‘You can take these sheets to an eighty-piece orchestra right now and not a note will be out of place,’ the assistant beamed.

A young post-production artist chimed in about how the great Hermann always achieved a ‘sense of width,’ ‘realism’ and an ‘emotional immediacy’ through his arrangements.

Unable to keep her thoughts to herself anymore, Meera, who had waited a full hour for rehearsals to begin, piped up.

‘Everything is so perfect. I have a feeling there is no room for the unexpected. I hope you leave some space for magic to happen,’ she remarked wryly.

An uncomfortable silence followed. People who had cut their teeth in the best studios were dumbfounded. From then on, Hermann of Hamburg would always ask his crew, self-deprecatingly, to leave some space for the melody queen to walk in. It was a small victory Meera was especially proud of. She walked out of that meeting with the sweet sense of achievement – a feeling that came crashing down by the time she had reached the other end of the corridor.

‘Well, you’ve been busy.’

She felt a knot in her stomach as she recognized the voice, and tried her best not to turn around. She kept walking, but Sahil Malik wasn’t going to let go of her so easily.

‘Now don’t just walk away. For old times’ sake, give me a minute.’

She kept walking, wishing for the corridor to swallow her there and then.

‘Meera!’

His hand yanked her backwards, and she found herself pinned against a wall with Sahil breathing down her neck again. She could smell the alcohol on his breath; he’d had more than a few drinks. For a second, she wondered what would happen if somebody from the recording studio walked out and came across this scene – Meera Apte, the toast of the town, songstress par excellence who had just put a bunch of know-it-all men in their place, now stood there, pinned against a wall by a drunkard, cowering helplessly. Kamal was waiting for her outside the studio, but looking at Sahil’s rage-filled eyes, she knew that her brother’s presence wouldn’t have made a damn bit of difference to the composer.