Man of Power Ch. 32

[The first 30 chapters are covered in the first two Man of Power books. These are from Book 3 that's why the chapter numbers restarted after 30.]

Chapter 4 -- Vansh Meets Hina

Vansh and Hina had gotten along fine right from start. They had gone out to various tourist spots and even for dinner when they could afford to eat out. Vansh was very attracted to her simply because...well, she was stunning. Her non-existent career notwithstanding, she was model material from head to toe. She had a great fashion sense and dressed bold in a way that looked hot and adorable at the same time. Why she hung out with him, Vansh never new. The few friends that he had now were also never sure why she was with him.

But she was with him. There was no doubt about that. Vansh would probably never have got the courage but it was Hina who had initiated their first kiss. It was on a rainy afternoon, when they were waiting out the rain under a shop awning that she had simply leaned in and kissed him. On the lips. Just like they do in the movies. It would have grown into something more but Vansh was never comfortable with such behaviour in public. It had taken him a long time to hold her hand when they were out. Hina had a shift right after that and after she had gone, Vansh had walked home in the rain, happy as the cat who has licked the cream off the milk and gotten away unwatched.

That weekend, when Hina and Vansh both didn't have a job to go to, they had had sex. He had loved it. She was his first and Vansh had loved every moment of it. Hina had told him it was great. They had done more of that. And many more times since then. Given Hina's schedule and her dedication to doing the rounds of studios and agencies in her spare time, they didn't have sex very often, but he liked knowing that they could, any time. They were a couple.

He loved her and he was sure that she loved him too. They had not really talked about it, but he knew that he wanted to spend his life with her. They had celebrated their first anniversary a couple of months ago, and his friends had openly said that they were jealous of him. Yes, the same bastards who used to tease him that he was dating above his level, were now jealous of him. He loved that.

A big problem that he could foresee in his otherwise wonderful future was his parents. He had not yet told them about Hina. He wasn't sure how they would react to him wanting to marry a Muslim girl. They were quite progressive normally, but people behave weirdly when it's a question of religion or their children's marriage, and this was both. Still, having been with her for more than a year, he was thinking about taking a chance and doing it now. He had a plan to take her home with him on Diwali and introduce her to his family.

It would help if Hina got a modelling break before then, everybody knew, the normal rules didn't apply to show business people. Or if by some miracle, he himself managed to get his photography career started, it would be the same thing. But Vansh knew that those two things were very uncertain and improbable while the date for Diwali was already fixed. It would be here in a couple of months. It was weird that the two uncertain things actually happened but the certain thing didn't happen. Diwali never came for Vansh that year.

Not only did Hina get a great break in modelling, Vansh himself got an amazing job as a photographer, but sadly, he lost Hina in the process. And that, was the supreme irony of his life.

Here's how it happened. On Hina's last birthday, they had gone out to the zoo and as usual Vansh had taken his camera with him. Somehow the conversation had turned towards their careers and Hina had mentioned that it was weird that she was dating a photographer and yet, he had never done a photoshoot of her.

"What are you talking about?" He said "I take photos of you all the time."

"I am not talking about snaps." Hina said "I mean a photoshoot, like a proper photoshoot for a portfolio. Headshots and such."

"Babe, I don't have a studio, you know that."

"You don't need a studio." Hina said "We can do an outdoor shoot. The city is full of interesting backdrops."

That made Vansh think. They talked about it and even scouted the city for good backdrops for portrait photos. Then a week after their anniversary they finally did it. They got photos done in various different places and did a final part of the shoot in Hina's apartment. Vansh edited them and the output was like a professional portfolio. Hina was really happy with it. She started using that instead of her two-year old crappy portfolio.

It was a good enough set of photos that Vansh could use it as his portfolio as well. He had still not lost hope that some day he would be a photographer in this same company. The photography department was just two floors above the IT floor. But to Vansh, that was a 100-mile journey. The agency made many video ads and print ads. For video ads the crews were usually hired from outside, but for print ads they had a couple of photographers in-house who did the job. Vansh knew he had no hope of being considered if he applied again.

His only chance was to talk directly to the CEO, show him his work and somehow persuade him to try him out. He had never met the CEO but he had seen him in company events and he was a young guy, well, not as young as Vansh, but definitely not CEO-age. Vansh argued that he would be open to new ideas and taking chances on people. But taking a bold action like that was not in Vansh's character.

"Baby, you have to take the chance." Hina said when he told her his idea.

"It's just that he's very busy, and I don't want to...I mean I will look like a fool if he..."

"Ok, ok." Hina knew about Vansh's shy and oftentimes timid character and while she didn't like it, she always made allowances for it "How about you send him an email, attach the best photos to that email and write a cover letter explaining who you are and what you want?"

Anything that could get him out of an uncomfortable social situation was always welcome in Vansh's world. He liked the email idea.

It proved harder than he had thought. He created the email, attached the photos, wrote a cover letter, but he could not click Send. He had a grave feeling that he was making a fool of himself. He was not a photographer. He was the IT guy. Why would the high-ranking CEO who ran this big company, waste time on his dreams and aspirations? He could see it in his mind's eye that the CEO will get the email, make a face and delete it. Vansh left the email in the Drafts folder.

For a few days, Hina asked him if he had sent the email. Vansh had made some excuse. She tried reminding him that it could be good for her career as well as his.

"Baby, VisCom does so many projects, they are growing like a rocket." She said "They must need a lot of models. I have already applied there but always been told that they don't hire directly. Can you imagine if my photo caught the CEO's eye? It could be the making of my career."

"Yes, yes, of course." Vansh agreed.

"Just a couple of projects from VisCom," She persisted "even print ads, could get me started. God knows, I am not getting anything anywhere else, and I don't want to be a waitress all my life. I want to do some modelling while I am still young and pretty."

Vansh agreed "You are right. I will send it on Monday."

But that Monday never came. He always lost his nerve at the last moment. The email lived in his Drafts folder for over a month. Then the CEO got married and went on a month-long holiday for his honeymoon. Vansh cursed himself.

Last night after a wonderful weekend, Vansh and Hina had a bad fight that somehow turned towards his unwillingness to send the email to the CEO. In her anger, Hina even accused him of being petty and jealous. She said he didn't want her to be successful because he was intimidated by her.

As he walked to work this morning from the station, the fight was still fresh in Vansh's mind and he was wondering if there was any truth in what Hina said. He knew that the CEO was joining back from today. The email was still lying in Vansh's Drafts folder. He looked at the large words "Visual Communications" as he entered the door under them and crossed the lobby of the big building.

He took the lift to his floor, walked to his office and sat down. His colleagues had not arrived yet. Vansh always arrived half an hour before starting time. He sat down, turned on his computer and pulled out the single email from the Drafts folder. He read the message again for the thousandth time:

"Dear Mr. Malhotra,

Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Vansh Chaudhary, I work in the IT department of VisCom...."

The nerves were still there. His hand was shaking a little. But today, he was angry. How could Hina said that he didn't want her to succeed? There was some guilt mixed with the anger, was she right, was he insecure? And there was a little hope too, what if the boss didn't delete the email, what if the face he made was a thoughtful, critical face, what if he replied....

Vansh steadied his hand and typed the email address in the "To:" field "Vikas Malhotra". He pressed Control-K. The name became underlined. The address was correct. Only one thing left to do...one little thing...

He clicked Send.

"Phew!" He expelled his breath noisily.

Chapter 5 -- Parineeti Confesses

SpiceKlub was not the most posh restaurant in Bombay but it was close. Their trade was usually CEOs, top management and celebrities. This was quite in contrast with the Indian street food which was their speciality but that's how Bombay is -- a study in contradictions.

Vikas and Parineeti were welcomed by the head waiter as they entered. They were regulars there and the staff knew them. They were shown to their private booth without any wait. Vikas usually preferred the booth away from the crowd instead of taking a table by the window. For business lunches it provided fewer distractions to be away from the window as well as the crowd.

"So, now tell me what fun did you have in Goa?" Vikas asked Parineeti once they settled in their booth, sitting side by side.

"Goa was amazing, Sir." Pari took out her phone and showed him some photos.

"The bikini photos as per your orders." She said.

"Beautiful!" Vikas took the phone and swiped through the photos slowly "You look even hotter than I thought."

"You are so sweet, Sir." Parineeti kissed his cheek. She was sitting very close to him, peering over his shoulder, even though she didn't need to see the pictures.

"Very nice. And did you go ahead from there to other places as you had planned?"

"Yes, Sir. We went to Rajasthan and Agra, you know, just for the Taj." Parineeti replied "And by the way, I really, really want to go to the Taj Mahal with you some time. I missed you so much there."

He put his arm around her and squeezed her softly "Of course, darling. Why not?"

They had a leisurely lunch and talked about their respective holidays. Parineeti fussed over him and served him during lunch, she listened to his stories and asked questions. She stayed very close to him, staying in his intimate space most of the time.

"By the way, did you like my outfit? I bought this in Goa." She said leaning back so he could see her skimpy top and short skirt again.

"Of course, it looks great, I said so this morning - you look sensational." Vikas smiled.

"Thank you, Sir. And if HR calls me in, you'll have to save me. I am worried they will haul me in that my skirt is too short or something."

"Well, they don't need to bother with that. Your skirt is none of their business. After all, you are my personal, right?"

A wide smile lit up Parineeti's face "Yes, Sir. You remembered!"

She was referring to the drunk phone call she had made from Goa to Vikas when he was on the cruise.

They stayed for dessert after the main meal. Vikas ordered ice cream while Parineeti ordered an Indian dessert called "Ras Malai".

"Would you like a taste, Sir?" Parineeti offered.

"Sure. Thanks."

Instead of pushing the plate towards him, Parineeti took a little spoonful and fed him with her own hand. He took it.

"Very nice."

"Ah, you eat like a child." Parineeti said which was an unfair comment on Vikas' eating habits but it did give Parineeti the excuse to wipe the little drop of sugar syrup from the corner of his lips.

"Thank you, darling."

Parineeti leaned in and kissed him. Her hand was placed gently at the back of his neck. She pulled him closer and pressed her lips on his. Vikas kissed her back, slowly sucking her bottom lip into his mouth. The slow kiss was very intimate and they both took their time with it. Vikas' tongue parted her lips and Parineeti sucked it into her mouth. Their lips pressed harder against each other as the hot and wet kiss continued. Their breaths mingled in an erotic blend and their bodies pressed in a tight hug.

"Mmmm, that was a better dessert." Vikas commented with a smile.

Parineeti looked into his eyes and said "Can I ask you something, Sir?"

"Sure, babe."

With a little hesitation, she started "Ummm, Sir, it's normal, like with Jackie's boss, too, and other companies, I mean our company, too, you know, normally bosses, and their personal secretaries, like, I am sure you know...." She took a breath and looked up in his eyes again "How come you never took possession of me, Sir?"

Vikas smiled cupped her cheek in his hand and replied slowly in a gentle tone "I didn't want to ruin your life, honey. You were a young girl under my protection. A young, beautiful girl," he added "working under me, in my protection. You have a boyfriend and I saw no reason to ruin your life just for my enjoyment, or to satisfy my primal urges."

"I had a boyfriend, Sir. I don't any more. Haven't had one for months. And it would not have mattered. I would have left him if you wanted, or kept him on the side, or whatever you said. I would have loved to belong to you." Summoning her courage she added "I would love to belong to you."

Keeping his arm around her slim waist, Vikas pulled her close "You are forgetting that I am married, darling."

"I am not talking about marriage, Sir, just that it would be nice to be yours."

"Okay, I won't bullshit you. There were these superhot waitresses on the cruise we took. Like, I am talking supermodel hot, and in fact, most of them were failed models. There were 4 of them in First Class on the cruise. I did nail all of them. So the marriage excuse is not 100% valid. But they were models, they knew what they were doing and having sex with me won't affect their life in any profound way."

Vikas took a breath and continued in a slow, patient tone "But you, you are special. I can't treat you as casually, and on the other hand you can't have a future with me. I am indeed married and you are still a beautiful, young girl under my protection. Some day soon you will find someone worthy of you and you will live happily ever after. I don't want to be the one mistake in your past that you look back at and regret."

"You are not a mistake, Sir." Parineeti tried to argue "But I..."

"No, sweetheart. I cannot help myself to you just because you are a sweet girl and somehow under the impression that you like me."

"I don't like you, Sir." Parineeti said firmly "I love you!"

"That too." Vikas said and pulled her in for a tight hug signalling the end of discussion.

Parineeti shut up and tried to keep her moist eyes from dripping as she clung to him tightly.

Chapter 6 -- Rhea is Missing Vikas

"I miss Jiju!" Rhea wailed "It was so nice on the cruise. Why did we have to come back?"

She was looking at the photos from the trip on her tablet.

"We had to come back some time, baby!" Sonali said, looking over her shoulder.

"Doesn't Jiju look so handsome in this tropical shirt?" Rhea said.

"Well, he's a handsome boy. He looks good in suits and also in tropical shirts." Sonali said casually "And he's kind which is even more important."

"Mumma, in the old days kings used to have many queens, no?" Rhea said.

"Yes, they did. So?"

"Well, Jiju is like a king, he's very powerful and strong."

"What are you trying to say, Rhea?" Sonali asked even though she knew that Rhea was smitten with her brother-in-law.

"Nothing mumma. Just saying Jiju is like a king and he looks great in photos."

"Yes, he does. We should get some prints made from these pictures to put in frames in the house. Will you select some, please?"

"Oh wow, great idea, mumma."

"And don't select only pictures of your jiju, huh?" Sonali reminded her "I would like some pictures of the rest of the family as well."

"Of course, I won't select just jiju's pictures." Rhea said although that's what she had been thinking about doing.