Chapter 16

"You need something to pick you up," AP Singh said, as Merlyn came out of the bathroom. He gestured at a lavish bar built in the shape of an old-fashioned bookcase. "What can I get you?"

Merlyn had no desire to even look at alcohol tonight. She had just puked in the bathroom. The solitary large Teacher's-on-the-rocks she had downed earlier had been expelled as rapidly as it had been guzzled down. Easy come, easy go, as her father had always said. She felt much better now, sober, cleaned-out. But a fruit juice wouldn't be too bad.

"I have freshly squeezed orange juice, if you'd prefer something non-alcoholic," he said, as if reading her mind.

She nodded, attempting a smile. He smiled back warmly, turned to the bar and turned back with a glass of fresh orange juice almost instantly.

She took it gratefully and cradled it in her hands. Sipping it, she was grateful for its tangy, sharp taste. Before she knew it, she had downed half the glass.

"I apologize," he said, sipping an exotic drink she couldn't identify. "Those three brutes. They weren't your friends, clearly?"

"I'd just met them," she said, embarrassed at how ... sluttish ... that sounded.

He nodded. "It's a singles club," he said. "That's what we're here for. To bring people together." He added, sombrely: "But not people like those three. I can assure you, they won't be permitted to return here. We don't tolerate that kind of behaviour at Sin City."

She recalled what he'd said earlier about "no nonconsensual sex" and wondered if that meant that consensual sex was acceptable on the premises. Some of the couples -- and trios too -- on the dance floor had been doing everything short of humping right there.

"This is a very ... original ... place. "I've never seen anything like it anywhere. In India at least."

He beamed. "Thank you. I'll be very immodest and agree with you. There's nothing like this anywhere else in India, and probably never will be. We're somewhat uniquely positioned, you see. It's not just a question of venture capital and equipment. It's an attitude. Sin City is literally an extension of our personalities. Both sides of it, the feminine mystique and the masculine drive."

Merlyn tried to follow that and failed. "Our personalities?"

"My partner, Lena Kapoor, and I."

She set the empty glass down on the wood-panelled surface beside her and stood up, smoothening down her dress even though it was hopelessly crumpled. She hoped the rips in the fabric weren't too visible.

"Mr Singh, thank you so much for helping me out back there. I have to go now."

He stood up and placed a hand on her bare shoulder, taking the torn strap of her dress between his fingers and running his hand down the rip. "I can't let you leave like this, can I?"

He smiled that same wolfish, George Clooney smile again.

"And please call me AP."