***

Word Count : 3346

Song  - Tomake Chuye Dilam | Shreya Ghoshal |

***

07 | The First Trouble in Paradise

I have booked a private dining room - 11A at Jamavar, Leela Palace. The reservation is under my name.

- M. Dogra

10 : 30 am

The driver left to park the car in the parking area of the hotel after dropping her at the main entrance.

She read the message Mahadevan had sent her in the morning and walked in as the guards and the two doorkeepers bowed and welcomed her into the place of their employment.

"Good Evening Ma'am, How may I help you?" The receptionist greeted her with the customary bow of head and a smile.

"I have a prior reservation in the restaurant Jamavar for today's evening." She replied.

"Under whose name, Madam?" The receptionist questioned further while moving towards the system kept nearby.

"Hinduja Rao"

"Your name and photo ID, Madam?" She said while typing vigorously on the keyboard.

"Hinduja Rao." Opening the zip of her navy blue colored office satchel, she searched for her ID card. In the corner, on the left was her services ID card, and on the right was her Aadhar card. She picked out her services ID card and passed it to the receptionist.

"Ma'am, I am sorry again for interfering but just for security reasons since you are a bureaucratic official, can you please tell me the reason for the booking?" The receptionist did try to look apologetic.

"Just a reunion with college friends." She said, looking directly into the receptionist's eyes.

"Alright, Madam, a private dining room has been booked under the specified name. One of our support staff members from here shall escort you to the designated room." She turned around a bit and called for someone, "Subodh, please escort ma'am to Jamavar, private dining room no. 11B."

"Sure, Ma'am." A young lad of around twenty-four in the managerial staff uniform turned from the reception lady and smiled at her, "Ma'am, please." He made a gesture with his right hand to follow him.

Hinduja faintly smiled back and nodded.

Now that she noticed, men in black formals were standing not only in front of the hotel entrance but also inside the hotel at every corner. As she followed the man in charge of escorting her to the dining room, the number of men in black only increased - the same kind that she had seen on the day of her marriage, outside the courtroom.

Two minutes later, they were entering into a corridor from the main dining area of the Jamavar restaurant. In the far corner, there were only two doors. The one on the right side had a number plate with 11B written on it, while the one on the left had 11A on it. And right in front of 11A stood Karim, Mahadevan's head bodyguard and close confidante. Opposite to him was a woman also dressed in black attire. Both of them still hadn't noticed her or the staff member.

"There you go ma'am, that's the private dining room no. 11B, the room that you have booked." He pointed at the door on the right side of the corridor, " I shall take my leave from here. Enjoy the joyous evening!"

She waited a bit for the staff member Subodh to go back. She then looked up at the ceiling discreetly, there were two CCTV cameras --the kind that were installed in the Ministry-- one was at the start of the corridor where she was standing currently, the second CCTV camera was in the middle of the corridor on the ceiling around three meters away from where she was standing. The far end of the corridor where Karim and the woman were standing was a blind spot, may be, to maintain the privacy of the elites of the society who entered the two rooms there.

As Subodh left the corridor, she started walking deeper into the corridor.

Sensing her presence, Karim's eyes darted towards her. She gestured at him with her eyes to not come towards her. Walking straight for six more meters, she crossed the visibility range of the second CCTV camera and then started started walking to the room on the left side - 11A where Karim was standing.

"Good evening, Madam." The man's deep voice resonated in the long corridor while the woman bowed.

"Good evening, Karim Bhai." Returning the same gesture, she nodded at the woman.

"Bade sahib, Chote sahib and their friends are waiting for you, madam."

"Chote sahib?" She was confused.

" From chote sahib, I mean, bade sahib's twin brother madam, Aridaman Dogra." Karim replied.

"Okay."

He chivalrously pushed open the door of room 11A for her.

She could hear faint voices and a few deep chuckles as she adjusted her black blazer that she had worn over a pale grey handloom saree.

Smiling at Karim, she entered the room.

A sudden silence engulfed the private dining room as its current occupants stilled in their conversation. The room, which she now knew wasn't exactly a dining room, surprisingly had an opening air setting with comfortable looking rectangular seating arrangement decorated regally.

Its six occupants smiled at her while the seventh person on the farthest settee - her husband stood up and walked towards her.

He clasped her hand gently in his own, and started walking back to the place where he was sitting before she arrived. The extreme contrast in the sizes of their hands amazed her.

And then began a chorus of greetings with the people sitting there. A few minutes later, when the acknowledgements were about to get over, the man standing next to the far left settee suddenly walked towards her and took her in a benign hug. For a second, the sudden proximity with this unknown man sent her senses on alert, but strangely, the warmth he exuded resembled a brotherly warmth like that of her own sibling's. His hands were behind her back, yet not in contact with her frame which she knew was an intentional move in order to not make her uncomfortable . There was an aura of succorance around him, enough to make her feel sheltered.

Sometimes, it's not difficult to sense the type of aura a person radiates. Likewise, this person's presence spoke volumes about his positive spirit.

Detaching himself from her, he tenderly patted on the top of her head as a gentle smile tugged at his visage, "Welcome to the family, kid." He said.

"Inu, this is Aridaman, my twin brother."

Now that Mahadevan said it, she could see the slight resemblance between the two men standing in front of her----the same dark brown eyes and facial structure. The contrasts were there, though, like--- Mahadevan was always clean-shaven, wore specs, and had a longer nose with thin lips, while Aridaman, her brother-in-law sported a classic chevron style moustache and was not bespectacled. His nose was shorter while his lips were on the thicker side.

 Mahadevan had two siblings - a twin brother and a younger sister named Nirjhara.

Aridaman was a US based Sculptor, artist, and illustrator, while Nirjhara was a doctoral student in the Royal Academy of Music. All three Dogra siblings were extremely private of their personal lives, but her brother-in-law and sister-in-law's ability to dodge media was at another level. None of them had social media accounts as well. She had only ever heard about them from her mother-in-law and father-in-law because, for obvious reasons, they weren't present on the day of marriage.

"Thank you." She didn't exactly know what to say to her brother-in-law, so she just said thank you.

What do you say after a hug with a family member you haven't ever met before anyway? Should she say namaste or touch his feet? He was Mahadevan's twin, so he was seven years her senior as well. Not thinking much, she joined her hands, "Namaste bhaiya."

He only chuckled.

"Little kid, thank you for calling me bhaiya." He petted her head again, "But namaste? really? I am not one of those elder brother-in-laws from India soap operas, okay?"

He turned to Mahadevan and continued, "Devi, help her with the coat."

"Stop calling me that!" Mahadevan whisper-yelled, "And she is my wife! I know what to do."

"Whatever, Devi!" He snickered and started to walk back to the place he was previously settled on when in a flash, he turned around a bit, " By the way, little kid, I am sorry for not attending your wedding, although it was at the registrar's office, but still, I am sorry. I was a bit occupied with an exhibition back in the States."

"It's okay, bhaiya." She replied with a smile. He nodded and sat back at his place.

Mahadevan then helped her out of her coat and hung it on a fancy looking coat hanger stand that was kept some distance away from the main sitting area. He then came back and kept his hand on her right shoulder.

"Inu, these are my friends." He said, pointing at the other five people in the room.

"That's Tapan and his wife Manisha. Both of them work as investment bankers in London but are originally from West Bengal." A short, statured but strongly built man in a black turtle neck and blue jeans smiled at her. Next to him was a beautiful brown skinned lady in a white A-line dress, her voluminous brown hair was in half up-half down hairdo, and her radiant smile had a hint of mischievousness

She smiled back at them.

"That's Joseph and his wife Suzanne, Joseph owns the Armor security chain, and Suzanne is a psychiatrist. Their base is in Delhi, but their origins are from Kerala." He explained.

"Armor security chain? As in the Armor India security services?" She asked, her eyes squinted a bit.

" Yes, that one..." Mahadevan affirmed, "All the digitized security equipment in our home, the palatial mansion, the headquarters, and the divisions in India and overseas and our other properties are carried out by them, even all the security professionals are from there, except Karim."

"This man is an A grade penny pincher bhabhi! He gets a hefty discount for all services from the company because because I happen to be his friend, and that's why he opts for all the bodyguards and security supplies from us!" The man named Joseph said, pointing at Mahadevan.

What followed after was a boisterous round of laughter and chortles by everyone. As if it was infectious, she couldn't help but chuckle herself.

"Welcome to this idiotic mass filled to the brim with testosterones Hinduja!" Suzanne, Joseph's wife stood up to walk towards her and held her forearms, "You are gorgeous by the way!" Manisha followed.

" Can I say the same to you both, too?" Hinduja replied. Suzanne had an astoundingly curvaceous body, and her soft black curls with streaks of burgundy only made her look more beautiful. And Manisha no doubt was atypically easy on eyes.

But what mattered most wasn't their external beauty. She could feel it ----they were both exceptionally appealing from inside, too.

Mahadevan, at last pointed at two men standing together, held hands.

"And then, these two, Prithvi and his husband Aryan. Aryan is the head of public relations at Dogra Corp, and Prithvi is an associate at Trinity Legal. They both reside in Delhi only."

She smiled at them, and they both displayed back their two sets of thirty-two teeth in enthusiasm.

The conversations followed after that, including her alma mater and other life details.

She came to know about all of them. They were all basically from the same school except Aryan. Prithvi met Aryan while the latter was discussing a PR plan with Mahadevan in his office. Sparks flew, and a year later, they were happily married. From then onwards, Aryan was part of their friends group. They were planning to adopt a child soon.

Joseph was the clown of the group, and then there was Suzanne, his wife, with whom he was in love with, from their high-school time, and Suzanne did match his energy levels and his craze for craziness. They made a lovely cum lively couple. They had a five-year-old baby boy who at the moment was at his maternal aunt's home in N.C.R.

(N.C.R - National Capital Region)

Tapan's personality was more of the silent yet observant type much like Mahadevan. He spoke less but whatever he spoke had depth and maturity. Manisha was the yin to Tapan's yang , the lady was an absolute goofball. Through Manisha she came to know that they were parents of two baby girls who were currently at their grandparents place. Throughout the evening Tapan seldom had his eyes on anything else, the way he looked at his wife implied that just like his words his love for his wife too, had an immense depth.

And then there was 'Daman' short for Aridaman her brother-in-law, he neither talked too less nor did he talk too much, his signature moves were the funny jibes he passed at his brother. The way he addressed her as 'little kid' or 'little girl' filled her with colossal warmth-----he felt like an elderly father figure to whom she can turn to in face of calamity. The brothers talked a bit about their sister and their childhood as well.

"Mahi, you remember that gangster Chittaranjan Sahu you had a rift with regarding that construction site in Chhattisgarh two years back?" All of a sudden, Joseph questioned Mahadevan.

"Yes, why?" Mahadevan replied after gulping down a piece of chicken tikka that he was chewing.

"He was the kingpin in an illegal mining case in the Keonjhar district of Odisha. The only thing I can tell you now is that currently he is in deep shit which suits him well though. Someone from within the bureaucracy had collected strong evidences against him and the entire mining mafia regarding this case and sent it to the I.B.M and E.B C.I.D anonymously. There is no chance for Chittaranjan and his henchmen to come of the jail this time. The mafia is also badly shaken at this moment." Joseph replied.

(I.B.M - Indian Bureau of Mines)

(E.B - C.I.D - Enforcement Bureau-Crime Investigation Department)

"I know." Mahadevan replied while tossing another piece of tikka  into his mouth.

"You know? How?" Joseph asked with confusion marring his visage.

"How did you come to know?" Mahadevan questioned back

"I have my ways."

"Similarly, I also have my ways." Mahadevan replied back nonchalantly while chewing a piece of tofu fritter specifically ordered for him due to his lactose intolerant guts.

"Okay." Joseph raised his hands implying that he was giving up.

"Come on, leave all these things aside, let's talk about school." Manisha admonished them.

And the conversation was back to all the pranks the six of them did back in their school time. Each one of them included her in their conversation. They were all a happy bunch of people with a deep sense of friendship between them.

Oh, how she wished to have a friends group like them.

It was around 9:15 when Mahadevan suggested that they should start with their dinner. He pressed the button of the device present in the room to call the waiter. She excused herself to the powder room attached to the room they were sitting in. While in the washroom, she heard a different set of footsteps entering and then a different voice --most likely the waiter-- noting down the order. Two minutes later, she heard the waiter opening the door and walking out. Only after she heard the door getting closed again, she got out of the powder room.

The friends had ordered Indian, Jamavar's specialty. It was a hearty meal for everyone.

Forty minutes later, Mahadevan again called for the waiter to collect the dishes. She excused herself to the powder room again, her husband looked worried at her frequent visits to the washroom. Hinduja explained that all others were dressed up western wear while she is in saree, she needs to adjust it. Mahadevan nodded in agreement and she was off to the powder room.

As she heard the waiter go out with all the collected dishes that were used up by them, she adjusted the plates of her saree a bit and came out.

It was decided that Mahadevan would pay the bill so he went out to make the payment as the rest gossiped.

After he came back, both of them went for a moment of silence to the adjoining lawn type area around the dining room while the others conversed.

"Mr. Dogra?"

Mahadevan's mood looked a bit out of order from the moment he was back after paying the bill. He was mostly stoic and discreet about what he showed to the people around him, but after living with him for all these days, she learned to read his expressions immaculately.

"Yes?" He looked at her. There was definitely something odd about his current expression.

"Geeta didi told me that, bhaiya has taken Anirudh along with him?" She asked.

"Yes, I thought it was better to let him go with Vijay bhai rather than staying alone at home with Geeta didi. The poor woman was tired, this way, she could take some rest. Moreover, Aunty and Uncle had called me up, saying that they missed Anirudh, so I sent him along with Vijay bhai. He said he'll drop Anirudh back at home tomorrow morning." He explained.

"That's true, but why didn't you bring him along yourself?" She asked while tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, which had flown due to the light winds in the atmosphere.

"We were drinking Inu, I didn't want him to be around-----" He tried to explain.

"It's okay, I understand. I didn't think about that." She replied.

"What happened, Mr. Dogra?" She finally tossed the ball into the court.

For the first time, she saw his expressions hardening up a bit.

"You tell me Hinduja, what happened?" He questioned her instead, hands at the back with utmost attention.

"What do you mean?" Uncertainty marred her profile.

"Following the regular security protocol, Karim went to the reception to check all our 'in' timings to ensure that there wasn't any breach of security --- that no one is following us. Guess what? There wasn't a single lady with the name Hinduja Rao in room 11A, registered on the hotel's system. But yeah, there was one lady with the name - Hinduja Rao who made a prior reservation on her own in room 11B, the purpose - a supposed reunion with her college friends." He stepped two steps forward, entering into her personal space. She maintained direct eye contact with him while taking two steps back.

"What's going on, Hinduja?" He questioned her again.

The light from the wall lamp on the opposite wall fell on his eyes. The dark brown orbs had questions in them, an incandescent golden fire erupting in them, forcing her to answer his questions.

Much to his chagrin, her phone pinged.

"Excuse me." Without waiting for his reply, she went aside to check the message.

Thirty seconds later, she came back and stood rigidly in front of him.

"Even I have some questions for you, Mr. Dogra. But for the time being, duty calls . . . I have to reach my office urgently. I promise you, I'll make sure that we finish this conversation as and when time permits. For now, just know that I had some reasons."

Mahadevan took a deep breath, "Okay, but what questions do you have for me?" He asked.

"That?---time will tell. Rest assured."
She replied.

"How will you commute?" He asked

"Just the way I came here, in my official vehicle. Don't worry, I'll try to come back by one." He nodded

Answering him, she swiftly walked back into the room from the lawn.

He just looked on. Slowly, her svelte frame disappeared behind the closed doors of the hotel room. 

***