“Your door was open and I overheard most of your conversation, if you can even call it that, with your sister,” Raashi told him, understanding his unspoken question.
Rishi looked at the two of them. “I’m going to leave now.”
Raashi pointed a finger Rishi, her eyes flashing fire.
“Don’t you dare move one step from here. I am not finished with you, Rishi Sehgal. You treated that girl so badly. Ungrateful brat! How could you call her that?”
“What do you want me to say, Raashi? I am so livid, frustrated and helpless where she’s concerned,” Rishi said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Rishi’s right. We just don’t know how to deal with her,” Sameer said, feeling frustrated.
“Maybe all she needs is space and time to come around.”
“How much more time does she need? It’s been a month already,” Sameer splayed an angry hand out.
“Your anger and impatience is the last thing that girl needs. She’s a kid. A kid who perhaps is in trouble and maybe she is afraid to tell her older brothers about the trouble she’s in because she fears your reaction. Why don’t you get it?”
Sameer exchange a worried look with his brother.
“You have damned her from the beginning,” Raashi said. “Look at you both. You’re so furious because you don’t know what is going on with her. Have you considered that she is perhaps afraid to confide in you because she knows she will face your wrath when she does? What do you think is the easy way out for her? You tell me?”
Sameer stared at Raashi as the impact of her words hit him. She was right.
“God! I hate it when these women are right,” Rishi said. He rolled his shoulders. “I am going to try and make up with Rhea.”
Raashi gave him a slight nod as he left.
She watched Sameer leaning against the glass window in his office, lost in thought. She reached out and put a hand on his arm.
“You need to give her time, Sameer. Talk to her nicely. Stop controlling her and stop giving her instructions. Don’t demand answers from her. Just be there for her. Not as her elder brother, but as her friend. She needs help and you are the best person to help her,” Raashi said softly.
He sighed. “You are right. I’m going to try a different approach with her. It hurts me to see her upset like this.”
He lifted her hand from his arm and stared at their joined hands for a few seconds before raising his eyes to hers.
“You’re cute when you’re angry.”
Her lips curved at the edges. She tried to move her hand away from his but he held on tight. He cocked his head to one side and smiled at her. That adorable cleft in his jaw deepened and in that split second Raashi knew that this was going to be a trying evening. He literally stole her breath away. Dressed in a white shirt, its top two buttons undone and its sleeves rolled halfway up his arms with charcoal grey trousers, he oozed confidence and raw sensuality. His eyes continued to hold hers in a tranceand Raashi had to force her mind back to the reasons she was here for.
Sameer lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her wrist. Her breath hitched but she stood still. She wasn’t going to let him know how his touch affected her, how it messed up her mind.
“Thank you,” he said warmly.
She fidgeted until he released her hand.
“So, are you hungry?” Sameer asked. “I’ve already ordered food. It’s Chinese and probably rather cold now, I hope you don’t mind.”
He pointed to the array of platters on the small table.
“Not at all,” she replied with a smile.
Raashi sat on the sofa and started uncovering the platters. Sameer handed her a plate.
They spoke casually for a while until she asked him, “What happened about the gate-crashing incident at The Sehgal Plaza?”
“Nothing, actually,” he said. “The hotel security couldn’t find the guy taking the photographs and the hosts eventually found the whole thing harmless. They brushed it off saying that their function was just too glamorous and they didn’t blame the guy for wanting to be a part of it.”
“Really? They’re not bothered at all?” Raashi asked, intrigued by the incident.
