Falling For A Bollywood Legend. Mahi Jay

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      ‘I’ll get to work on the campaign and meanwhile please clear your schedule for at least a week or so at the end of the month for it. I suspect it is going to be a tight run to get it all done in time.’

      ‘I have no doubt you’ll pull it off,’ assured Aadith firmly.

      Nina asked to be dropped off at the office. She thought a bit of work would help to keep her mind off him.

      ‘Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything,’ instructed Aadith as he waited for her to gather her handbag.

      ‘Even if I’m going to interrupt an evening with your darling Sanjana?’ queried Nina impishly.

      ‘I’ll definitely take a rain check on her if it is for you …’ he said breezily and left in a quick spin of his car.

      Nina’s laughter died on her lips. She had asked for it, she thought miserably. Just because he had been interested in her a long time ago didn’t mean he was now. And even if he was, his reply just now had made it abundantly clear that she would be one among the many girls he dated. There would always be someone eager to take her place, she thought sourly.

      Nina felt oddly unsettled for the rest of the day. It was bad enough he made her feel things she’d never felt before, but even worse was the fact that he made her look back into her past, a place she’d never had happy memories about.

      She could still remember the day Aadith had come into her life. With working parents who’d had little time to spare, she had vied with her brother for their attention. But for them she had always been an afterthought, an extra after their perfect male child, ignored for the most part.

      That was when Aadith had entered her life and occupied her every waking thought for the four years they had been neighbours, thought Nina morosely. She smiled to herself as she thought back to that time. She had been a total wannabe then, with her shortly cropped hair, tattered jeans and ratty tees.

      Being the same age as her brother, Aadith had quickly befriended him and hung around the house frequently. He’d often teased her about her weird assortment of friends all going through various stages of rebellion. For someone as starved for love as she had been then, the little attention that Aadith had thrown her way had proven to be her downfall. She’d developed a massive crush on him.

      Well, she certainly knew how that had ended, thought Nina sadly. He was even more popular and handsome now than he had been before and she was still the same inexperienced, albeit better looking than before, normal girl next door.

      The ending looked decidedly predictable. Unless she kept her head and her heart safe she was going to end up seriously hurt again, thought Nina resolutely.

      CHAPTER THREE

      THE FOLLOWING DAYS were a whirlwind. The ‘Wishing Star’ contest was heavily publicised along with the movie. With the weight of a major production house behind it no expense was spared to promote the picture. Hoardings, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, Internet, every media tool was used to capture the public’s attention. It soon became the talk of the town. Entries flew in from all over the country. Young and old alike wrote in and it soon became a very difficult task just to choose a few out of the multitude of responses. The contest had captured the nation’s imagination and they were now eagerly anticipating the movie as well as the contest results.

      Nina spoke to Aadith on and off to keep him updated about the progress of the various promotional activities they had undertaken. Both of them kept their conversations brief and professional. As the star of the movie as well as the co-producer he had a lot on his plate trying to keep an eye on the post-production activities and fulfil his promotional obligations. There didn’t seem to be enough hours in the day for him to catch up with all that needed to be done, yet at odd times he found himself wanting to see Nina again. Deciding to pay her a visit, he rang her office and was informed by Mrs Dutta that she would be working late with her team.

      Nina rummaged in her bag for a piece of paper where she’d made a note about the campaign. She needed it for the meeting. Despite its bulging size, her bag was perfectly organised with everything neatly compartmentalised and tidy, as was her desk. Nina knew she was compulsively neat but it was a habit left over from her childhood days, which she couldn’t seem to break. Trying to be the perfect child did leave its mark, thought Nina ruefully as she found the slip. Everything about her screamed order, from her perfectly styled hair to her perfectly pedicured toes.

      Shortly afterwards she headed into a small conference room where she had called in her usual team of people to help her iron out the final details regarding the campaign. Payal, a young junior executive, was the first to enter the room and she was grinning from ear to ear.

      ‘I still can’t believe you didn’t tell us you were friends with Aadith Varma!’ she gushed. Nina rolled her eyes in exasperation.

      ‘Payal, we were barely more than acquaintances, don’t make it into something bigger,’ retorted Nina lightly.

      ‘Some people have all the luck in the world,’ sighed Payal unrepentantly with a dreamy smile. ‘Had I been in your place I would have just m—’ She broke off as the rest of the team filed in one after the other.

      Nina made a note to herself to ensure that she kept Payal’s contact with Aadith minimal. Payal was a naive innocent who would probably end up getting hurt.

      When the rest of the team had taken their places around the table she quickly explained the time constraint they would be working under. Just then a discreet knock sounded on the door and Aadith Varma stepped in, looking über cool in faded denims and a linen white shirt that fitted his body like a dream.

      ‘Hi, everyone … I had an evening free, so I thought I’d drop in to discuss a bit more about the campaign and check if you required anything from my side,’ said Aadith casually as he strolled in and took a place near the head of the table next to Nina.

      Stunned surprise greeted his entry but within a minute everyone around the table save Nina was clamouring for his attention. Nina watched in wry amusement as Aadith took it all in his stride. He was at his charming best as they all introduced themselves to him.

      His eyes met hers across the table and he felt a wave of pleasure. When his hungry gaze fell on her lips where a slight smile was hovering, he felt a jolt of desire rock him. He wanted nothing better than to take her into his arms and kiss her senseless, he thought impatiently.

      Nina’s skin prickled with awareness when she caught sight of Aadith devouring her with his eyes. She cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.

      ‘Mr Varma, it’s generous of you to offer your time. As you know the contest has been generating a lot of positive media attention towards both the movie and you, so I’d say it’s certainly been a step in the right direction.’

      ‘A lot of people from the industry have commented that the contest is creating the right buzz, so I am glad it’s working,’ added Aadith.

      ‘Since you’re here, it will be easier to work out the logistics that will work for you, Mr Varma,’ announced Nina.

      Aadith glared at her as she reverted back to the formal use of his name. His eyes promised swift retribution.

      ‘As far as logistics are concerned it would be better if you restrict all events relating to the contest to the metro cities. Security reasons apart, effectively managing the limited time we have СКАЧАТЬ