Bombay Twist

Chapter 2

Ishani

 With the wedding complete, I was now ready to get back to work. My patients need me! A week away had been too long and I had been constantly pestered with phone calls. As a psychiatrist, taking long vacations is a luxury which I cannot afford, and I am going to have to work twice the hours to make up for lost time.

I entered the waiting room of my office, a small but stylish and tidy room with a mahogany coffee table strewn with magazines and two brown couches and a small desk and chair for my assistant/receptionist, a typical doctors' clinic. I am wearing a smart blue blazer and a pencil-skirt, my usual office attire, along with a serious, professional expression. Suddenly, I froze in my tracks, staring at the stranger with his back to me, standing in my office.

My mind started whirl pooling with all kinds of thoughts:

Hey, attractive back...

 OH MY GOD there is a stranger in my office!

 How did he get in?

Should i call the police?

Am i in the right office?

Just as that extraordinarily silly concoction of thoughts flooded my mind, the man turned from the desk and stared.

"Uhhh..." It was hard to formulate sentences when my mind was running solely on two thoughts:

Flaming fuck, this guy's hot.

And,

Crapping hell, what is he gonna do, I am too young to die!!!

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you." The man, dressed in a Polo shirt and scruffy jeans, smiled and extended a hand out for me to shake, "I'm Rohan, your new assistant. Leela hired me."

That's when it all came back to me.

Of course! Leela's on maternity leave and I was supposed to hire a temporary replacement for her.

But, why would she hire this guy? Or rather, why would he want this job? He looked to be about my age and seemed to be rolling in the stuff, which is obvious from the expensive looking pair of sunglasses resting on the desk and the spicy and enticing aftershave that i could smell on him.

The man came closer to me, parted his lips and spoke,

"Doctor?"

I suddenly realized that I had not spoken yet, and thrust out my hand to meet his, "I'm sorry, I was a little shocked to see you. Leela did not tell me that I would be meeting you today. Anyway, I hope she has explained the job to you." He smiled and took my hand.

As our palms touched, I looked up to meet his eyes. His eyes were a light shade of chocolate brown and he had freakishly long eyelashes. Like, really long. As I looked up at him (he was at least half a head taller), my eyes as wide as saucers, I saw his eyes widen too. I quickly let go of his hand.

The weirdness is definitely mutual.

"Um, yeah, she explained it all to me." He said, while rubbing his hand at the back of his neck.

"Great!" I exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically, "I will leave you to it then." I gave a weak smile and rushed to the safe confines of my office.

As I turned around to close my door, I caught his eye and he was staring at me intensely. He saw me looking at him and stiffened, and then he suppressed a smile. My face and neck heated and I slammed the door shut.

What the hell was so funny?

Half an hour later, when I felt that I had calmed down enough from my encounter with Pretty Boy out there, I called him in.

He struck his head through the door and smiled, silently asking for permission to enter.

"Please, come in." I said, trying to ignore the little flip my belly gave at his sight. Holy fuck, he's like the Hindi version of a Greek God.

He entered and started reading from the notepad in his hand. He was listing my appointments for the day. I nodded and said the right things at the right time (at least, that's what I think) but I was completely lost in the soft, deep rumble of his voice and the way his Adam's apple bounced up and down as he swallowed. I was mesmerised by the way he said my name, as if he was rolling it on his tongue, tasting it, before uttering it in a way that made me swallow hard.

My name.... Why was he saying my name?

"Ishani? Ishani? Is everything alright? You blanked out for a moment there..." he said.

I felt my face getting hot from embarrassment. That was until I looked at him and saw a small smile playing on his lips. A small, flirty, naughty smile.

Then my face flared with embarrassment and anger.

The bastard knew exactly what was going on in my mind! And, instead of trying to cover it up or ignore it, he was enjoying the bloody show!

Oh, no. He is so not getting the satisfaction.

"I'm alright, just thinking of the patients, working out methods of treatment, you know." As soon as the words escaped my mouth, I internally slapped myself. That made no sense! What has come over me?

Rohan smiled uncertainly and nodded, seeing through my very blatant lie (asshole) and continued.

I had to admit, his work was pretty neat and he did a good job of sorting my week out. I just might survive the six months of Leela's absence.

As he turned to leave, I said "Why did you apply for this job?", unable to control my curiosity.

He turned and smiled. He seemed to know exactly what I was talking about.

"I don't need this job." He said, "I'm a novelist. This job is a part of my research for another book."

He looked on as my face scrunched up in confusion, and then suddenly cleared as I realised something.

"Are you Rohan Dixit?"

He smiled.

"Oh my god! I have read The Moonlight Conspiracy series a hundred times! You're really good..." I exclaimed, then suddenly stopped, and donned my emotionless, professional mask again.

Hmmm, that explains the expensive look. He probably bathes in mineral water...

"I hope you will let me continue working for you?" I removed the very distracting image of a naked Rohan showering from my mind and tried to concentrate on the conversation, "I promise you that you will not be disappointed." He said with a glint in his eyes, and I wondered if there was another meaning behind his words.

"Well, I can see that your work is fine, and I trust Leela's judgement. Besides, I don't see how what you just told me should be a reason for you to stop working here." I said.

Let's just hope that he keeps his attitude in check.

Rohan placed a hand on his chest and gave a little mock sigh of relief. He then left the room, a little hurriedly.

He probably wants to leave early so that he can go home, sign expensive checks, drink expensive wine, and go to sleep on his bed of money. Humph!