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A day had passed and she’d still avoided sending him a text. Then another day had passed, and then another, and a whole month had gone by. Now, she was convinced that she didn’t matter to him because he hadn’t bothered to contact her at all. The distance between them had only grown with each moment of silence from his side. It further added to her confusion and the constant ache in her heart where he was concerned. She missed him, she couldn’t deny that. But the fact that he wasn’t keeping in touch with her either was also pissing her off. How dare he just walk away and ignore her like she didn’t exist?
She let out a breath. Rajiv had disappeared from her life, but his sisters had taken over. They had called her the day after he’d left, asking if she was well, wondering what had happened to her to leave Club Poseidon so suddenly that night. She’d answered them as best, with vague replies of feeling unwell. Since then, at least one of them had made it a point to meet her every day so she wasn’t lonely. But none of them could fill the empty hole left in her chest by the absence of their brother.
Even talking to Keya and Raashi daily didn’t fill that hole up. The worst was that she hadn’t even told them that she’d fallen for Rajiv. She never kept things from them, yet she was hesitating in telling them about him. God! What was wrong with her? This one man was making her behave completely out of character, even with her closest ones. Raashi and Keya would never judge her. They’d always have her back, no matter what. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to tell them how she’d so colossally fucked up with Rajiv.
However, while her personal life was a mess, her professional life was going fantastic. On some days, she still couldn’t believe that she was working in a proper corporate environment and she was enjoying to the fullest. Apart from studying and preparing for her doctorate, she was also working alongside Professor Shetty in guiding Poseidon’s vast HR team, charting out more definitive HR policies, and training the existing team to better manage their people. In addition, Professor Shetty had finally convinced her to start taking one-on-one counselling sessions with any team member who required that attention. And that was what, she realized, she enjoyed the most. She loved helping people, and since then, this job had become more than satisfying.
By forcing her to work with him, Professor Shetty had finally managed to break that barrier of insecurity she’d surrounded herself with over the years. And more and more, Sheena felt that working in HR and counselling people, listening to their problems, and helping them find solutions to overcome their difficulties was exactly her calling. At one time, this was exactly what she’d dreamed of doing in life. And now, far away from Mumbai, in a different city, in a completely different environment, she, Sheena Sehgal, was finding herself again. Now, if only she could find the same kind of satisfaction in her personal life.
She sighed, feeling angry with herself. Here she was, in a lovely restaurant with her three friends and instead of enjoying with them, she was morose about the lack of attention from their brother. God. She was such an idiot to be mooning over a man who clearly didn’t want her.
Putting a lid on her thoughts about Rajiv, she turned to the three girls seated around her. The new Mexican restaurant they were trying was fabulous. It was a weekend, and as per usual, the four of them had stepped out together. It was a special night because Reina, Rajiv’s youngest sister, was leaving for the UK by a late-night flight. She had a year left to finish her medical degree and they had all decided to take her out for dinner.
Sheena studied the three of them as they spoke easily to one another. They all were tightly knit and were very close to their brother and immensely fond of him. He, apparently, reciprocated their love and affection. His face flashed in her mind—his amber eyes swirling with desire for her, that gorgeous chest she hadn’t had a chance to explore, his hands on her bare skin… Fuck. She was not thinking about him. She focused on his sisters instead.
Of the three of them, Ananya was the loudest and wildest, while Reina, the youngest, was the quietest. Which left Navya, whose personality was in between the two. She was quiet at times and at other times, talking nineteen to the dozen. She wasn’t that much of a people’s person like Ananya was, nor did she prefer her own company to others, like Reina did. It had been lovely getting to know them through the last month. Sheena missed her best friends back home, but being with these girls made up a little for their absence.
“Sheena, I heard you’ve been a great help to Professor Shetty,” Ananya said, sipping her Margarita. “I believe you’ve even started conducting individual counselling sessions with some of the employees. Rajiv told me that he’s been hearing praises of you.”
Her eyes widened, and her heart galloped. Was he back in town? She exhaled, calming herself. She didn’t care. Not one bit. And him checking on what she was doing at work meant nothing. It was probably his way of ensuring she was actually doing her job. Awful man. Yet, she couldn’t slow down her heart rate. Nor could she stop her mind from painting his picture in her head. Shit. She was not thinking about him. Not now. Not ever.
She deliberately changed the direction of her thoughts to the sessions she’d been conducting. While they had been daunting at first, the more sessions she took, the more confident she was in being able to help the people seeking her out.
Sheena dipped her nacho in the guacamole sauce. “To be honest, I never expected to enjoy working at Poseidon as much as I am. It’s been great, I love it.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Ananya said. “Rajiv will be happy to know this as well.”
Navya exchanged a look with Ananya before she leaned forward. “So, you and our brother… You know, we didn’t want to pry, but if there is something going on, then we’d really like to know.”
“What?” Sheena squeaked.
“Yes, please tell us,” Reina added. “We like you for him.”
Sheena gaped at them.We like you for him.What did they even mean by that? No, she didn’t want to know.
“And we think he likes you,” Navya said.
“What?” Sheena choked out again.
“Yeah,” Ananya accepted. “He was very clear that we needed to spend time with you when he was away.”
He’d told them to keep her company. Oh God. Did that mean…
Ananya held a hand out, stopping her thoughts. “No, we’re not here with you because of him. We like you, and we enjoy being with you.”
Okay, that was a relief. She’d hate that these girls had been nice to her because they were being forced by their brother. But why had he asked them to be with her? The only answer she could come up with was that he didn’t want her to be lonely. Which was…which was…sweet. Uff. Now, what was she supposed to think of him? This man, he really knew how to push her buttons and drive her insane.
“So, you and Rajiv…” Reina said, eyeing her. “Care to share what is going on with you two?”
“Girls,” Ananya interjected, “Just because Rajiv is away doesn’t mean we can badger her.”
Okay, so that answered one of her questions. He wasn’t back yet.
“But,” Ananya pushed forth, a naughty glint in her eye, “Is there something going on? Do you want something to happen?”
“Oh, please say you want it to happen,” Reina cheered.
Sheena looked at each of their faces one by one. They all looked at her curiously, excitedly.
