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Maya was confused. She had no qualms if someone from her office had done this upgrade, but why wasn’t she informed? She realized she was blocking the queue and hence headed for the security check.
The rest of her time passed in the Business Lounge where she quickly grabbed a cup of coffee and a sandwich, reading some novel on her iPad. She then boarded the flight and was highly comfortable in the Business class seat. It seemed like there was no one beside her. She was going to enjoy this time alone. It was a direct flight of five hours. After satiating her hunger with the in-flight gourmet meal, Maya dozed off.
She sensed a gentle touch caressing her cheek with the back of a finger. But her adjacent seat was vacant. Perhaps she was dreaming, too exhausted to bother opening her eyes to confirm. It wasn't until she felt the plane descending and heard the pilot's announcement about the landing that Maya woke up abruptly. She hastily fastened her seatbelt, stowed her phone and earplugs in her purse, and realized she had finally arrived in Hong Kong. Tomorrow promised to be another significant day. Maya had requested Vikram to email her the client details so she could prepare herself before meeting them. Despite the rough landing, which was unavoidable, she felt a chill in the air as she stepped out into Hong Kong. Although the weather was clear, intermittent showers were expected. She hailed a cab outside the airport to take her to the hotel where she had pre-booked her stay. Throughout this journey, from the moment she landed until she got into the cab, Maya couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched. She glanced around from the cab window, hoping to spot a familiar face, but found none. It was perhaps just her imagination playing tricks on her.
The moment her cab headed out of the Airport terminal, Ranveer Malhotra slid from behind the pillar he had been hiding to avoid being caught by Maya Bajaj. He had been around her since Delhi Airport, where he first saw her waiting in the queue to collect the boarding pass. Somehow, he was totally surprised, but thanks to Aman, who told him that she had been traveling to the same country, in the same flight, and for the same contract of Blitz, whose coincidentally he was the sponsor again. He didn’t know if this was just a pure coincidence or if it indicated some new turn in his life. The desires he always felt inside him whenever he saw Maya took over every sense of him, and he made Aman upgrade her ticket somehow to Business class so that he could admire her during that five-hour flight. He purposely didn’t show his presence to her during the entire time she spent in the Business lounge reading the novel or while boarding the flight. His seat was just two rows behind her, and when he boarded the plane, though he passed right behind her, she didn’t realize it. She was busy dumping her luggage overhead. After takeoff when he purposely strolled to the washroom, he realized she was fast asleep, and he couldn’t help but sit next to her for some time, being cautious that she didn’t gauge his presence. He touched her cheek, her hair which had been tickling her skin there. He was in a totally different world up there. There was a strong magnetism he felt towards her which was simply unavoidable, even though he knew she would be the last woman on this planet whom he would ever consider worth sharing his life with.
A dark blue Mercedes halted beside him, and the chauffeur got down to collect his luggage. Ranveer sat behind and soon headed for the hotel.
************
After a quick nap, Maya woke up at the sound of her phone. God knows since when it had been ringing. It was Pammi auntie’s call. She instantly answered it.
“Pammi aunty,” Maya quickly got up. “Is Mom okay?”
“She is okay, girl. Don’t worry. She just thought to check upon you. Talk to your mother.”
Garima took the phone to speak.
“Maya.”
“Mom. Did you take your medicines?”
“I did. What were you doing?”
“Took a nap. Woke up now,” Maya yawned.
“Pammi cooked today, my favorite meal.”
Garima sounded very happy, and Maya was elated to hear that Pammi was taking good care of her mother in her absence.
“What is the time there?” Garima asked.
“It’s late evening, Mom. I have plans to check around this place. Might not get enough time once I start working tomorrow.”
“Don’t go alone. Take your team along.”
“Let me see if they are free. I am sure they would like to rest. It’s going to be a big day for us tomorrow.”
“Then take your Sponsor. Is he there too?” Garima teased.
Maya’s jaw dropped. How could her mother tease her using his name?
“Mom, stop it. Why would I go with him?”
“I don’t know; I thought he likes you,” Garima replied.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Maya got down from the bed. “Don’t build castles in the air. He is not here, and I am glad that he isn’t. Even if he had been here, I wouldn’t care to ask him to come out with me. Only being handsome is not enough, Mom. He should have good morals too, and morals and this man run on two parallel lanes. They have no connection with each other.”
Garima was shocked to see her daughter getting so frustrated discussing this topic.
“Okay, sorry. Calm down. I was just teasing.”
“Don’t do it again, Mom. Never tease me by his name. Please.”
“I won’t. Happy?”
Maya sighed. Her temper rose as she recollected all the times when this man had hurt her, blamed her for something she hadn’t done. Garima changed the topic. They spoke for some more time, and Maya then switched her laptop on. She wanted to see if Vikram had sent her the presentation about their client they were here to meet. The mail was there in her inbox, but Maya decided to read it after she got back from her little sightseeing. The city looked more stunning at night. She wondered what the nightlife here would be. She headed out of the room, taking a city map from the lobby to guide her in and around this place.
