It was evident that the sole reason the Khannas entertained Priye Ma was to humour Amy Khanna. The bride was definitely a non-believer, because at one point Priye Ma had asked the couple to ‘be open to a three-way with God’, Nitisha’s shoulders had shook with suppressed mirth. Rohan had a small coughing fit to cover for his fiancée.
Risha sank into the chair between Arjun and Rishabh, and reached for the paneer tikka residue on the platter in front of her.
Arjun tipped his head in the direction of the SoL gathering. ‘So are you going to convert?’
Risha picked up a slice of grilled capsicum between her index finger and thumb, before turning to Arjun with sham gravity. ‘Of course, I just signed the application form.’
Rishabh caught Arjun’s alarmed expression and chuckled. ‘She’s joking.’
Arjun flashed Risha a lazy smile. ‘You had me worried for a moment, Ms Kohli.’
Risha grinned and popped a grilled tomato into her mouth.
‘Worried about what?’ Nitisha said, plonking herself into the seat across from Risha’s.
‘Risha is thinking of joining SoL,’ Arjun said, beckoning a waiter with a slight nod of his head.
Nani scoffed. ‘Most worst organization.’
‘Just “worst”,’ Nitisha corrected.
‘Crect,’ Nani nodded. ‘Just most worst organization.’
Rohan came up behind Nitisha. ‘Worst organization with an annual turnover of 200 crores, anyway.’
Risha looked up in shock. ‘Really?’ she asked, reaching for the wooden skewer, tempted to lick the masala off it.
Arjun turned to the waiter who had magically appeared at his side and gestured to Risha. ‘A plate of paneer tikka for the lady.’
Risha shook her head. ‘Thanks, but I think we better leave.’
‘Stay for dinner,’ Arjun suggested politely.
‘It’s getting late and we have to drive to Vasant Kunj,’ Risha explained, standing up.
‘Sit!’ Nani ordered. ‘You diddunt drink thee drink you promised me.’
Rishabh was off his chair in a flash, pushing Risha back into the chair by her shoulders. ‘Yes, sweetie, you should have a drink. You look exhausted.’
Risha’s mouth hung open. Rishabh hadn’t called her by her first name in ten years and now he was calling her ‘sweetie’?
‘Deepak!’ Nani summoned the bartender. ‘Patiala lao sab ke liye[45].’
Rishabh massaged Risha’s shoulders gently and she shrugged his hands off. ‘What are you doing?’ she hissed, with a smile pasted on her face.
‘You just look so tired, babe,’ he said, looking straight at Arjun.
‘Oh, I didn’t realize you guys are—’ Nitisha said.
Rishabh pre-empted her question with a nod. ‘Risha and Rishabh. Cute, no?’
‘No,’ Arjun said shortly.
Nitisha glared at him and he shrugged.
‘He’s just joking,’ Nitisha clarified with a forced laugh.
Risha shot Rishabh a murderous look and he reluctantly returned to his seat. A waitress arrived with their drinks, and Rohan—God bless him, Risha thought—asked her to serve dinner as well. Risha rubbed the goosebumps on her arms, it was much colder than she had expected. Rishabh stood up again and she threw him an exasperated look. ‘What now?’
He took off his jacket and draped it over Risha’s shoulders. ‘Just keeping you warm.’
Risha stared at him in blank shock. If they were ever stranded in Antarctica, Risha had no doubt that Rishabh Kapoor would eat her alive to ensure his own survival. And here he was offering her his jacket on a chilly winter evening. What the hell had gotten into him today?
‘Have you been drinking?’ Risha blurted.
‘Just a little, sweetie,’ Rishabh said with an indulgent smile.
Arjun leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed. Risha took a large sip of her drink and stared at his muscular forearms. Following her gaze, Nani suddenly asked, ‘Candy, did you take photograaf of his taatu?’
‘“Tattoo”,’ Nitisha corrected.
‘Yes, taatu. Did you take photo or not?’
Risha shook her head. ‘Not yet.’
Nani tsk-tsked. ‘Hazaar baar bola ki[46] don’t do taatu, don’t do taatu. Lekin aaj kal ke bachey sunte kahaan hain[47]? Taatu karva liya, aur likhvaya kya[48]? “Desi”. What a stupid word!’
‘Yes, Nani,’ Rishabh agreed. ‘Now all he needs to do is have “ghee” tattooed under it and we can sell him at a kirana shop.’
Nani cackled in delight at the fabulous joke. Noticing the ominous glitter in Arjun’s eyes, Risha gave Rishabh a discouraging look.
‘Arre, Candy,’ Nani continued, ‘do take photos of his taatus, nahi toh vasooli kaise hogi[49]?’
In an attempt to prevent Rishabh from cracking another tactless joke, Risha turned to Arjun. ‘Tattoos? You have more than one?’
‘I didn’t realize we’re going for full disclosure, Ms Kohli,’ Arjun snapped rudely.
Risha was taken aback by his tone. ‘Oh-kay.’
Arjun gave her a scathing look. ‘I wasn’t aware that I need to inform you about every tattoo I’ve ever had.’
What the hell? How could he speak to her like that in front of everyone? She had already put up with his coldness the entire day, and she might be a mere photographer, but she didn’t deserve this.
Risha tipped her head and gave him a sweet smile. ‘Are you sure the tattoo artist didn’t forget the needle up your ass?’
Rohan snickered and Rishabh guffawed behind his hand.
Arjun stood up with enough force to tip his chair over. ‘We need to talk,’ he bit out.
‘Or maybe there’s more than one needle, since there’s more than one tattoo?’ Risha challenged.
‘Get up!’ Arjun snapped, grabbing her wrist.
‘Bhai!’ Nitisha gasped. ‘What’s wrong with you? Let go of her!’
Risha’s face turned red with indignation. Unwilling to make a scene, she stood up, yanked her wrist free and followed Arjun with as much dignity as she could muster.
Nitisha opened her mouth to protest, but Rohan put a hand on her arm and shook his head. For some reason, Nitisha was the only one horrified by Arjun’s manners.
Rohan was amused. Rishabh was entertained. And Nani was downright proud.
Risha stood under the peepul tree in silence. Arjun had his back towards her and they’d been standing there for a good five minutes. There was no way Risha would give him the satisfaction of speaking first. Her stomach grumbled in protest and she was tempted to tiptoe away from Arjun to grab a snack. Given that he was staring off into space, it was unlikely that he would notice her absence anyway. At the very least, she could’ve texted Rishabh to pack some food for the return journey, but she had left her phone at the table. Maybe she could pluck some leaves from the peepul tree and eat those. Were peepul leaves poisonous? She was quite certain they had some Ayurvedic qualities, so they probably weren’t lethal. But what if they were unbearably bitter like neem leaves?
Arjun finally turned around to face her. ‘I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that,’ he offered.
Risha stared at the tree obstinately.
‘I’ve had a long day,’ he said, raking a hand through his dark hair.
She kept silent.
‘My behaviour was inexcusable and I’m very sorry.’
Risha finally looked at him. ‘It’s okay.’
Arjun seemed a little surprised by that. ‘It is?’
‘Yes, let’s start over.’
‘Okay, let’s start with why you didn’t tell me that you’re a journalist.’
‘That’s the reason you’ve been treating me like crap?’
‘Like I said, long day. But in a nutshell, I don’t particularly like journalists.’
Risha raised her chin a notch. ‘I don’t particularly like you.’
Arjun almost cracked a smile at that. ‘Did you intentionally conceal your profession from me?’
Risha looked at him like he had lost his mind. ‘Why would I do that? And if I had to hide the fact that I’m a journalist, why would I tell your sister about it? Also, ever heard of Google?’
Her logic was irrefutable. But her profession wasn’t the only thing that was bothering Arjun.
‘Do you remember the last time we... met?’ Arjun asked, carefully studying her expression.
Risha’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of their last meeting. The image of him sleeping on the plane flashed before her eyes. Arjun saw her eyes darken and her demeanour soften, and instinctively knew she was thinking about their time on the flight.
He took a step towards her. His face was just inches from hers and her breath quickened in anticipation. ‘Risha,’ he murmured softly, and she closed her eyes. ‘Why didn’t you tell me about your boyfriend?’
Risha’s eyes flew open and her soft features transformed into an angry scowl. ‘Oh, I didn’t realize we were going for full disclosure, Mr Khanna!’
She turned around and stormed off, leaving Arjun staring after her with a perplexed expression on his face.
He had some nerve treating her like that! He had hoisted her to a shady corner with his entire family watching, and then he had insinuated that she was a liar. And on top of that, he had the gall to ask her about her ‘boyfriend’ when he was the one practically engaged to Priye Ma’s niece!
Risha turned to Rishabh and spoke in a grim voice. ‘We’re leaving. Now.’ She was relieved when he stood up without another word. She grabbed her camera and backpack and bade the others goodnight.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to finish your dinner?’ Rohan asked politely.
Risha shook her head. ‘I’ll see you guys tomorrow.’
‘Thanks for today, Risha,’ Nitisha told her with an apologetic smile before turning to Rishabh. ‘Sorry you had to wait so long. It was really nice to meet you.’
Rishabh gave her a dazzling smile. ‘No problem, the pleasure was all mine.’ He bent down to touch Nani’s feet and said in flawless Punjabi, ‘Thanks for dinner, Nani. I would’ve loved to stay longer, but I need to take my girl home.’
Nani pulled Rishabh by the collar and whispered something in his ear, causing him to blush like a mischievous schoolboy.
In the car, Risha leaned back on the headrest and looked through her day’s work. She had taken a beautiful shot of the peepul tree, lanterns glistening from its branches. Too bad Arjun Khanna had ruined the tree for her, she thought with annoyance.
‘What did Nani whisper to you before we left?’ she asked Rishabh.
‘That she didn’t buy for one second that you and I are an item.’
‘Thank God! Why the hell were you behaving like we are?’ Risha burst out.
‘You really don’t know?’
Risha raised her hands. ‘Know what?’
‘The boy is crushing on you, Kohli,’ Rishabh said, throwing the car into top gear as they sped down the highway.
‘What boy?’
‘Arjun Khanna.’
‘Are you insane? At first he pretended like he didn’t know me, then he was inexplicably rude to me, then he—’
‘You are so clueless,’ he said in disbelief.
‘You are so... gay!’ she said, for lack of a clever retort.
He laughed. ‘That’s what Nani said to me.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Well, she said it in Punjabi. And the words she used were more... colourful.’
Risha laughed. ‘I’ve never met anyone like Nani, she’s hilarious! And she clearly has a great gaydar.’
‘Unlike her grandson, who is obviously besotted with you.’
Risha rolled her eyes. ‘Sure, because barbaric manners are the way to win a girl’s heart.’
Rishabh gave her a look. ‘You are so naive.’
‘Are you and Nidhi in this together? You both keep telling me about random guys who like me, but can either of you explain why I’m twenty-seven years old, single, and being driven home by my gay ex-boyfriend?’
‘I think,’ Rishabh conjectured, ‘you should’ve just slept with him on the plane.’
‘WHAT?’
‘Clearly the sexual tension between the two of you—’
‘There is no sexual tension!’ Risha snapped. And because curiosity got the better of her, she asked, ‘Is it even possible to have sex on a plane?’
A mischievous grin crossed Rishabh’s face. ‘Why don’t you ask Arjun Khanna? With a body like that, I can bet he has.’
Great. Now she was thinking about Arjun Khanna having sex.
Rishabh gave her a knowing smile. ‘You’re visualizing it, aren’t you?’
‘No, I’m not!’ she denied vehemently.
‘Doesn’t he look like Fawad Khan?’
Risha pressed her knuckles to her forehead. ‘I don’t want to talk about Arjun Khanna. I have a splitting headache and I’m famished! Let’s get kathi rolls from that new place in Vasant Vihar.’
Rishabh wiggled his eyebrows. ‘We can always turn around and go to the sushi place.’
Risha leaned her head back and closed her eyes. ‘Wake me up when we reach VV.’
Two days to the wedding
For the third time since the morning, Kabir sifted through the photos of Nitisha Khanna’s mehndi he had received via WhatsApp. Some of the images had poor resolution, some were overly Instagrammed, but most just lacked readership quotient.
Page 3 was the most-read page of Delhi Today and he couldn’t just print anything there, especially given that last week, the editor-in-chief, Jay Soman, had pulled up Kabir for a drop in Page 3 likability scores.
Kabir needed better quality images but he also needed some inside dope, and he needed it fast. He had a good full-length image of the bride, but one image did not a story make. He required a spread, a collage, a goddamn wedding album.
Khudai by Nitisha Khanna had become a major designer label in the last few years and the going rate for a bridal lehenga was close to ten lakhs, at par with some of the top fashion designers in the country. After Khudai had entered into an exclusive online sales contract with Shopcart.com, the deal had provided Nitisha the marketing fillip she needed, along with a fiancé in the form of Shopcart’s founder-CEO Rohan Singhal.
Last winter, Nitisha had opened a store at DLF Emporio and around the same time Rohan had raised $1 billion in funding. Theirs was a fairy-tale story, and Kabir was certain the readers would lap it up, especially if he could get a few close-ups of Nitisha’s outfits, shots of the family members in intimate settings, and some images of the couple with Priye Ma. He was hardly worried about the last category since SoL members had flooded his inbox with those.
Kabir had also heard a rumour that Vikram Walia was attending the wedding, and if that was true, it would make the story highly newsworthy. He could check with Vikram’s wife, Nidhi, but no one ever got a peep out of that snooty, secretive bitch. What was the point of being married to a famous person if you never talked about them?
Kabir swiped through the photos and paused briefly at an image of the ghastly Priye Ma. Even the grainy resolution couldn’t dull her gaudy make-up.
Maybe he could reach out to the photographer directly and get some photos in exchange for a credit. His source had mentioned the photographer was a girl called Candy. He knew a lot of Delhi-based photographers, but ‘Candy’ didn’t sound familiar. Kabir sent Risha a text message, asking if she knew someone by that name.
At the Shopcart building across town, Risha was busy clicking photos of Rohan and Nitisha. After hearing the story of how they had met, Risha suggested going back to the proverbial ‘scene of the crime’.
Two years ago, Khudai had launched a collection exclusively on Shopcart. Shopcart’s fashion segment needed the backing of high-end labels like Khudai, and Khudai required the marketing budget to make a mass-media splash. It was a win-win situation, and Rohan and Nitisha had met only twice before signing the deal. The third time Rohan h
ad asked her to dinner at the pretext of discussing sales and Nitisha had told him to email her instead.
So he’d sent her an email saying, ‘I don’t really want to discuss revenue. I just want to take you out to dinner. Tonight at 8?’ When Nitisha responded with a smiley face, Rohan had sat staring at his screen wondering what that meant.
At 7 p.m., he sent her another email. ‘Is that a yes or a no?’
Rohan practically ran out of his office a minute later when Nitisha replied, ‘If you have to ask, you’re already late.’ It was the earliest he had left work since he started the company.
Risha had spent the morning with them at Nitisha’s store in south Delhi before heading to Rohan’s office in Noida, where they now stood with the Shopcart building gleaming behind them. Risha crouched on the pavement and took a few shots from a lower angle, making them look like the power couple that they were.
When she finally had the shot she wanted, she gave them a thumbs up. ‘All done!’
‘Phew!’ Nitisha exclaimed.
Rohan turned to the dozens of surreptitious eyes that were peeking through blinds on various floors. ‘Get back to work or everyone’s fired!’ he shouted. Laughter rang through the building and Rohan gave his employees a sheepish wave before turning to Risha. ‘Can we please get out of here before my hard-ass CEO image is ruined?’
Risha laughed. ‘Absolutely!’
As they got into Rohan’s SUV, Nitisha turned around to look at Risha, ‘Can we interest you in sushi?’
A tiny giggle escaped Risha.
‘What happened?’ Nitisha asked.
‘Rishabh had a major sushi craving yesterday, but I made him get kathi rolls instead,’ Risha explained.
Nitisha exchanged a look with Rohan before continuing. ‘Rishabh seems like a nice guy.’
‘Depends on who you ask,’ Risha joked, unzipping her backpack to organize her gear.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, he hardly ever makes a good first impression. Most people don’t like him initially, because he’s blunt to the point of being tactless. He speaks his mind and doesn’t care if he sounds politically incorrect. He’s not an easy guy to get along with, but he grows on you,’ Risha explained, sliding her camera carefully into its cover.
The Wedding Photographer Page 10