Chapter 31 Deepak

Chapter 31 Deepak

KIM ISHIYAMA: Boss, incoming! Attached are some surveillance photos I took.

KIM ISHIYAMA: Olivia is back in the country! She is traveling with your sister-in-law, Sana Mathur.

KIM ISHIYAMA: Both of them look so cool, don't they? Like you either want to be them or be with them.

KIM ISHIYAMA: I am not going to get fired for this, am I?

When things went to hell in his life, they ended up doing so in the most spectacular way possible. Here he was, under a moonlit

sky, celebrating his marriage with this incredible woman, and the ex that he'd been trying to speak with the whole time to

convince her to come back for the board vote shows up at his door.

Thank god for friends , he thought. The office upstairs in Prem and Kareena's house was the perfect place to have a cordial business meeting. There

was a large standing desk in one corner, and two armchairs facing each other against the opposite wall. It reminded him that

his and Olivia's relationship had been about business this whole time.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, as he switched on the light next to the desk and closed the door behind them.

"You know how I like the drama," she said smoothly. Olivia looked around the room, then crossed to the armchairs. Her long,

manicured fingers brushed over the soft fabric of one of the matching throw pillows. "Your friends have good taste. I would've

liked to get to know them better. Not like it matters now that you're married."

He'd rehearsed this a dozen times, and the only words that came out of his mouth were weak, and not nearly enough. "I'm sorry."

She raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For saying yes to marrying you knowing I was in love with another woman," Deepak replied. He knew that now. Veera had always

been the one, but he'd been so stubborn about wanting to marry the perfect person for the business, not the perfect person

for him. "You deserved so much more than me."

"Just tell me this," she said quietly. "Sana said you and Veera hadn't spoken since the day we got together, but I want to

hear it from you. While we were engaged, did you—"

"No," he said, quickly. "No, not at all."

She cocked her head, as if she were genuinely curious. "Then how did you get married to her twenty-four hours after leaving

me?"

"Didn't Sana tell you?" he asked. If they were together romantically like Veera had said, then Sana would've told Olivia all

their secrets. The drunken night in Goa, and all the scheming that happened afterward.

"Deepak, she's not exactly your number one fan right now," Olivia said. "She is upset that you hurt both me and her sister.

Anytime your name comes up, it's usually followed by the phrase ‘fuck men.'"

He cocked his head to the side. "Hurt Veera? Because of her job?"

Olivia clucked her tongue and shook her head. "Sana is right about one thing. Fuck men."

"Olivia..."

She adjusted the throw pillow on one of the chairs, taking her sweet time. "From what I heard, Veera was in love with you

when you were still friends. Practically from the beginning. She wasn't hurt that you didn't tell her about me. She was heartbroken

that the man she was in love with was marrying another woman. A woman that he thought was perfect for him when she was right

there."

He gaped at her. "Veera had feelings for me, for that long?" He pressed a fist to his chest. Some of the throbbing pain from

the past few weeks seemed to ease. Wow, he really was an ass. How could he not see it? How could he not know?

"For being so smart, you developed a one-track mind, sweetie, and became way too concerned with Illyria votes and not enough

with the person right under your nose."

His head still reeling with the truth about Veera, Deepak thought about Goa, about stepping onto that mandap, and smiled in

memory of Veera's drunken exuberance. "I don't know how I missed it this whole time," he said quietly.

To love and be loved by his best friend felt like... magic.

Olivia sat in the armchair and crossed one leg over the other in one smooth move. "Once you catch your breath, what do you

plan on doing about it?"

"Make it legal," he said immediately. "I want the second time around to be something that she'll remember even more than the

first. I love her, Olivia." The words were so easy to say now. They felt as natural as breathing.

Olivia nodded, her mouth pursed, her legs spread as if to brace herself. "I'm not a bad person, Deepak. I'm glad you're happy. Just know that I don't know if I can forgive you. Not yet, maybe not ever. But I can be kind to my girlfriend's twin."

"I understand that," he said. "I can even respect it. And you didn't owe me your time, either, so I appreciate that you gave

it to me so I could explain myself."

She nodded, her eyes shifting to the side as if she were thinking of what to say next. Then she added, "And I'm sorry, too.

For the videos, and all the moments that I hated you. The truth is, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have spent time with

Sana."

Deepak tilted his head, smiling. "How did you and Sana end up together? Veera told me, and I still couldn't believe it. Did

she find you and then you saw her and thought ‘yeah, she's the one'?"

Olivia shrugged. "We've known each other for years. Traveled in the same circles. We were always like a match and flame. And

finally, we ignited." Olivia sighed, her expression relaxed and peaceful, as if she'd finally found her calm spot in the chaos

that was her life. She was always so intense, and it was only fitting that she fell in love in such an intense, chaotic way.

"I'm happy for you, but what's with showing up at Karva Chauth?"

"Oh," she said. She blinked in rapid succession. Her long lashes fluttering. "I didn't want you to be caught by surprise.

Neither Sana nor I thought you two should see it in the news."

"News?"

"Sana is the other candidate the board is considering for CEO. Because of her connections, her experience, and the fact that

she's a queer Indian woman in an industry that needs change in the C-suite, she can unseat you."

"Shit," Deepak said. He had wondered if Sana was the candidate. His incredibly efficient assistant had been keeping him up-to-date on office gossip, but no one could figure out the details. "I was afraid you'd say that."

Sana would be amazing at the job, no doubt about it. And she had just as much of a claim over Illyria as he did when it came

to legacy.

Olivia checked her coffin-shaped nails, a term he'd learned from reality TV that Veera had made him watch the week before.

"The board meeting isn't for another week, but Malkit wants to do a big press release and announcement. The intention is to

create some chaos. His plan is to accuse you of setting up the wedding with his daughter as a way to distract from the fact

that you aren't fit to be the next leader. That you lack maturity and knowledge to be the head of a global organization."

Deepak sat heavily in the desk chair opposite Olivia. He braced his forearms on his knees. This news kept getting worse and

worse. He scrubbed his hands over his face.

"How can Sana not see what her father is doing?" Deepak said. "He's using her."

"I know," Olivia said gently. Her sigh was heavy. "I don't agree with any of it, so I convinced Sana to stop here on the way

to her parents' house. I told her she should warn her sister first. She's not listening, Deepak. Hopefully Veera can talk

some sense into her. But my baby is hurt and she's trying to protect both her sister and herself. Not that she wouldn't make

an excellent CEO, but she doesn't want it. She would hate leading Illyria Media Group."

Deepak could understand why Sana was lashing out. The way Veera talked about her twin bond was something special and different from what he, as an only child, ever knew. But from a practical perspective, he also knew that this was a PR nightmare about to happen.

Deepak's thoughts raced with all the potential pitfalls a message intended to create chaos could do, especially if that candidate

was a Mathur daughter who had been ceremoniously kicked out of the company before the merger. That kind of gossip would impact

their stock prices, and there was a chance they would lose advertisers over it. Right before their big holiday season.

His goal should be to squash any plans for Sana's candidacy and protect Illyria Media Group. He had spent his entire career

determined to cultivate the company that his grandfather and then his father had built. He was set to lead an empire.

But if the press release referenced his marriage, questioned Veera's intentions and character, then he'd give up his career,

the company, and his dream in the blink of an eye to protect Veera's heart.

"I have to go," he said and got to his feet. He needed to be with Veera. He needed to tell her how much he loved her, and

that everything would be okay. He wanted to tell her that if she wanted to support Sana, he wouldn't ask her to choose between

her twin and her husband.

And he needed to tell her that he knew. He knew that she loved him and that he felt the same way. That he wanted to do more

than date. He wanted to make their marriage permanent.

Legal.

Forever.

Seven lifetimes with Veera Mathur would never be enough.

"Thanks, Olivia," he said. He held out a hand to help her to her feet. "This means a lot to me that you're here."

"You're welcome," Olivia replied. She placed her clawed fingers in his, accepting his offer of assistance. Then he let her go, the cool, professional connection between them the same as it ever was. She crossed the room but paused when she touched the doorknob. Her smile was enhanced with a shiny peach gloss. "It's so strange, isn't it? That the Mathurs have these incredible daughters, but their father is an absolute prick. And you're an absolute prick, and you have these incredible parents."

Deepak grinned at her. "You're hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. Why don't you save it for your column instead of trying to

dish out terrible auntie advice in person? It doesn't suit your influencer role."

Olivia winked at him. "I think it's time for Mrs. W.S. Gupta to retire anyway. What started out as a joke has become way

too serious for the rest of the Indian community.

"I remember when you gave me the job all those years ago, and we planned it out to be more of a farce, but there are WhatsApp

chats dedicated to that column now. Way too creepy. Besides, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the board realizes

who I am."

"I can protect you," Deepak said simply. "Even with all the passive-aggressive digs that you've made over the last few months,

I'll shield the information personally. After all, I've kept it a secret all these years when you first started working freelance

at Indians Abroad News . Even when you were tearing apart my best friends, Prem and Bunty, and I wanted to fire you for the stunts you pulled. If

you want to keep writing..."

Olivia shook her head, her smile deepening. "Mrs. W.S. Gupta has caused enough problems in your life over the years. And

Prem's love life was hilarious content. I had no choice but to write about him."

"You're just lucky it turned out okay," Deepak said dryly. He would've immediately told his best friend about the columnist, but after all these years, he honored the nondisclosures he had signed with a young, eager Olivia who had just wanted to make content and heal from the grief of her father's sudden death.

"It always turns out okay, Deepak." With a salacious wink, she said, "It'll turn out okay for you, too. Let me know how I

can help. I'll gladly work with you to get Sana out of her father's clutches." She was out the door in a flourish of big hair

and perfume.

Deepak smiled, and he knew that if their circumstances were different, they could still be friends. But right now, he needed

to talk to Veera.

He left the office and walked down the stairs to the foyer. He half expected Veera to be waiting for him, but instead, all

he found were his mother, Kareena, and Bobbi.

"I had my driver take her back to Brooklyn," his mother whispered when Deepak reached her. "She left almost ten minutes ago.

She said she didn't want to be here. My daughter-in-law is upset, Deepak. Go fix it."

He wasn't sure what Sana had said to Veera, but knowing that she left on her own, that he wasn't there to support her ...

Deepak kissed his mother's cheek. "Do you think you could—"

"I'll handle everything," she said, then motioned for Deepak to go.

He didn't waste any more time, and with a quick "thank you" and kiss on her cheek, he was out the door. He had a runaway wife

to catch.