The Promise by Nikita Singh Read Free Book Online Page A

killing herself working. Maybe that was just the way he was, she shrugged and made her way to her ancient car. She was expected at the Ahluwalia mansion in forty minutes and she really did not want to be late.
    The bad news was that when Mrs Ahluwalia got to know that they were deciding the final layout of her mansion, she decided to tag along with them. And the even worse bad news was that since Tutul was stuck with a project they were working upon in her office, she could not accompany Shambhavi to what would surely turn out to be an awkward encounter between Mr Datta and Mrs Ahluwalia. Shambhavi wondered what his reactions would be like if she said she did not like his ideas or work.
    The thought brought a smile to her face. She wondered how some people managed to live without smiling at all. Take Mr Datta for example. He's all business, all the time. Shambhavi decided that her crush on him had ended and she just thought of him as a deeply scarred mysterious man who didn't laugh or interact casually with other people. Not everyone liked to be social.
    'Where is the carpenter?' Mrs Ahluwalia asked Shambhavi, when she pulled in at the Mansion.
    'Where's who? Did you just say what I thought you just said?' Shambhavi was shocked.
    'Depends on what you thought I said, doesn't it?'
    'Did you just call Mr Arjun Datta a carpenter?'
    'That's what he is, right? You said he will build what you ask him to,' Mrs Ahluwalia said stupidly.

    'He does build furniture. But that's just his way of working. After he builds a piece, tonnes of similarly designed pieces flood the market. He just likes building the first prototype himself, of all new designs. Other furniture designers ape his style and designs. All his designs are made into thousands of copies. He's a trendsetter.'
    'So, he's a designer who likes to build?'
    'Plus the owner of Datta Enterprises,' Shambhavi added, exasperated. She gave up trying to make Mrs Ahluwalia see sense. After explaining so much about him, she still pictured Mr Datta to be some kind of a small time carpenter who built some designs he liked and had a few labourers working under him.
    That explained the look on her face when she finally saw Mr Datta get out of his BMW X5, a silver beast which must have cost somewhere around seven million rupees. Shambhavi wished she could buy something like that one day. And once she laid her eyes on the man who got out of the car, she decided that her crush on him was back. She had no hope of getting together with him someday, so she decided she would be just one of his fans and love him eternally from a distance, just like she loved Tom Cruise. He looked like a movie star-all six feet of him in his glory, walking towards them, slightly distracted, observing the building he was entering.
    'Hello, Mr Datta,' Shambhavi went ahead and greeted. She wondered if she should add that she was his biggest fan and would love an autograph, but composed herself just in time.
    He turned his face towards her for a micro second and nodded, turning back to his observation. All business, all the freaking time.
    'Meet Mrs Ahluwalia. She's the owner of this mansion,' Shambhavi said, rather stiffly, turning all business herself. 'Mrs Ahluwalia, this is Mr Arjun Datta, of Datta Enterprises.'

    'Nice to meet you,' Mr Datta said coolly.
    Mrs Ahluwalia seemed to find it difficult to speak. It was justified; she had been expecting a stocky, dark man with dirty clothes and a dirtier motorcycle. Maybe stinking of pan masala and tobacco. Seeing Mr Datta would understandably stupefy anyone in her place.
    'Hi, I'm Faisal Khan, personal assistant to Mr Datta,' a lanky man of around twenty-five moved forward to introduce himself. His smile brightened up the space. Shambhavi felt relieved that he was there, that she was not alone in the company of two people whose default facial expression was a scowl. Such people only brought depression all around them.
    'Hi, Faisal. Let's start with the work then?' she