Detached

CHAPTER 67

*RIYANSH'S POINT OF VIEW*

Once in the solitude of the bedroom, I closed the door tightly behind me. I didn’t want to make this call near Meera in case I had to bring up Smith in the conversation. As I pressed the connect button and put the phone to my ear, I silently prayed that he would go for one of the three options because I didn’t want to spend two weeks pining for her.

Madhuri answered on the third ring. “Hi, ma’am, it’s Agent Bhutt. How are you today?” I asked politely.

“Oh, Agent Bhutt, I’m good. How are you and Meera?” she asked happily.

“We’re great, thanks. Is it possible for me to speak to Mr. Singhania?”

“Sure. He’s free right now, I’ll buzz you through.”

The line beeped, and he answered a few seconds later. “Agent Bhutt, is everything alright?” he asked quickly.

“Yes, sir, everything’s fine. I just wondered if I could talk something through with you. It’s about Meera’s winter break.” I tried to sound confident when all I wanted to do was beg this man to let me spend Christmas with his daughter.

“Okay, I’m listening.”

“Well, sir, Meera has just asked me if it would be possible for her to go away for winter break. She said she wanted to get away and have a break somewhere hot,” I lied, blaming the whole thing on her. Hopefully, if he thought it was her idea and something she really wanted, he would be more likely to accept it. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to speak to him in private.

“She wants to go on vacation?”

“Yes, sir, she said she’d like to,” I confirmed, trying to sound casual.

“I’m not sure that’s possible, I mean, with the whole guard situation…” he trailed off, sounding like he was thinking about it.

Okay, Riyansh, now sell it. “I’d be happy to take her. We could go somewhere where she’s not going to be recognised. The risk will be minimal to her. Less than here actually,” I countered, trying to convince him.

“You would take her? What about your time off?” I could clearly hear the shock in his voice.

I smiled. “That’s fine, I don’t need time off. I’d be happy to take Meera.”

He was quiet for a while, obviously thinking about it. “Well, where were you thinking?” he asked.

I smiled. Okay, I’m half way there, he hasn’t said no! “I’m not sure where she would want to go, sir. Somewhere far enough away that she wouldn’t be recognised, somewhere quite remote,” I suggested, thinking of lying on a quiet beach with her.

He sighed. “Can I call you back? I’ll speak to her mother about it; she was looking forward to having Meera home for Christmas as much as I was.” The disappointment in his tone was obvious.

“Okay, sir.” I closed my eyes and prayed that her mother would say yes.

“You think she would like that? It would make her happy?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, I’m positive it would.”

“I’ll call you back in a bit.” He disconnected the call.

I physically crossed my fingers, just hoping that he’d agree to it. My mind wandered to all of the places we could go. Of course, I couldn’t afford five star luxury, but since I’d been guarding Meera I’d had nothing to pay out for because they paid my rent and expenses. I had some money saved, so we could certainly go somewhere nice.