Bombay Heights- Sleepless in the City of Dreams Read online

  “Sanjana, you don’t want to meet us?” Meghna’s voice was laced with horror and hurt and she instantly felt like a heel.

  “No, of course not. I want you guys to come but now is not a good time. Frankly, it’s the worst time possible for me.”

  “Everyone gets leave during Diwali.”

  “I have this project coming up and Diwali is like ten days away. I will probably be working my butt off during the holidays.”

  “That’s okay, then,” Meghna announced firmly. “You can finish as much of your work before we come to Mumbai. And then we are going to have fun.”

  Before she could protest any more, her sister called off adding ominously that Gauri would call with more details later.

  “Madam, aapka destination aa gaya,” the Ola driver informed her.

  Paying off the cabbie, she walked towards the apartment lobby. Having her family over would have been awesome. But how would she explain away Chetan’s absence? He had been a permanent fixture during the last three Diwali’s and her sisters had treated him like a part of the family. Ever since she had moved to Mumbai, she’d evaded their questions about Chetan with vague replies. But once they arrived here, it would take them less than ten minutes to get to the bottom of the sorry mess of her broken relationship.

  She had been so deep in thought, she didn’t notice the “out of service” board hanging on the lift door until the guard called out, “Madam, lift not working.”

  As she trudged up seven floors to her apartment, the problem went round and round in her head like a top gone crazy.

  She glanced at the pile of boxes stacked outside the neighbouring flat as she fished around in her bag for the keys. The door flew open and there was Pinky looking fresh as strawberry ice-cream in yet another of her pink concoctions.

  “Hey, you are back early? No classes today?” Sanjana asked her room-mate.

  “Bunked!”

  Pinky took her arm and pulled her inside the apartment. “I have some exciting news for you.”

  Sanjana rolled her eyes and waited for the latest instalment of gossip.

  “We have a new neighbour and he is the hunkiest dude evvvvver!”

  Her “hmmm…” got a glare from Pinky and a terse, “What’s wrong with you? Bad day at work?”

  “The worst ever.”

  “Aww… wait, till I give you all the juicy details about the Dude Next Door. It’ll put you in the right mood. Now, sit down while I get you a nice cup of chai.”

  She pushed her into the couch which was, like most furnishings in their flat, selected by the resident budding fashion designer—Pinky Mehra—who had a preference for all things pink!

  “Do you mind if I catch up on the gossip later? I need a shower.”

  “No problemo,” her friend yelled from the kitchen. “I got some cupcakes too from Cake Town.”

  “Really? What’s the occasion?”

  “Duh…We have a new neighbour! We should at least invite the guy over for coffee and cake.”

  Sanjana rolled her eyes again. “A little too neighbourly, if you ask me!”

  Pinky shouted back. “Wait till you meet him. I think the “Love thy Neighbour” meme was written with this guy in mind.”

  “That’s not a meme, silly; it’s an adage from the Bible.”

  “Hmm… so Jesus must have been quite a hottie, no?”

  “Pinky, you’re too much.” Sanjana howled with laughter as she stepped into the bathroom.

  After a shower and a change into her most comfortable but faded T-shirt and pyjamas, she felt calmer and more centred than she had all day.

  “So, what’s up?” Pinky sat cross-legged on the couch next to her with her palms locked around her mug.

  “Well, I signed up for the most difficult assignment and I have to collaborate with a highly infuriating person.”

  “Who? That Sunrita woman?”

  “No, some new guy Sir thinks the world of. And the funny thing is, it’s all happening because I had this brainwave of a new way of pitching the project.”

  “You know what they say about tiding over tough situations, don’t you?”

  “I’m waiting for you to shed the light!”

  “Fake it till you make it.” Pinky gave her a cocky grin.

  “I bow to you, O Great Queen of Corny Quotes!”

  Pinky sniffed as if hurt by Sanjana’s sarcasm, though her eyes sparkled with mischief. “You will thank me for it, someday.”

  “And to top it all… my family has threatened to come over for Diwali.”

  “Oh, that’s nice.”

  “Yeah…but given my deadline…”

  Just then the doorbell rang. Sanjana bounced off the couch to get it.

  “…I don’t see how I can manage…”

  Sanjana’s words dried on her tongue and she heard herself gasp. Leaning against the door frame was a six-foot apparition she thought she had seen the last of for the day!

  Ash stood there, lopsided grin firmly in place and Dumbass in his arms.

  Three times in a row in the same day. Life had just turned into a B-grade Bollywood film!

  “Who is it, Sanjana?” Pinky called out.

  Before she could answer, the dog leapt out of Ash’s arms and was trying to jump all over her. She picked up the over-enthusiastic pup and let him lick her face.

  “Dumbass!” she replied.

  “Eeesh… since when have you become so rude?” Pinky admonished her as she ushered Ashwin into the apartment. “Please don’t mind my friend. She has had a terrible day at work.”

  Ashwin let out a loud laugh that had Pinky looking at him in wonder.

  “I can bet you, I’m the reason for that too.” Ashwin looked at Sanjana pointedly.

  “Wow, you really do have a huge ego, don’t you?” Sanjana hit back.

  Now Pinky was looking at both of them all goggle-eyed, as if watching two tennis players volleying it out.

  “Hey, what am I missing here?”

  Ashwin cocked an eyebrow at Sanjana, “You want to answer?”

  Sanjana simply shrugged. “Be my guest.”

  “I would rather be a neighbour,” he guffawed.

  Any hope she had harboured was firmly and cruelly put to rest. She had always heard that trouble comes in threes and today she finally had proof of it! How could any woman get so unlucky, Sanjana wondered.

  “Today is the first day I set my eyes on him,” she said to Pinky. “But the strange part of it is that, it happened three times in a row.”

  “Happens,” Ash piped up. “You can never predict how destiny works.”

  Sanjana stared at him in disgust. “Are you always like this? Or am I having some kind of strange effect on you?”

  At that, he gave her a slow, long look from the top of her head to her toes, which made heat rush up to her cheeks.

  “Now, who’s being egoistic?” he drawled.

  Pinky still looked confused at what was going on and Ash took pity on her.

  “This morning, we bumped into each other when your friend literally saved my dog—say hello to Dumbass—from being run over.”

  “Technically that’s not correct,” Sanjana interjected. “I just stopped the car when he ran across the street.”

  “Well, same difference,” he grinned. “A couple of hours after she has given me a dressing down on bad pet parenting, I walk into my client’s office only to find out that she and I are going to be partners on a new project.”

  Sanjana squirmed at the ‘partners’ reference but let it pass.

  “No comment?” His dark eyes were dancing mischievously and she could feel her ears burning.

  “Cut to, evening. I’m rummaging through my unpacked stuff wondering how the heck I can get myself sorted…and hoping to borrow a packet of matches…and hey…guess who is my new neighbour?”

  “How unlucky for me!” Sanjana muttered under her breath as Pinky started laughing at his entertaining spiel.

  “Excuse me?” Ash put a finger to his
ear lobe to indicate he hadn’t heard her.

  “Never mind. We will help you get sorted,” said Pinky. “How about a cup of tea? Or would you prefer coffee?”

  Sanjana pursed her lips wondering why the heck Pinky couldn’t give the guy a box of matches and get rid of him. Just then from the corner of her eye, she spotted Dumbass curled up on the couch chewing at the leather strap of her brand new handbag.

  “Oh no, no!” she squealed.

  Ash was quick to respond and let out a low growl that had Dumbass stop chewing instantly and hide his face behind a cushion.

  She couldn’t help but smile at that. Pinky was all compassion. “Oh poor thing, he is scared now.”

  “Don’t let him fool you. And if you’re not careful he will gobble up everything in sight—edible or not!”

  “Oh, he’s so adorable.” Pinky cuddled Dumbass who looked like he was in seventh heaven.

  Just when she thought she could sneak off into her room, she spotted Ash looking at her.

  Flustered, she said, “I need to make a call.”

  “Your home. You don’t need my permission.”

  “Of course I don’t. I’m sure Pinky will be more than happy to…”

  She trailed off, at a loss for words.

  “Happy to…be the good neighbour?” he added helpfully.

  She nodded. Now she was seriously getting into an uncomfortable zone. As it was, she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what had gotten into her and why she had reacted in such a hostile manner. Rarely had anyone rubbed her the wrong way. Even if they did, she managed to keep her emotions under control. But now she seemed to be swinging between being rude and in your face to tongue-tied and embarrassed.

  Dumbass started jumping to get at her handbag which she had kept away on a shelf. “Did you take him to the vet?”

  “Look at him, does he look like he needs to go to a vet?”

  “That’s not the point.” As she was about to launch into another tirade, her mobile rang.

  “Phew! Saved by the phone,” muttered Ash as he moved away and left her.

  Irritated at how easily the man managed to rattle her, she turned away to answer the phone in the privacy of her room.

  Chapter Three

  “Yes,” she barked into the phone curtly as she slammed the bedroom door more forcibly than she had intended.

  “Whoa! You’re in a temper.” Gauri was at the other end of the line and Sanjana nodded as if her sister would be able to see her. “Is everything okay?”

  She took a deep breath and replied, “It’s nothing. Just an annoying new neighbour.”

  “Hmmm…” Gauri went.

  Sanjana rolled her eyes as she could literally see Gauri Ma’s brain ticking away at the mention of the neighbour. Soon, she would start firing twenty questions at her.

  “We are Skype-ing at 9 today, aren’t we?” Sanjana asked.

  “Milind’s colleagues are coming over for dinner. So I won’t be able to Skype.”

  Milind, Gauri’s better half, loved to throw parties at the drop of a hat.

  Knowing that Gauri wouldn’t be at the Skype session, Sanjana breathed more easily. She needed to get Meghna on her side and convince Pappaji that visiting Mumbai during Diwali was not a terribly good idea. She always found it tough to get her way when Gauri was around. Her sister had an uncanny way of figuring out what was on her mind. Sanjana never could figure out how to deal with her incisive questioning. Sometimes she really believed Gauri had missed her vocation in life—that of an investigating cop!

  But her ruminations came to a halt when she heard Gauri mention her ex-boyfriend’s name.

  “What? You met Chetan?”

  “Uff! Pay attention. I just told you I ran into Chetan’s cousin, Rishabh.”

  “Oh, okay.” Sanjana stuck out her tongue. “I missed the last bit. The connection is not very good.”

  “So, Rishabh told me Chetan has got a new job and he has been in Mumbai for the last three months. How come you never mentioned it?”

  Hot damn!

  “Ah, well, I was meaning to but then something or the other would crop up…”

  “Come to think of it you rarely talk of Chetan these days. Is everything okay between you two?”

  There she was…in investigative cop mode.

  “I have been so busy with my job…and…it’s just that we hardly meet these days.”

  She crossed her fingers behind her back hoping that her voice wouldn’t wobble and give her away.

  “What’s going on with you two?” Gauri asked.

  Sanjana knew she was being offered an opportunity, one that she should grab and tell her sister that she and Chetan had split up. Her heart knocked away and her breath became shallow. But how could she break it to her on the phone?

  While she dithered, Gauri said, “I have to make dinner, so I can’t chat now. But you better let Chetan know we will be in Mumbai for Diwali and he should keep himself free.”

  “We’ll talk soon.” Sanjana mumbled and disconnected.

  This did not sound good at all.

  It had been exactly five months since she had moved from Nagpur to Mumbai after she had broken up with Chetan. Even thinking about it made her want to curl up and die. She had simply let them think that Chetan and she were still a couple. Problem was Chetan had always been close to Pappaji and he believed that sooner or later they would tie the knot. Sanjana too had stupidly gone along with it. But she couldn’t bring herself to tell them why she had split with him.

  In fact, Gauri had been the most suspicious when she had announced her plan of moving to Mumbai. But for once, Sanjana had managed to stand her ground. “I got an offer of internship with one of the most respected museologists in Asia. I’m not going to miss out on this chance.”

  Moving to Mumbai had been the best decision she had ever made. She had been run off her feet trying to manage work and living independently in a new city, making new friends and handling office politics. If she had remained in Nagpur she would still be moping about Chetan.

  A knock on the door and Pinky swept into the room.

  “So, guess what, this weekend we are both invited for a housewarming party at Ash’s place.”

  “Count me out.” Sanjana mumbled as she chewed at her nail.

  “Don’t be such a bore. For once we have a hottie for a neighbour and instead of celebrating… Gah!! You deserve to be invited by the potbellied Uncle with his yucky garlicky breath and his talk-a-mile wife.”

  “I don’t see you complaining when Aunty sends up her rajma-chawal every Saturday.”

  “You can’t hold that against me. I’m a Punju and I need my weekly dose of rajma-chawal. Okay, so tell me about your problem.”

  “Who says I have a problem?”

  Pinky pulled at Sanjana’s hand and pointed to her chewed up thumb nail. “That!”

  And then the whole sorry story came tumbling out, about her sisters wanting to meet her ex-boyfriend, whom they still think she is going to marry.

  “I don’t see a problem,” Pinky announced as she grabbed a pillow and settled down cross-legged on the bed.

  “You don’t?”

  “Just tell your folks that Chetan and you have gone your separate ways. And they will understand.”

  “No, they won’t.”

  “Oh Man! You just need to KISS.”

  Sanjana gaped at her. “Kiss? Who? Are you okay, Pinky?”

  Pinky was now rolling with laughter.

  “You never heard of K-I-S-S? As in Keep It Simple, Stupid.”

  Sanjana grabbed a pillow and flung it at Pinky in mock anger. Her friend ducked neatly and it went flying over her head.

  “Seriously, though, I think you need to tell your family that Chetan is history. No matter how much they love him, they love you more, right?”

  What Pinky was saying made perfect sense but Sanjana couldn’t bring herself to tell them about the obnoxious manner in which Chetan had behaved. Not yet.

  Sh
e braced herself for the Skype call when her phone pinged. It was Meghna on Whatsapp: “Hey, Sanju, Pappaji is not feeling too well. His blood pressure is acting up again. I have given him chicken soup and tucked him into bed. We’ll catch up tomorrow.” She signed off with a ton of emojis.

  Tossing and turning in her bed as she grappled with the problem, Sanjana had worked out a plan by morning. She decided the only way to resolve the issue was to request Sir for a few days’ leave so that she could go home. Although Pappaji not being well was a legitimate enough reason, it would also be a good time to meet up with her family. She might even be able to work remotely on the project. That way, the whole “we want to meet Chetan” drama could be avoided.

  Feeling fairly confident that she had hit on a solution, she finally managed to get some sleep.

  No sooner had she closed her eyes than there was a loud banging on the door. She leapt out of bed and raced to the bedroom door. It was Pinky. All dressed up.

  Her heart nearly jumped out of her mouth. Had she overslept?

  Pinky looked at her worriedly. “Babe, are you not feeling well? I have been trying to wake you up for over an hour.”

  Blanching, she squealed. “Oh my God, what’s the time?”

  “Almost 9.45.”

  Good heavens! Of all the days to oversleep, it had to be today!

  She cursed herself all the way to the office, in between desperate appeals to the cabbie to “tez chalo bhaiyya”.

  The first day of the new project and she had arrived 45 minutes late. She squirmed as she passed by Sunrita’s desk. But while a hint of her perfume betrayed that she was in office there was no sign of her.

  “Sanjana.” Sir’s deep voice called out to her and she found him standing less than three feet away. “You’re late.”

  She gulped. “Good morning, Sir…I’m sorry. I…”

  “Come to my cabin, please. Ash and I have been waiting for you.”

  Ash!

  Grabbing her notepad from her desk, she followed him into the office.

  “Good morning, Sanjana.”

  The lazy drawl made her insides tighten. Ash looked indecently bright and full of beans. Sitting next to him was Sunrita who quirked an eyebrow at her.

  She tried not to grind her teeth and gave them both a tight smile.