Page 9 of Chasing Hope

Chapter Six

The gleaming black Maybach GLS sailed along the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Hope rolled down the windows and sighed as the cool sea breeze swept into her car. Her hands drummed on the steering wheel in time with the music thumping from the surround sound.

Hope gave Nelly Furtado stiff competition as she enthusiastically belted out the lyrics of the song. Behind her Prada glasses Hope’s eyes blazed wild and free as she soaked in the sites of her beautiful city Mumbai.

Mumbai – the “city of dreams”.

Born and raised in this wondrous city, Hope was a typical Mumbait, an epithet given to all who swore by this city. Even the erotic luster of America couldn’t lure her away from her city. Soon after completing her Master’s in journalism, Hope had set out to take charge of her dad’s newsroom. Alas, her plans did not coincide with her dad’s. Denying her any leeway, Brian made her start from scratch. To prove herself worthy of the position. In his eyes, no matter how hard Hope worked she would never be as good as Ethan. Ethan had set the benchmark so high that it always seemed out of Hope’s reach. The man possessed a brilliant mind with enough knowledge to give Google a run for its money. It was no wonder, Hope always lacked in comparison. Her grip on the wheel tightened. Hope had the best of everything life had to offer. Except for the one thing that mattered the most – her dad’s validation. Her foot crushed the accelerator and the car bloated ahead. Last night her dad had fretted and fumed till the wee hours of the morning. Hope was hungry, tired and soaked to the bone. But her dad had refused to let her go till he had given her a piece of his mind, heart and everything in between. By the end of his explosive lecture Hope’s ears were on the verge of bleeding.

‘Stop acting childish before you cause harm to yourself and others.’ On those parting words Brian had slammed his room door and finally called it a night.

Hope’s lungs strained and she inhaled slowly to curb her raging heartbeats. The only satisfaction from last night was to see Himesh’s disgusting face plastered all over the internet, for all the wrong reasons. However meagre, at least she’d succeeded in causing a dent in his deluded reputation.

Half an hour later, Hope rushed into the swanky lobby. Her brown MK ballerinas squeaked on the polished ivory flooring.

‘Damn this place looks like the Ritz.’ Her eyes made a quick survey as she barged into the elevator a second before the doors shut. As per the invitation sent out, the lunch was taking place in an apartment on the twenty-first floor. The aroma of the creamy chicken casserole Hope had prepared wafted within the enclosed space of the lift. Hope gasped as she cast a glance at her reflection in the side mirror. It looked like she had run the distance from Nariman Point to Bandra. With the help of her free hand Hope tucked her white lace top neatly into the waistband of her caramel-brown wide-leg pleated palazzo. Hastily she dragged her fingers through her mussed hairstyle. In her opinion, the greatest perk of having short hair was that you needn’t have to bother with a comb. People entered and exited the lift while Hope busied herself with a few last-minute touch-ups. She clamped her teeth together to check she had no food particles stuck in them. Satisfied that this was the best it could get, Hope’s lips spread in a wide smile, and right on cue, the doors parted on the twenty-first floor. Indistinct chatter spilled into the spacious corridor. Hope followed the sound and stood outside the door.

‘Phoenix, no!’ Alarmed, Hope’s head sprang up. The next few minutes were a blur. A huge golden ball of fur bulldozed its way towards her. Hope failed to step aside on time and the force of the impact caused her to fall backwards. The casserole flew out of her hand and the contents splattered all over the carpeted floor. Winded, Hope saw stars as a thick pink tongue darted out to furiously lick her face.

‘Phoenix, down boy.’ Hope closed her eyes and lay still, holding her breath. ‘He’s a dog, not a bear. No need to play dead.’ Her heart flipped in the air then immediately flopped as she registered the owner of that voice. Hope wished she had actually passed out. Anything was better than facinghim. The twat.

‘Mostly he is well-behaved. A minute ago he was the life of the party and the next he went completely berserk. Bad boy, Phoenix.’ Why did his tone sound more like an encouragement than a scolding? One long flick of his tongue and Phoenix was dragged away from her. Hope squeezed her eyes shut as the wild scent of mixed spices and sandalwood slithered past her nose and stung her senses. His breath fell on her cheeks and Hope’s eyes sprang open. She crawled backwards and away from his grasp. Ethan’s eyes narrowed to slits. ‘I don’t bite and neither does my dog.’ Phoenix barked in excitement and ran around in circles chasing his tail. He stopped short, their gazes crashed and it was love at first sight for Hope. Her heart frolicked. Breathing hard, they gazed at each other and everything around Hope drifted away.

‘Oh my God. Look at you. You’re such a handsome boy,’ Hope said, affection oozing in her tone. She sat on her haunches and Phoenix lept into her arms. She buried her nose in his neck and ran her hand over his fluffy coat. Mishaps forgotten, they hugged each other as if they were long lost friends. Hope adored dogs. Unfortunately, she couldn’t have a pet because her mom was afraid of dogs. ‘Oh don’t listen to him.’ Hope sliced Ethan with an accusing look. ‘You’re such agood boyPhoenix.’

‘Looks can be deceiving.’

‘True. You are a living and breathing example.’

Ethan leaned a shoulder against the doorframe and stashed his hands in his pockets. Dark eyes ambled over her and his cheeks dented with his dimples. Hope growled and tore her gaze away from her archenemy. The dude had some serious swagger. Even God was extra partial to him. Taking extra pains to ignore Ethan, Hope focused her energies on caressing Phoenix’s soft fur. Phoenix sighed and his tongue went on another licking spree. Hope giggled as Phoenix nuzzled her neck.

‘Aww you’re so affectionate.’

‘That’s the nature of his breed, don't take it personally.’

Hope and her newfound beau glared at Ethan.

‘What? You’re not the only one who speaks fluent sarcasm.’

‘What are you doing here?’ Hope hated that she reacted so strongly to his presence. Of course he would be here. It was his grandma's—

‘It’s my house. Where else would I be?’ Ethan said, shrugging his formidable shoulders.

‘Kill me.’ Hope heaved an exaggerated sigh. God, why did it not strike her to check if this was Ethan’s house? She was under the misconception that the luncheon would be held at Martha’s place. If only she’d known…

‘You would have backed out if you knew this was my home, right?’ Hope’s gaze bounced back to him. Was he a mind reader too? Ethan’s eyes narrowed, challenging her to deny his theory. Phoenix barked, distracting Hope and letting her off the hook. Phoenix raced ahead and sniffed the contents of the mess he created. His nose curled and he backed away as if the smell alone would give him a stomach bug.

‘I’m guessing you made that dish.’ Ethan grazed his jaw and his dimples deepened. Hope took a long breath and pushed herself to her feet. She stepped closer to Ethan and her eyes had enough heat in them to start a forest fire. Ethan maintained his casual stance as if he had no care in the world. On the other hand, Hope’s body radiated with angry breaths.

‘Look Ethan, I’m here on Aunt Martha’s invitation. I planned to have a great time and I will not let you ruin that for me. Although this is your house, I will make an added effort to see that our paths don’t cross. Now be a good host and clean up after your guest.’ Hope indicated to the now ruined casserole which took her over an hour to prepare. A piercing whistle resounded in the hallway. Ethan lifted a brow, surprised at the efficacy of the whistle. ‘Come on Phoenix. Let’s go. Show me around your place will ya?’ She paused at the threshold and glanced down at Phoenix. ‘Just FYI, the chicken dish wasn’t that bad. You didn’t need to exaggerate.’ Wagging his tail, Phoenix grinned while passing Ethan and paraded regally inside his home.

***

Phoenix gave Hope a quick tour of the house. Or, rather, Hope wandered around and Phoenix trailed along refusing to leave her side. However, she forbid herself from entering the lion’s den. Other than that, she explored most of the upbeat home. The apartment had an elegant and minimalist design, with wood floors, relaxing beige and white tones and wooden and cane embellishments. Large glass windows in the lounge gave an uninterrupted view of the sheer greenery in the balcony. Hope marvelled at the dark, earthy wooden vintage bookshelf holding books across varied genres. Some books were so old that the spines had cracks in them. Hope picked up a classic and her fingers traced the leather binding.

‘Ah,The Great Gatsby.’ Martha smiled and leaned closer to Hope. ‘It was my Matthew’s all-time favourite. He had read the book cover to cover more times than I can count.’ She reached out to pick another book off the second shelf.

‘The Death of the Heart,’Hope read it out loud. ‘Intriguing title.’

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