About the Author
A die-hard Chennaiite, MAHI spent her childhood with her head buried between the covers of a book, a habit her mother actively encouraged then, much to her dismay later when she discovered story books had a curious way of ending up between the covers of her daughter’s textbooks.
Mahi loves happy-ever-afters and her own happy beginning happened when family friends who thought they’d be perfect for each other introduced her to her now husband. Such introductions rarely work out but luckily for her it did. She feels he brings out the best in her. She’s always been a words kinda girl which bodes well for her husband’s wallet but being a man of few words he feels he has it tougher. She’s not giving up yet, she’s still holding out for a long, romantic letter penned by him.
A management graduate, Mahi switched careers from retail to finance but it never felt right. Those jobs weren’t pushing the right buttons for her. She wanted to do something she loved and it took her a while to figure out that writing was it. Now that she’s finally seen her name on the cover of a book she can’t wait to create many more stories with hunky heroes and spunky heroines.
She loves going for long walks, listening to music and watching romantic comedies. Her husband’s work takes him all over the world and travelling with him makes it ideal for her to take inspiration from different cultures and different people.
She’s working feverishly on her second book and can’t wait for you to read it.
“Since it’s a love story and everyone loves a happy ending I thought we could organize a contest where people from all over the country could write to you about how much they love that special someone in their life. The best couple of entries could be chosen and you could help the winners plan and execute the perfect way to show their love. After which, some well placed articles and photos of you in romantic locations with the happy couple, and quotes about you longing to find your very own happily ever after could go a long way to restoring your romantic hero image,” finished Nina excitedly.
“Only you’d have to stay clear of trouble until you lose your notoriety,” she offered as an afterthought.
“You mean I can’t indulge in drunken orgies and loud parties anymore? How am I ever going to get through these two months?” he moaned with a straight face.
She stared at him mouth agape wondering if he actually meant it. She was for once lost for words.
“Maybe you’d take pity on me and help me?” he suggested arching his brows.
Nina burst into laughter, she knew he had a wicked sense of humour and she had fallen right into his trap.
“You creep,” she scolded laughingly.
It was Aadith’s turn to stare. The sight of her laughing unselfconsciously with her head thrown back mesmerized him. She seemed so alive, he mused. Their eyes locked and the air suddenly turned thick with tension.
Falling For A Bollywood Legend
Mahi Jay
To my Sister who believed I could before I did
CHAPTER ONE
‘GET HOLD OF my agent,’ snapped Aadith Varma to his secretary over the intercom. Within a couple of minutes he was on call with Raj Binal. ‘No doubt you’ve seen the papers?’ queried Aadith.
Raj was nothing if not diplomatic. ‘There’s nothing really new, is there?’ he replied non-committally. Aadith crumpled the newspaper he was reading and threw it across the floor in disgust.
‘I took her out just once and now here she is, proclaiming to all and sundry that I broke her heart.’
The papers were once again carrying salacious articles of him, pictured with various women. Some of whom he was acquainted with, some he barely even remembered meeting and some he’d just posed with on request.
‘This couldn’t have occurred at a more inconvenient time!’ exclaimed Aadith. He had a mega-budget period romance flick about to be released and this unrelenting scrutiny of his love life was drawing all the attention away from the movie. It certainly did not bode well for the film, he thought in frustration.
‘You know who you have to blame for this recent blunder,’ reminded Raj pointedly.
He had repeatedly advised Aadith to get rid of his publicist. Now that Aadith had broken into the big league his publicist no longer seemed to be adept at handling his public relations. Aadith needed someone sharp and savvy.
Despite knowing that Raj was correct, Aadith had held out on letting his PR manager go, since the old guy had been with him since his early struggling days as an actor and was loyal if nothing else. For Aadith loyalty counted more than anything.
‘You’re right. I didn’t want to do it but it can’t be put off any longer,’ conceded Aadith grimly, raking his fingers through his thick black hair. He didn’t suffer fools gladly and he’d certainly not got where he had by surrounding himself with incompetent people. He made a note to himself to let the guy go gently and to make sure he was amply rewarded for his years of service.
‘I’ve had about enough of this and it looks like there is nothing more in the old chap’s bag of tricks. I want a new publicist and I want the best,’ stated Aadith categorically.
Aadith had always had an unerring eye for spotting the best and he went after it with a dogged persistence and steely determination. This was what had propelled him to become one of the most promising and sought after young heroes of Bollywood. Of course his undeniable talent and devastating good looks didn’t hurt either, mused Raj.
‘Then the person you are looking for is Nina Shah, of Guy & Falcon, based here in Mumbai,’ declared his agent confidently. He had seen this coming a mile ahead and was more than prepared with his choice.
Things had been a bit dicey for Aadith for a while now but his publicist had made it even worse. To take the heat off a couple of previous other scandals his PRO had tried to turn the media’s attention towards Aadith’s love life. He had cooked up a romance with a hot young model. But before he could build-up on it the press had caught hold of a couple of Aadith’s disgruntled ex-girlfriends and had started painting him out to be a heartless cad. Just when Aadith had needed a squeaky clean, devoted, loverboy image his publicist had screwed things up well and good.
Raj broke out of his reverie and continued, ‘Just before you became the poster boy for notoriety, star cricketer Gaurav Tiwary had that spot. Now, thanks to some pretty savvy PR work by Miss Shah, his image has been completely revamped. He is now their golden boy.’
‘Nina Shah, hey …?’ Some faint memory stirred Aadith as he said succinctly, ‘Send me all that you have about her.’
No, it couldn’t be … he thought as he rang off. The Nina he had known several years ago had been a hair-raising teen who had been rebellious on the surface although slightly shy and retiring beneath. A publicist’s livelihood revolved around being circumspect, bold and outgoing. It was centred upon doing a good paint job over the unsavoury bits in the lives of celebrity clients. Life couldn’t be so ironic, mused Aadith wryly.
But it certainly was. As soon as Aadith looked over the information Raj sent in, he knew it was the same Nina. They had briefly been neighbours in Pune several years ago and had parted on a sour note. Not that they had been the best of friends before either; he’d been more friendly with her brother. She had been a cheeky, irritating kid following Aadith and her brother around, always ratting them out to her parents. It had been only towards the end of his stay at Pune when he’d started looking at her differently. He dearly hoped she’d changed for the better or working