Silently Falling in Love: Lucky Charm THIS IS THE EDITED VERSION

Chapter 11 - The Photo Shoot

I was going stir crazy waiting for Anjali! As I paced the room up and down, I noticed a door that led to a balcony. As I walked toward the doors, I noticed a stack of magazines on an end table. I turned one magazine over and the back of the magazine had a full-page ad splashed all over it.

I stared at the magazine ad. It was a newer ad for Tarun Jewelers that I hadn't yet seen. Tarun Jewelers US was still running strong although my current involvement was limited to the advisory board. It was a typical jewelry ad, nothing worth remembering. Nothing like the ad that Anjali and I had done, which was creative for its time.

Modeling with Anjali for the ad was the first time I admitted to myself that I had feelings for her; it was a turning point in our relationship.

That ad put Tarun Jewelers on the map in the US; my gamble paid off. Today we had stores all over the world. Tarun Jewelers went from being an Indian jeweler to becoming a world class global brand that had customers around the world. The pieces were worn on ornate Indian brides and just as easily on an American bride dressed in white and in both cases; the pieces looked stunning.

In reality, I knew Anjali was my lucky charm. It was her eye on design and modeling for the ad that together made us stand out. Tarun cha-cha had coaxed her into helping him and Shekhar had coaxed her into modeling.

The day Shekhar, our photographer came to the studio, Anjali, and I were working on the final touches for the launch. Since the completion of the jewelry designs, our focus was on marketing and opening the store.

Shekhar was one of the top photographers in India, and Tarun cha-cha had worked with him several times. He trusted Shekhar and knew he was up to the challenge of putting together an ad campaign in the West. Shekhar entered the building with a quiet authority and greeted cha-cha first and immediately pulled out his laundry list of what we needed for the photo shoot.

"Tarun the first thing we need to secure is a model. We need a model who's appealing to many ethnicities. The model's ethnicity shouldn't be obvious; any potential consumer needs to relate to the model and feel like she belongs to their ethnic group especially here in NYC, your launch city."

Tarun didn't say a word; he had already pulled together a file and silently handed him the file with several bios and pictures of models from the local agencies. Shekhar opened the packet and quickly flipped through the pictures. He had an eye for these things; he would know the girl once he saw her. He was almost done with the package when Anjali walked in from the back.

"Tarun cha-cha where are the jewelry boxes for the final pieces?" Anjali asked.

Shekhar immediately looked up and put the file down. He walked over to Anjali. "I don't think we've met. I'm Shekhar."

Anjali smiled. "Oh yes, the photographer," she said and shook Shekhar's hand. "I'm Anjali."

"And your role here is?"

"I help Tarun cha-cha with whatever he needs."

Tarun cha-cha walked up to both of them. "She designs the pieces and works behind the scenes." He looked at Shekhar suspiciously.

Shekhar took a few steps back. "How tall are you, Anjali?"

"I'm 5'8", why?" Anjali said cautiously and looked over at Tarun cha-cha.

Shekhar looked around as if he was searching for something. He crisscrossed the room opening different bags reaching and pulling out things. Soon he had several handkerchiefs in his hand.

He took each handkerchief and held it to Anjali's face. He kept a straight face as he assessed each color; when he was done, he looked at Anjali. "You have a good complexion, you look good in most colors."