One Indian Girl(72)

The Greenwood quest for more distressed hotels in Korea dragged on. They wanted to see more options. We didn’t mind. It meant more trips to Seoul, more companies to look at and more Neel to hold through the night.





30


Three months later


‘Who is it?’ I said. I walked up to answer the doorbell in my nightclothes. I was watching the Filmfare Awards at my home in Hong Kong. The film Queen, about a woman who took charge of her life, was sweeping all the awards. The doorbell rang again.

I opened the door.

‘Neel?’ I said. I checked the time: 11 p.m.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you,’ he said.

Neel and I had some unspoken rules. He never came to my apartment. I had never gone to his house either. We had never got together in Hong Kong. Somehow, intimacy on a business trip far away felt less sinful than in the city we lived in.

‘What’s the matter?’ I said.

‘Can I stay here tonight?’ Neel said.

‘Why?’ I said. ‘I mean, we don’t really do that.’

‘Kusum and I had a fight,’ he said.

‘Anything major?’

‘Things escalated. I didn’t want them to get worse. I told her I had to go on a business trip and left. I thought I would go to a hotel in Hong Kong but. . .’ he said and looked at me.

But what? You thought, why pay for a room and be alone when you can get accommodation and sex for free? I thought.

‘Yeah, of course. You can stay here. Come in,’ I said.

‘Thanks,’ he said.

‘Hungry?’ I said.

He shook his head. He held me by my shoulders. He kissed me. He smiled. I did not.

‘What am I to you, Neel? A stress ball? To come and play with when you are hassled?’

‘No. Not at all, Radhika,’ he said. He sounded shocked.

‘So why are you here? Didn’t we have this pact that we don’t do anything in Hong Kong?’

‘Did we? I mean, what’s the difference?’

‘There is, to me. Business trips feel less. . .wrong. There’s also a clear boundary. This is. . .I don’t know what.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I don’t know when you will show up here and when you won’t. Today you are at my home because you had a tiff with your wife. Tomorrow she will bake cookies for you and you will be home with her. What does that make me? Ms Standby?’

He pushed back his hair with an unsteady hand. ‘I just wanted to be out of there. Fresh air. . .I thought I will come and check if you wanted to be with me. I am sorry if. . .’

‘It’s fine tonight. I just prefer it outside Hong Kong. Helps me keep my sanity,’ I said.

‘Are you okay, Radhika? I’ve never seen you like this,’ Neel said.

‘Let’s go to bed.’



We lay in bed. I turned off the lights. He put his arm around me. I didn’t reciprocate and lay still.

‘I know what you are thinking,’ he said.

‘What?’

‘That this is a booty call.’

‘Now that you say it, maybe yes. Maybe that’s why you are here.’

‘I just wanted to be with you. Let’s not do anything tonight. Let me just hold you,’ he said.

I looked at him. Even in the darkness I could see his eyes.

‘Really?’ I said.

‘Yeah. Why are you so surprised?’

‘You are a guy. We are having an affair. You are okay with not having sex?’

‘Of course,’ Neel said. He kissed my shoulder.

‘We can if you want to,’ I said.

‘No, not tonight. I just want to be with you,’ Neel said. ‘Goodnight. I love you.’

‘Goodnight,’ I said, in mild shock.

I stayed awake as he slept in my arms. He was two decades older, yet I felt I had a baby next to me. He looked peaceful as his head lay on top of my hair. Maybe he did care for me. Maybe what we were doing was wrong, but maybe something good could come out of it.

I checked. He seemed to be in deep sleep.

‘I love you, Neel Gupta,’ I whispered to his sleeping face.

‘I heard that,’ he said and turned sides.

‘You are so bad,’ I said and punched his shoulder as he grinned, eyes still closed.



‘I will let Josh do the talking. He is your supervisor. Only fair he gives you your number on bonus day,’ Neel said.

Josh sat in Neel’s office. I took a seat with them.

‘Sure,’ I said. It was impressive how professional Neel and I were at work.

Josh gave me a summary of my performance review. My peers had rated me four-and-a-half overall.

‘That’s a good rating,’ Neel said. I wondered what he himself had rated me.

‘Thanks,’ I said.

‘And the bottom line,’ Josh said. ‘Your number, or your bonus for the year, is 350,000 dollars.’

My heart skipped a beat.

‘Wow,’ I blurted out, even though I didn’t intend to react.

Josh smiled.

‘That tells me you are happy. Good.’

‘Thanks,’ I said, still absorbing my gross compensation. My total base salary and bonus came up to half a million dollars.