The Bestseller She Wrote (17 page)

Maya was awake when Aditya returned. ‘I tried calling you so many times,’ she complained.

‘I was tied up, Maya. And by the time I saw your missed calls, it was too late. So I didn’t call you back.’

‘Sanjay called a few minutes after you left.’ This sent shivers down Aditya’s spine. Sanjay was not aware of Aditya’s lie.

‘He wanted to talk to you. Apparently your phone was out of range.’

‘Did he say why he wanted me?’

‘Not sure. I told him that you had gone to attend to the fire in the basement of the Andheri branch. He didn’t seem to have any clue about it.’

‘Oh okay. I am sure it wasn’t anything important or else he would have called me again.

‘I hope so,’ Maya said. ‘But strange that the HR head wouldn’t know of a serious incident like a fire in a branch.’

‘Well you know it better than I do. Only if there is a serious impact on people are those guys told. In any case the incident report will go to them,’ he concealed his lie. At the same time he made a mental note to update Sanjay on his lie. He would understand.

37

A
DITYA CALLED
S
UNAINA
the next morning and asked her to meet him in his office. Sunaina dropped by after Shreya and the entire management trainee team had left for Lonavla, the camp for the induction programme.

‘You don’t seem too surprised,’ he observed when she didn’t show any reaction after hearing the happenings of the previous night.

‘When it comes to Shreya, nothing surprises me,’ Sunaina shook her head. To Aditya it sounded like a strange statement coming from Shreya’s best friend.

‘Was she like this on campus too?’

‘Far worse than what she is now.’

‘As in?’

Sunaina sighed. ‘You know her background, don’t you?’ Looking at the near blank look on Aditya’s face, she continued, ‘Shreya comes from a family where she was the only child and yet no one loved her. Her parents were constantly at each other’s throats, always screaming and shouting. She was extremely traumatised.’

‘I knew she was from a troubled family, but so are many others these days. That doesn’t really justify anything. Where are her parents now?’ Aditya asked.

‘Her father is in Dubai. Don’t know what he is up to . . . I know he has some investments in properties which came his way when he was in a government job—he has two apartments in Mumbai. But Shreya doesn’t want to take any favours from him.’

‘Mother?’

‘She remarried a rich divorcee and is settled in Delhi. She took care of Shreya’s financial needs, paid for her education, but could never be with her. I am not sure if it was because she never felt for Shreya or her new family constrained her.’

‘How long back was all this?’

‘Shreya was ten years old when her parents separated. The only person emotionally available for her was their family help; it was she who gave Shreya her strength. She calls the maid
amma
, a term normally reserved for your mom. But more importantly the behaviour you see is, in my opinion a result of the chaos in her life. Her arrogance, her belligerence is a means to hide her insecurities. Whenever she sees love, which hasn’t been too often, she gets stuck like a leech. When she gets it, she doesn’t want to let go. She keeps saying that her mother had taught her that relationships with the right people are the key to success. That’s why, I guess, she is desparate to form the right equations in life. The right connections . . .’

‘Hmm . . . Where is the maid now?’

‘She died of old age when Shreya was in her first year at IIM. Shreya is what she is because of her. She loved her more than anyone would love their own mother. She is not evil, Aditya. That’s why I put up with a lot of rubbish from her. Because I know she loves me, though her way of expressing it is different from other people. And more importantly, she loves you, Aditya.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me this that day when she walked out of Out of the Blue?’

‘She has not shared this with anyone. I am the only one who knows. I thought she would tell you herself, when the time was right. Do not misunderstand her actions, Aditya,’ Sunaina urged.

Aditya didn’t know what to say. He was overwhelmed by what she had just told him. It put Shreya’s actions and reactions in context. He thanked Sunaina.

‘Please make sure that Shreya is happy in life. She needs you, Aditya. It feels wrong to say it, but that’s how it is,’ Sunaina said.

Aditya nodded.

‘I just have one worry,’ she said with a concerned look on her face. ‘She cannot take rejection well. She is very focused on what she wants to do. But if she doesn’t get what she wants, despite her efforts, she cannot take it. She is a bad loser. A relationship with her is a one-way street.’

Aditya smiled at her indulgently. ‘Any relationship is always a one-way street, till it isn’t. After which you think there is no way out, but mysteriously the walls diffuse and pathways open up.’

‘With Shreya it is very different,’ Sunaina said with a deep breath.

Aditya understood what she was hinting at. He didn’t know of any woman who would take a break-up calmly. Shreya was no different. But why think of that when the relationship was just starting? He just had to be clear with her so as to set the right expectations.

‘Have you ever been in love, Sunaina?’

‘Once.’

‘And?’

‘It didn’t work out.’

Aditya looked at her intently, waiting for her to continue.

‘He is at IIM Bengaluru now. He’ll pass out this year. We were in a relationship, when he just walked out on me. No reasons given. No explanations offered. It’s okay, Aditya. Que sera sera.’

Aditya could see that Sunaina was saddened by this topic and decided to drop it. ‘Thanks, Sunaina, for coming. You helped me make up my mind.’

*

That night Aditya called Vaishali . ‘Maya is not in town next weekend, Vaishali . We need to put this off, at least for a couple of weeks.’ He knew that after two weeks Shreya would be back from her programme. Vaishali was unhappy but didn’t have a choice when Aditya put his foot down.

Aditya waited for Shreya’s call or message till Sunday morning. She had been gone three days. When he didn’t hear from her, he sent her an SMS:

Still there was no response. He tried to call her but couldn’t get through. He tried calling Sanjay but couldn’t get through his phone either. He assumed that they would be in the training programme. He stopped calling.

Later that evening, Shreya replied. Aditya didn’t respond. He felt confused. Sunaina’s disclosure had muddied the waters for him.

The next day, all newspapers carried the announcement of the imminent launch of Aditya’s next book on their first page.

The brouhaha surrounding the fifth book had begun.

38

T
HE SUCCESS PARTY
for Aditya’s book was a bumper one. Kiwi Books had invited over 200 people—authors, publishers, people from the film fraternity, as well as the trade and media. It was a packed house at the banquet hall of Taj Lands End. Aditya and Maya were personally welcoming all the guests.

Sanjay walked into the hotel lobby around the same time that Shreya arrived. He hurried to the banquet hall where he walked up to Aditya. ‘You invited Shreya for this party. Are you mad?’ he said.

‘Calm down, Sanjay. It is okay. She is going to be a Kiwi author soon. They invited her. It’s a different matter that had they not, then I would surely have.’

‘So you are okay with her meeting your family? Meeting Maya?’

‘I shouldn’t be?’

‘Don’t be an ass, Aditya. You know what I mean.’

‘We will see, Sanjay. Don’t get paranoid.’ Aditya was very chilled and relaxed.

‘Well, all I can say is that you are playing with fire. What if Maya comes to know about you and her?’

‘Maya comes to know what? What are the two of you conspiring?’ Maya was standing right in front of him.

‘Haha . . . Maya!’ Sanjay nervously laughed. ‘Can anything be hidden from you? We were just talking about the . . . about the . . .’ he started to stammer. He didn’t know what to say.

‘About the fire at the Andheri branch, Maya. Not upgrading our fire safety requirements is like playing with fire. That’s what Sanjay was saying,’ Aditya finished as he glared at Sanjay.

‘Exactly. That’s what I was saying.’ Sanjay looked relieved.

‘So what’s the harm in me knowing about it?’ Maya had a grin on her face. ‘Anyway, I can’t understand you guys. Ever!’ she complained and walked towards the main door of the hall.

‘What the fuck is wrong with you, Sanjay? Couldn’t you see her coming?’ Aditya whispered in anger the moment Maya’s back was turned towards them.

‘Relax, dude,’ Sanjay replied and patted him on his back. ‘You are lucky that you have a wife who trusts you blindly. I wish she didn’t trust you as much as she does though,’ he winked at Aditya.

Aditya smiled and gave him a quick hug. ‘Go in. Tim is here and he is feeling restless and bored. Manage him,’ Aditya said and ushered Sanjay into the room. He made a mental note to have a chat with him later. Things were no longer the same. Aditya had become a lot more careful in his dealings with Shreya and Maya but Sanjay was yet to adopt caution. He had posted the
Times of India
article, with Shreya’s picture on Facebook. That was unnecessary, especially after the interview where Sanjay was literally arm-twisted into hiring Shreya. He had also called Maya on the night of the fake fire at the Andheri branch. What was the need to tell her that he was not aware of any fire? He could have quietly got out of it and not sown seeds of suspicion in Maya’s mind. And then again today, he should have seen Maya walking towards them and checked himself. Aditya decided he needed to talk to him to ensure that he wouldn’t jeopardize anything.

Shreya and Sunaina walked in next. Aditya met them at the gate. He had just finished complimenting Shreya when Maya walked up to them. Aditya introduced her to Shreya, and also gave her a brief outline about Shreya’s interest in writing. ‘Shreya Kaushik has just been signed up by Kiwi,’ he said.

Shreya said a curt hello, while Sunaina extended her hand in a handshake.

How often does it happen that you meet someone and you know at that very instant whether you will gel with that person or not? The like or dislike is instantaneous. The same happened with Maya and Shreya—they disliked each other instantly. The instincts of the wife, when it comes to issues that concern her husband are stronger than those of even the best astrologers.

‘Is that your son?’ Shreya asked looking at the boy standing next to Maya and tugging at her dupatta. Aditya nodded.

Shreya looked at Aryan and smiled. ‘Look at that smile, and those glittering eyes,’ she admired Aryan. ‘I’m sure he will grow up and turn out to be a compulsive flirt,’ she looked at Maya and then at Aditya, ‘. . . like his father.’

Maya looked at her with irritation. ‘Aditya? A compulsive flirt? Are you sure we are talking about the same individual, Miss . . .?’

‘Shreya,’ she reminded Maya of her name. ‘I was just kidding, ma’am. You have a cute son. Very cute.’ She bent down and kissed Aryan on the cheek, before she walked in to the party area.

That evening, Maya had eyes only for Shreya. She kept following her wherever she went. She noticed that Aditya introduced Shreya to everyone who mattered.

Maya didn’t confront Aditya. Just because someone had called Aditya a flirt was not a good enough reason for her to question him, but something about Shreya kept bothering her. She looked familiar. Aditya had introduced her as a management trainee at National Bank but she didn’t behave like one. She behaved like someone who knew everyone very well, someone who derived her confidence on account of her closeness to the seat of power. Even Sanjay was being nice to her, and she knew Sanjay was extremely hierarchy conscious. What was it that she was missing? She couldn’t put a finger on it.

Later that night, she got on to Google and did a search on Shreya Kaushik. It threw up 2,66,000 results. She went to the search box, added a comma after Shreya Kaushik and typed ‘Aditya Kapoor’.

And there it was, on the very first page. A blog post of Aditya’s talk at IIM Bengaluru, posted by a student who was present there. It had a vivid mention of Shreya and Aditya’s discussion. It even had a picture of Shreya standing there in the audience engaged in an animated discussion with Aditya. So Shreya was the same girl who had asked Aditya the question about books being products. Maya was surprised that Aditya didn’t mention this when he introduced them.

The problem with trust is that if it is broken, then all acts committed by the perpetrator come under the purview of suspicion. She went back to thinking about everything that Aditya did in Bengaluru. He had gone for the placement interview, hence it was likely that he had hired her for National Bank. But if he was upset and angry with Shreya, why would he agree to hire her? That’s when she recollected that Aditya had also done a book reading at EaslyLib around the same time.