An Offer She Can't Refuse

‘Tomorrow,’ he said decisively. ‘Lunch at one of the restaurants in Lower Parel? That’s nearer my office than yours, and hopefully we won’t run into anyone you know.’

Darius was beginning to wonder if he’d been stood up when Mallika finally walked into the restaurant. The first thing that struck him was that there was a strained expression in her lovely eyes. The second was that she looked anything but tomboyish now.

Granted, her hair was still styled for convenience rather than glamour, and her make-up was kept to the bare minimum. But she was wearing a sari today—a dark blue silk affair, with a muted print—and her figure was spectacular in it. And her spontaneous smile when she saw him was the best welcome he could ever have hoped for.

He stood as she walked up to him, and Mallika began to feel ridiculously nervous. It was a Friday and he was dressed casually, in a white open-necked cotton shirt over jeans. His thick hair looked slightly damp from the shower, and she had a second’s insane urge to reach up and run her fingers through it.

To cover her confusion she held out her hand, and he took it, briefly clasping it between both his hands before he let go.

‘Hi,’ she said. ‘I’m not too late, am I?’

He shook his head. That smile had lit up her face, but now the worried expression was back in her eyes.

‘Is everything okay?’ he asked quietly once they were both seated and the waiter had put their menu cards in front of them and retired to a safe distance.

Her eyes flew up to his. ‘Yes, of course,’ she said, sounding just a little defensive.

Aryan was going through a particularly problematic phase, and in the normal course of things she wouldn’t have left him alone at home. But she’d promised Darius, and there were meetings in the office that she couldn’t avoid. Just this once Aryan would have to manage on his own, with just Lalita the cook to check on him.

‘You look tense,’ he said. ‘Like you’re trying to remember whether you locked your front door when you left. Don’t worry about it—burglars are usually deeply suspicious of open doors. If it’s unlocked, there’s absolutely no chance of a break-in.’

She laughed at that. ‘What if I did lock it?’

‘Ah, then I hope you have a good security system.’

‘A simple lock, and a brother who won’t notice if someone puts every single thing in the house into packing cases and carries them away under his nose. As long as they don’t touch his computer.’

He smiled, his eyes crinkling up at the corners in a maddeningly attractive way. ‘Sounds like my kind of guy. Younger brother?’

Mallika nodded. She hardly ever mentioned Aryan in casual conversation, and the ease with which the reference had slipped out surprised her. Darius was beguilingly easy to talk to—she’d need to be on her guard a little.

The waiter was hovering behind her, and she turned her attention to the menu.

‘The fish is good,’ Darius said.

‘It looks delicious,’ Mallika said, glancing at the next table, where another waiter had just deposited two plates of grilled fish. ‘I’m vegetarian, though.’

‘Then the gnocchi?’ he said. ‘Or the spaghetti in pesto sauce?’

Mallika finally chose the spaghetti, and a glass of wine to go with it—Darius, who’d never paid good money for a vegetarian meal before in his life, found himself ordering grilled vegetables and pasta. A lot of strict vegetarians were put off by someone eating meat at the same table, and he definitely didn’t want to risk that. He was on a charm offensive today, and determined to win her over.

‘How’s your boss?’ he asked.

‘She’s miffed I didn’t tell her I was dating someone,’ Mallika said with a sigh. Vaishali was a lovely person, but the concept of personal space was completely alien to her. ‘She wanted to invite both of us to her house for dinner—I had a devil of a time wriggling out of that one.’

‘What did you say to her?’ Darius asked, unable to keep a glint out of his eye.

‘That I’d been wrong about you and you were actually really self-centred,’ Mallika said, delighted she’d managed to keep a poker face. ‘And possessive—and controlling.’

She sounded remarkably cheerful about it, and Darius’s lips twitched.

‘So we aren’t dating any longer?’

‘We are,’ Mallika said. ‘You have a few redeeming qualities, but I’m not as sure about you as I was. We’re dating, but I’m not introducing you to friends and family just yet.’

‘Wouldn’t it have been easier to remove me from the scene altogether?’

‘If I’d written you off she’d have tried setting me up with a perfectly horrible second cousin of hers. She’s spent the last two years trying to palm him off on every unmarried woman she knows.’

‘Maybe he’s not so bad?’ Darius suggested carefully. ‘You should meet him—keep your options open.’

Mallika shuddered. ‘No, thanks. I’ve met him once, and that was once too often. He spent forty-five minutes telling me how rich he is, and how he made his money. And he breathes really heavily.’

‘Hmm …’

Darius’s eyes were dancing wickedly, and Mallika felt a little jolt of awareness go through her. It had been so long since she’d spent any time with an attractive man that she was ridiculously susceptible.

‘Can I ask you something?’

She gave him a wary look. ‘Yes.’

‘Are you atoning for the sins of a past life by working for Vaishali?’

‘She’s been very good to me,’ Mallika said stiltedly, and when he raised an eyebrow she went on in a rush. ‘No, really. She can be a bit overpowering at times, but I owe her a lot. I didn’t mean to make her sound like a nightmare boss.’

She sounded as if it really mattered, and Darius nodded.

‘If you say so.’ He was silent for a few seconds as the waiter put their drinks in front of them. ‘So, should I tell you a bit more about the job and the company? You can make up your mind then.’

She nodded, and listened carefully as he explained again about the company structure and the role that he was offering. Unlike her current company, which invested solely in real estate, the Nidas Group had evolved into a conglomerate of companies that included a brokering house, a consumer lending company and the fund where Darius was offering her a job. Darius himself was moving on—he didn’t give her any details, but she assumed it was to head up a new division—and he didn’t have enough capacity to manage the fund as well.

‘I have a question,’ she said, once he’d finished telling her about the job. ‘Why do you think I’m right for the position?’

‘You have a superb track record,’ Darius said. ‘And Venkat was very impressed after he interviewed you.’

‘But you haven’t interviewed me,’ she pointed out. ‘Or do you trust Venkat that much?’

‘I have every intention of interviewing you,’ Darius said, his brows quirking. ‘The second you tell me that you’re actually interested in the job I’ll start firing questions at you.’

Mallika stared at him for a few seconds, and then burst out laughing.

‘You have a point,’ she said. ‘So—the job sounds perfect. It’s the logical next step in my career and like you said, I’ve been in my current job for five years and I’m beginning to stagnate.’

‘I can see a “but” coming,’ he murmured.

‘Yes … I mean …’

‘It’s not convenient from a personal point of view?’ Darius supplied when she hesitated.