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“My car service is available if you need a ride back,” I offered.
“Thank you, my driver is in the parking,” he said. “But I’ll walk you to your room first.”
I straightened my back. I hadn’t realized when I’d let my posture slump. It was uncanny the way I was at ease in the presence of this stranger. But I’d never enjoyed the prospect of a man holding the car door open for me, pulling a chair out, or escorting me to my room.
“That’s alright,” I blurted rather curtly, “I don’t believe in old-school chivalry.”
My tone would have bruised the fragile ego of a lesser man, but Sujit merely stated, “This isn’t chivalry, and you’ll soon find out.”
I watched him place a generous cash tip on the table as I gently rose to my feet. But the room spun so swiftly that I sat back down.
“Exactly,” he said, without any semblance of triumph at being right.
I couldn’t help but allow myself another grin. “Alright, you may walk me to my room.”
With a warm smile, he held out his arm, which I grabbed rather gratefully.
Yeah, I was definitely not a whisky person.
AARTI
We took the elevator and gingerly walked to my room on the eleventh floor. Retrieving my keycard, I held it to the touchpad. The red light didn’t chirp. When it remained stolid after a second attempt, I huffed.
“The key isn’t working,” I cried in exasperated embarrassment.
“I think that’s your Visa,” he said, glancing over my shoulder at the deep blue card in my hand.
“Oops,” I deadpanned and retrieved the room key from my clutch. The light turned green, and the door clicked open.
“I’mnotdrunk,” I argued.
“Yeah, neither am I,” he said with dazed eyes that held mine for a few seconds before we both burst out laughing.
He was the first to regain his composure. “Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Bhatia. I look forward to our meeting tomorrow.”
Disengaging my eyes from his, I pretended to smooth my skirt. “It was nice to meet you,” I said, stealing a glance at his magnificent face. “Good night.”
As I turned to the door, my foot caught on the jamb, and I stumbled sideways. Sujit thwarted my fall.
“Steady,” he whispered near my ear, as his arm closed around my waist. His voice permeated to the deepest parts of me, leaving me with a heady rush.
The exquisite liquor on his breath caused a ripple to snake across my skin. I became aware of his scent. The cologne smelled fresh and clean. My brain quickly calculated that he’d come to the meeting from work because this was a day scent, not an evening one. I wanted to lean in and soak up his smell. His touch. I wanted to luxuriate in the feeling of his arm around me that felt wonderful and comforting.
But I was unaccustomed to comforting. I quickly pulled myself upright, and he removed his grip on my waist.
“Thank you,” I said with haste. “This was embarrassing.”
“Not in the least,” he reassured. “Chances are, I won’t even remember it tomorrow morning.”
“Didn’t you just say you weren’t drunk?”
“Uh-huh, and so did you, remember?”
We both stared at each other only a moment before bursting into giggles yet again. When our silliness ended, I found myself holding the door ajar, my eyes fixed on his magnetic face.
“Hey, I hope this won’t affect our meeting tomorrow,” he asked, leaning in.
I shook my head with a smile. “No, not from my end. I’m a professional. How about you?”