Man of Power Ch. 15

"She is right, Sir." Sony placed his juice drink near his hand and sat down on the other side of the lounger to massage his other leg.

The dark, fat guy had no eyes for his beer. He was looking at the two beauties serving Vikas.

"Hi!" He said to Vikas "I am Moolchandani, Paritosh Moolchandani."

"Vikas Malhotra. Nice to meet you." Vikas said, he didn't try to shake hands.

"I am in the first class." Moolchandani said.

"Great!"

"Sir is also in first class." Evelyn told Moolchandani.

"Oh. I joined the cruise in Singapore. I was working on a business deal there." Moolchandani said importantly, then added "A big deal." Just to make it clear.

Vikas nodded.

"You might be wondering why you have not seen me in the first class dining lounge" Moolchandani carried on without any encouragement from Vikas "You see, I eat at the Captain's table. All the VIPs have dinner at the Captain's table."

"I see. You must be very important." Vikas agreed.

"Well, if you would like, I can talk to the purser to get you a seat at the captain's table. Mind you, the seats are limited and I can't promise anything but..."

"That's very kind of you but I always eat with my family." Vikas said as civilly as he could manage "But I appreciate your kind thought."

"No problem, my boy, no problem." Moolchandani wasn't sure what more to say, and before he could think of the next thing to say to prove he was important, a girl walked into view that was so strikingly beautiful that he lost his train of thought. She was wearing a loose minidress and her long legs, her sculpted beautiful body and her lovely face completely mesmerised Moolchandani.

She walked up to Vikas and said "Hello baby!" She bent over him and kissed him on the lips.

"Hello my love." Vikas said "How was your nap?"

"So lovely." Kajal said "Hi girls!" She said to Sony and Evelyn. They responded and carried on massaging Vikas' legs.

"Girls, if you keep doing that, I will fall asleep." Vikas told them.

"So, why don't you, baby?" Kajal said "Just relax. Let me massage your head."

"Erhm, I am Moolchandani." Moolchandani said to Kajal.

"Oh yes." Vikas said "This is Mr. Moolchandani, and this is my wife Kajal Agarwal."

"Kajal Malhotra now, baby." Kajal reminded him.

"Ah, yes. Kajal Malhotra. Thank you for reminding me, Mrs. Malhotra." He smiled.

Kajal ignored Moolchandani after saying "Hi." She picked up the glass of juice and fed it to Vikas with her own hand. Then she massaged his head while he lay back with his eyes closed.

Moolchandani tried but could not look away. He was trying to make sense of the scene why the guy's wife was not objecting with the two beautiful staff girls massaging his naked legs. And why were these girls massaging his legs when it was not part of their duties. He knew they were waitresses in the first class and didn't give the time of day to most people. He also knew that they were the centre of attention of most of the ship's men.

He found it frustrating how all three girls completely ignored him and served Vikas like he was a king and they were his harem girls. Ultimately, he decided that Vikas must be a film star. Since Moolchandani knew most of the Indian filmstars by face, Vikas must be from another industry, maybe Hollywood. No, that can't be it. Moolchandani scratched his head and decided to ask Vikas next time he found him alone.

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"Oh, I am sorry, I didn't know anyone was here." Shriya said.

"It's alright. Come." Vikas said, half-turning from the railing.

The small deck was private to first class but was smaller than the normal first class deck. The way their ship was facing, this deck had a good view of the sunset. That's what Vikas was watching. He was also drinking. And avoiding Moolchandani.

"Want some red wine?" He said to Shriya.

"Um.." She hesitated.

Vikas turned and walked up to her.

"Look Shriya, you don't need to be coy with me. If you want wine, you can have wine. It's between you and me, I won't mention it in mixed company."

Shriya smiled "Ok. Thanks. I would like some wine."

They chatted as they sipped wine.

"You are looking lovely, by the way." Vikas said as they watched the sunset standing at the ship's railing "I can see that Hemant totally doesn't deserve you."

"Thank you. You are so sweet." Shriya smiled "I am getting fat now though, I was much prettier when we got married. And it was an arranged marriage."

Vikas shook his head "Nonsense! You are very beautiful and you are not fat at all."

Shriya hesitated then turned to Vikas "Vikas, can I...can I ask a favour?"

"Sure!"

"I am embarrassed to ask, but you are so sweet and you help us all..."

"You can ask me anything, Shriya. What is it?" Vikas prompted her.

"Well, it's only that, I want to join the gym to keep fit and ..."

"You are not fat, but it's always a good idea to work out to maintain the health."

"Exactly! You are right. There's a good gym only half an hour away from us in Bombay, but...it's very expensive."

"It's normal these days for the good gyms. But the yearly membership is usually cheaper."

"That's true. And this one is the same, but Hemant says we have no money for that. He always has money for his hobbies but..." She stopped again.

"Not a good way to treat your wife, but well...how much is the membership?"

"They are having a special offer right now where you can get 6 months for 20,000Rs. Usually it's 35,000."

Vikas nodded "That can be arranged. Will you remind me after we get back to Bombay? I will get it done."

"Aw, you are so sweet." Shriya put down her glass and hugged him "I didn't want to ask you but...you are so kind." She closed her arms tight around his body.

"You are most welcome!" Vikas patted her back.

[End of Part 15]