Chapter 20: chapter 20

Chapter TwentyYash sipped his coffee and stared blankly at the newspaper in front of him. No matter what he stared at, all he could see were Maya’s huge, doe like eyes looking at him as she struggled to breathe. Something had shifted inside him after last night. His mother’s revelations, Maya’s vulnerability and his own mixed-up emotions when it came to Maya…Nothing had changed and yet, everything had.“Sir, your egg white omelet.” The server placed it in front of him with a smile. Yash smiled an absentminded thank you, his mind on the day ahead. His phone rang, a low key sound that pulled him from his thoughts.“Mr. Malhotra.” His secretary’s brisk voice came through the device. He took another sip of his coffee before asking, “Jane, how long have you worked for me?”That threw her off her stride momentarily. “Five years?”“Are you asking me or telling me?” She reverted to her crisp, no-nonsense tone. “Four years and ten months, Mr. Malhotra.” He swallowed a mouthful of eggs before asking, “Don’t you think it’s time you start calling me Yash?” “No, I don’t think so, Mr. Malhotra,” she said, repressively. “Now about your living arrangements, I’ve set up three flats for you to see this morning. I’ve cleared your schedule of meetings till noon so you can finish with this and then come into office.”“Okay. Have you told them I’m a single male?”“I was tempted to tell them you were gender fluid,” she said, frostily. “Jane, was that a joke?” he asked, delightedly. “I do believe it’s the first one since you started working with me.” “Mr. Malhotra!” He could practically see her rolling her eyes. “I suggest you concentrate on trying to find a home. The first place in Juhu seems promising although it’s a single bedroom.” “A single bedroom is all I need,” he shrugged. She snorted. Yash raised an eyebrow. “Is there something you’d like to share with me, Jane?”She snorted again. “No, Mr. Malhotra. Except for the fact that your first meeting at noon is with Rashmi Sapte. She’s always five minutes early so you should try to do the same.” And on that note, she clicked off. Yash grinned to himself. Jane Mascarenhas ran his life like a drill sergeant, and he could honestly say she might be the only woman who could tolerate him. He couldn’t imagine trying to sort through the chaos of his day and work life without her there to make sense of it.His phone rang again. He saw ‘Ma’ flashing on it and pressed decline. She called again, three times. He sat there and counted without answering.When she finally gave up, he signed for his meal and then left the restaurant, his mind on the day ahead. He should have known she wouldn’t give up so easily. The phone kept vibrating in his pocket, a constant buzz that was getting on his nerves. By the time, he’d reached the first apartment, he’d also reached the end of his patience. He grabbed the phone and answered without glancing at the display.“Can’t you take a hint? If I don’t pick up the first five hundred times, don’t call again.” Silence greeted him for a moment before she answered, “I’ll remember that the next time I’m tempted to call you another four hundred and ninety nine times.” “Maya.” He came to an abrupt halt in the basement garage. “Are you okay? Do you need help?” She laughed, a low, musical sound that gave him goosebumps. “I called to tell you I’m getting discharged later today.” A brief pause and then… “And to say thank you for last night.”He took a deep breath, his eyes on the Honda parked in front of him. “It was nothing.” “It wasn’t nothing,” she corrected him, gently. “In that moment, it was everything.” He cleared his throat, raising a hand to acknowledge the broker who was hurrying towards him. “How pissed is your mother?” “Incandescent,” she answered, with another goosebump inducing laugh. “Are you still homeless?”“At the moment, I am.” “What happened to your place in Bandra?” she asked, unconsciously revealing just how much of his life she’d kept track of.His mind stilled, wondering just how much to tell her. “My mother lives there.” He settled on finally. “I’ve decided I need my own space.” He could almost hear the million questions bubbling in her head in the silence that followed. But even she seemed to know that they weren’t at a place to share too much information.Instead she asked, “How pissed is your mother?” “Incandescent,” he echoed her, drily.“I hope you find a good place today,” she said. He could hear the smile in her voice.“I was just going to see one,” he said, following the broker into the tiny, rickety lift. “Let’s hope this is it.” “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you,” she murmured, in his ear, her voice a husky, erotic sound. “All the best.” “That’s it?” he teased. “All the best?” She paused and then said, “All my best, Yash. Always.” His heart swelled like a balloon in his chest even as he tried to ruthlessly squash it back into its broken cage.“Goodbye,” she said now, her voice dropping an octave.He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her. Not today. Maybe not ever.“Would you like to see the flats with me?” he blurted out. “What?” she asked, blankly. He stood in front of the flat door and wondered if he should bang his head against it. Instead he said, “I can switch to video and you can see it with me. Give me your opinion? Also, lend some respectability to my application so the landlords are more willing to rent to me?”“Me? Lend the Great Yash Malhotra respectability?” She snorted with laughter. He didn’t wait for her to answer but switched to video instead. His heart steadied the minute she accepted the request and he saw her beautiful, bruised face smiling at him.“Let’s do this?” he asked, hopefully. “Let’s do this,” she agreed, smiling.And with that, he pushed the door of the flat open.