INTRICATE

CHAPTER 09

S A M A I R A   Y A D A V

When Jai scheduled their meetup to be on a Friday afternoon, Samaira was rightfully furious. She had expected Vedan to get them out of it, but no. He had gotten them so involved that she couldn't even fake a last-minute emergency to get out, despite wanting to do it with everything in her. If not that Friday, then he would simply postpone it to the next. She couldn't even put it off. She would just be delaying the inevitable.

To make matters worse, she had a sneaking suspicion that Vedan had suggested the time just so that he could fake an unprecedented emergency of his own. If he had indeed decided to strand her with Jai of all people, then she would kill him in cold blood, morals be damned. 

She smiled politely as she took a seat at the table that Jai had reserved for them, choosing the chair that was opposite to him. The restaurant was elegant and she had been there multiple times with her family, so she found a little comfort in the fact that her surroundings were familiar.

"Hey!" Jai greeted, a grin on his face. "Gorgeous as always."

Samaira blinked, slightly taken aback by the enthusiasm. It was just lunch. Why was he so happy? Putting that thought aside, she thanked him for the compliment. "This restaurant was a good choice. I've been here multiple times and the food has never failed to surprise me."

"Hopefully, I will too." he said, smiling like he knew something she didn't. Dismissing her confusion and the suspicion lurking at the back of her mind, Samaira looked around. "Vedan isn't here yet?"

"Unfortunately, he won't be able to make it. He just let me know a few minutes back. I hope that's not a problem."

She smiled awkwardly. Vedan was a dead man. She had specifically dragged him into the plan because she didn't want to give Jai ideas by going out alone. He had been staring at her all week. No offence to him, but she had no intentions of getting into a relationship. Hopefully, he understood that this was just to be amicable. "Of course not."

"So, how has life been?"

"It's been good," she answered honestly. "A little hectic, but good. I'm sure you understand, seeing as we work in the same hospital. You've only been here a week, so give it some time. The exhaustion will catch up, and when it does, always have coffee handy. It's the one thing that keeps all the residents from falling flat on their faces every shift."

Jai's eyes darted up to hers the moment she stopped talking. Samaira looked down to check if her dress was fine. "I'll keep that piece of advice in mind. Tell me more. What did you do after graduating from school?"

She looked up, subconsciously adjusting her sleeve. "Just medical school. Nothing special. What about you? Where did you go?"

"My father didn't want me to study here because of the lack of proper infrastructure and facilities. I mean, you know how it is, right? You studied here. He has always been very particular about giving me the best, so I studied in Australia. It was great."

Samaira didn't know how to answer that, so she took a sip of her water. It had the perfect effect because Jai continued talking. 

"Australia might be the smallest continent, but it has some gorgeous places. I couldn't travel by public transportation because I'm very insistent on hygiene. You probably already knew that, didn't you? To make sure I didn't miss out on the Australian experience, my father gifted me a BMW on my nineteenth birthday. It was no Porsche, but at least I had something hygienic to travel around in."

Yeah, she definitely couldn't relate. "That's nice."

He didn't seem to think so because he gave a nonchalant shrug. "Not really, but okay. He could have done better. Anyway, Australia was good, but it cannot compare to the beauty of Europe. Don't you agree?"