Falling for a Bollywood Legend
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Mahi Jay
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12
CHAPTER ONE
‘GET HOLD OF my agent,’ snapped Aadith Varma to his secretary over the intercom. Within a couple of minutes he was on call with Raj Binal. ‘No doubt you’ve seen the papers?’ queried Aadith.
Raj was nothing if not diplomatic. ‘There’s nothing really new, is there?’ he replied non-committally. Aadith crumpled the newspaper he was reading and threw it across the floor in disgust.
‘I took her out just once and now here she is, proclaiming to all and sundry that I broke her heart.’
The papers were once again carrying salacious articles of him, pictured with various women. Some of whom he was acquainted with, some he barely even remembered meeting and some he’d just posed with on request.
‘This couldn’t have occurred at a more inconvenient time!’ exclaimed Aadith. He had a mega-budget period romance flick about to be released and this unrelenting scrutiny of his love life was drawing all the attention away from the movie. It certainly did not bode well for the film, he thought in frustration.
‘You know who you have to blame for this recent blunder,’ reminded Raj pointedly.
He had repeatedly advised Aadith to get rid of his publicist. Now that Aadith had broken into the big league his publicist no longer seemed to be adept at handling his public relations. Aadith needed someone sharp and savvy.
Despite knowing that Raj was correct, Aadith had held out on letting his PR manager go, since the old guy had been with him since his early struggling days as an actor and was loyal if nothing else. For Aadith loyalty counted more than anything.
‘You’re right. I didn’t want to do it but it can’t be put off any longer,’ conceded Aadith grimly, raking his fingers through his thick black hair. He didn’t suffer fools gladly and he’d certainly not got where he had by surrounding himself with incompetent people. He made a note to himself to let the guy go gently and to make sure he was amply rewarded for his years of service.
‘I’ve had about enough of this and it looks like there is nothing more in the old chap’s bag of tricks. I want a new publicist and I want the best,’ stated Aadith categorically.
Aadith had always had an unerring eye for spotting the best and he went after it with a dogged persistence and steely determination. This was what had propelled him to become one of the most promising and sought after young heroes of Bollywood. Of course his undeniable talent and devastating good looks didn’t hurt either, mused Raj.
‘Then the person you are looking for is Nina Shah, of Guy & Falcon, based here in Mumbai,’ declared his agent confidently. He had seen this coming a mile ahead and was more than prepared with his choice.
Things had been a bit dicey for Aadith for a while now but his publicist had made it even worse. To take the heat off a couple of previous other scandals his PRO had tried to turn the media’s attention towards Aadith’s love life. He had cooked up a romance with a hot young model. But before he could build-up on it the press had caught hold of a couple of Aadith’s disgruntled ex-girlfriends and had started painting him out to be a heartless cad. Just when Aadith had needed a squeaky clean, devoted, loverboy image his publicist had screwed things up well and good.
Raj broke out of his reverie and continued, ‘Just before you became the poster boy for notoriety, star cricketer Gaurav Tiwary had that spot. Now, thanks to some pretty savvy PR work by Miss Shah, his image has been completely revamped. He is now their golden boy.’
‘Nina Shah, hey…?’ Some faint memory stirred Aadith as he said succinctly, ‘Send me all that you have about her.’
No, it couldn’t be… he thought as he rang off. The Nina he had known several years ago had been a hair-raising teen who had been rebellious on the surface although slightly shy and retiring beneath. A publicist’s livelihood revolved around being circumspect, bold and outgoing. It was centred upon doing a good paint job over the unsavoury bits in the lives of celebrity clients. Life couldn’t be so ironic, mused Aadith wryly.
But it certainly was. As soon as Aadith looked over the information Raj sent in, he knew it was the same Nina. They had briefly been neighbours in Pune several years ago and had parted on a sour note. Not that they had been the best of friends before either; he’d been more friendly with her brother. She had been a cheeky, irritating kid following Aadith and her brother around, always ratting them out to her parents. It had been only towards the end of his stay at Pune when he’d started looking at her differently. He dearly hoped she’d changed for the better or working with her promised to be an absolute nightmare.
Nina grabbed her voluminous handbag and headed into the swanky glass and chrome building that housed the offices of Guy & Falcon public relation services. The place was already humming with life as she hurriedly made her way to her spacious office.
Mrs Dutta, her secretary, followed her inside to discuss the day’s schedule. She was a middle-aged, cherubic woman who tended to mother Nina a bit.
‘Sonia wants to meet you again for lunch to discuss her endorsement deal with that soft drink company,’ stated Mrs Dutta gloomily.
Nina grimaced thinking about the discussion that lay ahead. The ex beauty queen kept coming up with ridiculous new demands every week that she wanted fulfilled in order to sign with the brand. The company had been pretty accommodating so far but were fast losing patience with the diva. Nina knew she would have to convince Sonia to ink the deal pretty soon or risk losing the plum opportunity to some other celebrity.
‘God, I hope this time she doesn’t come up with something her manicurist advised her to include in the contract,’ moaned Nina as she picked up her mobile to call Sonia.
She impatiently blew her hair out of her eyes as she tried to charm the diva at the other end of the phone. Dealing with celebrities who threw tantrums for the smallest things was akin to dealing with irascible children, she thought absently.
Her usually unflappable secretary returned quickly in a frenzy to inform her about a visitor. She was talking nineteen to the dozen and before Nina could make sense out of her excited chatter the door opened to let Aadith Varma in.
Nina’s breath caught on a strangled gasp. Of all the possible scenarios she had envisioned about running into him, she had never imagined him walking into her own office.
Aadith Varma.
The hero of all her teenage fantasies.
And the reason for all her shattered dreams.
‘Nina and I are old friends so I let myself in to surprise her,’ said Aadith apologetically as he flashed a dimpled smile at her secretary. Mrs Dutta would have melted into a puddle of adoration had he smiled an inch wider, thought Nina sourly.
He was still the most handsome man she had ever come across and she had met more than her fair share of handsome men, working as she did in the glamour industry. Tall and sleekly muscled, with a finely chiselled face, he was the heartthrob of hordes of young women across the country. Only the hardness in his eyes saved him from being chocolate box handsome.
Her heart thundered in an unsteady rhythm as she braced herself to meet his steely grey eyes nonchalantly.
To say that he was stunned would be an understatement, thought Aadith. The last time he had set eyes on her, she had been a tall, skinny teen with braces on her teeth and an unruly mop of boyishly short curls. Damn! Had she changed! Her purple and green kurta clung to all the right places and flattered her lush body. He felt a flicker of lust tightening his body as he met big mocha-brown eyes across the table. They were shooting daggers at him.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ she asked bluntly, ignoring Mrs Dutta’s gasp of horror. She had never known Nina to be rude to anyone despite extreme provocation sometimes. Undaunted by Nina’s decidedly unwelcome remark, Aadith turned to wink at her secretary and said, ‘Don’t mind her, Mrs Dutta. She’s never been one to appreciate surprises.’
Nina snorted.
‘And I’m sure she would love a cup of coffee as much as I would,’ he continued, throwing a winsome smile at the secretary as an added encouragement.
‘I doubt anyone likes an unpleasant surprise,’ muttered Nina under her breath as Mrs Dutta hurried out to do his bidding.
‘To what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected surprise, Mr Varma? Isn’t it a bit too late in the day to play catch up?’ remarked Nina with a baleful glare at him.
He let his gaze drift over her leisurely as he replied, ‘Catching up isn’t what I’m here for, although I’m not averse to it, now that you mention it.’ He grinned at her cheekily.
Nina’s stomach flipped. Oh, God! He looked even better when he smiled. Whatever he was here for, she had to get him out of here fast. ‘I certainly don’t want that!’ sputtered Nina in horror. ‘You are the last man on earth I want to get reacquainted with!’
Aadith didn’t seem perturbed in the least. He shrugged coolly and explained, ‘Well, I thought working together would be a lot simpler if we got along but it’s certainly not necessary.’
Nina stared at him warily. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘It’s not exactly a secret that I’m in a bit of a media mess. Unfortunately, my last PR guy didn’t handle it as well as he should have, so I’m here to offer you that job.’
‘Why would you think I’d even be interested?’ shot back Nina rudely.
Aadith narrowed his eyes at her and said, ‘Why not? Ask anyone, they’ll tell you that I’m a very generous boss.’
Nina was incensed at his suggestion that money would even tempt her to consider his offer. She looked at him pityingly and replied tartly, ‘You seem to be under the belief that money will get you whatever you want but you are sadly mistaken in this case. I’m perfectly happy with my current crop of clients and have no intention whatsoever of working with a moron like you.’
Aadith laughed out loud. ‘Your insults are totally redundant. I’ve been called worse names than that and, let me assure you, I always get what I want. If money doesn’t make you tick I will find out what does. Whether you want to or not you are going to work for me, Nina,’ he finished confidently.
Nina felt a frisson of apprehension course through her. She knew he was relentless and she did not want to work with him. Her lips trembled slightly in response. Aadith’s gaze latched onto them and he felt a startling urge to trace her beautiful mouth with his fingertips.
All that she felt showed clearly on her face. Anger, irritation and a slight sense of alarm. She is right to be wary of me, thought Aadith. For some strange reason she seemed to be drawing his attention much more than he wanted.
The light of challenge was burning brightly in her sparkling eyes as she retorted, ‘Don’t count on it, Mr Varma.’
Aadith felt alive in a way he hadn’t in a long while. This promised to be way more interesting than he’d anticipated.
‘I think we’ve known each other for far too long for you to call me Mr Varma,’ he objected.
Nina knew their first encounter several years ago had marked her for life and she had no intention of subjecting herself to spending more time with him. She always learnt from her mistakes and working with Aadith would prove to be nothing but a colossal one. She vowed to avoid him at all costs.
‘I don’t intend to see you long enough for it to matter what I call you,’ she declared hotly. The sound of his mocking laughter set her already ragged nerves on edge.
‘Make no mistake, before long you will be working with me,’ he warned once again.
Nina groaned to herself. Before today whenever she had chanced to attend the same industry dos as him she had managed to steer clear of him. Now a cruel twist of fate was tossing them together.
The more she resisted, the more Aadith seemed to be looking upon this as a challenge he intended to win, so Nina quickly changed tack.
‘Look, if we can’t work together harmoniously, it’s bound to reflect on the results in the press and I’m sure that is something you can’t afford right now,’ she said persuasively.
Aadith cast her a lazy look and said, ‘Don’t worry…. I can be as harmonious as you want me to be.’
Nina drew in a breath for patience and released it slowly. He was just toying with her and pulling her strings as he had done in the past. But this time she would not take things lying down, she promised herself. She would give as good as she got.
‘Your long line of ex-girlfriends are out telling the world how you really are, so save your breath,’ she snapped.
Aadith felt his temper rise in a second. ‘You of all people should know how the press spins stories to sell their papers and magazines, yet you persist in believing those ridiculous tales,’ he accused.
‘Not all of them are false,’ she argued.
‘And not all of them are true either,’ he countered.
Nina bit her bottom lip. If she could forget that he ever existed she would. But forgetting his existence was easier said than done when he was splashed across newspapers and magazines with a different pretty young thing on his arm every other day.
‘For some reason I’ve become the media’s favourite bad boy and I want to get rid of that tag now. And you, Miss Goody-two-shoes, are going to help me do it,’ insisted Aadith arrogantly.
A discreet knock at the door later, Mrs Dutta let herself in with the coffee. Nina watched Aadith work his charm smoothly.
‘I’ve a meeting scheduled shortly so I’ve got to leave now. But thank you for the coffee, Mrs Dutta. Once Nina and I start working together I’m sure I’ll be around for many more,’ he said, giving her an easy smile.
‘My daughter is a crazy fan of yours and will be beside herself when I tell her I met you,’ said Mrs Dutta happily.
‘Thank you. If she ever wants to visit the sets just let Nina know. I’ll send some passes along,’ he promised, winking at Nina as he let himself out with a casual wave in their direction.
Nina felt like throwing the pretty etched-glass paperweight at his back as he closed the door behind him. Damn! Now Mrs Dutta definitely wouldn’t let her forget about him. Miss Goody-two-shoes indeed, she fumed. She’d rather walk over hot coals than lift a finger to help him, she thought savagely as she settled down to work.
After a headache-inducing lunch with Sonia, Nina was perusing a contract when the managing director, Mr Samuel, summoned her to his cabin. Just a few days ago he had congratulated her on the success of the Tiwary account and had promised to look into her promotion soon. She had been gunning for the post of VP for a while now and if she became one she would be the youngest ever in the history of the eighty-five-year-old firm. This sudden summons made her mildly curious as to the nature of this second unexpected call.
Her MD was generally not a man prone to displaying his emotions. For him to nod approvingly at someone meant that he or she had done an exceedingly good job. So when Nina found him with his face wreathed in a huge smile she felt the first stirrings of misgiving.
‘Nina, I gather you and Aadith Varma are old friends,’ remarked her boss cheerfully.
Nina was startled. Their past had been stormy to say the least and they could certainly not be labelled as friends, she thought darkly.
A frown marred her face as she clarified, ‘Well, more like neighbours really.’
Her boss continued as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘After the success of the Tiwary account, to land a prestigious client like Mr Varma within the span of a week is a definite coup. Consider your promotion a done deal,’ he said appreciatively.
Something roiled in the pit of Nina’s stomach. She did not like where the conversation seemed to be heading.
‘Mr Varma was very impressed with your work and mentioned that he was looking forward to collaborating with you. I trust you to do a wonderful job with this account as well,’ he finished.
Nina knew she would have to try something quick to get out of this mess.
‘I would love to work with Mr Varma, but I doubt I could fit another client into my current roster. I am totally swamped at the moment.’
Her boss stared at her in surprise. He had never in all the years she’d been working there heard her turn down a client, and a high-profile one at that. He looked at her speculatively and conceded, ‘Of course, I don’t expect you to juggle in your new client along with all your old ones too. Someone else can take over your less important ones so that you can devote all your attention to the new account. At least initially,’ he added.
Nina caught onto it like a lifeline ‘I’m positive my other clients would feel miffed if I abandoned them suddenly, so maybe I could work on this new account during the drafting stage and leave the execution to Dev?’ she enquired on a hopeful note.
Mr Samuel’s face hardened with irritation. ‘In case I haven’t made myself clear, let me. Aadith Varma wants only you to work on his PR campaign, so there’s no question of you working on it until only halfway through,’ he said in a tone that brooked no further argument.
Nina noted the unspoken reprimand in her boss’s eyes and the warning it carried, but chose to continue unheedingly. ‘Wouldn’t it be better if—?’
Her boss broke in before she could even finish the sentence. ‘With your promotion up for approval I’m sure you will put in your very best work on this. That will be all,’ he added dismissively.
Nina had worked her butt off for years to get where she was. To make VP had been her goal for so long and now, when it seemed to be within reaching distance, this new hurdle had sprung up. She acknowledged that there wasn’t really a choice any more. Nothing and no one was going to take it away from her. All her years of hard work were not going to be wasted over an egotistical jerk like Aadith, she vowed.
Mr Samuel was still watching her keenly, but Nina could not even bring herself to voice her consent. She just nodded her head and rose from the chair. Just as she reached the door her boss promised, ‘Nina, turn this around successfully and you will be made VP effective from the next quarter.’
Nina was furious with her boss, with Aadith and mostly with herself for letting them push her into a corner. She dared not open her mouth in case she said something she would regret later. She grunted her agreement and strode out of the room in a red haze of temper. Point Aadith, she thought sourly. But the game was not over yet; it was just beginning.
As Nina was about to enter her cabin Mrs Dutta waylaid her with a huge bouquet of sunshine-yellow roses. She had an adoring look on her face as she handed Nina the accompanying card. Nina waited until the door had closed behind her to look at the card. It simply said,
Welcome to the team-A
It carried only a mobile number on the other side.
Nina was only slightly mollified that he had remembered her favourite flowers. Back in Pune when they had been neighbours, there had been a beautiful yellow rose bush in his garden. Nina had often admired the flowers and occasionally borrowed them too from his grandmother. No, she wasn’t surprised that he had sent her the flowers, for she knew he would employ every trick in the book to get his own way. She was only astonished that he remembered which ones she liked.
The cad probably never let himself forget a thing about a woman. But then he’d need to, going by the rate he went through them, she thought bitterly.
Even with the gift of flowers, she couldn’t forgive that he had gone to her boss!
How dared he? That conniving lowlife.
She snatched the phone off the table and quickly dialled the number off the back of the card. When a deep sexy voice answered it after the first ring, Nina raged, ‘You’re a lying cheat! How could you pull such a cheap trick on me?’
Aadith chuckled and shot back, ‘I’ve been waiting for your call. Now my day can end on a happy note.’
‘How dare you use my boss to get to me?’ she said with unabated anger.
‘I did warn you I’d use any means to get you to work with me, didn’t I?’ he asked, unruffled. His voice didn’t show a trace of emotion other than amusement.
‘Why me?’ she asked starkly.
‘I doubt you need me to tell you that—you’re the best in the industry, and I want only the best.’
Nina flinched at his statement. Professional pride warred with deep-seated anger at his statement. While her parents had always found her work frivolous and trifling, to have Aadith acknowledge her brilliance and success gave her a long-needed boost of accomplishment and happiness. But she didn’t want it to mean anything to her. He had a way with words and could charm the very devil, if he wanted to, she acknowledged grudgingly.
But his arrogance made her hackles rise. ‘You always get what you want and it doesn’t matter who you ride roughshod over, does it?’
Aadith felt his temper rise. It was not as if he were ruining her career. In fact it would gain her a lot of mileage in the industry and give a wonderful boost to her career. But he didn’t feel like belabouring the obvious. He chose to ignore her ranting completely.
‘Nina, I’m not going to dignify that remark with an answer.’ He swiftly decided to move towards less touchy subjects. ‘So, was this actually a call to thank me for the flowers?’ taunted Aadith in a more intimate tone of voice.
Nina felt bewildered for a second. More than the change of topic, what threw her was her body’s instinctive response to the sexual challenge in his voice. It seemed to caress her. She felt even more appalled when a tremor ran through her body.
Nina strove to rein in her wayward thoughts. ‘Oh, the flowers,’ she said in as offhand a manner as she could manage. ‘Mrs Dutta was very happy with them. Looks like you’ve added yet another fan to your club!
‘By the way, Mr Varma—’ began Nina, but he interrupted her.
‘I thought I asked you to cut the Mister.’
‘All right. Aadith it is. I understand I have no choice left but to work with you but I am not a pushover. Not everything is going to be an easy victory for you. I can play as dirty as you, so consider yourself warned,’ stated Nina clearly.
‘Well, Nina, you’ve thrown the gauntlet down and I’m so ready for it. Bring it on,’ said Aadith boldly.
And she hung up to the sound of his mocking laughter.
