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“Because my foolish brother wanted to party and wouldn’t let me stay back.”
Rajiv checked the time. It was just about eleven.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Please, can you ensure Vihaan stays away from her?”
“Why?”
Fuck. How could he reply when he genuinely feared the answer to that?
When he continued to stay silent, Aaryan said nonchalantly, “You know how Vihaan gets in the pursuit of a woman. And honestly, she’s just your friend, right? She seems to be having fun with him. So, what’s the problem?”
Sheena was… She was… He couldn’t finish what he wanted to say. Because saying that she was special and important to him would make it absolute. Definitive. And he couldn’t afford that.
Rajiv rubbed his forehead. “You’re right. Forget what I said. Try and enjoy yourself, okay?”
He disconnected the line before Aaryan could talk more, his heart pounding. Sheena and Vihaan’s picture flashed in his mind’s eye, testing his patience. He rushed to his walk-in wardrobe and picked out the first pair of clothes he could find. He couldn’t sit still. He had to go there and ensure that Sheena didn’t become a target of Vihaan’s wily ways.
Half an hour later, he parked his AMG in the basement and took the elevator up to his club. He swiped his card at the private back entrance and walked into the exclusive upper level. He spotted his friends immediately. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Vihaan with Aaryan only. They faced him when he came forward.
“See, I told you he’d come,” Vihaan intoned naughtily. “Pay up, brother.”
Aaryan pulled out his wallet and handed him a thousand dirhams. Fuck. Here his heart had been thundering out of control; he’d driven at the maximum speed permissible only to know that his stupid friends had been betting on him. What a bunch of idiots.
“There are days when you guys test the limit of my patience, but tonight is simply the worst,” Rajiv grumbled.
“Seeing me with her bothered you, didn’t it?” Vihaan snickered. “Why can’t you just admit you like her?”
“Him coming here, because he saw her picture with you, can be considered an admission of sorts,” Aaryan declared.
“It’s not like that.”
“Yeah?” Vihaan asked. “So, when were you going to tell us that she works at Poseidon? And before you ask, she told me.”
He opened and closed his mouth. “How do you manage to charm every single woman you come across into confiding in you?”
Vihaan grinned mischievously. “I’m sexy, and I know it.”
Rajiv rolled his eyes. “Sheena’s working under an external counsellor and mentor I roped in to help my HR. It’s not long term. Just for a few months.”
“Interesting,” Aaryan remarked.
“It really isn’t. Stop putting two and two and coming up with five.”
“Alright then, why are you really here?” Aaryan asked.
“Hey, can’t a guy want to spend some time with his friends?”
Vihaan snorted. “Sure, we believe that. Oh, and by the way, she thinks the décor of this place needs to be revamped. It sucks—her words, not mine.”
Rajiv smiled. When Sheena had an opinion, she gave it honestly. It was one of the things he liked about her. She wasn’t afraid to voice her thoughts and speak her mind. He went to the railing and looked down at the horde of people below, his eyes searching, darting through the crowd, looking for her. He spotted her a minute later, in the center of the dance floor, his sisters by her side, all four of them dancing and enjoying themselves. His lips curved. His gaze ran over her. Dressed in a short, slinky red strappy dress, Sheena looked hot as hell. His body hardened. He cursed his reaction to her. He stood so far from her. In fact, she didn’t even know he was there, yet he was feeling stirred simply by looking at her.
He leaned against the railing, unable to stop staring at her. If his circumstances were any different, then he’d have been down there dancing the night away with her, pulling her to him, holding her close, breathing in her scent, kissing the lobe of her ear... His breath stuttered. He controlled himself. Unfortunately, he was a man of his word and seeing his friends reminded him of the responsibility he owed them.
Aaryan appeared beside him, handing him a whiskey. “Aren’t you going to say hello?”
“No.”
“Why?”
