Page 33 of Driven By Desire
“Thank you for the chocolate.” Smiling, he added, “Best courtship ever!”
Laughter spilled out of her lighting up her face and warming places inside of him he hadn’t even known were cold. She was still chuckling as she shut the door and headed down to what sounded like a riot mob.
CHAPTER 13
“Are you in town for the next week?” Jiggling his keys in his pant pocket, Krish waited for his brother to finish yawning and reply. As an investigative journalist, Chirag spent a lot of time travelling for work and right now Krish desperately needed him to stay put. Heaving a sigh of relief when his still groggy brother nodded in the affirmative, Krish ran a hand through his hair.
“I need to go to Vizag on work. I won’t be back until Sunday morning. Can you handle things here till I get back?”
“Sure.” Stretching, Chirag got out of bed and grabbed the bottle of water on the nightstand. “All okay?”
“There’s a problem with the factory there. Not something I can handle remotely.” Mind already on the day ahead, Krish straightened. “Pooja’s feeling better so she can start school. Today’s her last day of antibiotics though. Make sure she finishes the course. Also, remind Adi that he needs to pay the first installment of his MBA tuition fee as soon as possible.”
“Are you okay?” Frowning, Chirag swallowed a huge gulp of water and faced his brother. “You look awfully stressed out.”
Had it been just yesterday he’d had Max in his arms? Soft, willing, laughing and tasting deliciously of dark chocolate. After the morning he’d woken up to, it seemed like a lifetime ago. Running a tired hand along the back of his neck, he hefted his laptop bag.
“Not the best of news. One of the factory workers was injured on the job and it looks like a strike is brewing.”
“Shit.” Wincing, Chirag thought, not for the first time, that he didn’t envy his brother his life. “Want me to come along? We can have Adi and Pooja stay over at Maasi’s till we come back.”
“God, no.” Shuddering at the thought of the lectures that would follow that idea, Krish pushed away from the door. “If you could just hold down the fort here, that would be perfect.”
“Sure.” Chirag watched his brother shoulder his laptop bag and grip the handle of a suitcase with the other hand.
“I’ll let you know if I’m going to be later than Sunday.” Still rattling off a string of instructions, Krish made his way downstairs with his brother trailing behind him. Adi and Pooja looked up from breakfast long enough to wish him goodbye. Dropping a kiss on Pooja’s birds nest morning hairstyle, he said his goodbyes with one last admonition to listen to Chirag who was in charge in his absence. The ease with which both of them ignored him and his instructions had a reluctant grin fighting its way to the surface through the corrosive stress that had been eating at him from the last several hours.
“Do me a favour,” he said to the only sibling who seemed interested in what he was saying. “Let Max know that I won’t be back till Sunday.”
Interest had the last remnants of sleep fleeing. “Why aren’t you telling her?” Chirag asked.
“I’m going to the airport with Mr. Mishra.” Grimacing at the sound of the car horn that punctuated the sentence, he yanked the front door open. “We’ll be talking shop, plus, I really don’t want him listening to my personal conversations. I won’t get to talk to her till I get to the hotel room. Which with the way the day is looking won’t be until really late at night.”
“Awww.” Grinning, Chirag made sure they were out of earshot of the other two before saying, “So it would be intensely personal then?”
“Shut up.” Rolling his eyes at the good-natured ribbing, he signaled to his manager to lay off the horn.
“I’m just saying you’d never hesitate to call me in front of Mr. Mishra and I qualify as a personal call too. Also, there is something called, sending a message?”
Ignoring the dig, Krish said, “Just make sure the house doesn’t burn down in my absence.” Opening the trunk, he slung his luggage in before walking over to open one of the rear doors.
“Anything else you want me to tell Max?” Wiggling his eyebrows, Chirag grinned.
Getting in and slamming the car door, he answered. “Yes. Tell her I sincerely apologize for the lunatics I call family and anything they might put her through in my absence.”
“That’s what you should be saying to me.” The yelled words had Krish smiling even as his manager began a dry as dust recitation of the day’s problems.
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“All week?” Surprising herself with the sheer depth of her disappointment, Max bent to rummage through her tool bag. Keeping her face averted so Chirag couldn’t see her, she pulled out a wrench she had absolutely no use for.
“He’ll be back Sunday.”
“Okay.” The casual shrug took a lot of effort to pull off but Max managed it. Tapping the wrench against her palm, she eyed the MG a trifle malevolently.
Wisely choking back his chuckle, Chirag propped himself against the trunk of the mango tree that grew in their backyard and waited.
“He couldn’t tell me himself?” That was a lot faster than the two minutes he’d estimated.
