Chapter 1

"You are a rotten piece of shit, hope you know that," Neil stated sarcastically.

"Look who is talking," replied the man on the other end of the phone with ease.

"Robbie," Neil growled dangerously, "feel lucky you aren't before me...you called asking for a favor, don't push your luck," he said warning his best friend.

How the hell he was still best friends with Robbie, Neil had no clue. They had met in Boston, fourteen years ago at the university. And strangely a friendship had struck between them. Strangely because they were poles apart in physicality, thoughts, manners, lifestyle, in short everything. Where he had always had focus, Robbie had had none. Where he had been born with a natural intellect, Robbie had acquired his, from being street smart.

Over the years, Neil had learnt several tricks to various trades from his friend and surprisingly they had come in handy. Sadly, Robbie had learnt nothing from him. There had been times when Robbie had pulled him out of situations especially during their freshman year in college. And the rest of the time the onus had fallen squarely on Neil's shoulders.

He had always been organized, extremely competitive and definitely more successful. And Rob...well, Rob was Rob, laidback, disorganized, lazy and more careless than anybody Neil knew. But disinterest topped that list. That was where his friend's most of the problems lay. Anything that interested Robbie soon became disinteresting whether it was professionally or personally. That was also the biggest bone of contention between the two. No matter how many times Neil had tried over the years to get his friend to change his habit, he had only met with failure.

Rob's inconsistency in his professional life often irked Neil. Switching from one job to another, one company to another. He had even switched professions. But what he had done with his personal life now had made Neil hit the roof.

Preet, the girl Rob had been engaged to for the past two years and had been about to marry till about thirty six hours ago, had had a great influence over him. Rob had seemed to become more responsible. Grow into a better person. Neil had seen hope for the man. And like an idiot he had walked out on the best thing that had happened to him...a day before his wedding. Neil was so mad at him it wasn't even funny. And then the fool had the audacity to call him up and ask for a favor. He wished Rob had stood before him, so he could have punched the man at least that would have released some of his angst.

"Dude, I know you are mad at me," Robbie said slowly and Neil rolled his eyes, "but you won't understand till you experience what I was going through," he said in his heavily accented drawl.

"Don't give me bull," Neil said agitatedly as he stood up from his chair, "you are bloody lucky you aren't here," he barked as he went to stand at the big window of his office cabin looking out at the waning rays of the LA sun against the panes of the building bang opposite to where he stood, "Preet was the best thing that had happened to you and like a fool you threw her away. You are so going to regret your decision Rob," he said angrily, "God alone knows what she saw in you in the first place," he told Robbie in no uncertain terms.

He had never been one to mince his words. And he wasn't starting now. To hell with Robbie being his best friend. How could he do that to Preet? Neil knew her. Well. They had bumped into her at a club one night and she and Robbie had seemed to strike it out immediately. Neil had been amused and amazed at the speed at which they had gotten into a relationship.

She was a nice girl. Sweet and fiery both. Depending on the situation. She had been the one to make sure Robbie worked towards having a better life. Her concern and her worry over the man had been genuine and Neil had been happy for once to see his longtime friend doing something worthwhile with his life. They had been so much in love. In the last two years Neil hadn't heard Rob even take another girl's name or complain. He had seemed content.

And Neil had been going to attend the wedding in Seattle only a last minute crisis at his office had waylaid his plans. Next, he had gotten a tearful call from Preet telling him the wedding was off. He had wanted to grab hold of his friend's collar and shake some sense into him. Neil hadn't even been able to get hold of Rob over the phone. And now suddenly he had called him up asking for a favor. Like hell he was going to help Rob with whatever problem was plaguing him.

"You have zero idea bro," Robbie said in his lazy drawl and Neil felt the irritation rise, "you have no clue how dominating that girl is or even her family," he said and Neil closed his eyes in frustration as he heard the excuses, "the whole pack of them are nuts man. I would have lived a strangulated life and I am not cut for that kind of living. Steady job, steady girl, steady life...its not me Neil," Rob said in a voice that said he was disgusted even at the very idea, "I need to have the freedom to think for myself, not be dictated terms to. I want someone who accepts me for who I am and not change me into something she or her family believes I could be. The image of perfection...who even believes in that nonsense these days," he said dramatically and that angered Neil further, "If I got married to her I would have been stuck bro, and slowly life would have been sucked out of me," he said trying to make Neil understand.

"And you didn't come to know about this till about a day before your marriage, that this was the type of girl she was," Neil said angrily, "really Rob, I had thought you had more brains than that, why don't you admit the real reason. Why don't you admit you got cold feet? Why don't you say that you have a commitment problem? Go on, be honest. I am so downright angry at you..." he said and shook his head taking in a deep breath, "never mind, anything I say is a waste on you anyway so, spit out whatever you had called me for and get lost," he said in a no nonsense tone.

"I can't believe you would side with her over this," Robbie argued, "would it have been better I divorced her after a few months. You won't believe how meddlesome her family is, as for commitment issues, dude that is more your problem than mine," he continued and would have gone on when Neil broke into the conversation.

"I wasn't the one who was getting married, and you are no saint, I have commitment issues so I stay away from serious relationships, since you don't so what went wrong," he said heatedly, "and how is your family taking this sudden turn of events?" he asked scathingly.

"Neil..." Robbie said but he knew Neil would take his case if he tried anymore to convince him. Hell, he just might figure out his hiding place come there and pummel him to the ground. The problem was he himself didn't have a solid base for breaking off with Preet. They had fallen in love almost immediately and it had been going great when she had suddenly thrown the marriage card at him.

It wasn't as if he hadn't wanted to settle down with her...but eventually not this soon. He hadn't been ready. He had just given in to pressures. From everyone. She wasn't the only one. His own family had been after his life to take Preet more seriously. But just a day before the D day he had gotten cold feet. He hadn't wanted to commit to something like marriage and regret it later. He wasn't even sure if that was the reason. So he had called it off.

And now he wanted to escape the wrath of everyone and give himself and others some time to think and cool off. That was all. So he was taking off to the Bahamas for a couple of weeks. The only hitch was that Preet had called him up and told him about the gift his aunt had already given them. They were supposed to go on a honeymoon trip to Lake Tahoe, California for five days. All paid for. The problem was that it could not be cancelled and neither could it be transferred.

It was an expensive resort. And despite the fact that Christmas was only three days from now with every resort and hotel already overbooked, that money would be a waste as the hotel staff wasn't ready to accommodate their sudden change of plans. But their wedding was cancelled. And they were stuck. His aunt had called up Preet as he had refused to take her call and begged her to find a solution. And in turn Preet had called him up and dumped the problem on his head. He had felt a certain amount of guilt at Preet's strained voice. But her tone had been crisp and to the point. He had no idea how she was doing and if he wanted to save his sanity he didn't want to know. So he had decided to call up his best friend and see if he could go in his place and stay at the resort. It would be perfect solution. Neil needed to take a break too. His workaholic nature was killing him.

"Never mind how everyone is doing," Robbie said as he looked at his wrist watch, he would be boarding soon, "I know you are angry at me but...just this once I need you to do this favor for me, please," he said hoping his friend will agree.

"I don't think I want to help you at all," Neil said in a steely voice. Usually it meant he wasn't in the mood to either listen or relent and those who knew him knew that too. And Robbie knew it very well.

"Bro please, if you have ever valued me as a friend," Robbie said quickly throwing the emotional card, "just do this and I will forever be in your debt, coz if you don't then my aunt will never forgive me," he said in a pleading tone.

"I am tempted to decline your request already," Neil said with a half-smile on his face. Not that his friend could see it over the phone. It definitely made him feel better.

"All you have to do is, use the gift she gave me for my wedding," Robbie said ignoring what Neil had said about declining his request.

"Your wedding didn't happen," Neil said reminding Robbie.

"I know, the problem is, the gift is super expensive and it can neither be returned nor transferred," he explained, "so someone needs to use it. I can't because I am boarding the next plane out of the country," he said hurriedly, "besides you need a break too," he told him.

"What..." Neil yelled. He didn't care if the whole office heard him or his friend's ear drums burst at the other end.

"Yeah, well, it is a five day 'all paid for' stay at Lake Tahoe, at a luxury resort," Robbie hurried as he heard the announcement for the passengers to board the flight, "I will text you the details and all you have to do is go there and stay. You need to get out of LA, mostly get out of that office and take a break man," he said with a grin, "live life a little. And you will begin to see things from my perspective," he said.

"Like hell I would," Neil said angrily, "you are not going anywhere, I want to see your ugly face tomorrow, get here or forget we were ever friends," he barked.

"I love you too bro, and thanks," Robbie said with a smile.

"Rob, you are not listening," Neil said tersely, "I mean it. Get your sorry self here, tomorrow or else..." he would have liked to finish his threat but Robbie intervened.

"Good luck Neil, happy holidays and merry Christmas," Robbie said as he handed his boarding pass to the ground staff, "I will text you the details, remember it is all paid for and you do need a life beyond the closed walls of your cabin," he said with good humor, "bye," he said and clicked the phone shut.

"Wait, Rob...listen," Neil started and then all he heard was the eerie silence as the line went dead.

Damn Robbie. Who the hell did he think he was? Neil dragged a frustrated hand through his neatly combed short hair. He was boarding a plane, he had said, where was he running off to? He damned Robbie again. Some nerve the cad had. How could he just call him up and tell him what he wanted Neil to do and then hang up expecting him to do exactly that.

No way, was Neil going to help him, hell, he hadn't even been asked for it. He will not grant Rob any favor this time. It was time Rob understood that Neil couldn't be taken for granted. He had work. And he loved it. He didn't need a break. Maybe he did. From Robbie. Why was he friends with the fool anyway? Because he was a good man despite all his shortcomings and Neil knew even if he was too angry to acknowledge that, in time of adversity the one man he would always find standing beside him would be...Robbie Singh. But that didn't mean he would go to Tahoe to appease his aunt. Or to save his sorry neck. Robbie better be ready to face the tune this time round. Because Neil was done doing favors for him.

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