2
All That Glitters
Yash Malhotra threw a cursory glance over his phone, buzzing to notify a new text message from Niyati Reddy. He let his tongue sweep over his lower lip, tapping his fingers over the glass of whiskey in his hand, and read the message with details of Niyati’s flight to Paris on the following day. She never sent a message unless it was essential.
“Guys, the bar is about to be closed,” One of his friends yelled from the bar counter. Yash’s friends, drinking and swaying to the beats of the deafeningly high volume of heavy metal rock, created a ruckus over the announcement.
Yash raised his hand. “Chill, people! I’ll do something.”
He thrust his phone in the pocket of his jacket and staggered his way to the bar counter. When the bartender refused to entertain him, Yash treated him with some innovative cuss words and called for the manager.
A phone call, a cheque, and a flash of his visiting card did the magic, yet again. The bar was kept open as long as Yash and his friends decided to party. Rules changed for The Malhotras.
“Dude, you are incredible. That was hot.” One of the new girls in the group winked, giving him suggestive looks. Yash winked back.
Praises from random girls effortlessly lead them to his good books, car, and sometimes his bedroom. Yash Malhotra, twenty-six-year-old, one inch short of six feet, with straight hair, cute eyes and a charming smile, believed he deserved all the attention. Why won’t any girl desire the most eligible bachelor in the town? According to him, using such instances to his benefit was totally valid.
“What are your plans now?” Jamie, his best friend, asked.
Scrolling through his phone, Yash replied, “Tomorrow morning, I’m leaving for Versailles to finish a modelling assignment. Then, I’ll record the last song of my album. And then… Oh, God! it’s Dadu-Dadi’s party, the day after…by the way, all of you are coming for Valentine’s day party.”
“Yes, we are,” Jamie chuckled.
Another friend slapped on Yash’s back with a twinge of envy, “Life is cool for you, dude. No struggles to earn a living. No stress whatsoever. Anyone would give his right arm for a life like yours.”
Yash smirked, “Even Yash Malhotra can’t buy this life, selling his right arm. You can only be born with that kind of luck.”
Jamie laughed, “Luck, with a hell lot of smartness, I must say. You enjoy all the perks and make your cousin Virat slog at the office to work for you.”
Yash lost his smile when Jamie mentioned Virat. It was a bitter pill he could neither swallow nor spit out. He had lied to his friends that he made Virat toil at their office. The truth was precisely the opposite. All the business chains of
Malhotra Group were solely managed by Virat Malhotra, who held absolute control over them, since the day their grandfather, Gajendra Singh Malhotra, had started trusting Virat for all big and small business decisions.
Yash, the younger one, had always been a brat. By default, since always, Virat had taken up the role of the senior, responsible guy.
Until a few years ago, this arrangement suited Yash well. He didn’t have to work at the office to receive regular pocket money. He was never interested in work, anyway. So, it didn’t matter if the hard part was executed by Virat as long as Yash got his monthly cheques cleared, credit card bills paid, and all expenses taken care of. Moreover, it gave him the freedom to follow his passions – music and photography – which didn’t fetch him enough moolah to sustain his extravagant splurges.
Recently, Yash noticed his outlays surpassing his budgets. He wanted more. Taking over the business was not an option. He neither knew much about business nor wanted to learn it. One simple solution was to get it from Virat. But it wasn’t easy. Yash started creating problems for Virat to get a manipulative hold over him. He tried devising different ploys to trap Virat, but it didn’t work. Virat was no candy to be popped and chewed by Yash.
Always a step ahead of Yash, Virat never gave Yash any chance to stage-manage him. However, that didn’t dissuade Yash from trying different tactics to get a hold above Virat.
Every human being faltered at some point or the other in his life, Yash believed. He was just waiting for that one point in Virat’s life.
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