SUDHA NAIR

EBURY PRESS

STRICTLY AT WORK Sudha Nair became India’s first-ever winner of the Amazon KDP Pen to Publish contest in 2017 with her debut novel, The Wedding Tamasha. This novel, about love, family, values and traditions, was the culmination of a lifelong dream of hers to connect with people through the power of the written word. Since then, Sudha has written eleven bestselling books and was even a judge for the 2019 KDP Pen to Publish contest. Having lived in India and the US, this former techie, wife and mother of two now calls Bangalore her home. Her passion is to create an immersive experience for her readers, with the relatable characters in her stories, and hopefully inspire the next generation of writers. Sudha can be found at: WEBSITE: sudhanair.com EMAIL: [email protected] FACEBOOK: facebook.com/SudhaNairAuthor INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/sudhagn

SUDHA NAIR

EBURY PRESS USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia New Zealand | India | South Africa | China Ebury Press is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com Published by Penguin Random House India Pvt. Ltd 4th Floor, Capital Tower 1, MG Road, Gurugram 122 002, Haryana, India

First published in Ebury Press by Penguin Random House India 2021 Copyright © Sudha Nair 2021 All rights reserved 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual person, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. ISBN 9780143452546 Typeset in Adobe Caslon Pro by Manipal Technologies Limited, Manipal Printed at Repro India Ltd.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. www.penguin.co.in

To those seeking the courage to be with their person and to all the missed connections

ONE Anything that could go wrong would go wrong. Anyone who’d heard of Murphy’s Law could tell that Simi’s morning was a perfect example of anything that could go wrong would go wrong. Her toast got burnt, five cabs cancelled on her until she found one to take her to work, and as soon as she got out of the door to get into the cab, it began to drizzle. Simi worked at Murano, a furniture manufacturing company. It had decided to move its marketing team to a new co-working space in Whitefield due to space constraints in its current office. Simi was so excited for her first day at the new office that she’d decided to be there earlier than usual. She tut-tutted as the rain fell harder. Why did it rain at the most inconvenient times in Bangalore? She’d forgotten her umbrella at home as usual. As her cab stopped right outside the gates of a large building, she hesitated to step out, wondering if she could make a dash to the entrance without getting drenched. 1

2

Sudha Nair

‘Madam, destination has arrived,’ the cabbie announced, irritated that she hadn’t even opened the door yet. Obviously, she was making him late for his next ride. She remained seated and watched the downpour through the foggy window, the excitement of her first day slowly slipping away. ‘Madam,’ the cabbie repeated, impatiently. With a groan, she opened the door and stepped out. The entrance to the building was less than a metre away. She looked to her left and right and made a dash for it. Only, she hadn’t seen the muddy patch on the road right in front of the magnificent steel and glass building with a huge sign that read BizWorks. Her sandal landed in the patch of slime and squelched. She looked down in horror. It was stuck in thick gooey muck. Yuck! The rain showed no signs of letting up. Water dripped off the bag she held over her head like an umbrella as she looked around for help, but there was no one. What a disastrous start! With some difficulty, she managed to pull her sandal free and hobbled to the entrance quickly, her hair and churidar wet by the time she made it inside. She pushed the giant, squeaky-clean glass door, and it swung open. She stepped in and stopped in her tracks as she took in the swanky office space—a bright reception area to the left and turnstiles just beyond. The receptionist sat behind a huge marble desk. Walking up to her, Simi said, ‘Hi, I work for Murano. We’re moving in here today.’

Strictly at Work

3

The receptionist smiled at her. ‘Hi. Sure. I’ll get you an ID.’ Soon, she was scanning her new ID at the turnstile. The elevators beyond it would take her to the first floor, where Murano had one corner to the right of the elevator lobby. But first, she found a bathroom and used paper towels to dry her hair and clean up her shoe. Just getting the ID card and cleaning up took up half an hour. But, at least she was here. She headed over to the section marked out for Murano. This place was nothing like her old stuffy office. It was a posh space with polished wooden floors, plush couches, conference rooms, rows of gleaming desks and chairs, a large coffee area, the works. She blew out a soft whistle, her head spinning with delight, as she pulled out her phone and dialled her colleague, Deepa. ‘Where are you, girl? This place is fricking amazing!’ Deepa lived even further away from Whitefield, and she sounded pissed. ‘I’m going to get out of the cab and manage the traffic myself,’ she said, growling into the phone. ‘How did you get there so early?’ The place was empty, except for a man standing in the coffee area to the right, huddled over his phone, sipping a hot drink. ‘I don’t know,’ she whispered to Deepa, not wanting the man to hear her, now that she realized the place was not all empty. ‘The cabbie seemed to know a shortcut.’ Deepa puffed out a breath at the other end. ‘Now you get to see the office before I do!’

4

Sudha Nair

‘I’ll look for good desks,’ Simi promised, hanging up on Deepa before she could go on a tirade of complaints. Simi found two perfect desks facing a large window for her and Deepa, and sat down at one of them. She hadn’t been able to finish the important presentation for this morning. Instead of working on it last night, she’d pushed aside work to indulge in one of her guilty pleasures—watching DDLJ. Her brother, Ayush, and she loved watching it over and over again— he was a huge SRK fan, and she loved the way it ended. She could never tire of watching the film—the epitome of love stories to her. Anyhow, she might have finished the presentation if she hadn’t got late, on top of everything else this morning. Panicking about the presentation, she opened up her bag, pulled out her laptop and set it on the table. She blinked at the unlit screen for a few seconds, wondering what had happened to her laptop before realization hit. It was out of charge. She’d forgotten to plug it in again! When would she stop being so forgetful? Rummaging in her bag, she pulled out her charger and plugged it into her laptop. A minute later, she frowned. Her laptop refused to wake up. The charger wasn’t working! Hell! How did that happen, today of all days? She redialled Deepa. ‘What?’ ‘Do you have your charger with you?’ Simi heard a rustle as Deepa looked in her bag. ‘I do.’ ‘My charger is not working! When will you get here?’ ‘Another hour at least.’

Strictly at Work

5

Oh no! Simi groaned, slapping her forehead. ‘Murphy’s Law . . . ’ she muttered to herself. Getting up from her seat, she went searching for help. *** Ranvir groaned. ‘This is what happens when you don’t check your emails right before you go to bed and first thing in the morning,’ he berated himself. At least twenty new emails had showed up in his inbox in the last eight hours. Goddammit! Ever since he had started his new job at Fintura six months ago as a financial analyst, his mornings and nights had merged into one, to the point that he’d decided to switch off his phone after 10 p.m. and only check it after he reached work. Fintura was a promising fintech start-up that was building a new app to connect small traders to large banks for loans. He had to crunch numbers, check out the market, and demand and prepare for the soon-to-be-launched app, which had almost doubled his work. Previously he’d worked at Dorlays Bank where his days were structured, his routines set, and his life not so busy. But still, he enjoyed this job more than the previous one. Here, his involvement was crucial to the company, his role vital in setting up the app requirements, detailing its financial features, and enabling ease of use and simplicity for their clients. It was the kind of job that challenged

6

Sudha Nair

him and gave him an immense feeling of satisfaction and recognition. As he reached for his cup of hot espresso, he opened his emails and started tackling them one by one. This was the most peaceful time in the morning when he was the only one in the co-working space. The place would be teeming with people a little later, so he always made it a point to arrive early to get work done. He was peering into his phone screen at the latest spec requirement when a tap on his shoulder made him look up. ‘Excuse me!’ A woman resembling a drenched mouse, her hair plastered to her ears, her churidar clinging to her legs, smiled at him. He swivelled his chair, straightened his spine and turned to face her. ‘Yes?’ ‘I . . . I was wondering if you have a working laptop charger?’ He blinked. What sort of question was that? Did people carry nonworking chargers? A smile tugged at his lips. He fought the urge to pull her leg, to tease her. But something about the innocent question and the hopeful look in her eyes made him decide against it. After all, he didn’t know her. He settled for ‘Yes.’ Her hazel brown eyes brightened with hope. ‘It’s my first day and no one’s here yet. Can I borrow it for an hour, if you’re not using it now? Please?’ ‘Sure. Yes.’ He pulled out his charger from his bag, and she reached forward to take it, but her elbow struck his cup,

Strictly at Work

7

knocking over his coffee and splashing the black, hot liquid all over the counter. ‘Oh!’ she cried, jumping backwards to avoid getting any coffee on herself, just as the heel of her sandal caught against the edge of the desk, and she lost her balance. It all happened so quickly. Her arms flailed as she fell backwards. He jumped up from his chair to grab her. The next thing he knew, she was in his arms, pressed against his chest, her arms around him, her eyes squeezed shut. He stood dazed for a few moments, feeling the thud of her heart against his chest. Slowly gathering his bearings, he drew his hands off her waist. ‘You okay?’ She let go of him, her cheeks flushed, her gaze lowered. ‘I don’t know how that happened.’ The coffee dripped to the floor. He shrugged. ‘It’s okay.’ She looked troubled. ‘I’ve caused such a mess.’ He felt that smile tug at his lips again as he handed her the charger. ‘Nothing a few paper towels can’t fix.’ She looked relieved as she took the charger. She motioned towards her office. ‘I hope it’s fine if I give it back later? Will you be here all day?’ Her eyebrows were furrowed like question marks. He caught himself staring at them and looked away. ‘No problem, I have a spare one at my desk. I’m here around the same time most mornings.’ ‘Thanks, and sorry I spilt your coffee. I’m Simi, by the way.’ She smiled for the first time, her whole face lighting up. His gaze snagged on the small dimple that appeared on her cheek, and he swallowed the odd sensation in his

8

Sudha Nair

throat. ‘No problem. I drink a lot of coffee.’ He extended his hand. ‘Ranvir.’ She shook it. ‘Thanks, Ranvir.’ Still smiling, she turned around and headed to the office across his, disappearing into the labyrinth of desks and cubicles. After a moment, Ranvir turned around and let out a whoosh. I drink a lot of coffee? What in the world had made him say a weird thing like that!

TWO Simi walked back to her desk, the charger clutched tightly in her hand and the image of her saviour swimming vividly in front of her eyes. His playful, teasing gaze danced in front of her eyes; the faint whiff of his cologne lingered on her; his deep, throaty voice rumbled in her thoughts. It was a wonder she hadn’t swooned in his arms. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a deep breath, trying to bring her focus back to her ruined morning. It was just a charger, and he was just a stranger who’d helped her in her time of need. And she’d proven how clumsy she was on her very first meet. Typical Simi-style! A glass or cup filled with anything was a disaster where she was concerned. She should have been careful. ‘More careful!’ she reminded herself She plugged the charger into the socket, pushed aside her truant thoughts, and got to work.

9

SIMI IS A MARKETEER FOR A FURNITURE COMPANY

RANVIR IS AN ANALYST AT A FINANCE START-UP At BizWorks, a swanky co-working space, their paths aren’t meant to cross. But as circumstances bring them together, again and again, they find it harder to deny the spark between them. Simi’s family is pushing her towards the ‘perfect’ arranged marriage, while Ranvir is in a live-in relationship. When their personal lives clash, as they get attracted to each other, Simi and Ranvir must decide if they want to be more than just co-workers . . . Strictly at Work is a story about love, relationships and defining choices.

Fiction

Cover image by Shutterstock Cover design by Akangksha Sarmah

INCLUDES AN EXCERPT FROM THE GIRL WITH A SECRET CRUSH