Chapter 46

"Wait!"

"What is going on?"

Jeet flips on the light switch and my gaze falls on a room filled with art and paint material - a painter's studio. The newspaper covered floor is littered with bottles of paints and paint stained old rags. Shelves on one side are filled with containers of paints, glass jars holding all kinds of paint brushes. The other side has a long table on which completed paintings are jostling for space with blank canvases of all sizes. An easel with a canvas of unfinished art is resting against the wall opposite the door.

"Wow!" I utter. "But why did you lock the door?" my brows furrow in confusion.

"The dogs will create a mighty mess if they get inside. This door has to be kept locked at all times."

I did notice that the dogs love hanging around in Jeet's room. I heard him pushing them out of his room, when I was sleeping. Sure enough, I hear their excited barks and panting getting louder till it was right outside, scratching at the door handle trying to open it. Once they understood the door would not be opened, they whimpered their disappointment and went away to play elsewhere.

"This is my hobby," he sweeps his hand around the room.

I walk towards Jeet's creations. The most prominent ones were two portrait oil paintings. One, of his mother and the other of his father, which are framed and hung on the wall. The others were mostly abstract art of geometric shapes and a few abstract portraits in bright colours.

"Wait a minute! You have put up some of your art in your office," I exclaim.

Jeet lets out a soft chuckle, "You figured!"

Obviously, I am no art expert, but the paintings look professionally done and quite pleasing to look at. I tell that to Jeet, who simply smiles at my compliment.

"You should hold an exhibition of your paintings."

"Oh no," he laughs. "They are not that great, and besides it is very personal. These have a deep emotional value and I have no intention to put it on display for outsiders. These are for the eyes of my closest friends and family only."

My heart swells at his words. This is the second time he has called me family. It has to mean something!

"I am honoured," I smile at him.

"So, did you have any 'draw me like one of your French girls' scenarios?" I ask, only half-jokingly. Unwanted images of Jeet with other women in this room, causes my heart to hurt with a dull ache.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he winks. His face turns serious, "You are the only one besides my parents, whom I have allowed inside here."

My mouth twitches in a smile and I bite my lower lip to stop grinning like a crazy monkey.

My glance falls at the large clock on the wall and I give a startled gasp.

"It is nearly five o'clock. I did not realize we stayed up the whole night."

Jeet looks at the clock and shrugs casually. "I am not tired. Are you?"

"No! I have slept so much I don't think I will fall asleep any time soon," I reply. "But you should get some sleep. It's going to be daylight soon."

Jeet's eyes widen, his face switching to deep thought. He searches for some information on his phone. "I have an idea!" His eyes are glinting with excitement. "We might just make it in time. Come." He grabs my hand and dashes out the door.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise but I think you will like it." He hurries me out of the house, hastily jumping in one of the SUVs.

As we drive through the dark, empty roads, I squint to look outside to see if I can recognize the area we are in, but I am still unfamiliar with the city to identify the location. In the hurry to leave, I left my phone behind at the house. The sign on the highway indicates we are heading towards Khandala. The rains stopped sometime during the night.

I look at Jeet, trying to figure what is he planning. But his face is impassive, showing only a strict concentration on the road ahead. I watch outside as the narrow city roads grow wider and the grey city packed with buildings, melts away into greener, open lands.

We drive towards the hills looming ahead. After perhaps thirty minutes, he changes course and turns the car off the highway driving up a dirt road. Around ten minutes later Jeet stops the car in front of a clump of trees. He hands me a jacket he had grabbed on our way out. "Here wear this, there is light chill outside and mind your step while walking."

He grabs my hand as we navigate the rocky, squishy path through tall trees while my eyes adjust to the darkness. We step out of the thicket, onto a wide ledge jutting out of a hillside. I stand amazed as I gaze at the vista in front of me.

Below us, lies the still sleeping city of Mumbai. Dawn is just about to break. The chirping of the birds is getting louder as they awaken from their slumber, heralding the arrival of another day.

I breathe in the crisp, fresh morning air, laced with the smell of damp earth as I look at the landscape ahead. Pale strips of light magically appear through the dark grey-blue sky in the horizon, tearing through the darkness. A blazing, golden orange speck glows on the far horizon, colouring the sky in purple, pink and orange around it, gradually growing larger and brighter.

I stand stock still lest I break the magical spell, as I look in incredulity at the wondrous miracle of sunrise, splashing the sky with the most gorgeous mix of colours that only nature can pull off.

The sun rises steadily to take its place in the sky washing the ground below with daylight. The city is slowly stirring awake, and soon the quietness will be broken by the usual mayhem that is part and identity of this metropolis.

"Did you like it?" Jeet asks softly in my ear.

I am too overwhelmed to speak. "its.. its.. beautiful," I choke out.

"I had a hunch you might enjoy this," he chuckles.

A lone tear trickles down my eye as I turn to him, "Thank you for this."

Jeet takes a step closer, lightly brushing away the tear. In a moment of wanton abandon, I throw my arms around Jeet and place my head against his chest. A few seconds later Jeet's arms wrap around me holding me in a tight embrace.

I can hear his rhythmic heartbeat, a calming sound bringing peace to my very core. I deeply inhale his earthy, masculine scent – it's not his perfume, but a scent that is distinctly Jeet. Being here in his arms is the safest I have felt in a very long time. It feels so natural, so comforting, so secure. It feels like home.

Silence stretches between us as we stand this way for a long time. I lift my head to look at him. "You are amazing," he whispers in his velvety smooth voice looking down at me.

His words cause a warmth to creep up, from my toes to my head. I muster up the courage to splay my fingers on his solid back, and slowly move them up, nudging him closer, our eye lock intact.

Suddenly, his eyes turn from warm melted caramel to cold, icy chips like I turned into a stranger. He roughly pushes me away, almost as if he is disgusted.

"Jeet," I call out, my voice laced with worry and concern. He does not look at me, walking away further instead, looking out at the horizon, hands tucked in his pockets.

Time to come clean, I guess. "I lied that I don't have feelings for you. I have never felt so strongly or anything like this, for anyone before. Being with you is the happiest I have felt. I really like you," I look down unable to look at him when I say the next words, my heart hammering erratically, "I.. I was hoping you felt the same."

There I said it. I told Jeet how I feel about him.

He draws in a long breath turning towards me before speaking, steeling himself for what he is about to say. His caramel eyes have taken on a tinge of remorse and sadness. Before he could utter it, I knew what he was to say.

"Tarana," he says softly shaking his head. "I really am sorry, but I cannot have a relationship with you. You are an employee of the firm, and company law does not allow managers to have personal relations with subordinates. It would cause a lot of controversies, if anyone found out." His voice gets thicker as he struggles to squeeze out the words, running his fingers through his hair, his eyes full of pain. "Believe me this is extremely hard for me, but I..I.. could lose...it's not worth .." he pauses abruptly.

I smile wryly at him as I finish the sentence for him, "Worth it!" I gesture to the space between us, letting out a snort, "this is definitely not worth losing your job or reputation over. I understand. I am truly sorry, I put you in this position. Just forget whatever I said just now."

"Wait! You misunderstood," Jeet contends, grabbing my arm but I am too embarrassed to listen. I just hope that my devastating disappointment is not evident on my face.

"Please just drop it. I do not wish to discuss this anymore. We should head back," I say stoically, pulling my hand out of his grasp, turning to walk back to the car.

The ride back to the house is spent in silence. I guess there is nothing more left to say. Jeet never saw me as anything, but an employee. I read signs that were never there, even though he had clearly told me on many occasions, there was nothing between us. Gosh! I feel so stupid.

"I am grateful to you for taking care of me. I hope someday I am able to repay your kindness. Thank you.....Sir!" I tell him coldly, before entering the Uber. Jeet had insisted on walking me to the car, despite my objections.

"Tarana... please, we are still friends," he calls out.

I turn back, "I think it's best if I stay away from you for a while," I say, keeping my face impassive.

Closing the car door, it takes all my willpower not to turn around to look at him, knowing he is standing there, watching the car move away.

"Tarana!" I hear Chavan calling out my name, when I exit the cab. I am not in any mood for discussion right now, so I pretend not to hear him and continue walking toward my house.

"I have something important to inform you, about the house."

"Wait!!"