Page 107 of One Indian Girl
‘Don’t say that. You are good. You work hard. That’s when luck creeps up on you.’
I turned to him and smiled.
‘Thanks,’ I said.
‘But you are twenty years younger. I feel even older now,’ Neel said.
‘You are a partner at Goldman Sachs at forty-five. It’s pretty young. Plus, you look good.’
Now why the fuck did I have to say that? ‘You look good’? You are with the head of distressed debt for Asia. Radhika, control your tongue.
‘Thank you. Don’t get to hear that so much these days,’ he said.
We circled the entire island and returned to the resort.
‘Dinner in an hour? I will take a shower and see you at the restaurant,’ he said.
‘Sure,’ I said.
‘I might run a few more rounds of the island before that,’ he said.
‘I feel like a slob,’ I said.
‘Relax. You must be tired. See you soon.’
24
‘Champagne, sir, courtesy of MrMarcos Sereno,’ Carlos said as he put a bottle of Dom Perignon in a chiller next to us. We sat in the open-air restaurant in the resort, located in an alcove. The sun had set. The clear sea reflected the palette of the sky. The restaurant had only six tables, each with several lit candles on it.
Ours was the only occupied table.
‘Would you like some?’ Neel said as he lifted the bottle.
‘Yes, please,’ I said.
Like a gentleman, Neel stood up and poured the champagne for me.
‘Thank you,’ I said.
‘You are welcome,’ Neel said. We raised our glasses in a toast.
‘To many more deals,’ he said.
‘Especially ones involving private island assets,’ I said. Both of us laughed.
Waiters brought us various kinds of seafood, all caught fresh from the sea. Everything tasted delicious.
One of the waiters brought us a heart-shaped red velvet cake.
‘For the lovely couple,’ he said in a Filipino accent.
The waiter’s words left me stumped. I struggled to speak.
‘Oh, actually, we...’ I said. Neel intervened.
‘Thank you for the cake. Didn’t have to be heart-shaped, as we are not a couple.’
The waiter looked at both of us, surprised.
