Chapter 30

There is a fine line between reality and imagination. Imagination can make you fly high, take you to places unseen, bring back people you once thought were lost, recreate scenes from the past so that you can take a finer look and induce many other countless possibilities. Reality however, is the factor that keeps one grounded. There are people who are realists in the absolute sense, others live in an imaginary world where everything is beautiful, everyone is happy and these people fail to understand the nuances of what the real life may conjure.

For Nandini though, as she sat wide eyed on the bed staring into the now empty space, she wondered if it was a trick that her over worked brain had invoked. She blinked once, then again and again, breathing rapidly, then scanned the entire room. There was nothing suspicious in the room. The yellow light from the streets still streamed in through the windows, Geeta was still fast asleep, snoring softly and everything was still in its place - nothing was suspiciously suspended midair.

Nandini looked around for a clock and finding none on the wall reached for her phone. It was two thirty, meaning she had dozed off for one hour. Getting back to the issue at hand, she slowly put one foot down checking the floor, then the other and stood up. She walked over to the place where she had seen Padmini maa's apparition and waved her hands to and fro, whispering the queen's name. When nothing else showed up, she sighed letting her hands fall beside her and walked to the table. Reaching out for the bottle of water she gulped the whole lot, wetting the front of her night dress in the process.

She stood for sometime looking out through the window into the now deserted street, then sighing deeply she went back to bed hoping to fall asleep immediately. Her body was tired but her mind was alert and she kept stealing glances at the empty space all through the night till It was time for her to really wake up.

Abhimanyu switched on the coffee pot and waited as the familiar gurgle of boiling water filled the silence of the room. His hair was all mussed due to him running his fingers over them time and again. Sometime earlier, he had unbuttoned his shirt and rolled the sleeves to his elbow. He recalled his mother's face yet again as she stood berating him and the one that he had seen some time ago. Precisely at that moment the pot let a whistle startling him and he watched as the liquid in the coffee pot turn to dark brown. He reached for a sugar packet then decided against it. He needed something strong to keep his brain working. Pouring himself a large cup of strong, black coffee he walked to his desk and perched on one corner. He took a sip of the hot brew, going through various scenarios in his head and finally came to the conclusion that he had seen his mother because he had been thinking about her often these days. The guilt had manifested itself in the form of . . . of her ghost?

She looked aged! That was not how she looked when she died! a voice argued but his rational side refused to accept anything more and stubbornly shut it out. His mother was dead, end of story.

As the sun steadily rose over the skies, Abhimanyu decided to get on with the day. He barely had couple of hours of sleep but for now it would have to do, he said to himself. This was going to be a beautiful day - for him at the least - as his nemesis was going to make an appearance. With this thought, he drained the cup and rushed off to his penthouse suite to check on his father before freshening up.

Nandini woke up to the tinkling of a bell. She opened her eyes, blinked and then coughed as a fog of some sort spread throughout the room. As her vision cleared she realized that the fog was actually smoke from the burning camphor on a plate which Geeta held in her hands, with closed eyes, chanting something feverishly while chiming the small bell. Nandini smiled in spite of herself as she took in the other woman. She was truly a curious character.

A beep from her phone distracted her and she quickly reached for it. She saw it was a message from her father. Hoping it was more news about the raid she read through it.

- ­Hi sweetheart. Don't worry about the raid, it was nothing. I have a surprise for you, hope you like it. Take care and love you.

­A frown marred her forehead. Surprise? Before she could think more about it Geeta interrupted.

"Good morning! How are you today?" she asked with a wide smile.

"Good," replied Nandini placing her phone on the bed. "Do you do this . . . everyday?" she asked.

Geeta removed the towel from her wet hair and placed it on the clothes stand. "Of course! Otherwise my paatti - that is my grandmother would come after me with a broom. She is ninety years old, but still fit as a fiddle. One should not mess with her," she said with a shudder.

Nandini suppressed a smile as she imagined an old woman with a broom go after Geeta.

"Nandini look at the time," she gasped. "if you want to reach office by eight then you should get ready quickly. I doubt if you can take the bus today because it will take you an hour and it is already five thirty. A cab is your only option and those things are so expensive."

Nandini nodded and got up putting last night away to the back of her head. Geeta showed her the bathroom that they were to share. Nandini noted that it was pretty clean and said the same to her. Geeta again gave the credit to her grandmother who she said was insistent that the house and especially the bathroom should be kept clean. "I don't let Mala use the bathroom, she is so messy," she added scrunching her nose in distaste.

Nandini realized that she needed to buy few essentials which she had not thought about. Jaypore House had everything prepared for her in advance and refilled wherever necessary. So she needn't had worried about trivial matters. Carrying her small bag of toiletries she got inside the bathroom and was out in half an hour. Thankfully Geeta was not in the room so she hurriedly dressed up choosing a black long sleeved kurti and printed palazzos. She did not feel the need to accessorize except for her watch and diamond studs which sparkled unusually on her ear lobes.

As she stepped out of the room with her handbag, she saw that the other girl Mala was awake and sitting drowsily on the sofa nodding off every now and then. Geeta came in from the kitchen.

"Oh! You are ready to leave? You don't have time for breakfast though. Don't worry we have a wonderful cafeteria. How will you go by the way?"

"Like how people go every day," quipped Mala letting out a yawn. "The good old bus."

Nandini ignored Mala and was about to go out the door when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and saw it was Vrushali. She immediately picked up the call.

"Good morning Princess Nandini. I hope you are okay?"

"Good morning and yes I am fine. What happened?"

"Princess, if you don't mind can you come down to the cellar. its a bit urgent."

"What do you mean? You are here! Why? What happened?" questioned Nandini hurrying to the door. Both the girls looked puzzled when they saw her leaving in a hurry and they scrambled along to see what the issue was.

Nandini did not wait for the lift but almost ran down the stairs such that she was panting by the time she reached the cellar.

Vrushali was standing near the lift waiting for Nandini. The security guard stood beside with a confused expression. "Princess Nandini," said Vrushali a bit loudly and Nandini immediately shushed her.

"No body knows my identity Vrushali. If the press gets to know who I am its going to cause a lot of problems for me and for father."

"I am so sorry I did not realize it, but this is too much! Is this where you are going to stay? I still think you should come back to Jaypore House. This is not an apt accommodation for a member of the royal family."

Nandini sighed not wanting to explain too much, "Why did you come here?" she asked.

"I got a call from His Highness late last night that there is a surprise for you. Early in the morning the surprise came and I was sure His Highness would want you to call him back." Also I needed to see where you are staying and what you are doing.

"What is it?" asked Nandini.

Vrushali spoke into the phone that was in her hand. "Bring it in," she said. Meanwhile Geeta and Mala reached the cellar with Geeta rushing over to Nandini to find out if she was okay. Mala on the other hand stood frowning at the new girl who looked pretty as a picture and she did not like it one bit.

A horn blared from the entrance and a sleek electric blue mini cooper appeared driving its way to where Nandini stood. Vrushali hastened to the driver to tell him not to say anything to Nandini in greeting. The driver was flabbergasted but a nod from the princess was enough for him to understand that it was an order.

Nandini smiled as she gazed lovingly at the surprise her father had arranged for her. She guessed that her father might have realized that she would like to self-drive the car rather than depend on the driver. She mentally thanked her father as tears welled up in her eyes. Her father was doing everything best for her and here she was deceiving him in turn by blatantly lying to him about her real motive to come to Mumbai. She was a horrible person and a pathetic daughter, she thought.

"Are you alright?" asked Vrushali gently touching Nandini's arm.

Nandini blinked rapidly to hold back the tears that were now threatening to fall. "Yes I am. I will call him and let him know," she replied.

"Please do so otherwise I would fall in trouble," said Vrushali looking at her knowingly. "I will leave the driver with you."

"How will you go back?"

"I can drive myself." Vrushali walked closer to Nandini. "Princess . . ." she whispered ". . . he will be here till you require him. If you don't need him you can ask him to leave. Don't worry you can trust him."

"Okay, thank you."

After Vrushali left, Nandini turned to both the girls who had shocked expressions on their faces. While Geeta's face was pleasantly shocked, Mala's was more of jealous, frowning and angry shock.

Geeta was the first one to break the silence. "Wow! Nandini this is so beautiful. Now you don't have to worry about reaching office on time. You have a driver too, so no need of worrying about getting tired driving in traffic."

"I guess so," said Nandini.

"First day here and you are already getting gifts! You must have snagged a really rich fellow that your needs are being met!" spewed Mala.

As usual Nandini ignored her and bid goodbye to Geeta. As she approached the car, the driver quickly opened the door for her and gave a small bow.

After the car left Mala let out a snort, "Did you see that? The driver bowed his head! Who does she think she is? A princess or a queen?" saying so she stomped off toward the lift muttering all the way. Geeta opted to take the stairs as she knew that if she took the lift she would have to hear lots of unpleasant things about Nandini and she did not want to spoil her day. But as she climbed the steps one at a time, she wondered if her judgement was wrong after all. The car that she received was not a cheap one and considering Nandini's financial situation there was no way it was from her family. What was she missing? Who was Nandini? Or was Mala right . . . No, she chided herself, she shouldn't jump to conclusions. With that she climbed the stairs with much more energy.

When Nandini reached the so called Taurus situated at Bandra-Kurla Complex, she stood admiring the tall structure. The building was beautiful and pleasing to the eye quite similar to the high rises in the US. The driver had dropped her and gone off to park the car in the parking lot beside the building. As she walked toward the huge glass doors, her stomach groaned in protest demanding the much needed fuel required to run the body.

"Yes! Yes! I know. Just hold on a little longer," she muttered to herself.

She entered the lobby and walked over to the reception area. It was ten minutes past eight and she was definitely late, but who could help Mumbai's traffic, she mentally shrugged.

"What can I do for you?" asked an attractive woman who was at the front desk.

"I am here to meet Abhimanyu Singh."

The woman looked taken aback as she regarded Nandini from head to toe. "You mean Abhimanyu Singh sir ?" she stressed the last word.

"The same," replied Nandini sporting a blank face.

The pleasantness disappeared from the receptionist's face, "What is the reason for the visit? Do you have an appointment?"

Before Nandini could answer, a male voice spoke from behind her. "Ms. Nandini Singh? If its you then you are late by half an hour."

Nandini turned her head to see who it was. A young man was walking toward the reception area. He was dressed in a black suit and white shirt and held many files in his hand. He reached in few strides and stood in front of her.

"Good morning Ms. Singh," he said with a straight face. "I am Aakash and as I said you are late."

"Yes, I understand that," replied Nandini impassively and turned to face him.

Aakash let out a breath. "Preethi, I need an Id card with her name on it and . . ." he tapped the front desk trying to recall, " . . . yes, her name should be added into the - the - ugh ----"

"The attendance machine?" supplied Preethi.

"Yes! That's it. Thanks dear," winked Aakash.

"You are welcome sir," she said smiling brightly at him.

"Ms. Singh this way please," said Aakash and walked in the direction of the lifts. Nandini followed him after nodding at the receptionist who kept glaring daggers at her.

They walked in silence till they reached a single lift which was manned by two guards on either side. Aakash took out his id card and showed one of the guards. Then he punched a number on the keypad which was nearby and the lift opened wide. He led her inside and pressed a button and the lift doors shut. Nandini stood by wordlessly trying to ease the sudden onslaught of nausea. She was trying to prepare herself mentally for the challenges that lay ahead. She was so lost in thought that she was unaware of the pair of eyes that kept stealing glances at her.

When Aakash first heard of Nandini Singh, he had expected a simple girl who would be awed by the whole set up. But the one to be awed was him. He hadn't expected a beautiful young girl and by her looks she seemed sophisticated. He had seen many attractive women in the years that he had with Abhimanyu but, not one looked delectable like her. Furthermore, his boss seemed too fidgety whenever she was mentioned. There were lot of people who had joined the company but his boss had never taken personal interest in them. He had suspected that there was something going on. Was his boss interested in the girl? If he wasn't then why would he create a position that was not necessary at all. There was no need of a personal assistant. He was Abhimanyu's secretary who handled his business and personal stuff so what was her job profile?

The lift stopped on the seventh floor and Aakash got out followed by Nandini. This was the floor on which HR was situated. He led her to a large room that was labeled meeting room and made her sit inside while he excused himself leaving her alone.

Nandini hurriedly decided to make the call to her father thanking him for the gift before he could call her.

"You liked it? The colour was okay?"

She laughed, "Yes father, it is really beautiful. In fact I have taken my first trip already. But you shouldn't have, there is a car already present," she pouted.

"The cooper is yours entirely, the other one belongs to Vikram and you know how he is when he comes to cars. I just cant understand the mechanics of the new age cars. Nothing I tell you, nothing in the world can beat the Rolls. I would choose that any day," he stated.

Remembering the issue of the raid Nandini asked her father about it but he brushed it away saying that it was just a wrong call and that he had taken care of it. Nandini however was not convinced, she decided to take up the matter with Abhimanyu. He was targeting her and she had conceded so far but if he does anything against her family she was not going to keep quiet.

Half an hour later Aakash made a reappearance and by this time Nandini was quite agitated.

"What seems to be the problem? I have been waiting here since long," she said her voice tinged slightly with irritation.

Aakash smiled. "You were late Ms. Singh and hence Abhimanyu sir will see you only when he is free and currently he is not. So you need to ----hey, where are you going?"

Nandini did not wait to hear the rest of what he was about to say. She pushed the glass door apart and walked to the lifts with Aakash right behind her heals entreating her to stop.

"Ms. Singh, you need to wait for sir's summons. Ms. Singh! Ms. Singh!"

She continued walking till she reached the lift. She jabbed on the button and waited for the lift to come to the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?" shouted Aakash. "Who do you think you are?"

The lift came to a stop and few people got out. They kept staring to and fro at the new woman and Aakash who was looking furious.

"Which floor is Abhimanyu in?" she asked. On hearing her take the name they all gasped while Aakash looked rattled. No one dared to call him by name in front of him or not.

"Ms. Singh you need to get back to the room and wait till---" he tried to explain.

"Which . . . floor?" she repeated with a cold rage which radiated off her and hit Aakash and the people surrounding them with an intensity so great that they felt their very bones turn to ice.

One of them stepped forward. "I-it's the eighteenth floor."

She gave one hard stare at Aakash then got inside the lift.

Aakash let out an expletive and ran to the other side of the floor which had a second lift. He said a quick prayer mostly for himself but also for Nandini. The girl was going to get butchered.

Nandini was beyond furious. This was no way for anyone to treat her. She was not some random girl desperate for a job. The way she was being treated ever since she set foot in the city was something that she couldn't bear.

To hell with his demand, to hell with Vikram and to hell with everyone! she roared. As the rage built up, she suddenly remembered the audio clip that Abhimanyu ahd sent last evening. The audio clip was the reason she had immediately moved out of JP House. Her brother's tired voice filled her head. He had almost pleaded to the other person to let him have some more time. She had never heard that tone from her brother - her brother who was supposed to inherit the defunct Jaypore throne.

As the lift came to a stop, she felt constricted in the close space. She shook her head, taking deep breaths. Feeling much better she stepped out into the lobby. She looked left and right. Two guards were posted near the glass door on the left side. That must be him, she thought to herself as she firmly strode toward it.

"Ma'am you should not be here," one of the guards warned her in a firm voice.

"I don't care. You tell him that Nandini is here."

The guards looked between them and one of them gave a small nod to the other. Few seconds later he came outside. "You can go inside," he said.

Nandini took a deep breath, steeled herself for the coming onslaught and with her head held high pushed open the doors. Abhimanyu was leaning on the edge of the desk, his head tilted to a side looking at a file. Her errant heart skipped a beat as she took in his image. Unconsciously her hand lifted of its own accord and touched her lips. She gulped trying to muster the courage that seemed to seep out of her the moment she entered the doors. She glanced at him again but this time her eyes met with his. She gasped as she felt a pull so powerful that she couldn't drag her eyes away.

He placed the file on the desk. "Thank you for gracing us with your presence, though you are more than an hour late," he drawled. "I think you should set your watch to Mumbai time accordingly."

Nandini gathered herself irked by the acerbic taunt. "It is not easy for me to leave everything one fine morning and walk in to a new place, as if taking a stroll in a park."

He laughed sarcastically. "What problems do you have? You have everything and everyone at your beck and call, isn't it so?" He pushed himself off the table and sauntered over to her. Nandini took a step back which Abhimanyu noted with amusement.

"The raid last night at Palace Hotel wasn't it done by you?" she shot off before he could ask her anything else.

He crossed his hands. The motion stretched his shirt showing muscular arms and sent a whiff of his cologne into her nose. Disregarding the question he looked at her from head to toe. "Are you in mourning?"

"I asked you a question!" she growled.

"What if I say yes!" he goaded her.

A dull throb started on her left temple. Great! She took a step forward standing right in front of him. "You mess with me I can ignore. You mess with my family then---"

"Think a thousand times before you speak. Don't forget that not only Vikram's but your father's life is also in my hand."

"You are disgusting," she shouted at the top of her voice. "How dare you threaten my father!"

Aakash dashed through the doors at that very moment and his eyes grew round and wide as he heard Nandini shout at his boss.

"Sir . . ." he tried to explain. " . . . she just wouldn't listen. I-I tried to stop her but she just---"

"Leave!" The single word was said so slowly that Aakash quietly left without uttering another syllable.

"I don't like it when orders are not followed through. You were asked to wait, you should have waited."

Now it was Nandini's turn to cross her arms. "And no one orders me what to do . . . And . . . the answer for your earlier question is yes. I am in mourning since I have come to work for a death reaper like you."

Abhimanyu clenched his jaw and reached out for her arm and pulled her to him. The dull throb had somehow managed to become a full fledged headache. To add to it her stomach groaned again reminding her that it needed food. On top of it all the strong smell of his cologne sent her insides spiraling and swirling.

"Watch your words princess. You don't want a repeat of yesterday afternoon do you?"

"Try it again and see if I would take it lying back," her eyes spit fire.

The grip tightened and then he suddenly released her. "I don't mix business with pleasure. Right now you are working for me, so what say we take this up after working hours," he smirked. "I can gladly give you a few lessons, you seem to be lacking."

"I would not kiss you even if you were the last man on earth."

Abhimanyu looked at her innocently. "Now, now who said anything about a kiss." He took a few steps toward her, "Were you expecting a kiss princess? I was merely referencing about the little banter we had yesterday afternoon. Were you thinking about it. The kiss was not that great so-----"

Nandini's head felt heavy as the ache in her temple increased with every passing second. "Where is my cabin? I would like to go there now so that I don't have to see your face," she bit out.

Abhimanyu threw his head back and laughed. "Cabin? What cabin. You are mistaken princess. There is no cabin, none, nada." He turned toward his desk grabbing his phone and checking it for messages.

Confused at his words Nandini knit her brows trying to understand what he was saying. "Then what is it you want me here for. You said I have to be your personal assistant right?" she questioned clenching her teeth to control the pain in her head.

"Yes you are going to be my personal assistant. You are going to take care of my personal needs."

"Excuse me?" she squeezed her eyes trying to shut out the light streaming in from the glass window.

"Yes," he said still engrossed with his phone. "You will do what I tell you to and when I tell you to. Right now you can start by making coffee."

Nandini felt she heard a strange buzzing sound. She looked around to see if there was a bee. She did not like bees, she was allergic to it. The buzzing increased and it filled her ears. Her head was numb with pain. She glanced at the floor and saw a huge black hole. Who the hell had put a huge black hole in the middle of the floor, she wondered. She staggered trying to make sure that she wouldn't fall into it but the buzzing got so loud that she fell into the deep dark hole.

That last thing she saw was a pair of strong hands holding her close. The buzzing sound had gone and she now heard the most wonderful sound - the frantic beat of a heart and with that she fell asleep.