Chapter 1
The sun painted the room in golden streaks through its floor-to-ceiling windows. Somewhere downstairs, the maids moved efficiently, and the sound of plates clinking together echoed through the walls. Sanjay stretched lightly before getting out of his bed. He moved sleepily into the bathroom.
Naina squirmed on his bed after the light hit her eyes. He was already dressed by the time she was awake.
“You need darker curtains, Sanjay. These are hurting my eyes”
He turned to look at her while adjusting his tie.
“I like waking up with sunlight. Keeps me awake”
Naina pulled the blanket over her head.
“You’re weird”
Sanjay ignored her and adjusted his cuffs.
“You can get breakfast downstairs. Drivers are here if you need a ride”
She pulled the covers off and sat up in bed.
“Wait, I thought we were having breakfast together”
Sanjay turned around fully to face her.
“Is this your first time here? How many times have we had this same conversation, Naina? I am going to get breakfast. You can get a cab or let my driver drop you”
He didn’t wait for a response and left the room. Naina sighed. She didn’t know why she believed this time would be any different.
Sanjay reached the office before most of the staff had arrived. They greeted him, and he nodded back at them. He stopped in front of one of the employee desks.
“Hey, there was a discrepancy in the reports you sent me yesterday. Is that reviewed?”
The employee wiped his eyes immediately and straightened up.
“Yes, sir. It took me the whole night, but they are on your desk”
“Cool”
He gave the desk a light tap and walked away without waiting for another response. In his office, he opened the report in front of him and didn’t notice the clock moving forward.
“Sir, the CEO wants to see you”
“Yeah, thanks, Alex”
He walked to the CEO’s office and knocked on the glass door. The nameplate ‘Raveen Rao, CEO’ stood at the door. The man didn’t look up from his desk when Sanjay entered.
“Hi Dad”
“Hi, Sanjay. I believe you have reviewed the quarterly reports?”
Sanjay straightened instinctively.
“Yes, and the numbers look good. We might need to tighten customer satisfaction a little; other than that, everything is okay”
Mr Rao finally looked at his son.
“I trust that you will be on top of it”
“I will be”
“Okay, you are dismissed”
He turned to leave. Mr Rao paused.
“Ah, Sanjay, before I forget, your mother wants to know if you will be home for dinner”
Sanjay gave him a small smile.
“No, Dad, I have plans with my friends tonight”
The man shook his head slightly.
“Okay, enjoy”
Shyam, Nikhil and Kevin were Sanjay’s people. They were fellow rich kids, his closest friends and, more often than not, his personal hype gang. Tonight’s plan, as usual, was a high-end pub. It was loud, expensive, and exactly where they spent most Friday nights. They were sitting at their usual table, drinking and eating.
Sanjay was distracted while Nikhil was talking about something. Nikhil snapped his fingers across his face.
“Hey man, did you hear what I said? About the resort?”
“Yeah yeah. Look, do you think she is checking me out?”
Sanjay moved his eyes slowly in the direction of a few women standing together near the dance floor; one of them was glancing at him more than once. Shyam looked over.
“Oh yeah, definitely. Go for it”
“Alright”
Sanjay stood up and moved to the group. Shyam and Kevin looked elated while Nikhil slowly sighed. A few minutes later, Sanjay was on the dance floor with the woman, a drink still in his right hand, when something cold splashed across his sleeve. He turned, and a waiter had accidentally spilt a drink on him.
“I am so sorry, sir”
Sanjay narrowed his eyes at the waiter.
“Watch where you are going, or at least learn how to walk properly. This shirt costs more than your salary”
“I am really sorry. I will clean it up”
The waiter got a tissue and reached Sanjay. He pulled back.
“Don’t touch me. Just leave”
The waiter lowered his head and walked away. Sanjay left the woman and slowly walked towards Kevin.
“Kevin, see what you can do about that waiter”
Kevin took a sip of his drink, completely unfazed.
“What did he do? Spill?”
“Yeah”
“On it”
Sanjay turned to leave, but turned back to Kevin.
“And make sure he knows it was me”
“Of course”
Kevin slapped his shoulder lightly and left. Shyam and Nikhil were watching the whole interaction, and Nikhil was concerned.
“Sanjay, maybe let it go this time. It was just a drink spill; you don’t need to get the guy fired for that”
“Or, you can mind your business, and I will mind mine”
Shyam laughed a little and patted Nikhil’s shoulder.
“Relax, man, you know how he is. He is working so hard for his father’s company; let the guy have some fun”
Nikhil wasn’t convinced, but they drank anyway.
When Sanjay got home, it was late. He was drunk and ready to get to bed when he saw a note on the nightstand.
Hi Sanjay, I am sorry. I can’t do this anymore. It feels insulting to be your on-call sleep buddy. Every time I think you will treat me like a human being, I end up being disappointed. I am done. Please don’t call me again.
Bye,
Naina
He tossed the note back to the nightstand and fell asleep immediately.
