Tanya was surprised at the amount of fun she’d had. She’d always been studious, raised to question science and chase facts. Fashion and girly stuff were as alien as cooking or athletics for her. She smiled as she thought about Natasha. She had a feeling Natasha was someone who was in to stay in her life.
The next day, Tanya lazed around most of the day and prepped herself for the upcoming work week. As she lay down on her bed that night, she thought about the day ahead.Will I be able to pull off the makeover? What if Ritwik doesn’t notice me after he’s back?Yet, it was a pair of dark eyes that came to her mind as she thought about the next day.
Chapter 6
On Monday morning, Tanya nervously walked out of the elevator. She was early, and thankfully, the way to the executive floor was, by and large, deserted. Tanya walked over to her desk in her new, black dress. The demure dress fell just below her knees, making her look feminine yet sexy. Her shiny red high-heeled Gucci pumps clicked against the floor as she walked. Tanya switched on her system and blinked a few times due to the contact lens. Surprisingly, with the advancements in ophthalmology, she hardly felt the lens in her eyes.
Before she realized, an hour had already passed by. She’d been swamped with emails that had accumulated since Friday. Sighing, Tanya stood up and stretched her arms. As she lowered her arms and turned around, she noticed the elevator doors open. To her delight and dismay, she saw Neil enter the floor.
Tanya felt her cheeks getting warm. “Hi,” The greeting came out in a small squeak.
In response, Neil simply let his eyes run over her from her crowning glory to the red heels. His eyes seemed to take in every dip and curve in her body. Suddenly, Tanya felt the room becoming hot and small. She tried clearing her throat and failed. Breaking off her eyes from his gaze, Tanya looked at the desk. She barely noticed Neil moving towards her. “This is a definite improvement. And I don’t mean the fancy wardrobe. Looks like you got more than just new clothes.” His dark eyes looked into her kohl-filled ones one last time, before he walked into his cabin.
Tanya was confused at his hot and cold behavior. Where was the man who’d dragged her for the makeover? Tanya tried to ignore the pang of disappointment and went back to work.
As the day progressed, Tanya was surprised to see that she attracted a lot of attention from the opposite sex. She managed to field most of the comments and overtures with grace, the effect of which was causing a lot of strain on her nerves. And, it was barely Monday evening. All she needed was some coffee, a good book, and her comfortable pajamas.To hell with men, she thought with a grimace.
Neil noticed an irritated Tanya leave for the day. He mentally sighed, trying not to think about her stunning looks or her gray eyes. He almost smashed his fist on the table when he realized she was doing this to lure Ritwik. Damn, and double damn!
∞∞∞
It had been five days since she’d started dragging her new personality to her workplace. As heady as it was to see others appreciate the change, Tanya didn’t quite know how to approach the sober Neil.
The other men at work more than made up for it. Sometimes, they stopped for a minute as if they couldn’t believe the usually-absent minded, bookish Tanya could change overnight. Two of the directors subtly asked her out. To her chagrin, she knew one of them was already committed. She’d extricated herself with some tact and some difficulty.
As another month passed, Neil taught Tanya not only to dress up, but to also stand up for herself. More often than not, they had their meals together. If Neil was surprised they got along very well, he hardly acknowledged it.
Tanya was blissfully unaware of how much she looked forward to their interaction every single day. Without even realizing it, she became more confident as a person, as a woman. She almost started believing she deserved a man who treated her like a queen. So what if she didn’t know how to flirt or have a line of boyfriends waiting by her doorstep? Immediately, her mind thought about Ritwik, eager to know whether he would be excited to see this new her. For once, she was willing to try.
Ritwik had called her on and off. Often, their conversations were laced around work. To her frustration, he had taken another five weeks off to meet his parents who lived in California.
Looking at the calendar, Tanya absently noted that there was another week before Ritwik returned back to India. She gasped when she realized it was almost eight. Where did time fly? Being a Friday night, Tanya was unusually left with nothing to do. All her friends were out of town. Even Natasha had gone back to Delhi since her brother had called her quite urgently.
When Tanya came to know that Natasha was the daughter of a well-known politician, she’d been more than surprised. She respected her even more, when she realized Natasha rarely if ever took advantage of her connections. If anything, her new best friend was extremely careful and closed about her personal life. Tanya only hoped everything was okay with Natasha.
As she packed her laptop, she heard Neil come out of his room. “I thought you’d left for the day already.”
Neil grimaced. “I was supposed to; I was held up because of a conference call. I even had to cancel a date thanks to that call from Tokyo.”
Tanya’s smile slipped from her face. She felt her heart break a little as she heard Neil talk about a date. She ignored that feeling and got out of her desk. “Well, have a nice evening; huh, whatever’s left of it.”
Neil stopped her on the way. “Any plans for dinner?”
Tanya mutely shook her head.
“Pizza? I’m too tired to make an effort.”
“Okay, my place then.”
“Sure. I will follow you in my car.” Neil smiled and got into his car.
Tanya absently drove, all the while alternating between relief and excitement. Relief that Neil’s date didn’t happen and excitement about their pizza dinner. Too scared to analyze her feelings, she deliberately ignored everything that she felt. She let herself and Neil into her place and went in to freshen up. By the time she had a quick shower and joined him in her living room, Neil had ordered the pizza. “Huh, Neil did you order thin…”
“Crust? Yes, I did. No mushrooms and only peppers and jalapenos, right?”
Something warmed in her chest when she realized he cared enough to notice her preferences. She smiled, her dimple adding to her charming smile.
The doorbell rang just as they finished a drink. Tanya’s pulse leaped as Neil got up to take the pizza.Get a grip, she chided herself.Okay, so he’s a handsome man and any woman would be affected. I am also a woman who appreciates a man who is easy on the eyes.She almost convinced herself everything was fine by the time he came back. They discussed politics, ideologies and their dreams as they devoured the pizza slices one by one. Neil looked at the watch. “It’s getting late. I should be leaving.”
