The Obsession

“Are we eating this again, Mira?”

Mira Singh looked at her six-year-old half-brother, Jahan, with a sad smile as he twirled some ramen around his plastic fork in dismay.

“I’m afraid so, buddy,” she told him, brushing her hand over his mop of dark curls.

They were having dinner at their fold-out table in the corner of their studio apartment in the shady part of town. She hated it, but it was all she could afford.

Ever since their mother, Preeti, died a year ago from a hit and run, things had been hard for them, financially and emotionally.

Her mother had immigrated to the United States from Delhi to start a new life away from her family without a dime to her name.

Mira didn’t know who her father was. He’d left when she was just a baby. Her mother never liked to talk about him and told her it was for the best that she didn’t know.

Preeti had met Jahan's father at work, and they dated for a year until she found out he was married.

Unfortunately, by that time she was already pregnant with Jahan, and the father wanted nothing to do with either of them. They had no other family that they knew of, leaving them all alone.

Now, Mira was left with the task of raising this little boy and keeping her part-time job as a waitress at a local restaurant chain.

“Next time, I’ll bring you something back from work, okay?”

She watched as his face lit up and he continued eating with more gusto. She hated that she couldn’t take better care of him.

Then she sighed, remembering that she was only twenty-three years old and doing her best in a difficult situation. She had to drop out of college and could only get a part-time job.

When things were better, she’d look at going to night school so that she could finish her degree in Finance.

After helping Jahan shower and dress for bed, she read him a short bedtime story and tucked him in, leaving the little airplane night light on by his bedside.

She took a quick shower as there was barely any hot water left. By the time her head hit the pillow, she fell into a fitful sleep.

***

It was just before noon when she walked into work the next day, having already dropped Jahan off at school earlier that morning. Her best friend and fellow waitress, Kaley Matthers, met her at the door.

“Hey, Mir!”

Mira returned the greeting while stifling a yawn.

The quirky blonde had red streaks in her hair and two piercings, one in her nose and one on her lower lip. Like Mira, she wore the usual uniform—black jeans and a black shirt.

However, while Kaley was reed-thin with legs that went on for days, Mira was petite and curvy due to her East Indian heritage.

“So, before we start, I wanted to run something past you,” Kaley told her as they walked to the back room to get ready.

Mira put on her apron and pulled a hair tie out to prevent her mass of dark brown curls from getting in her face while working.

“What’s that?” Mira asked distractedly. She’d barely gotten any sleep that night because Jahan woke her up with a tummy ache, and it took over an hour to get him settled into bed again.

“I’ve got a catering gig at Nicholai Bach’s house on the hill,” Kaley began excitedly. “It’s supposed to be this huge launch of his new media empire. My boss is looking for some extra hands, and I know you need the cash.”

She was right.

“Plus…,” Kaley added with a knowing look at her friend. “Have you seen this Nicholai guy?”

Kaley pretended to swoon. “He’s like some young billionaire bachelor mogul or something.”

Mira scoffed and shrugged dismissively. She’d never laid eyes on the guy, but she already disliked him on principle.

“Must be a complete womanizer,” she told Kaley.

Kaley stared at her.

“Who cares? Let’s go have a look!”

Mira sighed.

“I really want to take the job, Kal, but I will have to see if Mrs. Morris will babysit Jahan for me first,” she hedged, referring to her elderly next-door neighbor.

Kaley waved a hand dismissively.

“If she can’t do it, bring him over to my house. My mom can watch him for a few. But you are coming with me,” she said with finality.

Mira took one glance at her friend’s determined face and realized she didn’t have a choice. Besides, anything that gave her extra cash couldn’t be totally bad.

Mrs. Morris agreed to watch Jahan for the four hours it would take Mira to complete the catering job with Kaley.

She donned her usual black jeans but had been given a snug black polo with the catering company’s logo emblazoned above her left breast to wear as a top.

She piled her hair into a top bun and applied minuscule makeup, making her look much younger than she was.

She walked three blocks to meet the shuttle that would take them to the ultra-exclusive location and took a seat next to Kaley, who practically vibrated with excitement.

Mira just rolled her eyes at her friend as the bus took off.

***

“Oh my god!”

Mira mentally echoed Kaley’s sentiments as they crossed the large wrought iron gates and entered the Bach Estate, staring wide-eyed in wonder.

A long winding driveway was bordered on either side by tall flowering trees, giving the illusion of a country home just on the outskirts of the city.

Mira had only managed a glimpse of the front of the mansion as the shuttle rounded the back so they could disembark and start offloading the trays of food.

She had been walking around the large expanse of the outdoor gardens where the event was being held for about an hour, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched.

There were so many people: businessmen and women, celebrities, even professional athletes.

Every time she turned around, someone was taking something off her tray or asking for a refill, so she couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the feeling was coming from.

She was about to turn around to head back in for another full tray when she ran straight into a hard male body. Strong hands grabbed her upper arms to steady her.

“I beg your pardon,” she said quickly and politely. She had to look up and then up again to meet a pair of intense sapphire blue eyes. She froze.

The owner of those eyes seemed equally intense—not to mention freaking gorgeous.

He was over six feet tall, with raven hair and a shadow of stubble over the lower part of his jaw, making him look dark and dangerous.

He wore a navy suit with a white shirt open at the collar and no tie. His gorgeous lips were frowning down at her. She had the sudden urge to nip them to make him stop.

“Would you watch where you’re going?” he scolded, snapping her out of her reverie.

He started to release her, but she pulled out of his arms abruptly, annoyed at his hostility. She headed back to the kitchens without a word. Just another douche of a celebrity, she thought.

Apparently, there was a problem in the kitchen, because Mira could hear arguing the closer she got to it. A crowd was already forming.

Mira decided it was the perfect time to take a break. She was headed to the powder room on the ground floor when she came upon the massive staircase leading to the upper floors.

Paintings were lined up along the staircase, and she couldn’t help but follow them up the stairs as curiosity got the better of her.

Most of them were of landscapes and not family portraits as she’d envisioned.

Normally, she wasn’t a fan of snooping around someone’s house, but the mansion was gorgeous, and she felt as if she were in a museum. Besides, there was no one around to stop her.

The first floor held a row of bedrooms on either side and ended with a large sitting room.

The door to the first room was slightly ajar, and she could smell fresh roses from inside.

She gave a tentative knock to see if anyone was inside, and when she got no response, she pushed the door open and gasped.

A large four-poster bed with a flowering canopy dominated the center of the room. Mira fingered the lace bedspread in awe. A sparkle caught her eye, and she glanced at the large ornate dresser.

She walked over, sat on the bench, and fingered the brushes and hand mirror, imagining the woman who owned them getting ready for a ball or something equally as fancy.

Entranced, she opened a jewelry box. Her eyes widened at the strand of pearls nestled inside. She couldn’t help but finger the item reverently and wonder how much it was worth.

She picked up the pearls and put them against her chest. As she looked up into the mirror, two sapphire eyes were blazing back at her.

“What in hell do you think you’re doing up here, you little thief?”