"So why are you still with him?" Aaron asked. "Why didn't you come back here to me?"
"He begged me to stay." Alka sighed. "He was just starting up his business and he wanted a trophy wife. He also offered to give me the education that I wanted, and he sort of blackmailed me. If I didn't stay it would bring dishonor to the families…so I stayed. He offered me an out every five years."
"So you are a doctor now?" Aaron asked, navigating the vehicle.
"Yes," Alka bit her lips, "a gynecologist. One of the few female ones in Mumbai."
"Good for you." Aaron glanced at her. "So why didn't you come back five years ago?"
"I got mysteriously sick." Alka shrugged. "It was right in the middle of exams too."
Aaron frowned. "That's a huge coincidence."
Alka nodded. "I thought so at the time but I got better."
"So this is year number ten and you are back here," Aaron said slowly. "Why? For how long?"
"I am back because I wanted to see you again." Alka curled her fingers in her palm nervously. "I wanted to know if there was anything left between us and if you were with anybody else. I took a two-week vacation from work. I didn't even tell Rajiv where I was going."
Aaron grunted. He didn't say a word; he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
Two weeks and then what? She would go back to India, to her husband, and forget about him—or was she expecting some sort of permanent arrangement? Alka had a real gift for confusing him.
"Tell me about Rajiv," he said in the silence.
"Rajiv?" Alka glanced at him. "Why?"
"You stayed married to him for ten years. I am just curious."
Alka looked hunted. "I am not sure what to tell you."
"Tell me the truth, Alka." Aaron furrowed his brow. "Why are you still with Rajiv?"
"He is gentle, kind, caring, and he allows me to do my work without complaining. I like him; he's a good man."
Aaron gritted his teeth. Rajiv was a good man. He was sorry that he asked. Aaron was also sure that Alka was hiding something from him. He could see it in the tense way she held herself.
"What else are you not telling me?" he asked.
"Nothing." Alka sighed. "I am not hiding anything."
Aaron grunted and then asked the question that was gnawing at the back of his mind. "So after two weeks what are you going to do?"
"I don't know." Alka smiled at him. "It's so good to be back here with you, Aaron. Can't we just live in the moment?"
"Like we did when you were eighteen?" Aaron frowned. "No, we can't. I don't like how this is looking, Alka. I can't be the other man. I am sorry. If you wanted us to have a future you should have annulled, divorced, or severed your marriage to Rajiv according to your customs and then come to Jamaica a single woman."
"It's not that simple," Alka said, a hint of despair in her voice. "I am from a culture where divorce is not a simple walk in the park. And Rajiv is..."
Aaron looked at her. "Rajiv is?"
Alka sighed, "I can't divorce him now."
"Why not?" Aaron asked sullenly. "It's always something with you, isn't it? We have been through this conversation before. You remember, ten years ago."
He turned into the cottage where Xavier and Farrah lived and silently helped Alka with her two bags. She had really packed light. She kept glancing at him; her large expressive eyes eating him up with their intensity.
I will not fall under your spell. He looked at her angrily because he felt himself weakening despite his anger. If he was to be honest with himself, he would have to admit that he was afraid. Why had he never had this type of feeling for any other woman? It was like his breath was in suspension, like he was afraid to breathe because if he allowed himself to, he would feel too much and become lost in her.
He slammed the car door shut and leaned on it, taking a deep breath. What he needed to do was call a cleaning agency and let them deal with her house, and he needed to take her to the Montego Bay Palm and book her into the presidential suite. She would have all the amenities available to her, but instead, he found himself driving along the scenic coastline and turning into the palm-lined driveway of the exclusive gated community of Rose Hall, where he lived.
He drove up his flower-lined driveway and parked at the under croft. The front door was wide open. He could see all the way towards the back patio, which opened out into a view of the sea. He was dithering. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and looked fixedly at the gleaming marble tile of his living room.
The breeze had picked up and she wound down her window and leaned out.
"This place is gorgeous, Aaron!"
He dragged his eyes from the floor and looked at the excitement in her eyes and the hint of red on her cheeks. It would not be a big deal to put her up for a mere two weeks. He had the space. His place had five bedrooms. If he wanted, he did not have to see her much.
"This is where I live," he said to her, getting out of the car. "My housekeeper Maisie is inside. She will show you to a room. Make yourself comfortable. I am going back to the party."
"Say what?" Alka jumped out of the car. "Your home?"
He got her bags out of the back of the vehicle and headed inside to the guest room farthest from his. He briefly spoke to Maisie and when he got back outside Alka was sniffing one of the pale pink roses that his mother planted in the garden at the front and told him that it would bring him long lasting love and good fortune.
His gardener thought they were a nuisance. So far they had not brought him anything but trouble, like the woman currently sniffing them.
"Bye, Alka. I am going back to the party."
"No," Alka said, a band of disappointment making her stomach constrict. "Stay, please."
"Can't." He got into the vehicle. "I have responsibilities. Does that sound familiar?"
She bowed her head and slumped her shoulders.
Too bad, Aaron thought crankily, ignoring his inner voice that was taunting him, Stay, you know you want to; she's infinitely more interesting than any party.
He watched as she entered his home and then he drove off.
Alka Duggal was in his home. The thought sunk in slowly as Aaron drove back toward the party.
Chapter Seven
Dawn Terry sat in her office staring at the mass of paperwork in front of her. She had the Montego Bay Chronicle on line one and the Daily Paper on line two, and no less than five other mass media entities were waiting for the press releases she had crafted for the Paradise Palm opening. The society pages of the Montego Bay Chronicle wanted some more pictures of the party from her personal stash. She had a pile of them in front of her. One was of her and Aaron, talking and laughing. She propped it up on top of the rest and stared at it.
She loved him. She loved everything about him: his voice, which was husky and smooth, his hazel eyes, his symmetrically proportioned face, his hard chiseled lips, his long tapered fingers, and his leanly muscular body. She sighed and looked at the picture closer. He didn't look happy, though he was laughing. He had disappeared from the party for almost two hours and when he came back his mood had changed.
She had the ability to sense a mood change in Aaron, even if he was outwardly smiling, she thought wryly—much good it had done her over the years. She had tried a number of strategies to get Aaron's attention; not one of them had worked. She had even joined that decorating committee at church and cozied up to his grandmother, Valeria, to get some insight into Aaron's psyche. Valeria had seen through her move after a number of weeks and had actively encouraged her to pursue her grandson using a number of strategies, but none had borne fruit.
Aaron was stubbornly resistant to her. She cupped her chin in her hand. She was going to be thirty next month, February. She had promised herself that she would be married by the thirty milestone. Maybe she had been wrong in playing a subtle game of wait and see with Aaron. He seemed as if he was never going to get the point.
She drummed her fingers on her desk. Focus on bu
siness. Her personal life had nothing to do with the business at hand.
She picked up the phone and dealt with the various callers on the other end of the line but two hours later she was still worrying about Aaron. She had never in her life overtly pursued a guy, maybe it was time she stopped acting like an ingénue and really go after what she wanted.
She wanted love, she wanted financial stability, and she wanted the future president of Palm Tree hotel.
She imagined herself marrying into the Lee family. It would be a dream come true; they were a rich and influential family. The older Lee, the one who started the company, had been a Chinese immigrant. He had come to Jamaica, bought an old guesthouse, married a wealthy German woman and together they had expanded the business and had one son, Boris P. Lee.
Boris P. had married Valeria, a nurse who had taken care of him when he had twisted his ankle in a yachting incident. Their marriage had caused quite a scandal because of the disparity of their backgrounds. Valeria liked to tell her gleefully that when she had married into the wealthy Lee family with her maroon black skin and no family background to speak of, upper class Jamaica had stopped breathing in collective horror. Valeria and Boris P. had three sons: Graham, Gordon, and Grant.
Graham was the VP of marketing and her immediate boss. He was divorced three times and had recently gotten married to a more age-appropriate woman, according to his mother. Grant was an adventurer who had written several best-selling travel books.
Gordon was Boris Junior and Aaron's father. He was down to earth and a kind man. His wife, Dina, was lovely as well. Their marriage had also created waves because Dina was a chambermaid at the Montego Bay Palm and still in her teens when she married Gordon a few weeks after meeting him.
That had been quite a promotion when the young Dina had married Gordon Lee. Dawn felt antsy with anticipation. She could do the same thing as Dina did and marry into the wealthy Lee family. She was one step away; she could feel it.
She had just finished paying off the student loans she used to finance her Master's degree in Public Relations. She didn't have any loans and wasn't financially destitute but she would more than welcome a rich husband. If only Aaron would cooperate.
"Hi there." Boris pushed his head into her office. "I have a situation." He glanced at his watch as if he was in a hurry. "I am going to lunch at the Pelican. Want to come?"
Dawn cleared her throat. "Is this business, Mr. Lee? Because I am not sure that I can tear myself from my desk right now."
She pointed to her packed desk. There was something about Boris that left her cold. Maybe it was because he always seemed so diminished when he was in his brother's presence. He was the older one and they very much looked alike, but she couldn't pinpoint why it was that Boris seemed so...so...repulsive, at least to her. The ladies in the office certainly didn't think so; they sighed and fanned themselves dramatically when he passed by. Maybe he was not as attractive to her because he tried so hard to be what Aaron was naturally.
That was it. He came off as an imposter.
Boris winced when she called him Mr. Lee. He knew that it was a deliberate ploy of hers to keep him at arm's length. He leaned on the doorjamb and affected a casualness he was not feeling; he had planned this meeting all of last night. He had called the strategy how to win Dawn in less than 30 days.
"I really need your help as a PR person, not for the company but for me personally." He worked on putting a pleading inflection in his voice. "You see, I don't know if you know this but my brother is not going to automatically get the presidency of the company."
He looked behind him and came into her office, closing her door. "The presidents of this company have a few criteria for the job. My reputation as a ladies' man over the years has been way overrated. I wanted your help but..."
Dawn perked up. She didn't know that Aaron wouldn't automatically get the presidency, and she was almost sure that Boris' reputation was not overrated. He was a playboy through and through, but he was standing in front of her desk, for once shorn of his arrogance. She could almost feel herself liking this warmer version of Boris.
He pushed his hand in his pocket and sighed. "I would tell you more, but it seems as if I am going to be dining alone."
"No." Dawn glanced at her desk grudgingly. "I will work later tonight. I could come with you now and hear how it is that you want me to help you."
She didn't miss the smug smile Boris sent her way but she was too intrigued to care.
*****
Dawn came back from lunch with Boris still feeling a little shell-shocked. So, the Palm Tree board had some really old-fashioned moral code. How could she work that to her advantage? She was still mulling it over.
Boris had asked her to do some personal PR for him and she was running through her head the sorts of things that would make Boris look good to the Palm Tree board. She was confident that he wouldn't get the position so there was no harm in helping him out. Anybody could see that Aaron was the more morally upstanding of the two and more suited for running the company anyway.
She had asked him if it was possible for him to join Aaron's band. They did charity work all the time and were involved in so many fund raisers even she had lost count, and they were constantly in the news.
Boris had looked as if he swallowed a lemon and had replied that he was not musically inclined. So she had plans for him to visit a children's home and give away essentials. She would arrange the media coverage. Boris had looked pleased at that suggestion. He loved hamming it up to the media.
She slowly passed Aaron's office, on the third floor. Her office was on the second floor but she had legitimate business up there with the VPs. She nodded to his secretary, Corvette, who had looked up when she passed.
"Can Aaron see me now?" she asked Corvette.
Corvette looked frazzled. "He is in a foul mood."
Dawn grimaced. "He did seem off yesterday at the party."
Corvette shrugged and pressed the intercom. "Can you see Dawn Terry now?"
"Yes," Aaron said grumpily. "Send her in. Has she called yet?"
"No." Corvette said, an exasperated tone in her voice. "When she calls, I will put her through immediately."
She looked up at Dawn. "Go right on in."
Dawn was curious. Who is the she that was supposed to call Aaron?
She took a deep breath and entered his office. She was not used to seeing the grumpy side of Aaron. Whoever this woman was really knew how to ruffle his feathers.
She opened the door and had a fantasy that she could go over to him now and sit in his lap and smooth his brow and have him tell her all that was wrong with him. Then she'd kiss him tenderly and...
Snap out of it, she had to tell herself harshly. Focus.
Aaron looked up. "I think I need medication, Dawn." He groaned. "I am having the most unexpected Monday blues."
Dawn smiled brightly. He was confiding in her; that was a start. He had never done that before—or had he?
"The party went on for a bit last night. Maybe you need some aspirin." She offered the last bit helpfully and began ruffling in her bag. She always carried a bottle with her.
"No, no. I need some anti-Alka." He arched his eyebrows. "Have a seat and tell me what you got."
Alka. Dawn inhaled and sat down. She had heard it through the grapevine that a long time ago Aaron had a girlfriend that left him for another man. Was she the girl that she had seen yesterday? In the burgundy dress, she looked like she had stepped off the front page of a glossy magazine, entitled: How to Look Pretty Without Even Trying.
She wondered if she was the Alka. She almost asked Aaron, but he was looking at her impatiently.
"Oh, er, I was thinking of doing an interview session for the VPs of the Paradise hotel…It's just a few questions. Should I send it to Corvette as usual?"
Aaron nodded and got up. "Yes. That would be great. Thanks, Dawn. You are doing a good job."
He grabbed his jacket and Dawn looked at him with her mou
th slightly open in surprise. He had complimented her with a smile.
He pressed the intercom. "Corvette, I am going home. Reschedule my two o'clock meeting, please. Let me walk you out, Dawn. I will personally answer the interview questions for the magazine this time. Corvette threatened to leave me if I give it to her next time."
Dawn smiled. "Okay. Are you well? You are going home ridiculously early."
"I'll be back," Aaron said abruptly. "I just have to check up on something."
Chapter Eight
Aaron hadn't seen Alka when he left earlier in the morning after a turbulent sleep. He had spent all of his day and most of last night wondering if he was doing the right thing by putting up Alka at his house.
He knew he would find her by the sea when he got home. He walked down to the private beach and saw her walking slowly along the shoreline in a sheer green dress; the hem was billowing around her in the breeze.
He paused under a palm tree and leaned on it, watching her as she slowly dug her feet into the sand and flicked it into the air with her toes. She looked up in the sky and gave a carefree laugh and spun around in a childlike manner, completely unfettered, and genuinely happy, like the Alka of old.
Back then she had compartmentalized her life so well that she had been equal parts dutiful Hindu daughter and eager Christian girlfriend. She had read the Bible more than he did and knew more about his own culture than he did.
He wondered what she was now. Had she reinvented herself again, or was she compartmentalized again? Dutiful Hindu wife dancing in the sun while she tied her old boyfriend into knots.
He could feel it creeping up on him, that feeling that did not completely go away when she left for India. It was like a hopelessly heavy weight in his chest that was not quite pain but it certainly made him uncomfortable, unsettled and desperate. He had vowed never to feel that way again, but here she was, dancing in the sun and in his world once more. When she was done she would return to India and once more set him back for years.
Broken Harmony Page 6