The Girl He Left Behind

by Shilpa Suraj

  ‘Uh guys?’ Minty poked her head around the door cautiously. ‘People can hear the raised voices outside. Do you guys want to tone it down or continue this elsewhere?’

  ‘No. We’re done.’ Without waiting for a response of any kind, Sia walked out, shutting the door behind her with a decisive snap.

  In the silence that followed, Minty flapped a hand towards the door. ‘I should go.’

  ‘What’s he like?’ His quiet question stopped her with her hand on the doorknob.

  ‘Who?’ Puzzled, she tried to figure out what was going on. ‘What were you guys talking about?’

  ‘Her husband.’ Shaking his head at his sudden urge to know more when he’d spent years cutting himself off from anything to do with Sia, Ryan pushed away from the desk and walked over to give Minty a quick hug. ‘Forget it. It’s not important. Let me know when you have some free time so we can catch up, okay?’

  Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he started to move only to have her stop him with a hand on his chest.

  ‘Ex.’ Reaching up to turn his face towards her, she gave him a cheeky smile. ‘Ex-husband.’ Giving him one last pat on his cheek, she left him standing alone in the room.

  Chapter 5

  Ex-husband. Ex. She wasn’t married. Not anymore. His shield against his feelings for Sia was gone. Ryan stared unseeingly out of the bay windows in his spacious cabin as his day started to wind down. He needed to wrap this project up or at the least his involvement in it so that he could get back to normalcy. He wasn’t able to be as blasé about Sia’s presence as he’d hoped and the sooner he left without making a fool of himself the better. If they managed to freeze on an idea in tomorrow’s brainstorming session, he could leave the implementation of it to Adarsh and go back to Mumbai.

  Slinging his laptop bag over his shoulder, he made his way over to the cubicle Adarsh was temporarily using at Trends Now. Lost in thought, he didn’t see Sia and Minty standing by Adarsh’s cubicle until it was too late and he was almost on top of them.

  Flashing a generic hi in their direction, he looked over at Adarsh and said ‘I was wondering if you’d like to grab dinner on the way back to the hotel? It would give us some time to talk.’

  ‘Sure.’ Grabbing his bag, Adarsh started shoving things into it. Minty and Sia started to say their goodbyes when Mr Big Mouth stopped them. ‘Why don’t you girls join us for dinner?’ Adarsh studiously avoided Ryan’s eye while asking the question.

  ‘I’m game.’ Minty grinned. ‘The only thing waiting for me at home is Maggi noodles so dinner out sounds good. Sia and I were planning to grab a bite on the way home anyway.’

  ‘Actually, I need to get home. I have some work to finish up. You guys have a good time.’ Sia said, getting ready to leave.

  ‘Join us, Sia. We’ll make it an early night. You haven’t had a proper meal all day and I know you’re not planning to cook once you get home.’ Minty urged.

  ‘You cook now?’ It slipped out before Ryan could stop himself.

  Three pairs of eyes turned to stare at him. Minty and Adarsh looked amused while Sia looked a little offended.

  ‘Sia’s actually a really good cook nowadays.’ Minty grinned, ‘She no longer poisons the guests she cooks for.’

  Adarsh pounced on that titbit immediately ‘Who did you poison? Do tell. This sounds like a fascinating story. Come on Sia, join us for dinner and you can tell me all about it. Fingers crossed, if God’s listening to me, Ryan will play a starring role in that story.’

  She was going to look churlish if she kept resisting their pleas to join them, Sia realized. Conceding defeat, she accepted ‘I need a little time to wrap up for the day. If you’re all in a hurry to leave, you can tell me where you’re going and I’ll join you guys there.’

  ‘That’s okay. We’ll wait for you. How about we meet you girls at the reception in half an hour?’ Adarsh asked.

  Ryan waited a second after the girls agreed to the plan and left before saying ‘I really hate you.’

  Flashing an impertinent grin at him, Adarsh replied ‘I like them and I want to get to know them better. You had good taste boss though it has degenerated now.’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘The writer,’ Adarsh prompted ‘I saw the looks she was giving you and the smiles you were flashing at her.’

  ‘She’s beautiful.’ He said with a slight grin. He’d been too focused on Sia’s presence in the room to pick up on any interest from Nisha but he wasn’t going to let Adarsh know that.

  ‘So are diamonds. They’re also a strain on the wallet, cold and really hard. Forged under intense pressure or so I’ve been told.’ Adarsh said sanctimoniously.

  ‘I think I’m going to skip dinner and head back. Tell them I’m tired or something.’

  ‘You’re the one who came up with the plan, Ryan, and you asked me in front of them.’ Adarsh pointed out.

  ‘I asked you out for dinner. I didn’t suggest a group outing. I don’t think having dinner with Sia is such a good idea, Adu.’

  ‘How are the two of you going to manage to work together, if you can’t have one lousy meal together? It’s one meal. Not the rest of your life.’

  ‘Do you realize this smug smirky thing you have going is really irritating?’ Ryan asked as they made their way slowly down the stairs.

  ‘Being right all the time? That’s my curse to bear. Somehow I manage to struggle along under the burden of it.’ Adarsh sighed dramatically.

  Ryan snorted as they walked towards where the girls were waiting. Minty looked ready to party as she flashed Ryan a grin that told him she knew exactly how uncomfortable he was. Sia on the other hand was staring at the flooring as if she had never seen marble before and was completely fascinated by the grains running through it.

  After about five seconds of going back and forth on transport arrangements, they decided to pile into Sia’s car. The more serious debate of where to eat started about ten minutes into the drive.

  ‘There’s this great Thai place opened up since you left, Ryan. You want to try that?’

  ‘Most of the restaurants in town have opened up since the last time he was here.’ Sia said dryly.

  Those were the first words she’d spoken since they’d congregated at the reception. It was quite fitting that it would have to be a dig at him, Ryan supposed.

  Deciding to be the bigger person and ignore the remark, Ryan said ‘I don’t think Adarsh is too fond of Thai. Are you, Adu?’

  Turning towards Adarsh, he realized for the first time why his friend had been so conspicuously silent since they’d gotten into the car. He had his eyes tightly shut, both his hands clenched into a death grip on the handle above the rear window on his side and his lips seemed to be moving in a silent prayer.

  ‘Adu, are you okay man?’ Trying to keep his lips from twitching, Ryan reached out to shake his shoulder.

  When he got no reply and Adarsh continued to sit like a petrified statue, he realized it hadn’t occurred to them to warn Adarsh about what kind of ride he could expect when Sia was behind the wheel. Minty and he were so used to Sia’s rather maverick style of driving, that they didn’t even flinch when she suddenly flipped on her indicator and shot into the right lane missing the car on her right by inches. Adarsh on the other hand let out a sound that was somewhere between a squeak and a moan.

  Payback was sweet, Ryan decided as he settled into his seat more comfortably. He was going to savour it slowly. Very, very slowly. Maybe his luck would hold and the girls would pick a restaurant that was both far away and needed to be reached through some manic traffic.

  Muffling a giggle, Minty turned around from where she was riding shotgun. ‘She’s a little fast, I agree, but Sia’s a good driver Adarsh. She has incredible control.’

  When Adarsh just opened one eye to glare at her, she took pity on him and said ‘Sia, let’s just go to ‘On the Rocks,’ it’s just at the next junction and I feel like continental tonight.’

  Five minutes later,
they pulled into the portico of the restaurant. While Sia was handing over the keys to the valet, Minty and Ryan helped Adarsh regain his equilibrium.

  ‘Good lord Sia! How do you survive on the roads every day? Why hasn’t someone impounded your license yet?’

  ‘I’m not the worst driver on the road, Adarsh. I just take a few close but accurate judgment calls. It’s all about anticipation and making sure you manoeuvre at the right time.’ Sia grinned.

  It was the first full blown, back to normal smile Ryan had seen on Sia’s face since he’d gotten back. And more importantly she wasn’t avoiding eye contact with him; she was smiling directly at him. The rest of the world faded into the background, as they grinned at each other.

  ‘I never thought I would see the three of you together again.’ A shrill nasal voice shattered the moment.

  Still facing Ryan, Sia closed her eyes for a second before turning to greet Mrs. Narayanan; the loud, obnoxious and extremely pretentious mother of an old classmate of theirs. Aarti had always hung out with them at college and had always gotten yelled at for it, Sia recalled. They’d lost touch once college ended, most probably because Aarti’s mother hadn’t wanted her socializing with what she called undesirable elements, namely Ryan. In the good old days, if you wanted to hang out with Sia, you hung out with Ryan by default. Dragging her mind back to the present she smiled politely, ‘Good evening Aunty. How are you?’

  Mrs Narayanan took a minute to reply. She was a little busy looking at Ryan like he was an insect she’d stepped on by mistake.

  ‘Aunty,’ Sia tried again. ‘It’s good to see you. Mummy mentioned that she had bumped into you at a wedding last month. She was saying Aarti is married now and has a one year old son. Congratulations. You must be very proud of her.’

  ‘Aarti was always a good girl.’ Mrs Narayanan sniffed, pressing her lips into a tight line. ‘Never gave me a moment’s trouble and got married on time as well at the right age and to a very suitable match. Her husband is a software engineer in the US, you know?’

  ‘Yes, I know. I’m very happy for her aunty. Please tell her I asked about her.’ Sia said, extremely aware that neither Minty nor Ryan was echoing her sentiments.

  ‘Well you’re looking good considering what you’ve put your parents through.’ This was said with a disapproving sniff aimed at Sia. Minty felt Ryan stiffen next to her and laid a warning hand on his arm.

  Turning to Minty, she said ‘What about you, Meenakshi? I heard from Sia’s mother that you are now engaged. It’s about time you settled down and made your parents happy.’

  Smiling noncommittally, she said ‘Yes aunty. The wedding’s in a few weeks so we’re in the middle of all the frantic last minute preparations.’

  Mrs. Narayanan opened her mouth to speak again and anticipating another nasty remark, Minty cut her off. ‘Aunty, if you don’t mind, we’re already late for our reservation so we have to go. Please give our love to Aarti. It was nice to see you after all these years.’

  Sia murmured her goodbye too and almost managed her escape when that hateful voice popped up again. ‘I’m surprised at you Sia. You come from such a good family and look at the kind of person you are associating with. I would never allow Aarti to even acknowledge people like him. Coming from parents like his, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before his bad blood shows.’

  Welcome home, Ryan thought with a derisive smile. Fighting a sense of déjà vu and the anger that rose with it, he took a calming breath and opened his mouth to reply. He was stopped by a firm grip on his arm. Looking down, he saw Sia tighten her fingers around his arm. Sliding her hand down, she laced her fingers with his and leaned into him.

  Minty and Adarsh both made varying noises of shock and anger from behind them. Their sputters of outrage were, however, cut off by Sia’s cool, level voice. ‘I don’t believe in judging people by their parents, Aunty. After all, I’m extremely fond of your daughter and look at what a bitch she has for a mother.’

  Mrs. Narayanan let out her breath in a hiss of shock. ‘How dare you talk to me like that?’

  ‘Oh, I dare. I dare quite a bit, Aunty. It’s something you might want to keep in mind before you insult one of my friends again.’

  Gathering what was left of her dignity, she shot a vicious look at Sia before saying ‘I’m not surprised your husband left you. No self-respecting man would want to live with someone like you. Your poor parents don’t deserve the daughter they’ve got.’

  ‘That’s a matter of perception, Aunty. I don’t think your daughter deserves the mother she got.’ Sia shot back.

  While Mrs Narayanan stalked off in high dudgeon, nostrils flaring and nose ring quivering in outrage, Minty and Adarsh burst into loud hoots and cheers behind them. Extremely conscious of the speed with which Sia slipped her fingers free of his, he said ‘You didn’t have to do that.’

  ‘No, I didn’t but I wanted to. Shall we go in?’ With a pang of regret, he saw that she was back to looking everywhere but at him.

  ‘Sure. But before that I just have one question.’ Adarsh said, having gotten over the terror of his ride thanks to all the drama that had ensued.

  The three of them turned to look at him. Smirking, he asked ‘Can I please sit next to Meenakshi?’ He shot an unrepentant grin at Minty when she growled at him.

  ‘Don’t call me that!’ She stabbed a finger at his chest while glowering at him.

  He sauntered past her towards the entrance of the restaurant, calling over his shoulder, ‘Oh, come on. At least it sounds like a name. Minty doesn’t even qualify as one.’

  Putting the unpleasant scene behind them, they settled in for dinner to the accompaniment of Adarsh and Minty good naturedly sniping at each other.

  Chapter 6

  Ryan stared out at the rain pelting the city. Cyclonic storms weren’t uncommon this time of the year but the heavens probably opened up at the thought of Sia and him having dinner together, he thought wryly. He turned to face the door of his office as his team filed in and took their seats.

  ‘Good morning. Let’s get this session started. Who wants to go first?’ He wasn’t in the least bit surprised to see Sonia’s hand shoot up. At twenty two, Sonia was fresh out of college and had the earnestness that went with being young and raring to take on the world. She also made him feel like a fifty year old school principal when she raised her hand for permission to speak.

  ‘I’ve read the manuscript Sia gave us and I have to say that it follows the traditional lines of an alpha male and the woman who manages to make a dent in his titanium plated heart. I was wondering if instead of following the traditional print and electronic medium advertising that we do, we could leverage social media and open up interaction with the audience through a competition. Say we ask them to send in their own love stories and then a panel picks the winner who gets to have dinner with the author. From what I’ve heard the author is pretty famous and there should be a lot of women clamouring to have dinner with her.’

  As the conversation around the table picked up, Ryan let his mind sift through their ideas. When the discussion started to wind down, he spoke up again. ‘How many women do you think dream of meeting their Mr. Right under incredibly romantic circumstances?’

  Sonia and the only other woman at the table Tara flashed slightly abashed grins. ‘More or less every single woman in the world. It’s the big dream, isn’t it? That you’ll meet this guy who is incredibly handsome, sexy, intelligent, rich and powerful and he will fall madly in love with you. Then the two of you will live happily ever after with him cherishing every moment he spends with you etc. etc.’ Tara grinned ‘I don’t think there is a woman alive who can turn away completely from the fantasy, boss, which is probably why the romantic fiction genre is alive and kicking.’

  ‘Are women really that dense?’ Adarsh wondered aloud only to realize he should have left that thought unspoken. Avoiding the glares aimed at him from the two women, he addressed Ryan. ‘Haven’t we moved on from this? Aren�
�t women today more self-aware and focused on their individuality? Instead of looking for Mr. Right, they are willing to open their minds to the possibility of finding a partner who complements their personality and makes them happy. I’ve read the manuscript too and are you telling me that the only guy women want is the one who masterfully sweeps them into his arms and into his bed. I have to say leaving the possibility of back problems or tripping and falling flat on your face aside, it rather undermines the whole women’s lib movement doesn’t it?’

  Sidestepping that landmine, Ryan continued ‘Leaving ideologies out of it, I was thinking we should take advantage of the fact that we are looking at selling that fantasy. Expanding on Sonia’s idea, maybe as part of the prize, the winner could have the female protagonist named after her and be featured on the cover of the book as well?’

  ‘What if it’s a guy or a woman who doesn’t, err, fit the requirements of the heroine, physically I mean?’

  ‘The odds are rather low that it will be a guy but even if it is he could be the male protagonist and maybe the cover picture could just have the side profile of their face to indicate the likeness. We can work around those issues graphically, can’t we Adarsh?’

  ‘Sure boss. That shouldn’t be an issue. What might be an issue is getting the author to agree to it.’

  ‘That’s going to be a battle. Let’s sell it to these guys first and then work out a way to pitch it to the author. Are there any other ideas to be discussed?’

  They wrapped up twenty minutes later and were leaving the conference room when Ryan heard his name being called out. Turning, he saw Nisha Malik make her way across the room. In navy blue trousers and a crisp white shirt, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail, she made an arresting picture – part efficiency and part banked sexuality.

  ‘Maybe that’s the angle you need to pitch your idea from.’ Adarsh murmured before deserting him.