Chapter 8

She felt the heat and turned around and without realizing poured the water from the pan and screamed and he heard her scream and came running to the kitchen and realized what had happened. He grabbed her and ran to the bathroom, opened the cold water tap and she was completely soaked, but that definitely eased the pain and she was starting to feel better. Luckily her skirt had taken the heat and saved her from the hot boiling water which she had put the fire out with. All she could see was red inflamed skin where there used to be a bow! She was lucky to have escaped with just an inflamed skin. He helped her upstairs to her room and cleaned up the kitchen floor and ordered dinner.

When she came downstairs, he noticed she was slightly limping; her right foot had taken a bad blow from the boiling water. He got some ice cubes from the refrigerator, wrapped them up in a kitchen towel and handed it to her, while he got some soothing lotion to help ease the pain. She was seated on the couch; he pulled the coffee table, seated himself with her foot on his lap and slowly started applying the lotion. She was not sure about the fact weather the lotion was soothing or him rubbing the lotion. He was starting to notice how delicate her feet was and how pretty the nail paint on her toes were and he was delicately stroking her toes and all he wanted was to kiss her. He knew she liked him, but was not sure if it was appropriate for him to kiss her. The door bell rang and he remembered ordering food for the both of them.

He settled next to her on the couch closer than he had ever sat before, switched on the TV and they had dinner, they finished what ever they had ordered and he did the cleaning. She was trying to apply some lotion on her hips when he walked in from the kitchen; took the lotion from her hands sat down beside her and slowly and delicately rubbed it over her wounds and there was nothing but silence until he was done. He gazed into her eyes, drew her close, she could hear his heart beat, his breathing, his perfume and her heart started pounding and she could hear it so loud she wondered if he could hear it too. She wanted to be kissed by him more than anything in the world. The adrenaline rush was overwhelming. He stroked her skin; it was tender and smooth; he glided his hands onto her waist and kissed her.

Chapter 7

She was a little excited about the fact that she was going to be home alone with him, she could hardly sleep and was eagerly waiting for the next morning, planning what to wear, what to talk; she didn’t know when she fell asleep until a knock on the door woke her up. She hurried, realizing she has to look good when he sees her, rushed to the bathroom washed her face, freshened up and opened the door. He stood there speechless for a minute, brought himself to his senses and asked if it was okay if he hangs out with his friends for the rest of the day, but promised to be back by six thirty. She hid her disappointment and nodded it was ok. Closed the door behind him and went back and sat on the side of the bed overlooking a full size mirror. Both her hands, covering her face, sat there for a couple of minutes, ran her hands through her hair and looked up, when she looked her reflection in the mirror did she notice what she was wearing when she had opened the door and remembered his gaze for a minute. She remembered she couldn’t find the top for her pajama and had decided to settle for a black linen tank top.

His mind was somewhere else even though he was hanging out with his friends. All he could think of was how amazing she had looked this morning. He liked her the first time he laid eyes on her, but knew that his father would not approve of it and kept his distance. But today morning everything had changed; he wasn’t sure about anything anymore; he was struggling with his feeling; he couldn’t make up his mind weather to go back home or not. One of his friends had to catch a flight that night and wanted to go home and pack. He volunteered to drop him off at the airport by the time he gets home she would be in her room and he can go straight to his room and that would be for the best. After a couple of hours, he was at is friends home watching TV while he packed.

It was close to six in the evening, and she knew he will be back soon. She picked out an outfit in which she felt she looked pretty. It was a dark blue pleated skirt with simple smocking that made it expensive, a white blouse with dark blue polka dots extending to a tie on the right into a bow indeed made her look pretty even without any makeup and in a simple ponytail. She was starting to feel hungry so decided to cook something; she reached for a book from Chari’s wife’s collections and started looking through it. She found one she liked and since she was not used too much of cooking, settled for the one with simple ingredients. She gathered the ingredients on the countertop and started boiling two cups of water according to the instructions. She was surfing through the pages and didn’t notice the beautiful bow from her blouse had caught on fire.

Chapter 6

She had just turned twenty and life was wonderful. She was starting to look at life from a different view point since people started treating her more as an adult with responsibilities and was not a kid anymore. It was something she was looking forward to and at the meantime was starting to realize that she can’t getaway with anything and everything like she used to and is expected to be more polite and can’t say and do anything she wishes anymore, need to smile at people you don’t know when they visit your home, can’t punch someone even when they are obnoxious; nod even when you think it is stupid. Apart from the mental changes, she had changed a lot physically too, she was not looking like a kid anymore, genes had been more than generous to her in shaping her from head to toe; from a silky hair to a slender soft feet. She definitely liked the idea of guys being interested in her; but was not too much into the idea of having a boyfriend, or maybe she had other priorities. She wanted to become a paleontologist and dig for fossils in the Mediterranean, but that was just a childhood dream and she realized that didn’t have much of a future to pursue.

Everything changed and felt like her own little world had crashed when she came home that day after hanging out with her friends. Chari was waiting for her and had had a tough time breaking the news to her that the flight in which her dad was returning had crashed. She was prepared for something bad, but not this; her brother was flying back home somewhere from Europe, abandoning his official trip midway! She didn’t cry, she couldn’t, because it was a dream rather than a reality to actually sink in. After a couple of weeks things were slowly getting back to normal and her brother avoided long trips; he was more worried about her than anything else. She had lost her mother when she was five and all she had known was her brother and father. Now everything was different, she felt like there was no one she could count on. Months passed and her brother felt it would be best if she stayed with uncle Chari and family since he had a daughter just about her age and would be a good company and she wont be alone when he is not around. She moved in with them and that was the first time she met Chari’s son! Chari is a bald short man, who looked older than he was and his wife was plumy, with a round face and very traditional looking and his daughter was a better looking version of her mother, but his son was handsome, cute and smart; she wondered if he was adopted.

First time in a long time, she felt an adrenaline rush within her when she saw him and was happily welcomed into their family! He liked her too but knew not to mess with her, and get into trouble; little did he know that she had a big crush on him or how his father was so right about her being naïve and he was going to change the timid naïve girl into someone he would have ever dreamed of. She was starting to feel comfortable and getting settled in their home and was becoming a part of their family. Chari, with his wife and daughter had to go on a family trip, of course he wanted to take her with him, but she refused since she knew no one there and preferred to stay back home. Reluctantly he left her in the capable hands of his son, who already had plans to hang out with his friends and was not happy that she was going to stay back, but decided to make the best out of it!

Chapter 5

After a fun filled Friday evening that usually extends into early Saturday morning is a typical routine and this Saturday was no exception and when he woke up it was already half past noon! His cell phone was vibrating and had at least fifteen messages. Most of the messages were from the girls he met last night, few from his friends, he skipped through all of them and stopped when he got to the message from his sister. ‘Where the hell are you? You promised you will be on time’ and it went on and he suddenly remembered he was supposed to be at his niece’s birthday party half hour ago!, jumped out of his bed, rushed into the shower, shaved carefully but quickly without messing his French beard, got ready in less than twenty minutes, grabbed the present he had bought. He had got her a doll house, shopping a whole day until he found what she wanted and got it wonderfully wrapped and a nice huge hallmark card that plays ‘Happy Birthday’ when you open and was on his way, without a clue what was in store for him. The traffic was not too bad and he guessed he could make in half hour, hoping he was not going to be too late!

It was a small house in a nice neighborhood; the roads were a slightly winding but wide enough to double park and could see the balloons in front of the house and the cars parked on the street and kids running around in pretty cloths. He parked his car a couple of blocks away and walked over to the house and went straight in and she came running and hugged him and started talking and he could hardly hear what she was saying with the music playing on the background and kids screaming. His sister didn’t say a word, and the party went on well and he took his niece upstairs for a nap; before he could finish reading a story, she fell asleep hugging the card he gave her, right next to her doll house, kissed her gently on her forehead and came downstairs. His sister had cooked the whole meal with the help of some friends and was delicious. He helped her clean up in order to cool her off and talk a low blow, but to his surprise she seemed very happy and didn’t say a word about him being late.

After the guests had left he relaxed into the couch with his brother in law to watch some television, his sister joined them handing them, a cup of tea. ‘Did you notice the girl who was standing behind me while cutting the cake; she is works for a good company and is from a good family. I think she likes you, she was watching you from the time you walked into the door, and even enquired about you. She will be leaving for Canada shortly, why don’t you give her a call and talk to her; I can give you her number’. His brother-in-law who was silent all this time, joined and said ‘you are not getting any younger you know, maybe you should think about settling down some place’. This went on for a while but it was a one-way conversation and his mind was racing to find some reason to get out of there.

Chapter 4

The bright rays from the sun peeked into the room through the small opening and the dark red curtains with a golden trim wasn’t doing anything to hide it and it looked like the creamy sheers behind them were ashamed of themselves for letting the light through. The clocked showed 6.30 AM when the phone rang and she pushed the sheets to its side and reached for it since she was already awake. It was the receptionist promptly making the wake-up call. She thanked her and placed a breakfast order, her usual and felt refreshed after a good nights sleep. She couldn’t remember when the last time she had slept for 8 hours straight was and it felt good. It was a nice room with a neutral light yellow wall paper with simple leaves and flowers which was rather pleasant to look at. It had a window air condition which was desperately trying to push the panels join the dance floor with the sheers. The painting on the wall to the right of the bed, two kids picking shells and playing by the small river and the mother watching them from a park bench nearby; the detail and attention given to the cloths and facial expressions was what she liked the most about the picture. By the time she heard a knock on the door, she had taken a shower, got dressed and was grooming her hair.

Starting a small business is easy but running one well is not. As soon as the work starts coming in it seems it's the business owner that's doing all the running - running to keep up with invoicing, paying bills, keeping records and buying supplies. That's before any of the projects they have in mind are even considered. It's a wonder the paid work ever gets done. Let’s strip down the operation of a small business to its essentials: Producing quality products and services; Pricing your products and services fairly and profitably; Following an operating and organizational plan to success; and Treating employees and subcontractors well. Your first priority is to do your paid work because, without that, nothing else matters. What you'll learn in this course is how to set your prices so that they cover your costs and the cost of the time you spend while at the same time allowing you to make sure you give your customers the quality they wanted when they bought from you. When she walked listening to the words and took a seat at the rear.

Once you have that time blocked off, you need to develop a plan for your business. You need to know how to make plans for projects and for your organization so that you can schedule time to develop your business, break down the work into small steps and keep track of your progress. Part of this process is to keep simple records of what goes on in your business and the direction in which you want to go. After covering your customers and your internal matters, let’s discuss on how to treat suppliers, subcontractors and employees as partners, letting them share in the success of your ventures. We'll first explore how to keep your business structure simple by running your business without employees, using sub-contactors and suppliers. But, depending on the business you have chosen, you may find that you need to hire help I shall give you tips on hiring, keeping and motivating key employees. Once you get your business organized and running smoothly, you will have time to focus on your customers and to start moving the business towards your targets. You started your small business because you had some goals in mind - if you don't seem to be getting there, it's time to take control and get going. She had heard this and learnt it from Chari and slowly her mind wandered off to a different time and a different place.

Chapter 3

Nice long black skirt with a slit on the left, just below the knee, simple sleek ‘v’ neck blouse with small, almost tiny, yet visible flowers embossed near the neck line and cuffs as the same off-white tone of the blouse! Naturally dark black hair, with slight highlights to bring out her soft pale skin tone, with a bronze-caramel lip shade and a milder tone of eye shadow, that brings out her big brown eyes, oh! Ya, which would make anyone, want to take a second look. She knows she doesn’t have the body of a movie star or a model, but she definitely knows how to carry herself. With broad shoulders and slightly chubby arms, big brown eyes that could talk, with artistically shade toned lips that make it look naturally shaped, when her sun glasses holding her hair back, and the simple sleek but stylish handbag she carries that goes with anything, and the way she walks with her high heels! With a nude stocking that sticks to her skin and almost disappears into the high heels that matches perfectly with her blouse, and in her sophistication, one can hardly notice her not so perfect waistline.

One can hardly believe, if it is even possible to look so pleasant after a 2 hour delayed flight due to heavy thunderstorm and getting stuck in the traffic for 2 hours and still be totally prepared to grasp and gulp anything and everything you hear at a presentation. She was fairly quiet and was taking notes rather than asking a lot of questions out there. There was a popular local big shot, who was literally showing off, sort of annoyed everyone. Well if you could ignore his self praises, you can definitely get a good insight on running a business and of course was a living proof of success. There were a couple of ambitious youngsters who were asking a lot of questions which clearly indicated they were there to get a feel or on a company training. After a short beak the events to take place in the next two days was summarized and the key note speakers for the rest of the evening were introduced. It was boring and redundant and followed by the bankers introducing themselves and the opportunities their financial institution can aid one and she could slightly feel a headache kick in and was starting to realize that she hardly had any time to eat, since the rush to catch the flight.

After a grueling presentation followed by some questions from the audience, it was time for dinner. It was a long line and it felt like it will take forever to get a bite to eat. She decided to go for a mild supper even though the food looked delicious. It started with seven types of appetizers, couple of soups and a garden salad, a wonderful entrée with the option of chicken or lamb or fish fillets with the dressing of your choice, maybe garlic-ginger or cyan-sesame, served with saffron rice and grilled vegetables and a shrimp cocktail or you can go for a stuffed green pepper – tomato casserole served with a Tuscan bread tossed with garlic flavored oil with grated cheese on the top, warm and crisp; mushroom and egg omelet - frittata with saffron rice satisfying both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Pavillon Rouge du Chateau, Broadbent,Chateau de la Gardine, Domaine Weinbach, E. Guigal, Altesino 2000 and Walter Hansel 2002 were among the top ten wines served to delight its guest at the Marriot. The dessert was a world of its own ranging from cheese cakes, to egg custards to custard tarts to almond cookies to Gulab jamun to tapioca pudding with caramel dusting would satisfy any appetite. All she could eat was a bowl of soup and Tuscan bread and a glass of Pavillon Rouge and called it a day!

Chapter 2

Friday night out! To enjoy the day you need your best buddy’s, a good place to hang out, and good music and of course a safe parking spot. The ‘StylX’, in the heart of the city, with a valet parking, with the best DJ’s in town playing the latest hits definitely gets an Oscar for that. Couple of guys, were checking out the pretty girls in their early twenties, have a sunburst moctail, the clubs specialty, a blend of pineapple and mango juices, frozen just like a Mexican margarita, an excellent alternative no-alcoholic beverage. The place was packed with youngsters in their early and mid twenties, of course the band that was going to play had everything to do with the crowd. You don’t just see the singles hanging out, business folks, homemakers, and officials whoever wants to take a break, and this is the spot. But today is not the day for homemakers and business folks to hang out, they knew its going to be a wild party day, its Friday! You can’t just walk in as you do on a weekday, Friday nights and Saturday nights need special reservation and are usually targeted for youngsters!

He was five-eight, well built, black silky perfectly groomed hair, a thin mustache and a French beard with rimless glasses hiding his beautiful blue eyes, with a neatly tucked in red and black stripped T-shirt under the relaxed fit Levis jean, with a fluorescent lace holding his Adidas in place. He walked-in and pulled a chair and turned it around and joined his friends, waived at the waiter and ordered something to drink, and in a couple of minutes, the lights started to dim and the room was filled with silence and the drums started to beat and was nothing but a feast to the ears. It’s not what he looks like, even though his French beard and his height adds to his charm, what he is about is what makes girls want him. Looking straight in the eye when he talks, tells you exactly what you want to hear as if he can read your mind and thoughts and to top it all the subtle complements he throws at you will blow you away; every girl out there likes him, some even love him. He is a charmer with a Business Associate degree from the Harvard University, Massachusetts which he completed in one year instead of two, turned down a couple of jobs overseas, came back to home town and joined a mid-size company. When the band ended their first round there were screams of joy and applause echoing through out the club.

One would wonder about his build and his ‘Mickey’ blue eyes, but not everyone knows that his ancestral roots come from a British missionary who fell in love with a local maiden and married, and after generations later he has those blue eyes! Wow! Genes are unpredictable! He has always known his ancestral roots, and has turned out to be highly advantageous with the number of girlfriends that he had had over the years that he can hardly remember!

Chapter 1

It was 8.00 AM on a bright sunny day in the month of May. As expected it was hot outside, 80 degrees one would guess. Weather forecast said it was going to rain that afternoon! No signs of rain clouds! Well how often is the handsome looking, well dressed, almost 6 feet weather guy right! Well I just watch it because he is very handsome, and not a bad way to start off my mornings. Of course I am counting on the fact that he is going to be wrong and it will not rain, or definitely I am going to miss my flight or it might get delayed and I am screwed. Let’s see, what are my plans tasks to be completed today? Go through last months expenses, talk with Chari about hiring new interns, work with Lisa to reschedule the meeting that got cancelled last week, and oh! I almost forgot; I haven’t packed my suitcase for my trip!!! 3 days! I don’t even know why I agreed to go this time. Maybe I should have asked Chari, never mind, his daughter is getting married 5 days from today and he needs the time off. Maybe I should have asked Mike, well never mind I have almost packed and I have to catch my flight at 2.00 PM. Its almost 8.30 AM now, I better hurry or I will be late; hope there not too much traffic today. With all these thoughts racing through her mind, finished her breakfast rather quickly; which she normally enjoys and savors every bite. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, having a nice fruit, and an egg and a toast with a glass of cold milk, checking out the headlines is something that she normally wouldn’t easily give up. She gathered her belongings and disappeared out the door in a flash and one could hear the sound of the elevator going down.

The welcome mat always looked new to anyone who walks past it, since the house was actually two huge condos combined into one, with a sleek, architecturally rich but elegant modern door. The door opens to a huge but well decorated space, which must have been the passage joining the two condos originally. Now it has been opened up and restructured with architectural highlights throughout the ceiling, with a small fountain in the middle with water coming out of a little girl’s water bottle, instead of the traditional pot. Two tiny pillars provide support to the mantle on the left which boasts a modernized Tanjore Art, originated from India in a modern frame. It leads to the living area on the right, with a spicy beige sectional overlooking the fireplace which has hardly been used, One can easily be deceived into thinking it to be a real, with the cherry mantle boasting a plasma television, accompanied by family pictures in traditional frames, accenting the sectional, complementing the oversized but slender table lamps on the cherry wood end table. The coffee table is a piece on its own with a miniature meadow similar to the one we see at the museums underneath the thick glass frame, a complement to ones vision. Japanese bonsai plantation decorate the room through out with green and cobalt blue decorative pillows and accents bring a warmth to the room with the recess lights over the peachy walls, with a set of birds flying across the wall is definitely a conversation starter. The rest of the house carries the theme with the emphasis on the unity of modern and tradition does make ones mind open to new ideas and brings out the ones artistic capability in the marriage of the west with the east and the collision of the north and south.