After a laughing clink of their glasses, a cosmo for Tina, a gin and tonic for April, and a margarita on ice minus the salt for Laura, they let out a collective sigh of happiness. Until Tina started up on a recurring argument. “Now that you are finding a new job, it is on to finding a new man, girlfriend. This dry spell of yours is turning into the Sahara.” I’m blinded. All I could hear was the ringing in my ears. The wolf’s bane grenade had gone off. I squint as the fog cleared. Everything was moving in slow-mo as I tried to find him. Tried to smell him. She broke off as the waiter brought them menus. After he left, Kelly drew the conversation to Laura’s work experience, asking how long she had been an assistant to Arthur and what she had done before that. More questions about knowledge of various office applications and what her workday looked like. Finally, as the meal drew to an end, Kelly smiled and seemed satisfied. She saw the hardness once more return to his features, his fingers gripping her tighter. “You are exactly who I think you are Sara. Did it give you pleasure to fire me all those years ago, when I told you I was innocent - to accuse me of being a thief? Did it make you feel good? Because now it is my turn and believe me, I am going to enjoy this” With that he hauled her hard up against himself, his mouth taking hers in a punishing kiss, her whimper lost as she tried in vain to push him away, his arms moving around her waist, holding her tightly to him. Yes, but I wasn’t sure you would go for it. Actually, it was Tina that pushed me to tell you about it. Tina was afraid you wouldn’t do it if she put it out there. I have to admit to being surprised, but I think it’s a great idea. I’ve had a chance to meet Paul, and he is absolutely gorgeous. He can help you satisfy your needs and reintroduce you to the world of sex and men. So when the time comes to really put yourself out there, you won’t be so tentative. When Kelly first went to work for Paul, she was mousy, scared of her own shadow. Now she’s confident, ballsy, and I really do think Paul had a lot to do with that, in a very good way.”

Shyam Saran, former foreign secretary, Government of India, and former special envoy for the Prime Minister for nuclear issues and climate change Author, Seema Sirohi, says, “I have been fortunate enough to watch the arc of the India-US relationship bend towards friendship despite the bumps along the way. With this book, my aim is to fill the gaps in a narrative that is often set in the West and is often one-sided. As they say, reality is more complicated. I tell the India-US story by showing the drama of diplomacy and recounting how officials really felt about the problems and prospects of the relationship. There were moments when it seemed the centre would not hold and things would fall apart. They did not. Slowly but surely, the two ships of state turned around from hostile to a friendly posture. This decades-long dance between the two is what Friends with Benefits is all about.” The phone call that came from April as she entered her apartment later that night was far from unexpected. Only allowing herself a moment for a steady breath, Laura pushed the door open. Wow, Kelly had not been exaggerating when she said he was gorgeous. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He was tall and broad, just over six foot, with dark brown hair with a slight wave to it, and a complexion the color of honey went well with eyes the color of melting chocolate. A straight nose above a sensual mouth and cheekbones prominent below a broad forehead screamed male model. He was a fantasy come to life. Kelly—she said you were an amazing lover and she couldn’t get enough of you. She said that just thinking of you made her pussy wet. I want to know what that feels like.”I roll my eyes, “Morning Gabe.” Tactfulness wasn’t his strong suit, but at least I could rely on him to tell me the truth. Seema Sirohi has used her thirty-year experience in Washington, and deep knowledge of India and the US to write an accurate, accessible and timely account of the relationship. Mindful of pitfalls, past and future, this is not purely an optimistic tome, though it does show the good that diplomacy and political will can achieve. Friends with Benefits is well worth reading to make sense of an increasingly important relationship in a constantly changing and troubled world.’ The very first time she meets him she knows he’s what she wants, what she needs. It will be mutually beneficial for the both of them. Hot, satisfying sex on tap for the both of them. That’s all she wants, all she’s looking for, right? Falling in love isn’t on the agenda, for either of them. Allowing her finger to fall from his mouth with a soft kiss at the tip, he kept her hand in his. “How long has it been since your last lover—your fiancé, I presume?”

Wide-eyed she could only stare up at him as he repeated more determinedly, his fingers digging slightly deeper pulling her from her reverie, “Do you find me attractive Tia?” She knew she should pull herself from him, tell him that she found him disgusting and to demand he leave, but there was something about his words, an honesty which she had never before experienced, her eyes closing softly, a moan leaving her mouth “Of course I find you attractive...What woman wouldn’t, but...I am just not comfortable with...” Friends with Benefits is a delightful and sometimes pungent retelling of the transforming US–India relationship. With a veteran journalist’s practised eye, Seema Sirohi assembles extraordinary detail to vividly capture the zeitgeist of every phase in the bilateral relationship in the last thirty-odd years. Her book is a superb reminder of not only how far Washington and New Delhi have come in recent times, but also why this partnership needs constant tending if it is to deliver on its ambitions in the years ahead.’ Seema Sirohi is currently based in Washington and writes a column on foreign policy and India’s place in the world for The Economic Times. She has covered India–US relations for more than three decades for The Telegraph, Outlook and FirstPost.com. She has also reported from Italy, Austria, Israel, Slovakia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and published opinion pieces in The Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor and The Baltimore Sun. She has appeared on NDTV, India Today TV, BBC and CNN to comment on international events.I groan as I hear my alarm go off. I feel a migraine splitting my head apart as I reach around for my phone. Where did I put it? I feel around for it until I feel it on the floor next to the bed.