Siya opened her mouth as if to ask a question, but no words came out. Her gaze darted to the room at the end of the hallway and back to Abhay. Worry bloomed in her gut when she saw her confusion reflected in his eyes.
He leaned in slightly and asked her in a low voice, ‘Did you know about this?’
‘No,’ Siya said, tension curling back into her voice. ‘He only said it was an important meeting. Did your dad mention anything to you?’
‘He only told me we’re having dinner together tonight. I had no idea.’
They stared at each other for a beat, united in their bewilderment. The Kashyap and Agrawal family rivalry had been woven into Mumbai’s history for the last two decades, and Siya couldn’t comprehend the thought of the infamous rivals dining together.
She took a breath and walked towards the room, Abhay falling into step beside her. The door ahead gleamed with a brass number: 03.
Abhay grasped the knob and asked her, ‘Ready?’
Her eyes flicked to his lips for a fleeting moment, but she shook her head slightly and answered, ‘Yes.’
‘Liar,’ he whispered with a smirk and opened the door.
The private dining area was styled with mahogany panelling and glass chandeliers, and a long table dressed in ivory velvet sat in the middle of the room. Seated at one end, their fathers laughed over wine, talking as if they were long-lost friends.
Abhay whispered in her ear, ‘Welcome to the Upside Down.’
Chapter 3
Siya stepped into the room feeling as if she’d stepped into an alternate reality. The gold-toned chandelier was dimmed, bathing the room in muted light. Velvet drapes were open to the glittering skyline of Mumbai.
Dressed in a dark dinner jacket, Kartik Kashyap was laughing—actually laughing—at something Mihit said, and seeing that, Siya nearly stumbled. For as long as she could remember, her father had spoken of Mihit Agrawal with the hatred of someone planning a war against him.
‘Mihit is a snake in silk. One day, I will skin him alive,’ Kartik had once said to her in a moment of exploding rage when the Agrawals had won a coveted contract with a diamond supplier. And now here they were, sharing vintage whiskey and anecdotes, and that unsettled Siya more than if they’d been shouting at each other.
Those words echoed in her mind as she walked into the room and sank into the plush leather chair with a polite greeting. Abhay took the seat beside her and she silently cursed him for their close proximity. His gaze flicked to her like he needed her to confirm that this wasn’t a fever dream.
Mihit spoke up first. ‘Hey kids. Quickly order something before the kitchen closes.’
Immediately, Kartik chimed in with a smug grin, ‘Oh, come on, the kitchen doesn’t close for us. It’s food and drinks all night long.’
Siya gave him a tight-lipped smile in acknowledgement when he held up his glass to make his point, but made a mental note to tell Namita to send compensation to the staff for their overtime. It was unfair that the kitchen staff should pay for her father’s vanity.
She kept her arms crossed and body angled away from Abhay, but she wasn’t fooling anybody, least of all herself. Especially when he adjusted in his seat and his knee brushed against hers, a shiver ran down her spine, but she didn’t move away, and neither did he.
The two men were conversing about the diverging market, and all Siya could focus on was Abhay. Every time he shifted, she noticed the sound of his breath, the rustle of his sleeve, and the faint, maddening scent of his cologne.
‘You two look tense,’ Mihit observed, pouring more whiskey.
Abhay leaned forward, fingers tapping the edge of his glass as he responded, ‘I never thought I’d see the day when the two of you would be hanging out like old business school friends.’
Mihit chuckled, while Kartik ignored the jab. He cleared his throat and set down his glass. ‘The situation has changed. The market is shifting right under our feet, so desperate times call for desperate measures.’
Siya thought to herself that if her father was speaking to Mihit Agrawal politely, the situation must be out of control.
‘That bad, huh?’ Abhay echoed her thoughts.
Mihit gave a wry smile. ‘The Patel Group has made a move we can’t afford to ignore. I suppose both of you saw the news this morning, didn’t you?’
‘The Patel-Riaz partnership?’ Siya asked, and Mihit nodded.
Her father refilled his glass with trembling hands, whiskey sloshing over the table. Siya felt the urge to reach out and stop him. She knew first-hand the kind of person he became when he drank, but she was worried he might make a scene if she said something. The last person in front of whom she wanted to be insulted was sitting right next to her, so she kept mum.
Kartik joined in the conversation, but his words came out slurred. ‘The fucker had to choose now to launch a new line in India. It’s already creating problems for us.’
