Aadith felt his temper rise in a second. ‘You of all people should know how the press spins stories to sell their papers and magazines, yet you persist in believing those ridiculous tales,’ he accused.
‘Not all of them are false,’ she argued.
‘And not all of them are true either,’ he countered.
Nina bit her bottom lip. If she could forget that he ever existed she would. But forgetting his existence was easier said than done when he was splashed across newspapers and magazines with a different pretty young thing on his arm every other day.
‘For some reason I’ve become the media’s favourite bad boy and I want to get rid of that tag now. And you, Miss Goody-two-shoes, are going to help me do it,’ insisted Aadith arrogantly.
A discreet knock at the door later, Mrs Dutta let herself in with the coffee. Nina watched Aadith work his charm smoothly.
‘I’ve a meeting scheduled shortly so I’ve got to leave now. But thank you for the coffee, Mrs Dutta. Once Nina and I start working together I’m sure I’ll be around for many more,’ he said, giving her an easy smile.
‘My daughter is a crazy fan of yours and will be beside herself when I tell her I met you,’ said Mrs Dutta happily.
‘Thank you. If she ever wants to visit the sets just let Nina know. I’ll send some passes along,’ he promised, winking at Nina as he let himself out with a casual wave in their direction.
Nina felt like throwing the pretty etched-glass paperweight at his back as he closed the door behind him. Damn! Now Mrs Dutta definitely wouldn’t let her forget about him. Miss Goody-two-shoes indeed, she fumed. She’d rather walk over hot coals than lift a finger to help him, she thought savagely as she settled down to work.
After a headache-inducing lunch with Sonia, Nina was perusing a contract when the managing director, Mr Samuel, summoned her to his cabin. Just a few days ago he had congratulated her on the success of the Tiwary account and had promised to look into her promotion soon. She had been gunning for the post of VP for a while now and if she became one she would be the youngest ever in the history of the eighty-five-year-old firm. This sudden summons made her mildly curious as to the nature of this second unexpected call.
Her MD was generally not a man prone to displaying his emotions. For him to nod approvingly at someone meant that he or she had done an exceedingly good job. So when Nina found him with his face wreathed in a huge smile she felt the first stirrings of misgiving.
‘Nina, I gather you and Aadith Varma are old friends,’ remarked her boss cheerfully.
Nina was startled. Their past had been stormy to say the least and they could certainly not be labelled as friends, she thought darkly.
A frown marred her face as she clarified, ‘Well, more like neighbours really.’
Her boss continued as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘After the success of the Tiwary account, to land a prestigious client like Mr Varma within the span of a week is a definite coup. Consider your promotion a done deal,’ he said appreciatively.
Something roiled in the pit of Nina’s stomach. She did not like where the conversation seemed to be heading.
‘Mr Varma was very impressed with your work and mentioned that he was looking forward to collaborating with you. I trust you to do a wonderful job with this account as well,’ he finished.
Nina knew she would have to try something quick to get out of this mess.
‘I would love to work with Mr Varma, but I doubt I could fit another client into my current roster. I am totally swamped at the moment.’
Her boss stared at her in surprise. He had never in all the years she’d been working there heard her turn down a client, and a high-profile one at that. He looked at her speculatively and conceded, ‘Of course, I don’t expect you to juggle in your new client along with all your old ones too. Someone else can take over your less important ones so that you can devote all your attention to the new account. At least initially,’ he added.
Nina caught onto it like a lifeline ‘I’m positive my other clients would feel miffed if I abandoned them suddenly, so maybe I could work on this new account during the drafting stage and leave the execution to Dev?’ she enquired on a hopeful note.
Mr Samuel’s face hardened with irritation. ‘In case I haven’t made myself clear, let me. Aadith Varma wants only you to work on his PR campaign, so there’s no question of you working on it until only halfway through,’ he said in a tone that brooked no further argument.
Nina noted the unspoken reprimand in her boss’s eyes and the warning it carried, but chose to continue unheedingly. ‘Wouldn’t it be better if—?’
Her boss broke in before she could even finish the sentence. ‘With your promotion up for approval I’m sure you will put in your very best work on this. That will be all,’ he added dismissively.
Nina had worked her butt off for years to get where she was. To make VP had been her goal for so long and now, when it seemed to be within reaching distance, this new hurdle had sprung up. She acknowledged that there wasn’t really a choice any more. Nothing and no one was going to take it away from her. All her years of hard work were not going to be wasted over an egotistical jerk like Aadith, she vowed.
Mr Samuel was still watching her keenly, but Nina could not even bring herself to voice her consent. She just nodded her head and rose from the chair. Just as she reached the door her boss promised, ‘Nina, turn this around successfully and you will be made VP effective from the next quarter.’
Nina was furious with her boss, with Aadith and mostly with herself for letting them push her into a corner. She dared not open her mouth in case she said something she would regret later. She grunted her agreement and strode out of the room in a red haze of temper. Point Aadith, she thought sourly. But the game was not over yet; it was just beginning.
As Nina was about to enter her cabin Mrs Dutta waylaid her with a huge bouquet of sunshine-yellow roses. She had an adoring look on her face as she handed Nina the accompanying card. Nina waited until the door had closed behind her to look at the card. It simply said,
Welcome to the team-A
It carried only a mobile number on the other side.
Nina was only slightly mollified that he had remembered her favourite flowers. Back in Pune when they had been neighbours, there had been a beautiful yellow rose bush in his garden. Nina had often admired the flowers and occasionally borrowed them too from his grandmother. No, she wasn’t surprised that he had sent her the flowers, for she knew he would employ every trick in the book to get his own way. She was only astonished that he remembered which ones she liked.
The cad probably never let himself forget a thing about a woman. But then he’d need to, going by the rate he went through them, she thought bitterly.
Even with the gift of flowers, she couldn’t forgive that he had gone to her boss!
How dared he? That conniving lowlife.
She snatched the phone off the table and quickly dialled the number off the back of the card. When a deep sexy voice answered it after the first ring, Nina raged, ‘You’re a lying cheat! How could you pull such a cheap trick on me?’
Aadith chuckled and shot back, ‘I’ve been waiting for your call. Now my day can end on a happy note.’
‘How dare you use my boss to get to me?’ she said with unabated anger.
‘I did warn you I’d use any means to get you to work with me, didn’t I?’ he asked, unruffled. His voice didn’t show a trace of emotion other than amusement.
‘Why me?’ she asked starkly.
‘I doubt you need me to tell you that—you’re the best in the industry, and I want only the best.’
Nina