Chapter 12
Later that night, she stood next to Yash on the patio which overlooked the swimming pool. It was almost midnight, and most everyone was wasted.
A crackling sound over the microphone made Yash stop mid-sentence.
“When will this moron stop this crap?” Yash seemed outwardly angry.
“Yash, what’s going on?”
“Ankit is such a cheap pig. He announces his donation for the charity right at midnight.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Let’s go, you’ll see what I am talking about.” Yash led her back into the banquet hall, his hand on the small of her back.
She was a lot more comfortable being around Yash after spending a few hours with him. She wasn’t going to easily admit it, but she couldn’t deny the fact that Yash did a lot more of the giving back to the community than she had ever expected. He was very social and made sure to talk to almost all of his guests encouraging them to raise the money needed for the trust.
The event was supporting the education of underprivileged kids, and she saw the glow in his eyes every time his staff gave him an update on the funds raised that night.
“Is he drunk?” Mantra asked looking at Ankit on the center stage.
“No, he is pretending.”
“Huh?”
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here, and I hope you have shown your generosity for the kids in need. It is my turn to contribute, and I want to make this party a little bit more fun.”
“I wonder what excuse he is going to come up with this time.”
“What do you mean?”
“That asshole has no intention to donate. He shows up for networking and ends up not donating.”
“Wait, how is that possible?” Mantra was still confused.
“Ankit adds a contingency to his contribution. He comes up with stupid things like, I will donate if… you kiss me or if you agree to bungee jump.”
“What?”
“He just comes up with some random bullshit claiming there wasn’t enough dedication and writes a check that barely covers any of the expenses.”
“What excuse do you think he is going to come up with this time?” Mantra whispered.
“I guess we’ll find out.” Yash turned his attention to the man blabbering on the microphone.
“Here is the deal for tonight. I have made my contribution already, and I will make a bonus contribution of one hundred thousand dollars if… if we have someone willing to do at least six shots of tequila.”
The entire room groans and people start shaking their heads. It was past midnight, and most everyone had too much to drink already.
“Yash, get him to up his contribution. I have a way to get him to donate,” she leaned in to whisper.
“What?”
“Do it.” She was nervous and impatient at the same time.
“Ankit, willing to go higher?” Yash called out.
“Yash, you know I will. I care too much about the kids. Fine, I’ll make it double… two hundred thousand dollars for six back-to-back shots… fun, huh?” Ankit announced, confident there would be no takers.
“Yash, promise to take me back to my room safely,” Mantra asked, and Yash scrunched his nose in confusion.
“Ankit,” Mantra called out walking toward him.
“Mantra, I’m sure your encouragement will get people to take up my challenge.”
“Maybe your challenge is not challenging enough. How about you go higher? It is for the kids,” she purred.
The crowd cheered, and Ankit took the bait. “You’re right, Mantra, come join me and get someone to take up the challenge.”
“Ankit, I will do the challenge myself and add another shot if you go up to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars… I’m willing to trash myself for the kids’ welfare fund, are you ready to up the game?”
Ankit’s face turned paper white as he nodded.
“I’ll do the challenge, and I trust my date to hold my hair together when I puke my guts out later tonight.” She winked at Yash.
Mantra gulped down one shot at a time, feeling the buzz kick in, and the cheering around her made her want to scream. Yash stood a few inches from her, his glare searing Ankit.
“Seven… pay up, Ankit,” she slurred.
The crowd cheered as Ankit pulled out a checkbook and handed the check for a quarter million dollars to Yash’s staff.
Yash held her to him as her head started to spin. She knew it was a bad idea, but she couldn’t get the sleazy Ankit away from her.
“Ankit, thank you for the support. To support Mantra’s efforts, I will be matching Ankit’s contribution to the charity.”
The crowd broke into a loud clamor as a dull darkness slipped behind her eyelids.
*****
The sledgehammer was running in the middle of Mantra’s head. Her head hurt badly, her throat felt like sandpaper, and the dry cracks on her lips were painful.
The soft sheets felt warm, but it didn’t help with the soreness in her muscles. It took her a moment to remember the last thing she could recollect from the previous night. The only thing she remembered was the spark in Yash’s eyes as she downed one shot after another, a look of intrigue on his face.
She rolled to her side careful not to move her head too much. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her fingers to her temple.
“That’s not going to help.” The smooth male voice only inches from her ear made her eyes fly open.
She was lying next to Yash with his face inches from hers and a sexy smirk. Her heart thudded, and her mind started to run wild telling herself she was not going to have a panic attack. “What are you doing in my bed?”
He smiled. “You mean why you are in my bed?”
She looked around the room and realized it was much larger than the room she was in before she headed to the event.
Yash stuck a bottle of water and two pills in front of her. “That hammering in your head needs to stop. Take these.”
She sat up and popped the pills into her mouth and gulped down the water. She moved to rest her back on the soft leather headboard. “What happened?”
He laughed making her breath hitch. “You were a total riot. You kicked Ankit in his butt… that was very cool, and I did my part of holding your hair up as you threw up your guts.”
“Sorry.” She pulled the material of the robe closer to her neck. She had her bra and panties on under her robe and wondered if she should ask him about how she changed out of her clothes.
“I have bad news for you, though.”
“What?”
“You have been blacklisted from this hotel for throwing up in every corner of your room and mostly because you ruined your beautiful dress.”
“Yash, stop messing with me.”
His smile smoothed out, and his expression shifted to a serious one. “Thank you for what you did last night. We raised almost as much as we had in the previous five hours in under thirty minutes after you downed the shots.”
She smiled, warmth sweeping over her.
“I am truly sorry about your dress… I didn’t know how to take it off, so I had to rip it open.” His voice was casual, but the words made her heart skip a beat. She didn’t have any recollection of the night after midnight, but something deep inside her tried hard to remember.
“That’s okay. Did you… did you undress me?”
“Yes, with a lot of help the first time, but later in the night I had no help when you went at it again by throwing up all over your bed.”
She didn’t remember any of it but felt super embarrassed. “I’m sorry I was such a pain.”
“No, you weren’t. I’ve ordered some breakfast for us.” He got out from under the sheets and rolled out of bed. He looked sinfully sexy in his sleep shorts and a t-shirt, his hair unruly, and his stubble complimenting the look.
“Thank you!” Her voice was low.
“No, thank you.”
He started to walk away but stopped when she called out his name.
“I have a confession to make.”
He turned to look at her and crossed his arms in front of him. “I’m listening.”
“I… please don’t be mad. I should have told you sooner but…” She felt compelled to tell him how she had been using his restaurant for her research. She didn’t feel bad when she thought he was trying to fake injuries from a minor accident, but at that moment, she was burning with guilt.
He walked back to the bed and placed one knee on the bed, his eyes locked on hers.
“Yash, I’ve been…”
“Is this about mucking with the cooling system?” he asked.
She nodded unable to respond.
“I guessed you were doing something at the restaurant for research… I figured it out the night you encouraged me to talk to Michele and how she was magically able to get in when there was a cancellation.”
“You knew all along?” She was taken aback.
He smiled making her feel guilty.
“I’m sorry,” her voice was weak.
“What was your grand plan?” He sat on the bed looking at her.
“My thesis is on couples’ therapy and how to make it seamless.”
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?”
She took a deep and slow breath. “A lot of couples part ways because one of them does not believe they need help or just don’t know how to get help. My thesis is building therapy into my patients’ lives without them having to come into the clinic and spend hours talking to a stranger about their feelings.”
He shook his head like he could not believe his ears. “Is that even possible?”
“I believe it is more effective when the couples think they have figured it out themselves rather than seeking help.” She bit her lip nervously.
“So, what did that have to do with decreasing the temperature in the restaurant by ten degrees?” he asked.
“Well, my major is in couples’ therapy, and my minor is sex therapy. One of the basic techniques is to re-ignite the physical intimacy the couples have lost.”
“Did your trials help?”
“Yes, for the first time in months, my professor didn’t trash my work.”
“Why are you doing all this?”
“Doing what?” Her voice was soft.
“Why do you care if people can’t have sex? There are so many other fields you could have picked as your profession.” Yash never sugarcoated anything, and it was one of the qualities she admired.
Her back went stiff with the question, and as if he sensed it, he smiled at her. “You don’t need to tell me.”
“I don’t expect you to understand, but there a lot of people out there who need help with their sex life.”
“So, these people… I mean have no action in their lives?” There was ignorance in his voice.
“Barely ten times…” she started, and he finished, his voice full of surprise, “A month?”
“Less than ten times a year.” Her voice was steady.
“Un-friggin believable.” He shook his head.
“Believe it. There are so many couples who struggle and don’t seek help.”
“What did you find out about The Red Room so far?”
“Quite a bit, and a lot more than what I can publish in my thesis.” She smiled sheepishly.
“What did you find out?”
“The food is not only addicting, but it is made to create the seductive mood. Couples always leave happy from the restaurant,” she stated confidently.
“While we are confessing, I have something I want to confess.”
She looked at him unsure where the conversation was headed.
“While you were busy running trials on my customers, I have been running my own experiments… on you.”
“What?” Her head exploded, and the headache was no longer a concern.
“Some research for my next book.”
“I don’t understand.” Her blood was rushing through her ears deafening her.
“Wonder why you couldn’t help but kiss me yesterday morning?”
“I knew it, did you drug me? How? Oh my God, it was the coffee,” she snapped.
“Easy, no drugs, and you won’t kiss any random person, only the ones you are attracted to.”
“What’s your point?” She had a tough time keeping a straight face.
“We are both attracted to each other, and you know it and yet want to fight it.”
“No… I find you interesting but not attracted to you for the obvious reasons.” She maintained a steady tone even though she knew he was right. She found him simply irresistible.
“Really? I will have no trouble proving you wrong.”
She looked at him for a long moment, and before she could respond, she heard a knock on the door and let out a sigh of relief when he went to answer it.