Sameer's eyes shot to his watch for the hundredth time probably. She was supposed to be here at 11! Rita had told him so. As it is, he was getting anxious as to what her final response would be. He hoped the changes she suggested to the contract were nothing drastic. He'd offered her enough money. He definitely could pitch in a bit more, but he didn't want to- not at the expense of his employees. As lover Sameer, he might be inclined towards Naina, but as businessman Sameer, he couldn't be unfair to the other authors who approached him. But why was she still not here? Naina was never late. Well, except when she was with him. A redolent smile crept onto his lips.

He pulled the beaded cord dangling from his office window again. The blinds flicked open and Sameer's eyes drifted over to the road. He'd been doing this since the morning, trying to catch a peek of the road, waiting for her to turn up. He didn't know if she would. He didn't know if his offer had made sense or was appealing enough.

"Damn it!" She had betrayed him and now she has the upper hand- whether she accepted his deal or rejected it. "God must be a woman!" he muttered. He was about to close the chink when he spotted an old scooter hurtling down the road, past the cars and bikes of the capital. His gaze fixated on the rider on the pillion. It was her! Naina had come. She was dressed in a parrot green silk saree, with matching green bangles. Are you going to memorize her wardrobe now Sameer?

Was it her husband was driving the two wheeler? Sameer's eyes squinted of their own accord as he pulled up in front of his office gates and Sameer got a clearer view. His jaw fell open. There was no mistaking the fair complexion and the chiseled face. He instantly recognized the man from the photograph Naina had showed him five years back. Arvind Mittal looked incredibly young. All along, he'd assumed he would have been older than them when he'd married her. And by now, the scientist that he was, he would have looked aged, with a pot belly and obviously a balding patch in the middle of his head. But none of this had happened. Despite the strain of life, Arvind was still handsome- remarkably handsome!! Sameer eyed with envy the way his shirt stretched across his broad back and his rolled up sleeves revealed the muscles flexing in his sinewy arms. The man might have got poorer, but he hadn't become less gorgeous unfortunately. He had thick, black hair, parted at a side and as he peered at his wife, Sameer noticed that his eyes were kindly- an innocent brown- just like Naina's.

Naina pulled her little girl, about three or four years old, away from the scooter handles. Sameer eyed the girl intently for the first time. She was pretty. Her skin had an unusually fair complexion. Her deep brown-black hair shone against the sun. Yes her eyes were her mother's. Even her smile reflected Naina's. But he couldn't pay her more heed as his attention drifted to the woman who had once been his paramour, smiling and talking to Arvind cheerfully. Arv...it was far too difficult to pronounce that name. No...it would be Mr. A for him. 'A'- a husband dropping his wife off to work. A perfect little family. As he looked on, he believed he drifted into a day dream, for he saw himself in those tacky black shoes, brown trousers and the striped cream shirt. His hair played about in the wind as he spoke to his wife, his Naina and their little daughter vying for the attention of her parents.

A minute or so later, Naina bid them both goodbye, kissed Diya's cheeks and started in the direction of the office. A then parked his scooter on the side, lifted Diya in his arms and made way to the park nearby.

"Sir...wo...I'm okay with the contract...par aapne mujhe book advance aur royalty percent, copyright contract ki amount kaafi zyaada di hai...I'm sure naye lekhakon ko itna advance against royalty nahi milta...," Naina explained.

"Uhhh?" Sameer tried to focus on her words, rather than her face. Did she say the money was less? Or more? Sameer! Straighten up! She isn't yours to ogle at now.

"Hmmm?" he cleared his throat.

Naina looked up from the papers in her hand and repeated, "aapne kaafi zyada paise offer kiye hain sir...". She trailed off.

Sameer couldn't believe it. He hadn't come across one single author till now in his profession of five odd years, who'd told him he or she was being paid more than what they were worth. Her honesty triggered memories of the past again. He recalled when she'd gone upto Prof. Kamthe in their first year at college, and told him he'd given her five extra marks on the exam. Sameer had been appalled at that time. Here he'd managed to score barely passing grades and there she was leisurely inviting the professor to cut her score, knowing fully well that meant Tibrewal got to be the topper then- by two marks. Tibrewal, of all the people! How could she do that? The professor had smiled and done the same, though not without complimenting her, "such honesty is hard to come by these days. Stay like this Naina!"

"Sir? Aap kya soch rahe hain?" Naina asked, when she found Sameer lost in deep thought.

"Tumhari imaandari ke baare mein!" he blurted.

Naina widened her eyes, "kya?"

Sameer shook his head and composed himself. "Chodo...koi purani baat yaad aa gayi thi! But, to be honest Nai...Reenaji (he deliberately avoided using the word Mrs. Mittal), aapka write-up sach mein bahot acha hai...koi ehsaan nahi kar raha main...aur main jhoot nahi bol raha lekin isse zyada compensation maine do aur authors ko offer kiya hua hai."

Naina listened intently and then nodded.

"Aur kuch problems? Changes? 2500 rupaiye advance ki first installment ke liye kaafi hai?" Sameer enquired.

Naina shook her head, "jee koi problem nahi...advance to meri umeed se zyada hi hai!" And then, in a small voice she muttered, "thank you sir."

And what's with this 'sir'? Can't she call him Sameer like before?

"Okay...main apne lawyers se baat karke contract sign karne ke liye appointment le leta hun....us hisab se ek date fix kar lenge!" he proposed.

Naina nodded in agreement. "Sure!"

A silence fell as both did not know what to say further.

Sameer held the pen near his mouth, observing her, when Naina chimed in, braking his chain of thoughts again.

"Nanaji kaise hain?" she asked out of the blue.

Sameer was taken aback by the question. The days surrounding his Nanu's death, the misery, the day of the phone call from Munna, her own sudden disappearance blurred past his eyes. His demeanour turned stoic again. "Mar gaye...," he replied, his tone suddenly icy.

Naina was shocked, both by the answer, and by the sudden shift in his voice. She thought she saw pain- intense pain flicker in Sameer's eyes for a moment and then the eyes turned to stone again. "I'm...I'm sorry....," she muttered sadly, feeling melancholy at the demise of someone she'd never met, though she'd heard a lot about him from Sameer and had once hoped to be introduced to him as his grandson's wife-to-be. Fantasies Naina! Fantasies. Since when did fantasies come true?

She tried to stifle her sadness and prodded, "K...k...kab hua yeh? Kaise?" It felt important to ask, important for her to know.

"Kuch chaar-paanch saal pehle...chot lagi thi...brain haemorrahage," he responded, still cold and distant.

For an instant, Naina felt as if his eyes accused her of this misfortune and then turned cavalier.

"Vaise Arvind kaise hain? Aapke husband I mean...," he added.

Was his voice incriminating again? And how did he know about...Arvind...? And then she realized she'd a mangalsutra donned around her neck and sindoor onto her forehead. Of course.

"Ache hain! Kaafi ache hain...bahot khayal bhi rakhte hain hamara...mera matlab mera aur Diya ka!" she said, hoping against hope the words taunted him.

Perhaps they did, for Sameer stood up from his chair, held out his hand to shake signaling the end of the meeting. Naina looked reluctantly at his outstretched hand, began to raise her own, then balked. Sameer, feeling more annoyed, was about to withdraw his own, when he felt that familiar soft palm graze his own. He looked up at her, as her fingers looped around his and she smiled stiffly. Warmth seeped through his veins. A simple touch- that's what it took to melt Sameer's frigid manner. His fingers protested as the warmth withdrew and Naina slid her hand out of his. His hand still drawn out, he saw her collect the contract papers.

As Naina looked up again, she saw that his hand was still outstretched. Sameer followed her gaze and realized what he'd been doing. Idiot! He pulled his hand back sharply, and nervously raked his hair.

Something inside Naina smiled seeing the familiar action. Even if his hair wasn't as long as before, they had the same effect on her as they'd years back- having her wanting to fall into his arms and kiss him. Naina regained control of herself. Shut up Naina! This is Sameer- the guy who made your life a mess! He's nothing like Arvind, who she came to know over the years, was a gentleman through and through. You have to smother your feelings for him now. You can't fall in his trap again. This is just a professional relation. Please don't spoil your life and Diya's in turn, which after years is finally showing some signs of smoothening out.

As Naina retreated from the office, Sameer slumped down onto the chair, his gaze fixated lovingly on the palm that had gotten lucky with her touch again. And then, without thinking, he stooped down and kissed it, savouring the feel of her on his hand- and his lips.

Yearning for another look at her, he dashed to the window again. As the blinds drew open, he saw Naina walk past the scooter, smiling at Diya and A playing with the Frisbee in the park across. She called out to them- her sweet voice said his name out loud (he felt irked), and then Diya's. They waved at her, collected the Frisbee and made their way towards her.

Minutes later, he saw Arvind kick-start his scooter and Diya jumped to stand on the pedestal on the front, while Naina adjusted her saree and climbed onto the backseat. Sameer felt his heart wrench more as he saw her place her hand on his shoulders as they sped away. He remembered when Naina used to hold him exactly like this, when they roamed around on his bike in Mumbai. If only, he could have been the man in that A's place today.

***

The contract was signed soon enough and Naina was offered her initial paycheck. That day, she went home and prepared Diya's favourite moong dal halwa and treated her family and neighbours. After all, it was one of her happiest moments after Diya's birth. And strangely, it was because of Sameer- the man because of whom she'd been sucked into trouble.

Finally, Naina and Sameer started working together again. Though it triggered a lot of old memories for both of them, both tried to keep a façade, pretending the proximity did not set about jitters in their hearts. An accidental grazing of hands could make them shiver sometimes, while during the other times, they resorted to observing the other out of the corner of their eye, thinking about the past, trying to discern the truth. Naina sometimes felt the urge to ask him about his relationship status, about her- she wondered where she was now. Were they still together? Getting married perhaps? Naina was sure Sameer was a bachelor till now from her interactions with fellow officemates, but why she couldn't ascertain, for she knew he'd been quite ready for marriage, albeit just not with her. But in response to her subtle probing questions about the members of his family, Sameer would respond, "wo meri personal life hai Mrs. Mittal...behtar hoga ki abse aap Reena rahein mere liye, Naina nahi...". And this happened quite a few times, and all those times, the acrimony in Naina's heart incensed. He doesn't bother to tell me the truth even now. Thinks I am stupid! Fine! Nor would I then. And obviously, he doesn't care anyways.

It wasn't true that Sameer wasn't curious himself. He too wanted to ask her about her family, why she left that day, why had she gotten married without even informing him, why hadn't she ever called him back, and what exactly her financial troubles were. He was desperate to know if she had ever felt a tiny weeny bit of love for him- ever? But then, he'd firmly decided against revealing his feelings to her. It was too late, and he loved her more than to want to spoil her life. Hence, everytime any discussion from their past came up, Sameer would totally avoid it and change the topic. To Naina, he seemed bent on the no-discussions-about-their-past policy. Best for them both!

At the workfront, Sameer wanted to do his best to make Naina's debut a stunning success. Obviously since Naina had been a special person for him once- was still. So though Sameer had highly capable editors at his disposal, he was getting involved in everything related to her novel personally. His excellence in grammar, thanks to his hostel education came in handy now. In addition, a small perk for the lover Sameer meant that the editorial interactions enabled him to spend some perfectly harmless time with her.

And the days clicked by quickly.