Kareena nodded.
The woman turned to Prem. “Dr. Verma, I didn’t realize that you were still here.”
He stood and crumpled the empty plastic mixed nuts bag. “I was just leaving. Kareena? I’ll talk to you later. Text me if you need anything.”
“I won’t.”
“I will be seeing you soon.”
“You don’t have to sound so smug about it,” she mumbled.
Prem stared at her for a moment longer, then he motioned for the nurse to follow him out of the room.
She gave him a wary look and ignored Kareena’s protest as they stepped behind the curtain and glass pane. When they were out of hearing distance, the nurse said his name like a question.
“Mrs. Baker,” he said to the nurse. “Kareena and I are . . . close.”
The nurse’s eyes went wide. Prem could only imagine that she’d be bursting at the seams, ready to tell the rest of the staff at the station that he was in a relationship.
“Yes, sir. We’ll take very good care of it.”
“I know you will. Can you recommend to her physician that they add to her aftercare notes that she’s in need of a full physical and an allergy test? She’s going to complain, but I want to make sure that this doesn’t happen to her again.”
“You got it,” the nurse said, and turned to walk back into the room.
Prem waited a few moments longer until he heard Kareena’s shriek of indignation. He grinned and strolled away whistling. This was going to be more fun than he’d thought.
Chapter Nine
Kareena
Dhruv: Hey, gorgeous. Thanks for accepting my profile.
Kareena: You’re welcome!
Dhruv: Are you into golden showers?
Kareena: BLOCK
User 875387: I want to eat you
Kareena: BLOCK
Parth: Nic pic, u wan franndship????? ??
Kareena: BLOCK
Edward: Hey, how’s it going?
Kareena: Hey. I never met a desi person named Edward before! Nice to meet you.
Edward: :-D Oh, I changed my name. Women let me bite them like a vampire more with my current name than with the name I was born with.
Kareena: BLOCK
Vinny: Hi, hello. I am seeking a wife.
Kareena: BLOCK
Jaspreet: Hey, aren’t you the girl who is supposedly dating Dr. Dil from that show?
Kareena: BLOCK
Prem-Dr. Phil: Hey, you want to go out this Saturday?
Kareena: Not particularly.
Prem-Dr. Phil: Do you have a date with someone else?
Kareena: No, not yet but keeping my options open.
Prem-Dr. Phil: I think we need to get to know each other better for when we announce that we’re together.
Kareena: I think we know each other fine.
Prem-Dr. Phil: Okay, then we need to meet for a picture. I have to post at least one social media picture since I talked about you on my show.
Kareena: That sounds like a you-problem.
Prem-Dr. Phil: Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Kareena wrenched the bolt a little too hard and nicked her finger. “Ouch,” she hissed. There was just enough light underneath the carriage of her car that she was able to pull off her glove to check to see if she was bleeding. Thankfully, it was just a red welt.
She dropped her head back against the hot pink creeper seat and closed her eyes. The early June weather made her car shed a sauna of epic proportions, but it was quiet and peaceful, which was exactly what she needed. Between work and dating and avoiding her sister’s rage-filled engagement party requests, she was exhausted.
Thankfully, Kareena’s new job, her dream job, was a place filled with wonderful women who supported her after The Dr. Dil Show continued to go viral, so work, in addition to her car, had become a place of solace from the madness.
Behind her desk at her office, or here in the backyard shed, she could finally think about Prem’s offer in peace.
Partnering with Dr. Dil meant she’d have to deal with the aftereffects of an even more public breakup later. She didn’t know if she’d be able to recover from that. But at the same time, it made sense to join forces because neither of them had very many options.
Although it may be her only option since online dating was coming up empty-handed. The aunties refused to help any more than they already had, because they were convinced that Prem was perfect for her.
Like always, Kareena was on her own. And to be fair, the house meant more to her than it did to anyone else.
“Do you just lie under there or do you actually get work done?”
Kareena jerked and almost hit her head on the undercarriage of the car. “Son of a bitch!”
“Are you hurt?” Prem’s voice was sharp now. She felt him grip her bare ankle and roll her out from her position.