Aarav had gone speechless after he realised who had stepped into his office for an interview, his heart thudding away like a drum. What was Saloni doing in Delhi? The last he had known, and that had been barely a couple of months ago, she had gone back to Chicago with her husband and baby. And no, he wasn’t hallucinating.
“Both.” He didn’t tell her that these were only two of his seven companies. “What are you doing here Saloni?” Aarav’s voice was gruff. “I thought you lived in Chicago. Have you moved back to Delhi?” He shut his eyes for a couple of seconds, to gather his shattered thoughts together. Was the city big enough for the both of them?
Saloni nodded her head eagerly, not aware of the silky strand of hair that had escaped the knot at the back of her head to fall against her shoulder. “Yeah, I’m back home and so is Mitesh.”
Was he hearing right? “And Manish? He hasn’t come yet?” Aarav’s heart picked up tempo, more than before, some deeply buried emotions fighting to surface.
Saloni gave a small shake of her head. “We aren’t together.” Her voice was small as she looked into his eyes.
Aarav sprang out of his chair as if someone had kicked him hard. “Oh!” He stared at her speechless for a few seconds before saying, “I...I don’t know what to say!” He loved Saloni, from the depth of his heart. But he had never wished that she should separate from her husband. “What happened, Saloni?” He fisted his hands that were itching to touch her. He wanted to hug her close to his heart and heal her pain. Why the hell had the bastard chucked her out of his life? Yeah, Aarav had automatically presumed that it was Manish who had left Saloni.
Saloni shrugged, a deep sigh shuddering from her being. “Well, it wasn’t exactly one particular incident. More like the way of life. I couldn’t take it anymore. Mamma thinks I have failed. But well, it’s just that I didn’t want to waste my life away on that asshole any longer. That’s why I left.”
Aarav walked around the desk to sit on the corner next to Saloni. “Let me get this straight. Are you saying that Manish didn’t ditch you?”
Saloni shook her head, more strands escaping her knot, a wide smile on her lips. “Nope. It’s the other way round. I dumped him.”
Aarav threw back his head and laughed.
And Saloni stared, her smile disappearing as her throat closed up. He was the handsomest man she had ever laid her eyes on...
When she set her eyes on him for the first time at the tender age of seventeen, Saloni had been confident that they belonged together. Aarav had taken to chauffeuring her grandparents to work when his father Tejpal had been ill over a few days.
On the third day of Aarav’s duty, Saloni had come up with a plan. She got ready for junior college and stepped down the staircase, calling out to her grandfather Shantanu. “Daadu, my scooty isn’t working. Will you give me a lift today? Or will you get late for work?”
Shantanu looked at his granddaughter with twinkling brown eyes, full of love. “Of course beta. I’ll get a few minutes late. But so what? Let me take advantage of being the boss,” he grinned. “Come along and finish your breakfast. And we’ll leave immediately after. Ganga,” he turned towards the bedroom on the ground floor, calling out to his wife, “Are you ready?”
Ganga stepped out, wearing a crisp cotton sari, wishing everyone around a ‘good morning’. The three of them sat for breakfast as Vinayak brought hot paneer-gobi parathas with thick curds and pickles.
“No butter for me, Daadu,” said Saloni, moving her plate away. “I want to lose weight.”
“But why? You are pretty slim now.” Shantanu protested.
Ganga grinned at her husband. “The young girls of today want to be reed thin. Give me the butter dish.” She took it from him and spread some liberally on her parathas, smiling at her granddaughter. “What happened to your scooty?”
“I don’t know.” Saloni concentrated on her breakfast, unable to meet her grandparents’ eyes. She wasn’t used to telling lies. “Some kind of starting trouble. I’ll show it to the mechanic after I get back from college.”
Shantanu shook his head. “There’s no need for that. I’ll ask Aarav to pick you up from college. He can drop you home and check out your scooty. He’s good with engines.”
Saloni nodded her head vigorously. “Can he do that? That’d be awesome Daadu!” She got up from the table to go wash her hands. Picking up a cup of tea, she sat again at the table until her grandparents finished their breakfast. The three younger ones—Ruma, Ryan, and Shaan—had already gone to school and Shyam had left for work early. Rati had gone to a nearby temple.
Saloni sat in the front seat, along with Aarav, while her grandparents sat in the back, just as they did every day. She was extremely conscious of his proximity and didn’t utter a word after she greeted him with a “hello”. Her heart seemed to beat louder than the car engine as she surreptitiously checked out his muscular arm that was so close to her. He must be in his early twenties, she thought. He was neatly dressed in a pair of jeans and a white shirt. Her grandfather had mentioned in passing that he was in college, pursuing his degree in BBA.
The gates to her college arrived too soon for Saloni’s liking. “I’ll be done by 2.45 pm Aarav. Will you be able to pick me up after that, right here at the gate?” she asked. It was a wonder that the words were clear as she had to force them out of her parched throat.
Aarav nodded. “Yes ma’am.”
Ma’am! Is that how he thought of her?! Saloni got out when the car stopped, waving to the three of them. She couldn’t wait for college to be over when Aarav would come back to pick her up. She would set him right then.
Once in class, Saloni wiped her mind clean of Aarav and concentrated on her lectures. Time flew and it was 2.50 pm when she raced her way to the entrance, waving to her friends, not too bothered by the startled looks they threw in her direction. She couldn’t wait to meet Aarav again. And they would be alone now.
Aarav was waiting there, in the car parked to the left of the gate. Saloni opened the front passenger door and jumped in, saying, “Hi!”
“Hello ma’am,” said Aarav, his eyes on the road in front of him as he turned the car key to switch on the engine.
Saloni placed her hand on his arm. “Listen, my name’s Saloni. Don’t call me ma’am.” She removed her hand almost immediately as she felt a shock akin to an electric current as her hand came in contact with his forearm. Oh dear! Saloni sat back in her seat, trying her best to recover from the unfamiliar sensation, her heart knocking loudly in her chest.
Aarav turned to look at her fully for the first time, a fire in his steely gaze. “My father works as a chauffeur for your grandparents. I...”
“Don’t be silly Aarav. Do you really believe in such kind of social differences? My grandparents don’t. And neither do I.” She stared right back, her brown eyes glowing with youth and joy. She wanted to throw her arms around him and give him a kiss. She stared at the fuzz on his cheeks. His face had been clean shaven in the morning. Yeah, she had noticed. But the fuzz was already there, barely a few hours later. She grinned.
“Is something funny?” asked Aarav, driving the car slowly out of the lane where the college stood.
Saloni shook her head vigorously. “Nothing.” A strand of hair flew and settled against his shoulder.
Aarav turned to look at her, eyeing the strand that seemed to have parked itself on him for good.
“What?” Saloni asked him, following his gaze to notice what had happened. “Naughty hair,” she laughed, brushing it off his shoulder, startled as she felt the sizzle of current again. “Aarav...” Her voice came out in a choked whisper, her face flaming with colour even as her smile disappeared.
Aarav slowed the car down before parking it at the side of the quiet lane. “Saloni...” He held the steering wheel tightly, looking straight ahead, afraid to look at the lovely teenager sitting next to him and was startled when he felt her soft lips on his left cheek.
Saloni’s eyes were tightly shut as s
he pressed her lips to his rough cheek. He smelt good, all man. She opened her mouth to trace the tip of her tongue along his cheek in a small circle, revelling in the roughness of the fuzz on his cheek, a deep sigh shuddering from the depths of her being. “Aarav...”
Aarav groaned, unable to move away from her, as if he was bound to her by an invisible cord. “Don’t,” he protested, a shudder taking him unawares.
“Why not?” she whispered in his ear, brushing her lips over his ear lobe.
Aarav moved away with an effort, and stared at her in awe. She looked so young and innocent, but oh so beautiful! “I don’t think this is right Saloni. Shantanu uncle...”
“...thinks very highly of you. You are his golden boy. Didn’t you know that?” Her eyelashes fluttered rapidly against her rosy cheeks as she asked him the question.
Colour ran up Aarav’s face. Yeah, Shantanu uncle and Ganga aunty were too good to him. They had encouraged him to study, even planning to send him abroad to complete his fourth year of BBA and also get an MBA degree. He nodded now. “Yeah. But still...”
“Still what? Don’t you like me?” Huge brown eyes looked up at him appealingly.
“That’s not the point...”
“Then what is?”
“Saloni, you’re a kid. You...”
“Do you really believe it?” Saloni challenged him. “Tell me if you don’t like me. I can accept that.” Her face turned mutinous.
Aarav was flummoxed. “But that won’t be true.”
She grinned. “Kiss me then.”
Aarav moved back to press against his door. “No Saloni.”
She leaned forward to press her lips to his, taking the decision out of his hands, almost lying across him, her arms going around his shoulders.
Aarav didn’t quite know what to do. She was innocent. He could see that as she kept her lips pressed to his mouth and not doing much else. With a tender smile on his face, he placed his arms around her slim waist and opened his mouth to gently trace the shape of her luscious lips with the tip of his tongue. Flames seemed to leap between them as they explored each other with both their hands and lips, forgetting the world around them.
Aarav came back to earth with a thud when his erection turned too hard. He gave Saloni a gentle push, removing his arms from around her. He pushed his shirt buttons back into their holes, surprised to notice that she had managed to open four of them.
He sat back straight in his seat, scared of looking into her eyes.
“Aarav...”
His head turned of its own volition, his grey eyes running over her flushed face, her lips swollen from his kisses. Oh my God! Her hair was in a mess while her sleeveless top had ridden up her waist. “Saloni, do you have a comb or hair brush?”
Her eyes twinkled at him impishly. “Why?”
“Look at yourself in the mirror.” He pulled the shade above the front of her seat that had a mirror behind it.
Saloni looked at her reflection with a grin, turning her head this way and that. She appeared thoroughly kissed. “You think that’s bad?”
“Your family’s going to kill me.” Aarav groaned, laying his head on his arms that were placed on the steering wheel. What the hell had come over him! How could he return the Malhotra family’s kindness like this?!
Saloni took out a brush and set her hair straight, after pulling her top down to cover the waistband of her jeans. She dusted some powder from her compact on her cheeks, pouting her lips to see if she looked alright. She couldn’t help grinning as she realised that her lips were swollen and there wasn’t much she could do about it. She had better get back home and rush into her room before her Mamma saw her and suspected something. “Stop feeling guilty Aarav. If anyone is to be blamed, it’s me. I instigated the kiss.”
He lifted his head to give her a sarcastic smile. “Yeah, right. As if I didn’t respond to it.” Noticing that she had brought some semblance of order to her person, he started the car and drove steadily, not uttering another word.
“Give me the keys to your scooty. I’ll check it out,” offered Aarav just as she was getting out of the car.
“No need. There’s nothing wrong with my scooty.” Saloni bent down to the level of the window and gave him a wink, blowing him a kiss before walking towards the lift, her slender hips swinging in an exaggerated swagger when she felt his hot gaze on her.
Aarav swung the car around, taking a dangerous turn, leaving the compound with a roar of the engine. Would she insist that the scooty was not working till his father joined back on duty? Saloni was going to land them both in deep trouble. A smile flashed on Aarav’s face. What delicious trouble!
Rati took one look at her daughter and snarled, “What have you been up to?”
Saloni stopped in her tracks, shutting her eyes for a minute, hoping that her expression wouldn’t give her away. “What are you talking about Mamma?” She worked hard at giving her mother an innocent look, unaware of the guilt displayed so obviously on her face. And then there was her swollen mouth.
“Saloni!” Rati stood toe-to-toe with her daughter, her hands on her hips and her stance threatening. “Did Aarav drop you home just now?”
“Yeah.”
“What had you been doing with him? Do you know what the time is?” It was almost five.
But then, Saloni had returned home late many times and her mother had never objected. She didn’t realise that Rati had been waiting for her daughter to return since she noticed the scooty in its parking place when she had got back from the temple that morning. It was Vinayak who had told her that Saloni had gone to college with her grandparents. Rati had put two and two together and had arrived at an exact four—only when her daughter had returned late.
“Mamma...”
Saloni held her cheek, her eyes watering when she felt the tight slap that her mother dealt her. “Don’t you dare Mamma me.” Rati’s eyes spat fire. “Aarav is the son of our driver. Or have you forgotten that tiny detail? He’s way beneath us in social status. Don’t you have any shame? I’m warning you right now. Keep away from him. If I get to know that you are spending time with him, his father will have a job with us no more. I’ll have him dismissed without reference.”
Saloni looked at her mother with stricken eyes. If Rati had threatened her with anything else, she wouldn’t have cared. But if Tejpal lost his job, his whole family would suffer. Aarav might have to stop his studies and take up a job. And how could she do that to him?
That was the end of her attraction for Aarav. She forced all thoughts of him and his kisses deep into the recesses of her heart. Saloni couldn’t play around with his life.
She refused to talk to Aarav for a few years after that, even ignoring him when he contacted her. Yeah, he was probably hurt. But it was best to nip whatever feelings he had in the bud. She was sure he’d move on.
What Saloni didn’t know was that Aarav had fallen so deeply in love with her that he wouldn’t let another woman into his life. He had worked harder than ever to excel in life and his feelings for Saloni had been the driving force behind the huge success he was today.
Saloni came to the present when she felt Aarav’s touch on her shoulder. “Hey, come back to earth,” said Aarav, the smile on his face spreading into his eyes. He felt so light and happy after so long.
Saloni gave him a shy smile in reply.
“And how’s the little man? He must be what? Nine months?” Aarav’s smile turned wider as he thought of little Mitesh.
“Yeah, in a few days. He’s become very naughty and loves being pampered by everyone—the more the merrier.” Saloni was proud of her little one.
“I’d love to meet him. Do you have any plans for Thursday evening? I’ll be finishing early that day. I’ll come over to your place to meet the little man.” Aarav’s only regret was that he couldn’t go over before that.
She’d cancel an appointment with the Prime Minister if Aarav was coming home, thought Saloni to herself. “Please come over. I know that Mite
sh would love to meet you again.”
Only Mitesh? The expression in his grey eyes asked her the question without uttering the words and he smiled at the answer he received from her gaze.
Aarav decided—though he didn’t share the full details with anyone, not even Saloni—that she should work with all his companies, a few months at a time. She had no previous working experience. It would be ideal that she find her feet and the best way would be for her to learn the ropes of all the businesses before she found her niche.
Saloni received an email the very next morning from Dharmesh, to report for duty from the next Monday, as a Management Trainee with the AC Group. Her package was too attractive and she immediately accepted via reply mail, a soft smile on her face.
Later that evening, when Aarav had a few moments to himself, he smiled at the turn of events. He wanted Saloni to be a part of all his businesses, true, but it wasn’t just because he wanted to do all he could to help her find her feet. There was another reason for his decision.
Aarav planned to make Saloni not just his life partner but also his business partner.
16
Thursday evening, Saloni felt like a teenager once again, her heart beating a tattoo in her chest as she looked at her flushed face in the mirror. She tried her best to appear casual in a floor length skirt of turquoise blue, handloom cotton with a cut that flattered her figure. She wore a sleeveless white button down top that hugged her torso. She had brushed back her hair and tied it up in a pony. Small solitaire diamonds set in gold decorated her shell-like ears. She wore no other jewellery. Carrying Mitesh in her arms, Saloni rushed down the stairs to the living room and let him down on the carpet. It was past seven and Aarav would be arriving any time soon.
She wasn’t too troubled about her mother’s reaction. For one, her grandmother was around and for another, Aarav Chopra was a rich and famous man nowadays. Also Rati’s threat of chucking Aarav’s father out of his livelihood didn’t hold good any more.
Flaming Sun Collection 3: Perfect Twins Find Anya (Box Set with 3 novellas) Page 29