Am I really considering this? Does that make me insane?
Could I handle an arrangement for nothing but sex?
***
“Hey, Rani,” I greet the receptionist at Singhania and Sons headquarters. “I have an appointment with Mr. Singhania.”
When I received the text this morning from Erika informing me that Nathan wanted to meet, it caught me off guard. It’s a clear sign he regrets last night and is using her to communicate. Moreover, he invited me to his office. One place where he never wanted to hold our meetings.
I took this for the hint that it was.
No more dark corner rendezvous for us.
“Let me check if Mr. Rakesh is in his office real quick,” replies Rani, picking up the phone.
I draw a blank hearing Nathan’s father's name. “Umm… Rakesh? I think you’re mistaken. I’m here to meet Nathan.”
“I don’t think so.” She frowns, pausing. “Erika set up a meeting with Mr. Rakesh Singhania. He is upstairs in his office. You should go. He doesn’t like waiting.”
Red flags start flashing in my vision.
That bitch Erika.
She played me.
At the moment, my anxiety outweighs my anger at her trick. Why does Rakesh want to meet alone with me? Behind his son’s back, no less? I’m unprepared. Completely out of my realm as to what den of vipers I’m walking into.
I should’ve checked in with Nathan once. Should’ve known he wouldn’t change his mind about meeting at his firm. But my overthinking brain was too caught up in what happened between us yesterday.
Rani guides me to the older Singhania’s office. A floor below Nathan’s office.
I reach the floor all too soon. His assistant, a woman in her forties wearing a stony expression and her hair in a tight bun, knocks on his door and ushers me inside.
The room is spacious and similar to his son’s, except for the wall with bookshelves. In the center is a large mahogany desk. Behind it sits the scary and conniving man himself on a modern chair.
In my mind, I pictured him having a throne while he lorded over his employees. That’s the vibe I got from how everybody described him.
Outwardly, Rakesh is an average-looking man with a big pot belly and a mustache, resembling an old crime lord. Beneath the expensive suit and calm and reserved demeanor he’s trying to project, you can tell it’s a façade if you observe closely.
He regards me with a calculating glint in his expression. A deceptive, welcoming smile perched on his lips.
Oh, you aren’t fooling me.
I’ve swam in the deep waters full of sharks my entire life.
“Hello, Miss Chopra,” he greets formally. “Have a seat.”
Crossing the short distance with a confident sway in my step, I sit down across from him and place my purse on the chair next to me. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Singhania.”
“Glad you made the time to come see me.”
A misunderstanding led me here, but I won’t tell him that.
He continues. “I apologize if it was very last minute. I’m sure you’ll understand my urgency after the fiasco of last night at the gala.”
“I do.” Tilting my head, I ask, “Should we invite Nathan? The fiasco pertains to him.”
He smiles. Unfriendly. “I was hoping to discuss this without his presence.”
