I’m Chanda. You must love your job surely. This is such a fun place to work at.”

  
Shikha nodded superciliously, wondering how to make it clear to Chanda that Ranveer was her property. “It’s such a boring party”, she declared cynically. “In my earlier job, the parties used to be so much wilder. This is so kiddish,” she insisted to a startled Chanda. There had been no parties at her earlier job. But no one knew about that. Shikha wanted to make it clear that she was ‘cool’.

  
Before she could utter another word, Ranveer turned up with a glass of water for Chanda. He handed it over to her while Shikha looked hungrily at his face. He looked at her coolly before saying, “Hey, Shikha, how do you like the party? It’s your first too, isn’t it?”

  
Shikha could have killed him for that. Why did he have to let on that she was quite new here? Men were such idiots.

  
She tilted her head to one side to give him a flirtatious look. “Ranveer,” she drawled. “I’ve never enjoyed myself more in my life. The conversations are so witty, the drinks flowing so freely and the snacks so yummy—mmm.” Shikha brought all the fingers of her right hand to her lips and blew him a kiss.

  
Chanda’s jaw dropped!

Thirteen

   Chanda couldn’t believe her ears. Barely a couple of minutes ago, this same woman had declared that the party was boring. And just now, she was telling their boss that it was the best party in the world. Talk about being a phony! She turned around to look at Shikha who was staring at Ranveer. Chanda caught the hungry expression on the older woman’s face and was quite shaken by it.

  
Ranveer smiled down at his secretary. The quiet Chanda also noted that his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. There was obviously more to the situation than met the eye, she thought. She stood back to watch the two sophisticated people beside her.

  
As Ranveer held his plate of snacks, Shikha moved closer to him in the pretext of choosing a tit-bit. Her body language screamed ownership. Chanda wondered whether anything was on between the two of them and felt a sense of disappointment steal over her. It appeared as if her interest in a man for the first time was not to be. She kind of withdrew from the other two.

  
Ranveer noticed Chanda’s silence and immediately understood Shikha’s effect on the scene. He wondered how to get rid of the older woman. It was obvious that she was quite drunk and getting belligerent.

  
Ever the gentleman, Ranveer said, “Could I get you something to eat, Shikha?”

  
Shikha looked into his brown eyes and so wished that they could get away from the rest of the staff. She knew better than to suggest it. “I’d love to have some chicken wings,” she said.

  
“One batch of chicken wings coming up,” said Ranveer before going back to the food counter.

  
Shikha looked down at Chanda’s bent head, her gaze quite malicious. “Are you shocked?”

  
Chanda looked at the older woman. Her right eyebrow rose as if to ask, ‘Why?’

  
Shikha gave her a mean smile as she said, “Well, you did hear me say that the party was boring. But then, my dear, I don’t think you realise what big egos men have. Ranveer expects me to tell him that the party’s great and I was just pandering to his ego. No one knows better than I how to handle men,” she insisted.

  
Chanda nodded her head wisely, refusing to say anything. It was obvious that she was being lectured by an expert.

  
“You don’t know how experienced I am at handling the species. They all think so big of themselves. Believe you me when I say that I’ve worked as a secretary to some of the best in the field. All they want to hear is how great they are,” said Shikha, a cynical twist to her thin lips.

  
Chanda nodded again, not quite knowing what to say. She even wondered whether she was required to contribute to the conversation as Ranveer walked back with Shikha’s order.

  
“Thank you so much, Ranveer,” purred Shikha as she took the plate from him. She rose on tiptoe to kiss him on his right cheek, leaving a red lipstick mark on him. “You’re the best boss ever.” Her fakeness was obvious to anyone who was within hearing distance.

  
Chanda kept her face straight with great difficulty. She wondered whether Ranveer saw through his secretary. If he didn’t, then he wasn’t the man that she had imagined him to be. Her lips drooped a little as her disenchantment grew.

  
Ranveer waited for a while as Shikha managed to eat a couple of chicken wings. Then he said in a quiet voice, “I’ve ordered a cab for you. It must’ve arrived by now. I advise you to leave immediately.” His voice brooked no argument, or so it seemed to Chanda.

  
Shikha raised her startled gaze to Ranveer. She had not expected that, of all things. “But why, Ranveer? The night’s still young and I was just beginning to enjoy myself—”