R A M
I ran out of the conference room to answer my phone when Juhi called for the fourth time in a row.
"Hello?" I said, quickly, thinking she was in some sort of trouble.
"Where have you been, Ram?" she practically barked from the other end of the line.
"I'm in a meeting, Juhi. Is there something wrong?" I asked.
"Do you know that it's been two weeks since our last wedding planning meeting?" she exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes. "Really? Has it? What an outrage," I said, sarcastically.
Juhi didn't notice my sarcasm and replied, "It is! I don't know how we will get anything ready by next June if we don't keep to a schedule."
"Juhi," I said, patiently, "It's September. You still have eight whole months."
"There's so much to do, Ram!" she shrieked.
"Isn't that why we hired a wedding planner?" I asked, genuinely baffled as to what the hurry was.
"Priya can only tell me what I need to do and where I need to go! She can't pick out things for me. God, Ram, you can be so infuriating sometimes!" Juhi huffed.
I rolled my eyes again. That makes the two of us.
"Okay, okay," I said, trying to calm her down, "What do you need me to do? Why did you call me?"
"Well, Ram, I called Priya today and she and I both agreed that a planning meeting is long overdue. So, she agreed to meet with us this evening. I told her that we would do a session over dinner," Juhi calmly told me.
"What do I need to do?" I asked.
"Well, it's going to be at your apartment, Ram," she said, like it was so obvious.
"Why does it have to be at my place? Why can't we do it at yours?" I asked.
"We can't have the paparazzi follow her to my apartment," Juhi said, outraged.
I raised an eyebrow. "And it's okay if they find my apartment?"
Juhi tittered. "Oh, darling, you're a boy. No one cares where you live."
"Fine," I agreed, letting her win, again, because I had to get back to my meeting, "Anything else?"
"Well, we need dinner, of course," she said, more to herself than to me, "And I told Priya to come at seven."
"I'll be there," I promised.
"Did you hear me properly, Ram? Seven. Sharp. It's your house so you need to be there to let us in."
"Yes, dear, I know. I'll be there," I said, tired.
"No working late today," she said.
"No working late," I repeated.
