Page 67 of That Same Old Love

She grumbled and got in the driver’s seat. “God, I want to kill you for making me do this. Or maybe I will kill us both, and some cyclists, and a few dozen pedestrians who always seem to jump in the way—”

“Relax. Nothing will happen. Just stay focused. You’ll develop faster reflexes with practice.”

“Why can’t I drive your self-driving car?”

“Don’t whine like a baby. You’ll be fine. Practice this week and then you can drive on your own soon. I don’t go to the office often. Unlike you, I prefer working from home.”

Mahi drove a distance and when the morning rush hour traffic hit them, she became nervous. Slowly after a few minutes, she relaxed, realizing it wasn’t too bad and no one tried to jump in front of their car. For a change she was quiet while Samrat kept the conversation going, talking about the new products they were developing and the demos that were scheduled the entire week starting from that day.

Soon they reached the office building.

“I will see you back here at six,” he said and walked away not waiting for her reply.

Mahi stared at him and walked the opposite way to another building where her relatively new team was situated.

She was busy the entire day, not even stopping to take a break for lunch. She had something delivered to her desk for a quick bite. Then in the evening around six, she received a text from Samrat, letting her know that he was waiting in the car.

Mahi: I’m still busy. You can leave. I’ll hail a cab.

Then immediately there was a reply.

Samrat: I am giving you two minutes and then coming up to drag you out from there.

Mahi was pissed. Her work could wait and she was bluffing about being busy because she didn’t want to drive again. But he didn’t need to know that or maybe he already did, the devious ass, she thought.

Mahi: You are a devious demanding asshole who needs a swift kick in the butt.

After a couple of seconds, there was a reply from him.

Samrat: I love it when you talk dirty to me. But hold on to the foreplay until we get home first.

She rolled her eyes and smiled, feeling more like the last three weeks. Her temporary insanity must have been because she felt that their deal would change drastically now that they were back in India. Maybe it would eventually, but she had decided that she would enjoy what they currently had.

She drove back home and on the way they decided to have dinner at his house since his cook had something prepared already. Samrat had instructed him to make extra because he knew Mahi would be joining him.

“Okay, I’ll take a quick shower and see you at your place in a few minutes,” she told him, getting out of the car.

“Need help to wash your back?” he offered with a straight face.

“Oh please. Whenever we are in shower together, you get me even dirtier, and you are also a water hog. I’m hungry and need food before the jet lag hits me,” she told him with a smile.

She was about to walk away when he called her, “Mahi wait. Come with me for a minute. I need to show you something.”

“What? If it’s to show me that you are excited for tonight, I think I’d prefer to wait for a few more minutes until I can do something about it.”

He laughed. “I like how you think, but it’s not that. I want to show you how to work my lock box and give you a spare key. That way you can get into my house later even if I’m in the shower.”

Mahi hesitated. “A key to your house?”

Samrat looked at her cautious expression. “Yes. I have one to your home too, remember? And a couple of my neighbors have a spare key to my house too. It’s not a big deal to give one to you. It’s more practical for us to have each other’s house key.”

Mahi felt relieved. “Okay, show it to me quickly then. Will I need to take notes? That lock box looked like it belonged to some casino safety deposit box,” she exaggerated.

Laughing he showed her how to work it and then gave her a spare key. And then Mahi went to her house where she took a quick shower before hurrying across to his house.

Samrat was already waiting for her in the dining room. “Why are you not in your nightwear? It’s almost seven. Are you planning to go out somewhere, later on?”

“No. I’ll just change when I get back home to sleep,” she told him distractedly, her mouthwatering seeing the dinner options.

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