BAREFOOTED

Chapter 1

Sunlight plummeted down the heavens with an intensity that was unbecoming of a normal Indian winter's day. The short shadows of scantily clad trees lining the sides of the endless road created a caterpillar-like pattern while above in the distance, a wedge of birds braved the bright yellow sky. A light cool breeze brought a few seconds of relief – but it was fleeting and inadequate for the lone man who stood beside his car on the side of the road.

Nikhil's day had started with a terrible headache in the morning.

A really bad one.

And every unfavorable twist after that just snowballed into this really bad day that seemed to go on forever.

Letting out an exasperated groan, he threw his mobile phone through the open car window, onto the seat. He should have wriggled out of the meeting instead of charging in like he was some superhero.

His lips twisted downward in a thin line. Just shit luck.

With no signal on his damn phone, he was standing beside his car in the blazing sun stuck somewhere on the blasted highway, a few miles south of the city, with no traffic.

"Stupid goddamn puncture," he muttered, bending to look at the deflated tire.

He kicked out at the wheel, angry at himself and with everything else that was happening to him.

"Ouch!" the sudden pain in his foot had him yelping and hopping on one leg, cursing furiously under his breath. He felt sweat trickle down his back under the crisp business shirt which was slowly turning limp.

This could not be happening to him.

How could the usually busy highway suddenly turn lonely? The one car that had sped by a few minutes earlier had him running behind it, waving his arms like a lunatic before he gave up and trudged back to stand beside his car. He absently shook his head, wondering if he should start walking. He had so many meetings lined up till late in the night.

Perhaps it was the lack of sleep that had him all riled up. He'd been up all night working out a few snags on one project and had woken up on his sofa, bleary-eyed, with a monstrous headache. Then when his client had called an emergency meeting he was left with no choice but to agree to meet them at their resort in the outskirts of the city. He had barely disconnected the call when his regular driver called in sick. He hated driving through the hideous city traffic but had decided it was better than calling for a cab. After a quick cup of coffee, he had rushed out of his apartment without bothering with his usual cereal box breakfast.

He had known that visiting the resort would take him the whole morning so he had meticulously rescheduled his meetings and assigned his morning site visit to his capable assistant. Of course, he hadn't expected the meeting to turn difficult and within minutes of starting the discussion, the pill he'd swallowed with his coffee couldn't contain his headache. He knew he was wasting his time the moment his clients started disagreeing heatedly amongst themselves. They were three brothers who co-owned the business with their father who was currently traveling and it had been apparent that the old man would need to return before they could agree on anything.

An hour into the discussion, he had finally thrown his hands in the air, offering to meet them once they reached an agreement on what they wanted him to work on. He made a mental note to fix the meeting only after their father returned. Handling clients with tantrums were always tough, especially when they were one of his biggest clients.

He glanced at his watch. How the hell was he going to reschedule his meetings without a phone?

"Need some help?"

The jolt was not surprising, considering that he hadn't heard the pick-up truck which had slowed down on the road beside him.

It was a woman. She didn't really wait for his response as she eyed his predicament and eased her vehicle to the side of the road ahead of him.