by P. G. Van
“Are you sure?”
“Yash… I don’t have all day.”
“I’ll do it, but you better not screw me over,” he growled making her body tremble from the sheer dominance in his words. “You will not fight the claim when I have my people submit it in a month.”
Chapter 6
Mantra was in the utility room of the restaurant waiting for instructions from Samar. It had been a couple of weeks since she started working at Yash’s restaurant, and she was about to try out her first experiment.
“I have no idea why I am doing this,” Samar grumbled on the phone.
“This is part of being my best friend,” Mantra whispered.
“Why are you trying to reduce the temperature in the restaurant?” Samar queried.
“To create an environment of coziness.”
“What the heck, Mantra?”
“This is part of my thesis research. Are you going to help me?” Mantra was getting impatient.
“Before I give you instructions, I need to know what you are trying to do.”
“One of my patients is coming here tonight, and I am going to implement one of the basic techniques to re-ignite the intimacy that couples lose over time.”
Samar shook her head. “What about the other guests?”
“How does a cozy environment hurt any couple?”
“Fine.”
“Now, how do I reduce the temperature, and why in the world are the measurements in centigrade?”
“It doesn’t matter, do you see the red reset button?” Samar looked at the picture of the heating system Mantra had sent earlier that day.
“I see it.” Mantra placed her finger on the red button.
“Hold and press the button down and lower the temperature to eighteen degrees centigrade, that’s sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit,” Samar instructed.
“That’s cold enough.”
“Hold the button until the screen flashes.”
“Okay, done.”
“Good, the cooling system will hold the temperature even if the thermostat reading changes. This setting will stay until a technician does an override on the system,” Samar stated.
“Thank you! I know it’s too late for any technician to show up.” Mantra had no option but to try her technique out when Yash was away. She knew it would not hurt or cause any inconvenience to any of the other guests.
“What the heck is going on? What happened to the air-conditioning system?” Yash’s voice cut through her concentration.
“Good evening to you, too!” She looked up from her desk that was set up to one side in his office at the restaurant. Yash was away most of the week leaving her to work on her research with no distractions.
“Why is it so hard to find a technician to fix a damn heating system?” He snarled settling into his plush chair.
“Yash, the air conditioning system was manufactured outside the country, and we need a specialized technician.” She closed her notebook and put it away.
“Is this what makes you good at taking care of things?” he mocked.
She looked at him without responding.
“This is a total shit show. I know I agreed to have you work here, but this is not working.” He had lost his control, and Mantra knew it.
“Yash, I am doing my best.”
“No, you are not. Let me remind you that it’s my restaurant’s reputation on the line here.” He stood and took a few steps toward the door.
“Yash, trust me. I have the situation under control.”
“You will pay dearly even if I get one complaint from my guests tonight.” His voice was gruff.
“I will do anything if you let me handle the dinner tonight,” she pleaded.
“Fine. One unhappy customer, and you will pay for it,” he growled, moving closer to her making her body shudder. She had almost forgotten about the effect he had on her until she felt his musky smell engulf her.
“It won’t happen. I guarantee it.” She stuck her chin high and looked into his burning eyes.
He didn’t respond immediately but moved closer grazing his teeth over her jawline. “Remember, you screw this up, and...”
“Hear you loud and clear.”
“Do you understand what you’ll need to do if you fuck this up?” His voice sent chills down her spine, but a warmth started deep inside.
Mantra was in the security office watching the monitors that covered the entire dining area. The Red Room was set up with booths big enough for only two people. They had a larger room for special parties, a private room for special guests, but most of the area was booths with a lot of privacy for the couples.
“Mantra, it is freezing here.” The hostess’ announcement came through the headset she had on.
“Hang in there, Leslie.”
“All right, here’s our first guests.” The hostess smiled.
Mantra watched as her client and her husband approached the hostess. They had a cancellation, and Mantra managed to sneak in one of her clients from the family clinic for dinner. She had prepped her client for this night out with her husband. She had been working on resolving some deep-rooted issues between her client and her spouse.
Her client was wearing a strapless dress as they had discussed in their session, and her husband was suited up.
“How cold is it in the dining area?” She spoke into the headset.
“It’s very cold here, should we bring the blankets?”
It was one of the coldest nights of the season and not having heated air made the room super chilly. She waited for a few more guests to arrive and settle into the dining area. None of the guests complained about the cold air, but Mantra knew it was getting uncomfortable especially for the women in short or sleeveless dresses including her client.
“Leslie, time to pass around the shawls to each couple. Tell them you only have one per booth,” Mantra instructed.
She was watching the team hand out the large silk shawls to the customers when she felt him behind her. She kept looking at her screens knowing he was looking at her.
“I have the situation under control, Yash,” Mantra said without turning around.
“This is just stupid, and I can’t believe this is happening at my restaurant.”
“Yash, relax. I need you to stop being negative for once.” She turned to look at him.
“Fine,” he said under his breath making it sound like a curse word. He pulled up a chair and sat next to her, too close to her.
Yash was intently scanning the screens like he wanted to read every customer’s expression. He suddenly stopped and was looking at a specific screen.
“See someone you know?” Mantra asked softly.
“Yeah… one of my good friends is here with her husband. I haven’t seen her in ages.”
“A good friend, but you are not in touch. Does she know you own this place?” Mantra teased.
“No… I met her a few times after we stopped dating.” He ran his fingers through his hair like he wasn’t comfortable talking about it.
“Bad break up?” She couldn’t help but continue to ramble.
“It wasn’t a relationship to begin with.” He shrugged.
She bit her tongue to stop talking. She didn’t need to know about his relationships.
“Which one’s your friend?” He looked at the screen.
“What?” Mantra wondered how he knew.
“Your friend who you backfilled instead of putting the next person on the waiting list for dinner.” His words made her feel exposed. He knew what she had done and didn’t seem upset.
“She is my client, and she needed to be here with her husband more than the other couple on the waiting list who has been here several times.”
“So, you did get me a new customer. Who is my new customer?”
“My client is in table seven, and for now she is having the time of her life.”
“Michele is your client?” Yash asked pointing to the woman on the screen.
“You know
her?”
“Yes, we dated a few years ago.”
She was shocked when she realized Yash was the emotionally unavailable boyfriend her client had trouble getting over. She inhaled slowly trying not to show a reaction.
“Oh.”
“We were more like roommates,” he clarified.
“How did you meet her?” She asked coolly even with her heart pounding in her ears.
“She was one of my lawyers, and she was dealing with my contracts with the publishers.”
“So, you guys rented an apartment and moved in?” Mantra was dying to hear the other side of the story. She had heard the version from her client about how a man she was in a relationship with was emotionally unavailable causing her to have a bad break up and never getting over it, even after falling in love again and marrying the man she loved.
“It was her apartment. She said she was looking for a roommate, and I needed to get out of my parents’ house,” he growled.
“Oh.” Myra looked away as things fell into place. The relationship was a train wreck from the start. Yash had seen it as a casual fling whereas Michele was more invested. It was the confirmation Mantra had been looking for, and she never expected to get it so soon and from the person she least expected to solve the puzzle.
“When did you last talk to her?” she asked, a plan formulating in her mind.
“Been a while.”
“I think you should go say hi to her,” Mantra cautiously suggested. Mantra realized the cause of why her client could not get over a relationship that didn’t exist. Yash was an A-class playboy, and her client had hoped for more.
“Why would I do that?”
“Nothing wrong with saying hi to an old friend.” She shrugged.
“I don’t want to interrupt.”
“Do you feel weird saying hi to her because of the past?” Mantra needed him to talk to Michele to offer her closure, but she didn’t know if Yash would fall in line with her plan.
“What crap!” he snapped.
“Yash… all you need to do is say hi and tell her how beautiful a couple they make and take away that awkwardness.”
“There is no awkwardness.”
“Fine, I will buy you coffee if you come back and tell me there was no weirdness when you talk to her,” she challenged.
“You will go out for drinks with me, not just coffee.”
“You go talk to her, and I will go dancing with you,” she announced as he walked away.
Mantra watched as Yash made it to the dining area. He didn’t go directly to her client’s booth. He stopped to talk to a few other customers, and she watched holding her breath as he walked toward her client.
She saw the smile on her client’s face freeze when she saw Yash. Her reaction didn’t seem to faze Yash, but Mantra knew her client was holding her breath.
Yash spent a few minutes talking to the couple. He had most of the conversation with the husband.
Mantra watched with excitement as her client’s face glowed with a beautiful smile. She watched as her client’s husband gave his business card to Yash and shook hands.
As Yash walked away from the booth, he looked at the camera and winked right at Mantra making her gasp. He was right—there was no awkwardness in the interaction.
She zoomed to her client who scooted closer to her husband as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Yes!” She jumped out of her chair when she realized she was able to help her client. It was too soon to find out how the climate change in the restaurant helped, though.
She was still celebrating when Yash came back into the control center. “Drinks… at the bar thirty minutes after we close.”
“Only one drink. I need to drive back home,” she called out as he left the room.
Mantra wondered why he didn’t join her in the security room after that, but she didn’t give it too much thought and continued to make notes on how the couples reacted to the settings in the restaurant.
Chapter 7
Yash was behind the bar when she made it back to the dining area. He was working on a drink as he sat on the barstool.
“You’re late.” His tone was curt.
“Barely thirty seconds.” She smiled.
Yash looked up from the drink he was working on and gave her a long stare but did not say anything.
“What do you have going on there?” She couldn’t help but stare at his fingers again like the first time she met him and the way they moved. Something about the smooth movement got her all hot and wet deep inside.
Yash wiped the side of the glass and walked around the bar counter holding the drink. She reached out to take the drink from him only to have her hand slapped aside as he moved dangerously close to her. He moved to stand way too close to her. Her palms went up to his chest on instinct but offered no defense or resistance.
He was so close all she could smell was him—his scent consumed her lungs making her feel high.
“You lost a bet, and you will dance to my own beat.” His voice was rough, and his breath felt hot on her cheek.
She looked into his eyes questioning his intentions. As if that was his cue, he dipped a toothpick into the bubbling drink in his hand and brought a ball of watermelon that looked like pure ecstasy to dance on her lower lip.
A shudder passed through him when a moan rolled off her lips in response to the initial contact. He dipped the fruit into her warm mouth making her gasp. His fingertip grazed her lower lip.
“Suck it.” It was an order, and she gave into the intensity of the moment.
She was under a spell, and that was how she rationalized her behavior. Her eyes rolled shut as she took in the melting ball of fruit to let it twirl over her tongue like she couldn’t get enough of the tingling liquid.
He swiftly pulled the toothpick out of her mouth making her eyes flutter open.
“I still think you are the wildest thing ever.” His voice was gruff making her body quiver.
“I… I…” She had no idea what she wanted to say.
“You were a sore loser tonight and for that… you will be my date for a fundraiser next week,” he murmured pressing his lips together.
She looked at him, and all she could think of was pulling on his shirt. She was so close to losing herself, making her wonder if he drugged her with the most potent aphrodisiac that existed.
He wanted her—he couldn’t get her out of his mind. A week of mindless sex with half a dozen women didn’t wipe out the desire that overruled his control. He wanted to bury his face in her folds and drown in her arousal the moment their eyes met at the bar. She wasn’t like the other women he had met in his line of work or otherwise. She was boldly checking him out at the bar, her eyes pools of lust. He wondered what those eyes would look like when he was buried deep in her making her explode.
Her pragmatic side was no match for the undeniable attraction she had for him. She didn’t care how but needed the shallow ache between her legs to go away and turn into something else. She wanted him to suck the pain into his mouth, but there was no way she could form a coherent sentence in response to his statement.
“Is that a yes for the fundraiser?” His voice was gravelly like he was having a similar turmoil.
When she looked up into his eyes, her eyes full of desire, her body craving for his touch, he slowly moved closer to her.
“You don’t have to tell me, I know how much you want this. I just need you to stop pretending like there isn’t anything between us,” he murmured bringing the tip of his tongue to the edge of her mouth. His tongue drew mini-circles at the same spot without moving closer to her lips.
She moved, her fingers gripped his hair, her lips parted, and her teeth sucked in his lower lip. Her stomach coiled with need when he pinned her to the granite bar counter.
His hard shaft threatened to rip through his jeans when he felt the smooth pain of her teeth sinking into his lower lip. He wanted his cock in her mouth, and just the thought of coming in her mouth made hi
m shoot up. He wanted to lick her clean taking in her delicious body and come all over her to relieve the ache in his balls.
She was eager for his tongue, and when their tongues tangled, she moaned making his need to bury his painful hardness into her mouth grow exponentially. He couldn’t wait to feel the vibrations from her moans.
The blaring sound of her phone ringing cut through their moment, and she pulled back to take the call. She turned away from him not wanting him to see how much she was affected.
“Samar.” Her voice was still shaky from the kiss, and she couldn’t say more than her friend’s name.
“Hey, heading out to a club that’s open till three in the morning. Want to go?” her friend asked cheerfully.
“I had a long day. I am going home now. You have fun.”
Mantra ended the call and turned back to face him—the man who had the power to make her lose herself.
“Thanks for the drink.” She took the tip of the glass to her quivering lips. His eyes were on her, and she felt his gaze but did not look up.
“How long are you going to pretend?”
She slowly lifted her eyes to meet his scorching gaze. “There is no pretending, Yash. I just don’t want any of it.”
“Why? This thing we have between us, you can’t ignore it.”
“I don’t have time for this.” She maintained a calm but firm tone.
“I can’t get you out of my head. I’ve fucked every woman I could the last few weeks, and I fucking cannot get you out of my mind.”
She took a deep breath to calm herself and not react to his state of agitation. “Not to be judgmental, but that is your life, and I’m not into that.”
Yash looked at her like he couldn’t believe she was saying no. He did not move or take his eyes away from her face.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” He shrugged.
Like he wanted to rip her clothes off and take her there on the stone counter, but she refrained from saying those exact words. “Whatever!”
He didn’t need anything more than to destroy her need until she was begging for more. He wanted to dig his fingers into her soft mounds and lift her feet off the ground. Yash did not move, but his eyes showed everything he intended to do to her.