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Of course there was a condition, Harsh thought resignedly. There was always a condition.
Nanda Garu tapped one long finger against the crystal top of the decanter. “You need to clean up your image. The alcohol, the wild parties, the women…all of it must go.”
Harsh stared at him.
“The hero of my movie is the new world equivalent of Lord Ram himself. Which means for you to sell that dream to people, you will need to live it too.”
Harsh still stared, not saying a word, his mind whirling in a million different directions.
“It’s non-negotiable, Harsh.” It was a quiet comment that landed with the weight of a grenade in the room. “The debauchery will have to stop. At least publicly. You can be a social drinker and have a woman…just one. Are you dating someone?” he asked curiously.
Second person to ask him that today, Harsh thought with a mental groan. “No Sir.”
“Now might be a good time for it,” Nanda Garu smiled. “What’s more wholesome than new love?”
Harsh could think of several things that were, but he kept it to himself. He wanted this role so badly that he could almost taste it. If that meant he needed to lie low on the social scene for some time, then he would.
No biggie.
Six
RAASHI
Her phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Raashi grumbled to herself as she buried herself under her comforter. A loud banging on her bedroom door heralded the arrival of her brother, the only member of Gadde Mansion who still cared enough to check on her.
“For fuck’s sake, Raash,” Ram grumbled. “The room is freezing.”
Of course it was. Raashi liked her air conditioner setting to be permanently at Arctic levels. She burrowed into her comforter, ignoring him. A second later, it was yanked off. She managed to grip the tip of the comforter, just before he pulled it completely off. They grappled with it for a moment before Raashi lurched up and tried to bite his hand. Ram swore, laughing as he let go of the comforter and stepped away from the bed.
“Feral rat,” he teased, as he watched her scramble back up the bed, wrapping the comforter around herself.
Raashi squinted at him, one hand groping along her bedside table for her glasses. She slipped them on, and the world came into focus.
“I heard you had an eventful night.” Ram plopped himself down on the bed, staying out of biting range.
Raashi groaned. “Is Akka still furious?”
“She is,” Ram confirmed. “You know what a full on Kodela groupie she is now.”
She did, Raashi thought gloomily. Dammit. She hated disappointing either of her siblings. They were the only people in this world who’d ever given a damn about her.
“I’ll apologise to her again,” she mumbled, pushing her glasses up her nose.
“I don’t think she wants you to apologise to her.”
“Ugh.” Raashi flopped back on the bed, her gaze on the false ceiling with deeply inset mood lighting that her father insisted was necessary in every bedroom. “Do I have to?” she asked her brother.
“You tell me,” he said mildly, as always allowing her to make her own choices.
Raashi sighed. “I should,” she said. “I’ll do it. At some point.”
“If you’re going to do it, sooner is better than later.” Ram was anything but helpful now that she’d found her way to the decision Veda and he were looking for.
She glowered at him. “Fine.”
“Veda says he’s going to Vinayak’s party tonight.”
“Who the hell is Vinayak?”
