Chapter 32: chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two“I already told her flash mobs are passé.” Malvika glared at Yash across the table. He knew that she was furious that Maya had come directly to him with this suggestion.“Yup. She did and they are,” Maya agreed, cheerfully. Yash sighed. He stared at the blood red abstract art that hung over the women’s heads and counted to ten. It didn’t help bring his blood pressure down. So, he counted to fifty. Still nothing.“Why the bloody hell are you pushing this then?” Malvika exploded. “After I’ve expressly said no.” “That’s what our campaign is going to show,” Maya explained, in a reasonable tone that would fool people into thinking she was talking sense.“You’re going to shoot a flash mob to show that it’s not in fashion anymore?” Yash clarified, since none of this conversation was making sense to him.“Yeah. It’s so cringe, you know.” Maya beamed at them, the devil that lived in her dancing in her eyes.Malvika looked at her in horror. “What are you, like sixteen years old?”Maya laughed, her mass of shiny hair loose and bouncy around her shoulders. Yash wanted to bury his hands in them, drag her head back and kiss the laughter from her mouth. Maybe then, he’d remember to smile again. “Maya,” he snapped, his grim mood escalating at his wandering thoughts. “Explain. And stop baiting Malvika while you do it.” “Alright.” Maya stood up and faced the two of them. “Let’s break this down, shall we? We’re looking to sell an affordable fragrance, one that will retail out of supermarkets. The rich, upper middle class and maybe even middle class will not buy it. They wouldn’t be caught dead smelling of it. So who is our target market? We’re looking at the people who would otherwise buy creams, talcum powders and deodorants to smell better. That’s who we are looking to convert.”She paused to take a breath, the animation that lit up her face making it hard to concentrate on the words. Yash would much rather have spent his time drinking in the passion and fire beaming out of her at that moment. “In our campaign, we’re going to start with a rich, fancy looking, all about money and looks guy. You know the type? All style, no substance…like Yash over here.” She waved an airy hand in his direction. Yash raised an eyebrow and held her gaze. She didn’t look away but gave him an impish, cheeky smile instead. “So rich, fancy Yash type person will organise a flash mob to woo his lady love. It’s, like you rightly pointed out, cheesy, cringe and passé. Then, our real hero, a regular person like you and me,” she gestured between Malvika and herself. “Will sweep in and salsa the babe off her feet. We’ll end with the tag line. Obscure – the fragrance for the man who is substance and style.” The Yash type person ground his teeth trying not to growl at his consultant. Malvika looked amused as she glanced between the two of them. She seemed to be thawing towards Maya thanks to her irreverent attitude towards the boss.“We have budget constraints,” she began but Maya piped up again. “Which is why I thought getting people to volunteer from the office would be great. All we need is a professional to man the camera and the makeup and stylists. We’ll come in way under budget. I saw a girl in your accounts department who would be perfect for the main role.” As he watched her chatter on, he saw her glance across at him. He practically saw her brain whirring as she thought of something else on the fly. He could see the horns growing on her head and the tail snaking out from behind her as she mulled the idea over.“In fact, Yash could play the Yash type person.” He knew it!“No,” he said simply. “Yash will not play the Yash type person.” He couldn’t believe he’d just said those words but Maya brought out sides of him he’d never known existed. “How are you so sure people in the office will volunteer to make fools of themselves on camera?” Malvika butted in, still looking amused at the whole ‘Yash type person’ bit. “Leave that to me,” Maya said confidently. “Also, they won’t be making fools of themselves. They’d be starring in an advertisement that’s going to air everywhere. Who doesn’t want their fifteen minutes of fame?”“I don’t.” Both women turned to look at him, for all the world looking like they’d forgotten he was sitting there. How could they forget? He was the boss, wasn’t he, he thought petulantly. “Okay, Yash type person,” Malvika said, with a smile. “We’ll remember that when we work on this campaign.”Oh? They’d gone from being bitter enemies to a team now, had they? He knew he should be grateful for it but he didn’t appreciate being the joke that bonded them. “I like it,” Malvika announced. “Big surprise,” Yash muttered, rolling his eyes. The women ignored him, walking out of his cabin talking nineteen to the dozen, making plans to make his life miserable over the next few weeks. He watched them go, his gaze drifting, like always, to Maya. The need to reach for her, to listen to her talk, to watch her smile was a physical ache that just wouldn’t leave him. Not even when she taunted and tormented him for her own personal enjoyment.What was wrong with him? Why did he want the one woman he couldn’t have? Why couldn’t he accept the fact that that ship had sailed and he wasn’t going to be getting a second shot? Was it because the ship didn’t technically sail, his mother had sunk it with high-angle artillery instead? Was that why his heart refused to accept what his brain already knew? Maya would never be his. He only had two choices now. Either pine for her endlessly or accept defeat and move on. For the life of him, he couldn’t make the choice he knew he should. So, where did that leave him? Apparently, it left him watching his consultant’s lush, curvy butt as it swung out of sight of his cabin.