Silently Falling in Love: Lucky Charm

Chapter 18 - Lady Antebellum

Alex POV con’t.

Sitting in the uncomfortable hotel chair, I wished I had a scotch right now.  As I sat there trying to keep calm, my phone vibrated and I looked down and saw that I had a text from Tarun cha cha.

“What did you do to Anjali?”

Looks like Anjali had spoken with Tarun cha cha.  I decided to ignore the text because I knew from experience he was mad as hell at me.  He always sided with Anjali.  I may be like his son, but Anjali was like the daughter he never had.  And as it goes in many families, daughters are always daddy’s girl and she always had his support no matter what.  He always assumed I’m the guilty party.  I guess it should bother me, but it didn’t. 

If it hadn’t been for Tarun cha cha’s anger, I probably wouldn’t have asked Anjali out.  Shortly after we slept together I went to Hong Kong on a business trip and cha cha was also in HK for work and we met up for dinner.  I was in a lousy mood and cha cha called me out on it.  When I told him that I was pissed that Anjali had walked out on me and I was just a one night stand for her.  He started yelling at me and told me what kind of guy sleeps with a woman he likes without ever even asking her out on a date.  I got lectured on no matter how modern things get, a woman still wants to be courted.  How you court a woman might change over time, but she still wants to be courted.  Courting a woman is an art; each date should be like a piece of art.  Pay attention to all of the details and make sure it’s tailored to the woman you are trying to woo. 

He immediately told me to look at it from her point of view, given my dating history, why wouldn’t she assume it’s a one night stand

After being shredded by Tarun cha cha, I realized that from her perspective I didn’t really come across as a guy who was interested in a relationship.  I knew more about Anjali than she knew about me, because it was me who would listen in on her and Tarun cha cha’s conversations when she thought I wasn’t paying attention or when she thought I wasn’t there.

Over the months I got to know what she liked, what she didn’t like, what made her smile, what made her angry.  She thought she was only speaking with Tarun cha cha, but I listened more closely than she would ever realize.

One evening before her breakup with Raj she came to the workshop at midnight on a Saturday night dressed up in a designer dress and high heels that made her legs go on forever.  She walked through the doors and called for Tarun cha cha.  “Cha cha are you here?”

“Anjali, I’m in the back.  What are you doing here at this hour?” cha cha asked.

“Cha cha I’m starving.  Do you want to go for kati rolls? I know a great stand that is open late that we can go to.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be at that hot new restaurant with Raj tonight? Everyone is dying to eat there and you’re here asking me to go on a kati roll run with you.”

She slumped into a chair across from him, “Cha cha I went to the restaurant and had dinner and $200 later I’m still starving! I’ve never seen such big bowls and plates with such little food in it.  Do you know all of the waiters came out at the same time and served everyone soup at the same time in these huge bowls.  I looked down at the bowl and there was barely two tablespoons of soup! Can you believe two tablespoons and that was $20 per person! There was no bread.  Each portion was so tiny! I’m so hungry.  Cha cha please come with me! It’s my treat.  I want some company.”

“Why didn’t you tell Raj to take you for a kati roll before dropping off you here?”

“Are you serious? You wanted me to tell Mr. Fancy Pants that after he just spent $200 on dinner for me that I was starving? He’ll kill me if knows I’m about to indulge in a $5 kati roll after he just dropped $200 on me at the fanciest restaurant in NY.  No that won’t go over well.”