Chapter 5: The Belly Dancer

Tazz had a weird feeling, he began to grow anxious but controlled his emotions.

The dancer, Mahira stepped forward and her face finally became visible to all, the audience held their breath while Tazz froze,... there she was, an epitome of beauty, elegance and oomph! she looked every bit the mistress of her art, just for a brief moment her eyes met with Tazz’s, the clock  stopped ticking for that one brief fraction of a second.. and then she broke into a full fledged performance, like she did not know him.

Anger and hatred filled his heart as he went back in time, the pictures of her being intimate with another man flashed before him, shamelessly as she moved to every beat of the percussionist, Sonia turned to look at Tazz and felt uneasy as she tried to work hard to maintain her poise, unable to hold back anymore, Tazz stood up, eyes red with rage, the music stopped as Tazz stepped on the stage and walked up to her like a lion walks towards its prey.She stopped dancing and looked into his eyes as he grabbed her arms with both his hands, his grip was too tight for her delicate skin to bear and she winced...entire hall went dead quiet, the staff members did not know what irked the boss .

“Mahira huh!” he seethed with anger, she could feel his breath on her face, albeit hot breath.. like volcano spewing lava , she looked him in the eye, a mixed gamut of emotions flitted across both their eyes, “Mahira what? the Belly dancer? the bar dancer or the stripper?” .

Fear rose in her heart as she thought of the upcoming ruckus that he might create, yet she kept a brave facade

‘Do I know you ?, I... I don’t like my performance being disrupted mid..”

“ Performance  yeah!” he almost yelled, then he looked around and found Mr. Lee the HR manager,

“Mr. Lee, is this where the company funds are utilised,” he fumed as Lee shivered and broke in cold sweat, “ The hard earned money is splurged on entertaining our staff with trashy performances by hi class whores and escorts,” The staff members were shocked at their boss’s sudden outburst.

“M.. Mr. ji, Sir , its not how it looks, I.. I can...”

“Shut up,”, Tazz roared and looked at Manoj. One look from his boss and he understood what needed to be done, within 3 minutes the party was over and the entire hall was left with only them two and Sonia, she didn’t want to leave but knew she had to, she had never seen Maya before and was confused as to why a mere dancer caught Tazz’s fancy.

“Ill wait for you at the hotel room Tazz” deliberately emphasising on the word room, then left as she did not get any reply from Tazz.

Silence befell the hall... just the two of them were left, his grip on her arms tightened

“Performance is what you give the best right?’ he hissed

“Is this what you wanted from life? is this why you left me... really ? he smiled venomously,

“well, serves you right.. looks like this guy whom you left me for... ‘the one who was better in both ‘Money & Bed’ right?” he reminded her sarcastically as he made the sign of inverted commas in air ...

“thats what you had mentioned in the letter you left me with.... is he so good in money & bed that he first makes you strip every night for Money and then makes you Bed with different people .... thats how you  satiate your greed for money and hunger for lust” he paused as if realising something,

“ Tell me something... If I wasn’t a man enough for you, why did you not tell me, I would have arranged more men for you, I did have money, why did you have to run away for this... or is it ?,” He paused then sneered  “or is it that you always loved multiple male attention, always wanted more than one man to satiate your needs....you never wanted to marry me or anyone, this is  what you wanted... to be a whore, to be....”

“Stop it” Mahira fumed as she shut her eyes hard , her face red with anger, she took a deep breath and hissed through clenched teeth as she stared at him

“who do you think you are ? how dare you speak to me like this? I am Mahira,” she raised her voice as she spoke, “ I think you are mistaking me to be someone else and I don’t care what you think about her, you have no right to judge me or any woman, how dare you call me a whore, is this how you behave with the women in your house, you are a jerk of the first order, a disgusting pig and don’t you dare utter another filthy word” she lashed out at him while struggling to break free from his grip, but he was too strong for her.

“Don't even try” he glowered at her.

She stopped and looked up at him, their eyes locked and worlds lost, One displayed fire while other displayed rage

“what do you think you’re doing, let me go or ill...” suddenly he lowered his head and locked his lips with her, her mind whirled around and she felt a current run through her body, his kiss was deep, passionate but more so filled with anger, like he was punishing her.

It had been about a couple of minutes and she was beginning to get breathless, she bit on his lip and he let her go, “so much for calling me a whore, look at what you’re doing, aren't you a characterless man Mr. .... so next time before you throw a pebble in a puddle, beware that the drops will definitely splash back on you as well... even if the puddle is clean and clear. I , am Mahira Saha, do you get it , Mahira Saha,” she emphasised on her name,  “a belly dancer and a teacher, I don’t know you and hopefully will never have to bump into you ever again, if we do .. then I shall avoid you like a plague.. goodbye” saying so she turned around and hurried out.

Tazz stood still ,all alone,  he was sure it was Maya, the kiss confirmed it for him, he knew her feel, her touch and her skin, thousands of questions flooded his mind.

He took out his cell phone and dialled a number as he walked out of the venue “ Mahira Saha , complete information by tomorrow on my desk”