Chapter 30

“Never!” Priya blurted out almost instantly.

“Never? What was the point of buying it, if you’re never going to wear it for me?” Aman pouted.

Priya stifled a laugh. Aman was being so childish.  She’d only bought it because Neha said that every married woman was basically required to own something sexy.

“Neha told me to.” Priya admitted.

“Thank God for Neha.” Aman commented.  “Did she also suggest that you come meet me for lunch?” Aman caught on.

“Yes actually.” Priya said guiltily.

Aman was a little disappointed that the idea hadn’t been Priya’s, but he was glad she’d stopped by regardless.  The waiter came by and took their orders.  Their food was served almost immediately.  Priya had ordered a chicken wrap, while Aman ordered lemon chicken.  They both decided to pass on dessert.  The service was a little too quick to either of their tastes. Priya wanted to spend time with Aman just as badly as Aman wanted to spend time with her.  Their lunch date came to an end all too quickly.  Since the restaurant was so close to Aman’s office, they walked back.  Aman resisted the urge to hold Priya’s hand as they walked, certain that she wouldn’t appreciate such a public display of affection.  Once they reached Aman’s office, Priya headed towards the limo.  Aman grabbed her arm.

“Come back up to my office, so I can kiss you without an audience.”  Aman said quietly in Priya’s ear.

She looked up at him wide eyed, not expecting him to say something like that.  Priya blushed, but followed silently behind Aman towards the elevators.  Once they were inside the elevator, Aman pulled Priya close with the intention of kissing her, but Priya was reluctant.  She was afraid the doors would open on some random floor and someone would catch them in a compromising position.  Suddenly the doors opened four floors below where Aman’s office was.  Priya practically sprung away from Aman.  Hiten stood outside, grinning like a madman as soon as he laid eyes on Priya.

“So, what’s going on here?” Hiten teased as he stepped into the elevator.

“Nothing.” Aman answered casually.

“Then why is Bhabhi blushing?” Hiten pointed out.

Aman swatted Hiten’s arm.  They reached the top floor.  The only two things on the top floor were Hiten’s office and Aman’s office.  No one else was ever up there.  They had clandestinely converted one of the four conference rooms into a game room and another into an entertainment space.  Aman thought Hiten was on his way to one of these rooms when he turned left instead of right when he left the elevator.  He kept following them until Aman stopped in front of his office door.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Aman turned around to ask Hiten.

“To talk with Bhabhi in your office.” Hiten answered innocently.

“Hiten, I need some alone time with my wife.” Aman tried to explain.

“You’re thinking about gettin’ down and dirty in your office when there’s an important meeting in less than half an hour?”  Hiten accused with a grin. It was so out of character for Hiten to be concerned with business matters.

Priya’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“Shut up.” Aman said.  He turned to open the door and ushered Priya inside.  Hiten tried to enter but Aman blocked his way.

“Bye Bhabhi.” Hiten said defeatedly as he walked away.

Priya giggled. Aman walked inside his office and closed and locked the door.

“All this trouble just for a kiss.” He commented.  “Come here.”

Priya hadn’t stopped blushing since she arrived at Aman’s office, and she wasn’t about to stop now.  She slowly walked to Aman.  When she was arm’s length away, Aman reach out and pulled her towards him.  He looked at her for a moment before placing a soft kiss on her lips.  He pulled away, seeing if she wanted more.  He found a warm smile that had appeared on her face.  She looked up at him expectantly, wanting him to kiss her again.  Aman more than happy to oblige.  He kissed her again a lot more passionately and needily.  His hands moved down to Priya’s waist, pulling her as closely as possible.   Priya's hands wrapped around his neck.  Aman moved forward, their lips still connected.  Priya moved back as Aman pushed forward.. They moved together until Priya collided with Aman’s desk.  She pulled away, breaking the kiss and looked down at what she had just hit.

“Priya,” Aman said, eyeing his desk.

Priya looked at him suspiciously.  Aman didn’t say anything else. He kissed her again roughly, so roughly that she had her brace herself against his desk to keep herself from falling backwards.  She was nearly sitting on top of his desk.  Aman kept leaning forward, pushing Priya onto the desk.  Her feet were midair, the bulk of her weight situated on top the desk, while Aman hovered over her.

“Aman, wait.” Priya broke the kiss.

“What’s the matter?” Aman asked quietly.

“I’m on your desk.” Priya said breathlessly.

“Yeah, so?” Aman asked, not seeing any problem with it.

“So, I don’t want you to get carried away.” Priya answered, looking down.

“Priya, if I intended to get carried away, I’d make sure it was somewhere much more romantic than my office desk.” Aman smirked.

Priya didn’t know what had gotten into Aman.  He’d been acting a lot more flirtatious with her than usual, and he’s always doing nice things for her.  She felt special.  Her heart ached for him.  She didn’t know whether she was in love with him or not, but she knew what she was feeling was pretty close.

“I should go.” Priya said, remembering the meeting that Hiten had mentioned.

“So soon?” Aman asked, hoping she’d stay just a little longer.

“Aman.” Priya chastised playfully. "You have a meeting, remember?"

“Fine, I’ll see you at home.” Aman pouted a little.  He leaned in and kissed her goodbye.

Priya had just set foot out of Aman’s door when Hiten came bursting in.

“It’s time for that meeting!” He announced.

“Great.” Aman said, irritated.

Hiten turned to leave.  He went to the elevators.

“Where are you going?”  Aman asked.

“The guy wants to meet with you alone.” Hiten answered.  “I don’t know why.  We both know that I’m more of a people person than you are.”

“Alone? Why?” Aman asked.

“The hell should I know. I’m going to call Aditi.” Hiten said as he stepped into the elevator.

Aman shrugged and went to one of the conference rooms.  There, he found an old man that looked like he could croak any minute.

“Good Afternoon.” Aman greeted.

“Hello sir, my boss will be here any minute.” The old man said.

“Is he the one I’m dealing with?” Aman asked.

“Yes sir.” The old man answered.

“Why all the secrecy?” Aman asked,

“He’s a secretive man.” the old man countered.

The door flung open.

“Hello, Aman.” Rakesh stood with a smug expression on his face.

“What the hell?” Aman blurted.

The old man quickly scurried out the room and closed the door behind him.

“What do you want, Rakesh?” Aman asked angrily.

“Now, Aman, you can try to be a little more civil.” Rakesh answered calmly.

“Just tell me why the hell you’re here?” Aman said.

“There’s a conference in Detroit.  You have to attend.” Rakesh said.

“What the hell gives you the right to tell me what to do?” Aman questioned.

“This.” Rakesh held his phone up.  There was a picture of Aman and Tamana kissing on the terrace of the hotel, where they had had that business dinner.  Aman remembered how Tamana had forced herself on him.  He pushed her away, but the picture showed a whole different story.

“It would be unfortunate if Priya saw this, wouldn’t it?” Rakesh asked.

“Fine, I’ll go. Just don’t show that to her.” Aman said quickly.

“Good boy.” Rakesh said.  “Oh and Aman, bring Priya too.  I’m dying to see her again.”

Aman’s fists clenched.  If he punched Rakesh, then he would surely show that picture to Priya.

“Why do you want me to go to Detroit so badly?” Aman asked, curious about Rakesh’s motives.

“I just want to see Priya again and…” Rakesh trailed off.

“And…” Aman prompted.

“It’s a surprise.” Rakesh said before exiting the conference room.  Aman felt like punching the wall.  What the hell is happening? First he cheats on Priya, next he’s so ridden with guilt that he can’t think straight, and now Rakesh is trying to blackmail him.

“He what?” Hiten said when Aman told him about Rakesh blackmailing him.

“He has pictures, too.” Aman explained further.

“I knew it! This would come back to bite you! I told you so!” Hiten was rubbing it in.

“I know, now stop reminding me.  What am I supposed to tell Priya?” Aman said.

“Tell her it’s a romantic getaway slash business trip.” Hiten suggested.

“Like that’s going to work.” Aman replied.

“Maybe she won’t question it.” Hiten said, hopefully.

“I have to tell her tonight.  The conference is this weekend.” Aman said.

“What I don’t understand is why he wants you there so bad…” Hiten pondered.

“He said it was a surprise.” Aman answered.

“A surprise? It’s going to be a crappy surprise.” Hiten replied.

“Yeah I figured.” Aman said, helplessly.

“Priya!” Aman called as he entered his mansion later that night.  He went up to Priya’s room.  Without thinking, he opened the door and walking without even knocking.  He heard the shower running, and groaned.  He desperately needed to talk to her, and here she was taking her time in the shower.

Aman sat down on the bed.  After a few minutes, he laid down.  He was tired, and it was his house.  He was sure Priya wouldn’t care.  He thought maybe he should knock and tell her he has something important to discuss, but he was too comfortable to get up.

“Aman,” Priya’s voice reached Aman’s ears. He had dozed off.

Aman’s eyes fluttered open.  He took in the scene before him.  He was laying on the bed in Priya’s bedroom, and she was sitting on the edge of the bed, hovering over him.  He noticed beads of water still on her cheeks from her shower.    His hand automatically reached out to wipe them away, lingering for a moment to caress her cheek.  Priya’s eyes floated between his hand and his face.   She wasn’t sure why Aman was in her room, on her bed.

“We need to go to Detroit this weekend,” Aman announced, sitting up.

“Why?” Priya asked.

“Business trip.” Aman said simply, carefully assessing her reaction.

Priya didn’t really react.  She simply nodded.  She knew business was a big part of Aman’s life, and was happy that he was kind enough to take her along instead of leaving her all by herself.

“Okay then,” Aman said, happy that Priya didn’t raise any questions.  “Have the maids help you pack.  We’re leaving the day after tomorrow, and we’ll be there for about a week.”

“Alright.” Priya said.  She wasn’t giving much of a reaction.

“Priya, are you alright?” Aman asked.

“It’s just that...what if Payal wanted to visit this weekend?” Priya asked.

“Did she say she was coming?” Aman answered.

“She’s never been one to plan too far ahead of time.  She’d probably just come over without informing anyone.” Priya said, thinking about Payal’s unpredictability.

“Call her and tell her we won’t be here.  I’d invite her to come with us, but she’d miss class.” Aman said.

Aman had a point.  It’s not like Priya could ask Payal to come along.  Class was too important.  It saddened her that she no longer saw Payal often.

“Yeah I’ll call her.” Priya said quietly.

“Is there anything else wrong?” Aman asked, believing that Payal wasn’t the only thing on Priya’s mind.

“No.” she said bluntly.

“But you would tell me if there was, right?” Aman asked, hoping that she would be able to tell him anything.

“Of course.” Priya answered.

Something about her demeanor was off.  She was acting different than when she came to meet him at his office.  Aman worried that she’d become suspicious of his infidelity, but he knew he couldn't just come out and ask her.   Then he thought maybe Rakesh had said something to her, but he knew better than to go near Priya.  Maybe Aman had done something wrong this afternoon.  Maybe he’d taken things a little too far with his outward flirting and the passionate makeup session they had on top of his desk.  He thought it best just to leave it alone.

The trip to Detroit had come all too quickly.  Aman and Priya waited at the airport for their flight to be called.  Being at the airport reminded Priya of when she’d first arrived in America as a newly wedded bride.  When they landed in Detroit, Priya felt uneasy, not because of the plane ride but because something didn’t seem right to her.  She didn’t feel the need to express her concern with Aman, fearing that he’d start to worry about her and wouldn’t be able to concentrate on his work.

“Aman, glad you could make it.” Rakesh stood, waiting to receive them as soon as they exited the airport.

Priya’s body stiffened as she laid eyes on Rakesh, and a cold wave of fear consumed her.

YAY Fast updates!!

This chapter was hot and heavy I’d say, wouldn’t you?!! What do you think is Rakesh’s surprise??

Omg, I have so many romantic things planned for Aman and Priya :)

Commment and vote!!! Tell me what you thought!!!!!