Page 26 of Wicked Trap

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She returned to her apartment complex holding the bags with borrowed clothes and makeup. Her mind was preoccupied with what she was going to present to the Prism owner on Monday. She knew she wouldn’t have much time during the appointment, but whatever few minutes she had, she had to maximize them by presenting all the critical information.

“Hi, Tanvi,” a man’s voice greeted.

Tanvi turned. “Oh hello, Sameer.” She smiled at the cute neighbor.

Once again, the man blushed. He was about to say something when a group of giggling girls suddenly approached them. She recognized some of the girls who studied in a nearby engineering college.

Tanvi smiled and greeted them. “Hello, girls. How are you all?”

“Uh... Tanvi,” one of the girls began hesitantly. “Can we come by your flat sometime?”

Tanvi was surprised. “Sure. Do you need my help with anything?”

The girls looked at each other and exchanged weird glances. “Uh no. We don’t need help. We just thought we’d hang out at your place because we are neighbors.”

Tanvi frowned for a moment, finding it strange. The girls had been her neighbors for well over a year. But apart from greeting each other, they didn’t really talk much to think they had anything in common.

“Uh... do you often talk to Arjun?” one of the girls asked. “We wanted to introduce ourselves to him.”

Who the hell is Arjun?

Tanvi then realized who Arjun was. And she was annoyed. Not with the girls, but with the man who the girls seemed to be interested in.

Ugh.

It had been a week since the arrogant man moved into the apartment across from hers. Since then, he only managed to get on to her nerves even more. They had come across each other only a few times, but the arrogant smirk on his face when he greeted her with a “Hello, princess,” was enough to raise her blood pressure.

She had ignored his greetings. The man was an arrogant jerk.

First, it was her friend Rashmi, and now it was the young, impressionable college girls being taken in by his handsome face and dimpled smile. If only she could tell them all about what an arrogant jerk he was. But even if she warned them, instead of thinking his arrogance as bad, they might find him all the more attractive.

“Bad boys make the best boyfriends if not husbands.”

She recalled her friend’s ridiculous statement.

She opened her mouth to tell the girls she didn’t speak to her arrogant neighbor. But she paused. She realized she had the perfect opportunity to get back at the jerk.

She pasted a smile. “You girls can come anytime to my place. But you know what is even better? Dropping by... uh... Arjun’s home for an introduction. He loves it when people show up at his place. He is also an amazing cook.”

She had no idea whether or not the arrogant man was a good cook or not. But each evening, a delicious aroma wafted into her flat while he cooked. And he had offered her to join him for dinner on the first day. So it wasn’t entirely a lie that he wanted his neighbors to join him for dinner.

The girls’ eyes lit up with excitement. “Oh! That’s great! We’ll all go to Arjun’s home tomorrow evening.”

Tanvi widened her smile. “Yes, please do that. I’ll let... Arjun know you girls will drop by tomorrow night for dinner. Make sure to invite other girls too. He will be very excited and cook something extra special for you all.”

There was an excited buzz of conversation as they left.

“I didn’t know your new neighbor is that friendly.”

Tanvi turned to Sameer with a wide smile. “Oh, he is very friendly. You should join for dinner too and introduce yourself.”

Sameer nodded, but there was a small frown.

“Good night, Sameer.”

She picked up her mail and went towards the lifts.

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