Page 24 of Chasing Hope

‘I’m sorry babes. That was extremely rude of me. I have a lot going on in my mind right now,’ Hope murmured, her face cushioned between Anjana’s ample boobs.

Anjana bent her tall frame and kissed Hope on her cheek. ‘Apology accepted.’ Hope sighed. It was that simple with her friends. They were her everything.

‘Umm… guys, sorry to interrupt your moment, but… Oh. My. God. Is that statue really depicting an orgy?’ Mahika giggled, her eyes shining brightly. She hiccuped and giggled again. Hysterically this time. She swaggered forward to take a closer look. Hope resisted the urge to yell and throw her hands up in the air. Two glasses of champagne and Mahika was already tipsy. The woman could never handle her liquor. And to remind herself that Hope had sought their help tonight to spy on Himesh was such an error of judgement.

When Hope received an invitation to this soiree, hosted by none other than the bane of her life, Himesh, she had every intention of trashing it. To her surprise, her friends, too, received the flamboyant handcrafted invite. Initially, Hope was furious at the audacity of the swine. Later, she reflected on the merits of being invited to his house. She was here with a singleminded purpose. Opportunity presented itself and she decided to make the most of it.

‘Good evening lovely ladies.’ A shudder sprinted up Hope’s spine as Himesh’s creepy voice crawled over her skin. ‘That awe-inspiring piece is by a renowned French artist.’ He leaned closer and his nasty smoke-infused breath attacked her nostrils. Hope swallowed thickly to control her nausea. ‘The French women are such a delightful bunch. They sure know how to please a man. That figure right there is me,’ he boasted. Repulsed, Hope’s mouth set in a hard line.

‘Oh, yes of course. You’re the handsome one. How could we miss that?’ Anjana said in a honeyed tone. Although a sensual smile drifted along her lips, her eyes blazed with odium.

‘That suit is so classy, Mr Choudhary. Black and white stripes are such a rage.’ Despite her drunken stupor, Mahika carried off her act flawlessly.‘Slimy bastard looks like an escaped convict from Tihar jail,’Mahika said through clenched lips. Anjana coughed to cover up her sudden laugh.

Hope kept her back to Himesh, delaying seeing his loathsome face as much as possible.

Himesh barked a laugh at the false flattery. Un-fucking-believable, was he that gullible? Hope rolled her eyes. The live band picked up pace, playing the latest hits.

‘I trust you ladies are having a good time. I have spared no expense in tonight’s celebration. Drinks are free-flowing and food is the best of all cuisines. What I’m most looking forward to is the after party,’ Himesh chuckled sickeningly and his hand skimmed over Hope’s shoulder. Hope hitched a furious breath and a storm kicked up inside her chest. Every neuron in her brain screamed for her to yank his arm and break the hand that dared to touch her. However, Hope could not do that considering they were in a whole fucking shebang with hundred-plus guests. Most of them were politicians and wealthy businessmen from India and other foreign countries.

Himesh slithered closer and his chest met with Hope’s rigid back. ‘Hope, you look so enchanting today. Black is offsetting your fair skin tone to perfection,’ he whispered behind her like a predator waiting to pounce on his prey. All the blood drained from her face, leaving her ghostly pale. Hope curled her hands into painful fists. The room spun and Hope’s chest hurt with the extreme pressure of angry breaths.

One minute Hope was about to pass out and the next she was yanked into a strong embrace. ‘Sorry I’m late, sweetheart.’ Hope tipped back her head and stared into intense dark eyes. His grip was so strong that not even an earthquake could break their contact.

‘Ethan…’ Hope blinked, grappling to patch back her thoughts.

‘Breathe…’ Ethan’s lips grazed her ear. Low and soothing, his voice jackhammered through her heart, propelling it to beat again. Hope’s eyes fluttered shut as she inhaled the clean fragrance of sandalwood and spice. ‘You all right?’ Ethan’s thumb grazed her cheek. Hope gave a subtle nod and slowly spun around to face the dirtbag. Himesh backed away but his hawkish gaze eyed her boldly.

Ethan's body went rigid and a muscle in his jaw twitched. His stance, strong and powerful, demanded everyone’s attention. ‘Mr Choudhary, thanks for keepingmy girlfriendcompany. I’ll take it from here.’ There was a note of undeniable warning in his tone. Hope jerked her gaze to his, but Ethan’s narrowed eyes were fastened on Himesh. A “don’t you dare fuck with me”look hardened his visage. ‘Thank you for the invitation. Much appreciated.’ He spanned Hope’s hips and tugged her to his side. Himesh sucked on his cigar and he levelled an opinionated look in their direction.

‘Ah, an office affair. How exciting,’ Himesh snickered, blowing out smoke. His double chin wiggled as he shook his head. ‘Ethan, I don’t blame you. Who could resist an enticing package like Hope? You’re one lucky bastard.’ His overbearing laughter squirmed over her skin like a slimy worm. Hope hissed angrily and jerked forward. Ethan’s arm banded around her. Her head snapped up and his resolute gaze held her hostage.

‘Not now,’ he said in a deeply controlled voice. Blinded by fury, Hope lost cognisance of her surroundings. If Ethan hadn’t been there to stop her she would have… God knows what she would have done. Still reeling in fury, her logic flew out the window. Her hands squeezed into fists as she worked to contain herself. Ethan’s hand trekked up her spine and his palm relaxed on her nape. In an attempt to distract herself, Hope concentrated on the soothing swirls of his thumb, tingling her nerves. ‘We don’t wish to keep you, Mr Choudhary. Please, by all means attend to your other guests. We wouldn’t want to be blamed for hogging all your time,’ Ethan said, his dimples vanishing within a fraction.

‘I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.’ The swine bobbed his balding head and pivoted on his white loafers, thankfully taking with him his foul smelling perfume.

The air around them lightened and Hope pulled in a long and steady breath.

‘If you’d popped a second later, that nutjob would have been missing several of his artificially aligned teeth,’ Mahika said, her voice thick with fury. Her eyes blazed like torches. ‘First, I would have clocked him in the jaw. Then I’d kick him in the balls. After that I’d claw his eyes out—’

‘Okay,I guess it’s time we take it down a notch before you act on your vivid imagination.’ Anjana wrapped her hand around Mahika’s waist to steady her. ‘Hope, you're in safe hands now. Too many cooks spoil the broth. We will be right here enjoying our shrimp and wine if you need us.’ Anjana glanced sideways at Ethan and nodded. ‘Ethan, thank you for arriving when you did. Unlike Mahika, my thoughts were much more graphic. Let’s just say you saved my sorry ass from being hauled off to prison.’ She shrugged. ‘I’m sure you get my drift.’

‘Oh my God. Why did you mention food?’ Mahika covered her mouth and swallowed hard. ‘I think I’m going to puke.’ She tore ahead, spinning around in circles. ‘Ethan, check out the statues in the showcase.’ Although the shout was directed at Ethan, the majority of people heard it and turned towards them. Embarrassed beyond belief, Hope whirled around and the statues were in direct line of her vision. An incoherent grunt fled her lips. She was stuck between the hammer and the anvil.

‘Gotta get her to the loo before she pukes in front of all these bigshots.’ Waving at them, Anjana dashed in Mahika’s direction and together they sprinted towards the garden.

‘Damn, that woman can run in heels.’ Ethan’s eyes widened in surprise. He slipped his hands in his pockets, leaned forward and peered intently at the showpieces. Quickly realising they weren’t tasteful pieces of art, he gave a disbelieving shake of his head. ‘I have nothing to say.’ He genuinely looked appalled.

‘Thank your lucky stars. His nude portrait is covered up.’ Hope said with a shudder.

Ethan raised his hands. ‘Not even going to ask about it.’ They stood in silence for a while observing the festivities. Hope could feel the heat of Ethan’s gaze.

‘What?’ she asked in an irritated tone. A knowing smile played on his lips as he gave Hope a sideways glance.

‘Are your friends always this bloodthirsty? I think I need to watch myself around them.’

‘We all have our quirks.’ Hope crossed her arms below her breasts and narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Just like you can’t help being dominating.’ Ethan just saved her from a whole lot of trouble. Yet, Hope had no clue why she was pissed off with him. He appeared so smug and handsome in his charcoal-black three-piece suit. Post-incident in the control room, Hope was on her best behaviour while keeping her distance from him. The way her body betrayed her by reacting so strongly to his touch had left her upset with herself. Even now, at his slightest touch, her heart spun inside her chest. What was with the sudden change in his attitude? Of late, how come he was so concerned for her wellbeing?

Don’t be such an ungrateful bitch, Hope. On the contrary, he literally saved you from humiliating yourself today.

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