My Brother's Bride

3. What's Going On?

☆★  CHAPTER 3  ||  Nikita  ☆★ 

After a couple more cups of coffee and a half an hour debate on why I don't want to interview Jai Acosta, Stella still hasn't agreed to back out of this specific assignment.

According to her, our sub-editor gave Stella and I this assignment on purpose because she knew that Jai Acosta was my neighbour and also my childhood friend.

What she didn't know is that we aren't actually childhood friends but instead, childhood enemies.

"It's going to be the headline of one of our upcoming magazines." annouced Stella. Trust me, she is not making me feel better. I need another cup of coffee.

She sighed, "Nikita. Listen carefully. You need to push your personal issues with Jai aside and act professional okay? If we don't write about what they want, then we will be fired in no time." She looked at me with puppy dog eyes. "Please?" she added.

Okay first, she has a point. I'm a professional journalist and I have to do my job. I have tolerated Jai for more than 10 years now then why not tolerate just one interview with him?

"Alright. But I apologize in advance if I end up slapping him or kicking him in the-"

"Shhsss! You're shouting again!" She whispered.

"Sorry. I just get so mad whenever I think about him. I hate him so much." I said burrying my face which was starting to go pink in both my hands.

"The interview will be over sooner than you think. I promise." Stella had her most convincing face on and I couldn't say no to her or no to our sub-editor and surely I wouldn't want to get fired.

"Alright, alright." I have finalised my decision that I, Nikita Malhotra will have to interview Jai Acosta. "I think I need another cup of coffee." I said staring at my empty cup. I took out my turquoise coloured purse from my handbag getting ready to head towards the counter again.

"Are you crazy? Enough of coffee! You had three cups in half an hour." She said snatching my purse away from me. I'm not going to get into another debate on the amount of coffee I need at the moment. Seriously, coffee is my drug. But a fourth cup in half an hour would be a little bit too much, no?

"So when do we interview Jai?" I asked. It's better to enter hell quickly and also leave quickly.

"Uhh. You see that's what I wanted to tell you about..." She trailed off leaving me puzzled.

"Yeah...What?" I said, as it was quite eyebrow raising.

"We haven't made an appointment to interview him yet and since you and him have been friends for-"

I raised my hand in the air like a school kid, "Enemies." 

"Erm yeah.. but our sub-editor thought you should ask Jai about this personally." She ended her sentence quickly and my mind was going crazy.

"WHAT?!" That was all I could let out and I must have been pretty loud because a pony tailed hair guy at the next table gave me a what the hell stare and must have considered me a complete weirdo.

"Shhsss!!! For the last time! Do you want us to be kicked out of this place?" said Stella slapping my arm.

"I can't and I wont. Are you out of your mind? How am I suppose to go up to him and beg him to let me interview him? Why in my right mind would I do that?!" I face-palmed myself and then realized I did it quite hard. Oww that hurts.

"Because... you will and you have too! Come on, we don't want to debate on this for another half an hour do we?" She has a point.

"Stella, you don't understand..." How do I explain this to her?