Short Story: Radhika's Dilemma

‘Ladies’ man’ were the two words that came to Radhika’s mind after getting out of his room on the 37th floor. After heaving a sigh of relief, Radhika went back to her duties.

Radhika had been working at Hotel SpringCity as a Manager for the the last five years. SpringCity was Mumbai’s Island Paradise, a stately 7 star hotel, in the middle of the Arabian Sea. With its 87 floors, 706 rooms and 87 suites, its clientele fittingly ranged from the wealthy, the glamorous and the glitterati the world over. They converged to its lovely rooms whenever they were in the financial capital of India. So bumping into European royalty, corporate leaders, or International film stars was almost a given here.  Jestin Langford, a celebrated Investment Banker was one of them.

Jestin Langford was a regular at SpringCity. He visited India once a month to service his Indian HNIs and to put together the strategies for their mergers and acquisitions. A suave New Yorker, he was a Harvard product, working for America’s number one investment bank – A.L. Stinsons. SpringCity served as his base of operations, due to its proximity to his client’s tony offices at Nariman Point, making his 37^th floor suite indispensable.

Being a regular to Maximum City, Jestin knew all the hot-spots as he strongly believed that a city has not been lived-in truly if one has not seen what it has to offer as its night life. He was clear whenever he was out partying with his clients – to never discuss work. Jestin was an enviable mover on the floor, having learnt salsa for nine years. His lithe body pulsating under strobe lights made Indian women swoon and lust after his agile body.

Radhika was the face of Hotel SpringCity, knowing each regular by name, occupation down to their likes and dislikes. She considered it as an integral part of customer relationship management. There had been instances in the past where a guest was disappointed on not being given the service that was promised and it would take only 10 minutes for Radhika to pacify the guest. A charming personality aside, she was a pleasure to talk to.

Radhika had met Jestin for the first time three years back, at the Front Desk while he checked-in. At first glance Radhika was awe-struck by Jestin;  6’2, debonair, a man with blue eyes, looking dapper in a slim-fit Italian cut-suit. As he greeted Radhika, and asked her for the keys to his suite, a story had begun to brew. But there was something about Jestin that looked familiar. She could not put a finger on it. As soon as she handed over the key, Jestin came a little closer to her and said “Thank you very much. You are a very pretty lady.” Radhika blushed, managing a feeble “Thank You.”

By his next visit, Radhika researched Jestin as part of her responsibility. She would notice sexily dressed women coming to pick Jestin for his evening parties, whenever he was here. While she never discussed him along with the other staff of the hotel, in her mind, she had formed an image of Jestin as that of a ladies man.

Radhika was a 30 year old Mumbai girl, brought up in Bandra. Blessed with beauty, over the years, lots of people had tried to cajole her to enter beauty contests but she was clear with what she wanted to do. After her graduation, she went on to do her Hotel Management course from Switzerland. Upon completing her course, Radhika landed a job at SpringCity - the kind of job opportunity she was looking for. Over the years, her dedication, great customer service and charming personality had earned her the responsibility of Manager of the hotel.

While in Switzerland, Radhika met Steven, a student from an exchange programme, for the first time in the college library a week upon his arrival. They both wanted the same book and co-incidentally asked the librarian about the book at the same time. Both looked at each other and smiled. Steven then introduced himself as some instant sparks begun to fly. Radhika took the responsibility of showing Steven around – the Alps, Interlaken, Jungfra. After their fifth meeting, Steven invited Radhika to one of the college parties which he had organized. Radhika went, dressed in a short-red dress with a plunging neckline, which accentuated her assets nicely. Lot of guys vied for her attention but she was smitten by Steven as much as he was and both of them did not leave each other through the party.

After a couple of Grey Goose shots, they decided to hit the dance floor, and they danced through the night. After the party, Steven took Radhika to the university lawn and under the stars, they kissed each other. Radhika did not know whether it was the vodka or Steven, but she just could not control herself and she gave in. When did passion turn into possession and instantly into obsession, she did not know. The dew on the grass blades merged with the sweat on their bodies and the grass below them got completely crushed with the throbbing, the pushing and the biting that took place between the two. Radhika knew that this is a kind of love-making that one can experience only once in a life time. Steven and Radhika became a couple for the next two weeks that Steven was there. On the day he was leaving, Steven promised Radhika to call from New York, but he never did.

“Can you please send the manager to my room?” Jestin hollered in the phone to the front-desk.

Radhika was immediately called for and apprised of the situation. Jestin’s suite had a different wine bottle than what he drank regularly and this had upset him. So Radhika had to go placate the situation. She entered Jestin’s room along with a bottle of his favourite wine   and a personalized apology card. Jestin’s anger vanished as soon as he saw Radhika but pretended to be really cross and said “I am a regular guest for years now and the hotel does not even remember my most basic requirement?” “I apologize on behalf of Hotel SpringCity for the inconvenience that you have gone through Mr. Langford. This mistake has happened due to a new intern. Let me offer you this apology card and also your bottle of wine as compliments from the hotel and an assurance that you will not get a chance to complain again.”

Jestin showed that he has cooled down and said “That’s ok..Radhika right? I guess I over-reacted for such a small thing when I know that you guys have taken great care of me always.  It’s just that today has been a bad day. We missed out on two deals and I had put my heart and soul for the last few months in preparing it and so I was disappointed. Anyways, would you like to join me for a glass of wine? I could do with some company today.” Radhika was taken aback by this offer but she kept a calm face and said “Thank you Mr. Langford for the offer, but I am on duty and so I cannot drink with a guest.” “That is my bad luck then. Maybe some other time? Hey, how about on a day when you are off-duty? We can catch up for dinner outside SpringCity. What do you say?” asked Jestin. Radhika turned red on hearing this as no other guest had ever asked her out before this. She said “I am sorry Mr. Langford, but that won’t be possible. Now I would like to take your leave.” With this, Radhika left his room quickly on the 37^th floor, and her mind just kept saying “Ladies man.”

Two days later, Jestin met Radhika in the elevator and he candidly asked “Is not going out for dinner with guests a policy of the hotel or yours?” Radhika was a bit stumped by this straight-forwardness and replied “Well, Mr. Langford, I am uncomfortable going out with someone who is a guest in our hotel.” “Let me tell you, I do that all the time with my clients and I don’t feel awkward about it because after business hours it’s not about protocol with clients anymore. I am leaving tomorrow. It would be great if I can meet you at the Thai Pavilion tonight by 9. I hope that is fine with you?” “After a minute of silence, Radhika finally said “OK, lets meet at 9”.

Throughout the day, Radhika was cursing herself to have agreed for dinner. Thoughts kept clogging her mind with questions like “Why did you say a yes knowing that he is a guest and also knowing  the kind of person he is?” Thrice in the day, she thought of calling him and telling him that the dinner was off but she thought that would be rude and could not muster the courage to do that.

At 7.30 pm, Radhika ended her day and headed home. She kept thinking what would she wear, how should she come across to him, he should not get any wrong message. After 15 minutes of going through her wardrobe, she finally said to herself “What the heck. He will be gone in a day. I might as well dress myself and enjoy my dinner.” She took out a lovely black strapless dress and her mother’s vintage pearls. She tied her black high heels, and suddenly felt like a diva. She reached the Thai Pavilion at 9.15 and Jestin was there waiting for her, dressed in a monogrammed black blazer, looking absolutely irresistible. He came to her and said “So you sizzle not only in a Sari, but everything you wear. Thank you very much for coming.” Radhika managed a slight smile and said “Thank you Mr. Langford.” He turned around and said “Please don’t make me feel like a 75 year old man out for dinner with a young girl. Call me Jestin.”

Jestin had booked one of the best tables at the restaurant overlooking the beautiful Arabian sea. He pulled her chair and allowed her to sit before sitting himself. “What would you like to drink?” He asked. “A glass of Sauvignon Blanc please”. “That’s a good choice Radhika.” They sat there for three hours telling one another their stories, their dreams and aspirations. To an outsider they would have seemed to be old friends reuniting after decades.

Finally, she said “I need to go now. It’s getting late” and he gallantly offered to drop her home. He made her slid into his black BMW, which he always used whenever he was in India. Just a little before reaching her place, he stopped the car, looked at her and said “I must tell you that I have never seen anyone more beautiful than you in my life.” Being slightly tipsy, Radhika managed to say “You must be saying this to every woman you go out with. I have noticed different women coming to pick you at the hotel. You are a ladies man.” “Well, I appreciate that you have noticed me going out, but let me tell you that all these women are clients thinking that going out with me will help them in their business. There is nothing else beyond that.” Having said that, he leaned in closer and kissed her lightly on her lips. “I fell for you the day I saw you Radhika, but I just did not know whether it would be appropriate to ask you out. I thought yesterday’s wine incident is a good opportunity to call the manager as I knew that would you.” He smiled, leaned in and kissed her again and this time she reciprocated with a longing kiss and blurted out ‘So both of us need to thank that intern for goofing-up” as they continued kissing. 

Suddenly, Jestin’s mobile rang and the name that flashed on screen said – Steven Langford- Brother.