Trouble Has a New Name (6 page)

By lunchtime, the crew had done enough filming for the day and, as the sun’s rays beat down upon them, they headed back to the resort. Neel had slipped on his aviator glasses and made it more than obvious that he wasn’t interested in idle chit-chat. Rayna couldn’t help but feel irritated—she was hardly to blame for Paul’s off-the-cuff remark and what was the big deal, anyway? This dude clearly had some heavy-duty issues. Besides, two could play at the stony-silence game!

As soon as they arrived at the resort, Rayna was accosted by a harried Maya, who needed help with the preparations for the
sangeet.
Within minutes they had rounded up the Agra gang for a quick rehearsal at the gym. Maya’s idea was to do a fun Gangnam-style number set to one of the latest Bollywood hits.

Agra Aunty, who had never heard of the South Korean sensation Psy, was most perturbed. ‘What’s all this
Gangman-
Shangman? Is this something like gangsta rap? Highly unsuitable for a
sangeet
!’

Her comment was greeted with howls of laughter and Maya quickly played a video of the Korean superstar’s blockbuster number on the gym’s large-screen TV to bring Agra Aunty up to speed. Soon she was tapping her feet, rotating her arms and shaking her ample hips in time to the catchy music. ‘I like this Korean Govinda.’

A chorus of squeals went up, ‘
Gangnam
, Aunty!’

‘
Haan…haan…
I’m telling you he has copied all his moves from our Bollywood’s Govinda!’ she retorted as she swung her hips.

Agra Aunty threw herself into the rehearsals with gusto. Soon everyone was trying to rival her over-the-top moves. Amid much laughter, booty-shaking and ribald comments, they managed to work out a dance routine that was easy enough to follow without being overly choreographed.

‘Ladies, another rehearsal tomorrow morning at seven and we should be ready to rock and roll!’ announced Maya triumphantly.

Huffing and puffing after the energetic dancing, Agra Aunty caught Maya by the arm and said, ‘Maya
beti
, will Karisma be also joining us for the
scingeet
?’

Maya’s face fell. ‘Aunty, how do you know about Karisma?’

Agra Aunty smirked. ‘I have my sources. Everyone in Agra will be so jealous of me if I did
balle-balle
with her.’

Rayna felt sorry for Maya, who was being bamboozled by the wily old biddy. She butted in. ‘Aunty, Karisma doesn’t want to dance with lesser mortals like you and me. She is our star performer.’

Agra Aunty snorted. ‘
Arrey
, she might be a superstar. But you are also a
chhota-mota model-shodel
, no?’ Rayna couldn’t help wonder at how Agra Aunty did it—even her praise sounded like an insult. ‘Right, Aunty. I’m just a small-time model.’

Maya had by now recovered from Agra Aunty’s assault. ‘Karisma is here as a performer for the reception. I’m afraid she won’t be joining in the
sangeet
.’

‘You must do something, Maya. I just want one photograph of myself dancing with Bollywood’s reigning item-song queen! I’m sure you can manage that.’

Maya suppressed an involuntary smile and resorted to flattery. ‘Aunty, your dancing will be the rage of the
sangeet.
Karisma will be so jealous of your moves.’

‘Really? You think I’m so good?’

Rayna was trying not to burst into laughter and she snuck behind Agra Aunty and clapped a hand over her mouth.

Maya deadpanned, ‘
Aapke moves Kareena Kapoor se bhi behtar hain!
You should just keep practising in your room till you’re perfect. But secretly, OK? We want to take Milee totally by surprise.’

As a preening Aunty shimmied down the hallway Rayna and Maya finally burst into giggles.

‘Kareena Kapoor, huh? Better watch out, Maya. Next, she will want you to get her a role in a movie!’

Maya rolled her eyes. ‘Rayna, you’ve got to help me out. Karisma is very temperamental. I don’t need her starry tantrums at this stage. She has already put me in a bit of a spot and Neel is livid.’

‘What do you mean?’ Rayna asked.

‘Oh, well, she threatened not to show up unless we let her bring along two of her friends—Sid Verma and Aziz Shah. Now Neel has hauled me over the coals about inviting Shah, but it was either that or cancel Karisma’s performance entirely.’

Rayna sympathised, ‘Tough call. And it wouldn’t be possible to get another prestige performer at such short notice.’

‘Precisely,’ said Maya, wringing her hands. ‘Now I only hope this Aunty doesn’t spoil my plans.’

Rayna squeezed her arm. ‘I’ll try my best to keep her away from Karisma. Don’t worry—everything will be fine.’

‘Thanks, Rayna. Really appreciate it.’

As Maya hurried off, Rayna wished she could evict Agra Aunty and the troublemaking trio from the island. She stepped onto the cobbled pathway leading to the villa when she saw two of them walking down arm in arm towards her—the Deceitful Dumper and his Diva!

RBIL #6 had struck: Try as you might to stay away from trouble, it always finds you!

The muscles in her stomach knotted painfully but her voice was calm as ever. ‘Hello, Sid, Karisma!’

Sid grinned. ‘How lovely to see you here, Rayna.’

The creep didn’t even have the decency to look shamefaced.
He came forward as if to hug her but she stepped aside deftly.

‘Really? Hope you don’t expect me to believe you!’ Rayna ignored Karisma. ‘What do you have to say for yourself, Mr Sid Verma? Or perhaps that’s not your style. You would rather hide behind a text than talk face-to-face, wouldn’t you?’

Karisma jeered nastily, ‘Oh, boy! Get ready for the teary-eyed, jilted-girlfriend routine.’

Rayna took a deep breath and turned to Karisma. ‘I wouldn’t waste my tears on anyone who neither has the decency nor the balls to tell me to my face that our relationship is over.’

Sid brazened it out. ‘I tried calling you but I just couldn’t get through. And then we got so busy with—’

As he continued to spew forth a string of excuses, she mentally switched off. Waves of anger swept through her. How could she have fallen for a shallow guy like
Sid? How had she deluded herself that she could share her life with him?

‘Stop it, Sid.’ Irritation gave her voice a sharp edge. ‘I really don’t give a rat’s ass for your stupid stories. Now, if you’ll excuse me…’

Sid looked as if he’d been kicked in the face. Relief surged through her. She had definitely had a lucky escape and would be happiest if she never set eyes on him ever again. In her hurry to get away she missed her step. She lurched forward and tried desperately to regain her balance. How ironic if she were to fall flat on her face just after her display of self-control!

Suddenly, she felt strong hands grip her forearms and steady her. Her eyes fluttered up to lock with stormy grey ones. Embarrassment warred with a sweet thrill as she leaned against Neel for support. Every time Sid tripped her up—metaphorically speaking—Neel was around to rescue her.

For God’s sake, Rayna, stop reading too much into his knight-in-shining-armour act.
She was letting her imagination get the better of her. She didn’t need to read anything into Neel’s actions. It was sheer coincidence that he’d arrived at the right moment. Hadn’t he made it quite clear that he wasn’t looking for a romantic liaison? Besides, what she needed was a break from men, not another heartbreak!

N
EEL BOOTED UP
the computer in his spacious ocean-view office. A couple of days away from Mumbai and the work would have piled up. He had already got several text messages from his secretary in Mumbai.

‘Damn!’ The Internet connection was still down. This thing needed to be sorted out with the local service provider ASAP. It was bad for business, especially with high-end clients at the resort who wanted twenty-four-seven connectivity.

Neel buzzed Shiva. ‘Shiva, what’s happening with the telecom guys?’ He breathed a little easier when Shiva assured him the technical staff was on the job and the Internet would be up and running in a few minutes. ‘Good,’ said Neel. ‘I don’t want any of the guests to start complaining.’

Leaning back in his swivel chair, Neel gazed at the ocean, spread out in a wide swathe outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office.

Rayna was on his mind—in fact he couldn’t stop thinking about her. All his self-control was being washed away like a child’s sandcastle on the beach. He longed to touch her, feel her soft skin against his and lose himself in those luscious curves. She had this
strange pull/push effect on him. He felt like a yo-yo—the more he tried to push himself away from her, the more he was pulled towards her. The very thought made him hot and claustrophobic in his air-conditioned office that was chilled to nineteen degrees Celsius. He pushed away from the desk and stepped out onto the balcony, letting the sea breeze soothe his brow.

She reminded him of the way he had been with Pia. But that was where the similarities ended. What he felt for Rayna was nothing but pure, unadulterated lust. He was slipping up—maybe he had gone without sex for too long. The sight of her this morning in hot-pink pants had fired up his libido. No surprise there. But he
had
surprised himself by opening up to her.

Even more disturbing was the strange gut-ripping emotion that had slashed through him when he’d overheard her conversation with Sid. He was fast getting into the no-man’s-land he had vowed to stay away from. Clearly, those two had a personal history—and it would be wise for him to keep away. Yet he had almost given into his desire to break the guy’s jaw. He’d wanted to pull her into his arms, cuddle her and kiss away the hurt from those large beautiful eyes. What the hell was wrong with him? One moment he was desiring her and the next he wanted to comfort her!

He glanced at his laptop and was relieved to find the Wi-Fi connection had been restored. He opened his email, only to be deluged by a flurry of urgent messages. After responding to them, he called up Meera’s psychiatrist, Dr Kushal Banerjee, for his weekly update. As he listened to the calm and efficient doctor, he felt a rush of gratitude for his unwavering support.

‘Neel, I’m happy to report that Meera is making
slow but good progress,’ said Dr Banerjee in his measured tones.

‘That’s encouraging,’ replied Neel as hope bloomed in his heart.

The no-nonsense psychiatrist always erred on the side of caution. ‘For the first time in years, she mentioned you in passing,’ he said.

The news stunned Neel as he listened to what the doctor had to say. ‘She was reminiscing about a childhood incident, something to do with a teddy bear you had bought for her. Most importantly, Neel, her aggressive behaviour has reduced significantly. It’s a big step forward.’

Neel gulped at the lump that had settled bang in the middle of his throat. A tiny kernel of hope planted itself in his heart. But, even before he acknowledged the emotion, Dr Banerjee cautioned, ‘This might be an aberration. So don’t raise your hopes too high.’

For years he’d had little reason to hope. And for the umpteenth time he wondered how things had come to such a pass. The sister he loved dearly had come to hate him so much she had willed herself to never utter his name. How had he gone so wrong? But, no, he wasn’t going to visit that lonely space in his heart. His wavering attention was pulled back when Dr Banerjee said, ‘…not told your mother anything yet. I don’t want her to get too excited about it. For now, let’s keep it under wraps, OK?’

‘Sure, Dr Banerjee. I will be in touch again next week.’ And added with a wealth of feeling, ‘Thanks, for everything.’

The restaurant had been decorated in the style of an Indian
mehfil.
Low divans with silk-covered bolsters and
cushions in bright colours around sunken tables had replaced the usual dining arrangements. Pretty blue pottery vases with fresh flowers, terracotta lamps and bright
rangoli
designs added mood and colour to the setting. The terraced garden outside, which was metres away from the beach, provided a spectacular view of the ocean. The low hum of conversation and laughter mingled with the tinkling of cocktail glasses and the whisper of wind chimes.

Rayna was determined to keep Neel at a distance. She seemed to be tripping over him all the time and she felt like a damsel in distress who needed rescuing by the hunky hotelier once too often. Even so, she couldn’t suppress the little shiver of delight that passed through her at the thought that he’d saved her from making an utter fool of herself in front of Karisma and Sid. She wondered what was worse—for Neel to think she was a total klutz or a delighted Karisma watching her being picked up from the floor?

‘A penny for your thoughts?’ Neel’s deep voice rumbled near her ear as a delicious shiver ran up her back.

‘Think of the devil!’ The words escaped her lips before she could stop them.

She gazed up at the man who had taken permanent residence in her thoughts and marvelled at just how delicious he looked. The silk
achkan
suit—with a hint of gold embroidery around the collar—enhanced his broad shoulders, giving him the air of a roguish Indian prince. It was so unfair that he should look sexy as sin, especially when she had resolved to steel her heart against all that charismatic handsomeness. Her agenda was in danger of going out of the window.

‘Devil or not, you admit you were thinking of me.’ The crease in his cheek deepened.

‘If I were you, I would stay away from me,’ she said, only half-jokingly.

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Any particular reason why?’

‘I have found that things—especially the embarrassing kind—happen to me in threes,’ she said wryly. ‘You’ve already saved me twice from falling on my face. The third time may just be around the corner.’

‘I’m more than happy to play the knight in shining armour.’ The glint in his eyes was making her edge towards total discombobulation.

‘The way things are going, it seems like I have set myself up to be the Reigning Klutz of the Party.’

He laughed. ‘Don’t beat yourself up. I have been in worse situations.’

‘Yeah, right!’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Aren’t you taking your role of white knight a bit too far?’

‘I’m serious,’ he said, smiling. ‘On my first day of college I had to walk down the main hallway with about three thousand students staring at me.’

At her confused look he paused for a beat before adding, ‘In the buff.’

‘What?’ She couldn’t suppress a giggle.

‘Yeah, exactly. Not a stitch on… So I walked with my eyes tightly shut.’

‘You were being ragged by your seniors!’ she exclaimed.

‘Whatever. But, on the embarrassment scale, you can’t top that.’

She tried desperately to keep a straight face, even as she wished she had been among the spectators ogling him.

He had an overly injured look on his face. ‘Go
ahead…you’re entitled to have a good laugh. I’ll wait till you have finished.’

‘There’s more?’ She looked at him, eyes dancing.

‘I shut my eyes and kept walking. But suddenly the jeering stopped. It was so quiet that for a moment I thought my audience could not bear the torture of watching me and had fled. No such luck. As soon as I opened my eyes I saw my principal, Madam Sharma, standing before me. Believe me, T. rex is a teddy bear compared to her.’

‘Oh, my God!’ Rayna clapped her hand to her mouth.

‘I stood there, hands in front of my…ahem…private parts, with the stupidest grin on my face, wishing her “good morning.” She hollered at me, “Mr Arora, I would like to see you in my office. But with some clothes on, please!”‘

Rayna was laughing so hard she thought she would burst a seam. She spluttered, ‘Did you tell her that you were being ragged?’

‘No, I didn’t. Because the girl who had ordered me to shed my clothes…’

‘A girl?’ Rayna beamed.

‘…decided to confess,’ he continued without pausing. ‘She begged the principal not to take action against her. But Madam Sharma told her she would have no choice but to expel her if I filed a complaint against her.’

‘Gosh! What did you do?’

He shook his head dramatically. ‘To this day, I regret my decision.’

‘You got her expelled?’ Rayna couldn’t believe he would be so vindictive for a harmless—though hopelessly embarrassing—prank.

‘Wish I had.’ Neel had an expression of mock torture
on his face. ‘Maybe then I wouldn’t get these recurring nightmares of running down the street stark naked with a herd of bulls chasing me. Incidentally, the lead bull kind of resembles Madam Sharma!’

That set Rayna off on another paroxysm of laughter.

‘Jeez! Are you sure you didn’t just make all this up? It seems…’

Before she could finish, someone had started playing the
dholak
—the percussion instrument that no Indian wedding celebration was complete without. A knot of guests had gathered around the
dholak-
player and an impromptu singing session began. Rayna grabbed Neel’s arm excitedly. ‘Come. Radhika is one of the best singers of wedding songs.’

It was almost as if she had dropped a bomb. In an instant, the mirth and fun had gone from Neel’s face and was replaced by a shuttered look.

Flustered, Rayna asked, ‘What happened?’

‘Nothing. I will see you later.’ His tone was icy, distant.

‘Come on, Neel. It will be a lot of fun.’

Neel wrenched his arm away with a sudden jerk. ‘This is not my idea of
fun.
Excuse me, please.’

What had brought about such a dramatic change in his mood? Hurt rippled through her as she watched him walk out. But it was replaced by anger at his blow-hot-blow-cold attitude. Cursing herself for letting him ruffle her, she joined the group.

The traditional wedding songs sparked off an
antakshari
—a singing contest. The mix of numbers got diverse as Chris and other non-Hindi speakers joined the singers. Soon, everyone was belting out everything from Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ and Abba’s
‘Dancing Queen’ to Bollywood’s
‘Meri sapno ki rani.’
Champagne flowed as appetising snacks were served and merriment cloaked the guests in its embrace in the balmy evening.

Neel felt wretchedly lonely as he tried to shut out the sounds of the
dholak
, fun and laughter that wafted over to the bar. He ordered a stiff measure of Scotch and tried to drown out the memories that had come rushing back. Memories of that long ago evening when he was to tie the knot with Pia. Memories soggy with tears and the loss of innocence. Memories that had scarred his soul for ever.

He had arrived at Pia’s doorstep on horseback wearing the
sehra
, the traditional floral headdress, along with his
baraat
comprising friends and family. The tree-lined avenue leading to Pia’s house glittered with multicoloured lights. The facade of the Gupta residence was draped with strings of marigold and festive decorations that were seen from a mile away. His mother led the
baraatis
and the accompanying musicians while Meera and his cousins danced all the way to Pia’s house.

As soon as he dismounted, he was surrounded by Pia’s relatives, who ribbed him for being overeager to get married and arriving right on time while the norm was that the groom always turned up a few hours late. How innocent he had been—impatient for the wedding rituals to be completed and their life as a married couple to begin!

He had laughed and joked with his soon-to-be in-laws and delighted them with generous gifts of money and jewellery. The
baraatis
were ushered in for refreshments while he waited for Pia to arrive and the wedding rituals to begin in front of the holy fire. The Brahmin
priest had already made all the preparations and he called for the bride to be brought to the
mandap.

However, Pia didn’t emerge… After a good forty-five minutes had passed, Neel asked his mother to go inside and check why she was taking so long. His mother had laughed at his anxiety and reassured him that it was just bridal nerves. Or something as silly as a misplaced piece of jewellery that was causing the delay. Nevertheless, she went to check. Ten minutes later she came out, barely able to hold back her tears. By then, the alarm bells had started ringing in Neel’s head. With a heavy heart he went into the study, where Ravi Gupta waited for him with a sombre expression. Pia was next to him—she wasn’t wearing the bridal
saree
that his mother had given her for the occasion—and her eyes were red and swollen. She looked as if she had been up all night crying her eyes out.

Neel’s musings came to an abrupt halt when he saw a lady enter the bar accompanied by two men. He recognised the trio immediately: Karisma, Sid Verma and Aziz Shah. He swilled the Scotch in his glass and poured it down his throat. The sight of the namby-pamby Sid made his blood churn. Pushing away from the table, he heard Karisma mention Rayna and he stopped. His curiosity was piqued.

‘The story about Sid and Rayna’s break-up will be the first of the series. When will they carry the piece?’ asked Karisma.

Aziz Shah replied, ‘The editor promised it would be in tomorrow’s paper.’

Karisma clapped her hands in glee. ‘Wonderful. That should cause a bit of a stir. But we need to follow it up with a picture of me and Sid kissing.’

Sid squirmed in his seat. ‘Karisma, why do we need to drag Rayna into this? Can’t we just go with the announcement of me directing a feature film for your production company?’

Karisma cut him short. ‘Shut up, Sid. You have no clue about publicity. We need to create a buzz around my company. You’re just one amongst many ad filmmakers trying to break into the movie business as a director. You can bet your bottom rupee you won’t get a two-line mention on page sixteen.’