The Imperial Hotel.
It was the most luxurious hotel in the city. It stood gloriously in the heart of the city with all its grandeur like a King's palace. It was tall and majestic while guards watched over it as if it was a fortress.
Charan stood there inside a crowded hall awkwardly. He was there to attend one of his company's client daughter's wedding. Originally his boss was supposed to attend but due to some last minute emergencies, Charan had to replace him instead.
Clearly he was not used to this. The whole reception hall was brightly lit with chandeliers while people were standing around showing off their expensive suits and high end jewelries. Everything around screamed money from the exorbitant décor or the extravagant food to the posh looking people around everything intimidated Charan. Everyone where being polite while praising each other and making connections.
Charan did not know whether they all actually fit in or were just pretending to fit in. But he could do neither since he did not know a single sole there. He stood there awkwardly in his suit with a plate of food that did not taste right to his tongue. He kept fidgeting nervously. He felt self-conscious as if everyone were staring at him, mocking him. He could not wait to get out of here.
Right then a girl came in. It's not the she wasn't pretty. In fact, she was gorgeous. But the thing was her beauty was not the thing that actually stood out. It was she herself who stood out. The way she was.
When everyone around was prim and proper trying to fit in, she looked like hipster. She had on a torn jean that was ripped on her right thigh and left leg. And a cropped grey sweat shirt with a hoodie. She had a big red headphones slinging over her shoulders while her phone peaked out of her back pocket. And the most singular thing that stood out was her hairs. It was slightly curled and unkempt. It was an asymmetrical bob and was dyed bright red.
Charan was amazed with how confidently she strode around with so many eyes following her, some curious some mocking. But what was surprising was nobody threw her out. She went on stage congratulated the couple empty handed then came straight towards the buffet. She looked at the food with slight distaste.
Well Charan could definitely relate to that seeing as he is yet to finish the food on his plate.
Once getting very little food, the girl looked around and suddenly her eyes landed on Charan. Charan quickly looked away when he realized he was staring quite rudely. But then he heard shuffling sound of chair in front of him. When he looked up, he saw the girl sitting down in front of him unceremoniously.
"…" Charan did not know what was happening.
"You were the only other person who was sitting alone here. So I thought instead of two people sitting alone in two different tables, I would just join you." She said nonchalantly. That is when Charan looked around and found what she said to be true. Everyone had one or other person in their tables to chat with.
After taking a few bites in, the girl looked at Charan intently. Charan felt embarrassed under her piercing eyes. Then suddenly something changed in her eye. It suddenly brightens and a smile formed on the corner of her lips.
Out of nowhere, she extended her hands and said, "Hi, I'm Shreya. It's very nice to meet you."
Charan did not want to be rude, so he shook her hands and introduced himself, "I'm Charan."
"You are new to this circle ah???" Shreya asked gesturing everything around her.
"More like 'I am not part of this circle'. I am a proxy for my boss." Charan said with a sign.
"Oh!" She said and then within a few minutes she gobbled the little food she had on her plates. Then she looked up at Charan and asked, "You're not going to finish that??" gesturing at his plate.
Charan simply shook his head.
Shreya wiped her mouth with a tissue and stood up extending her hands towards Charan and said, "Come on."
Charan blinked looking up at her. He did not know what was happening.
"What are you looking at?? Come on. Get up. Didn't you want to get out of here as soon as possible??" Shreya asked surprising Charan.
He did not take her hands but still stood up and said in a whisper, "I don't remember saying that out loud."
"You didn't have to. It was written all over your face." Shreya replied coolly and then reached out to his hands and dragged him out of the hall.
"!!!" Charan did not really have a choice seeing as he was still reeling on what was happening here.
Charan could not make head or tail of the situation her was in right now. Se he simply let her drag him out without even realizing where he was going.
When he finally looked around to make sense of his surrounding, Shreya was already dragging him through a corridor. Then she exited through a restricted section and then climbed a flight of stairs before coming into a stop in front of a closed door. She stepped sideways and gestured towards Charan and said with a slight bow and a gleeful smile, "You can do the honors!"
Charan looked at her weirdly but still reached out for the handle and opened the door.
First thing he felt was the chilling breeze and the first thing that came into view was the open dark sky above. There was no other light there, so the stars twinkling and the moon shining were all very clearly visible.
The Imperial Hotel was easily the tallest building in the city and when he saw the view of the city from the top of it, he was awe struck. It was breathtaking and mesmerizing. For a second he forgot who he was. The whole city was spread out in front of him like a carpet.
Charan came out of his daze when he heard Shreya say, "You're going to catch a mosquito in your mouth." He quickly closed his mouth and looked at her.
She looked lost in bliss. She had both her hands extended with her eyes closed as she let the breeze brush past her. She had a pleasant smile curving her lips.
Charan's heart skipped a beat. She looked picture perfect at that moment. Like a fairy out of fiction. He just stared at her blankly without being able to take his eyes off of her. His hand moved on its own accords. He reached out and gently tucked her hairs behind her ears.
Shreya's whole of her being stiffened immediately. Charan quickly retracted his hand and murmured, "Sorry... I just… it just…" he tried to explain but nothing came out since he himself did not know what he was thinking. He just suddenly felt her hairs were hindering his view. He just looked down embarrassed at himself.
"It's okay." Shreya said casually and sat down in the middle of the terrace with her legs stretched in front of her and then gestured Charan to do the same.
He first took off his suit coat and then pulled off his cuff links. He then folded his shirt sleeves to his elbows before sitting down beside her. He felt slightly awkward under her unwavering gaze. So he asked in order to distract her, "How did you know to come here??? You work here??"
She seemed to know her way around the hotel and the staffs in the reception did not kick her out. On top of it, he knew for a fact that the bride's dad was an absolute snob. So if it were a relative, he would have kicked her out even before entering for the way she was dressed. So Charan figured she must be manager of the hall or something. After all Imperial is known for its protectiveness towards its staffs.
This was the only high end hotel that preached 'Give respect take respect' attitude rather than 'Customer is the king'. There were many rich customers who were banned for entry to the hotel because they did not treat their staffs properly. It was done so publicly that nobody dared to be disrespectful even towards their staffs.
"You can say that I guess." Shreya replied after giving it some thought.