Chapter 4 Veera

Chapter 4 Veera

Veera, Sana, and Deepak had all convened at the outdoor beachfront bar at the hotel. The patio was covered by a thatched roof

with wide fawn-shaped ceiling fans, and tables angled to face the sand and the crystal-clear water.

Instead of focusing on the scenic view or enjoying the soft instrumental music filtering through discreet speakers hidden

behind clusters of coconut shells, they stared at the small phone screen situated between three half-empty glasses.

"Sometimes a man can't help it if he's emotionally unavailable."

Deepak stopped the video from replaying, then flipped his phone face down in the center of the table. "So Olivia's ‘get ready

with me' video is why I am now hiding here in Goa with you," he said.

He leaned back in his chair, and despite the fact that his position as CEO was now a tenuous one, he looked so much more relaxed

than he had when he arrived. His button-down shirt was open at the neck, and his board shorts fell to his knees. He even wore

a pair of sunglasses that he propped on top of his damp windswept hair.

Sana let out a low whistle and slid her mango margarita across the table toward him. "She's cruel but I don't think I've ever

known her to be that evil."

"You know each other?" he asked, as he waved off her margarita offer.

"Unfortunately," Sana said. She folded her arms on the table and leaned forward. "We had the same friends in college and ran into each other. Consider yourself lucky that she left you."

"Sana," Veera chided. "That's not nice."

"Well, it's true," she said. "Olivia is the most dramatic person you'll ever meet. She once decided to stop speaking for a

whole semester because her brother was kicked off the football team, and she was protesting. The best semester of our lives."

Veera could tell that her sister was about to say something unkind about his relationship to Olivia, so she delivered a quick,

swift kick to her twin's leg.

"Ouch," Sana yelped.

"What is it?" Deepak asked, bending down as if he were checking for an intruder. "What happened?"

"Nothing yet," Veera said, glaring at her sister.

Sana rolled her eyes. She didn't care if she hurt Deepak's feelings. A part of her still resented Deepak for keeping his COO

title at Illyria Media Group after the merger. He was the heir apparent to the business that Sana always thought she also

had a claim to. Veera knew that her sister had joined them for drinks and acted with a modicum of civility because Veera asked

her to, but it was clear that she was still bitter.

Sana motioned to the half-empty glasses on the table. "I'm going to need to keep drinking if we're going to continue to act

like one big happy family. Anyone need a refill?"

Both Veera and Deepak shook their heads.

"Suit yourself," she said, turning toward the bar, leaving Deepak and Veera sitting in silence.

"She still hates me, doesn't she?" Deepak asked when Sana was out of earshot.

Veera shook her head. "I think hate is a strong word."

"Then ‘loathe' is probably more accurate."

She didn't respond. They both knew the truth.

Most of the pavilion was empty in the late afternoon with beachgoers back in their bungalows or rooms getting ready for a

long night out. The ocean breeze was cooling under the tropical sun, and Veera relaxed into her seat, despite the fact that

she was sitting across from a man who awakened every nerve ending, every quiet desire in her soul.

Veera thought that the ocean could be a balm to her sore, beating heart. She'd already tried the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Christ

the Redeemer in Brazil, and Mount Kilimanjaro. The breathtaking views on her trip had allowed Veera the space to lose herself

in something bigger than her problems. But they were just waiting for her when she was finished running away.

India was supposed to be the Mathur sisters' last stop. They would connect with a few investors, and then go back to the States

where they were licensed so they could open up their business in New York. Now that Sana had backed out of their plan, Veera

would have to face her demons by herself.

Starting with Deepak.

She knew his patient, steady eyes were still trained on her profile, even as she accepted that his interest in her wasn't

romantic. She was never going to be the perfect match for him. Not when he wanted someone compatible for his business, too.

"Where did you go?"

Deepak's deep, smooth voice sliced through her thoughts like a cleaver. She turned to look at his beautiful face, defined

against the sunlight.

"I'm just thinking how surreal it is that we're both in Goa," she said absently. "I was sure that the next time I saw you

would be at your wedding. If I was invited, that is. With Olivia and Sana's beef, that was probably debatable."

His brow furrowed. "I wouldn't have let that happen. You're important to me. I'd want you to be there."

But not important enough.

"Once someone gets married," she said patiently, "they become a part of a unit. Olivia's opinion would've mattered."

"You and I are a unit," he said stubbornly. "We're friends . "

"With a very complicated work history now," Veera replied softly.

This time his jaw ticked. "I'm sorry for what your father did to you and your sister, Sana. But we were ready to hire you

back in a heartbeat in a different department."

"Despite family relationships, Sana and I earned our positions in Dad's company. We didn't need Illyria's pity hire. No, we

were going to earn our way back—" Veera stopped when she realized that Sana and she were no longer a "we."

Deepak leaned across the table until they were inches apart. "Vee, you are one of the smartest people I know. You would've

never been a pity hire."

She tried to smile at him but couldn't meet his eyes. "It doesn't matter now. I'm supposed to be back stateside in a few days.

That was the plan. Sana and I were going to start a business together. Mathur Financial Group, redux. But now she wants to

consult full-time. She has no intention of returning to Jersey."

"Which means you're starting that business on your own," he said. He sounded so sure, so confident. As if there was no question

in the world that she could do it. The faith in her was a blissful familiar warmth Veera always felt around Deepak.

She itched to reach out and tuck the stray curl off his forehead and cup the softness of his smooth, shaven cheek. Just for

a moment. Instead, she placed her hands under her thighs. Sitting on them was the better alternative than touching what didn't

belong to her.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do," she finally said. "What about you? Any plans on responding to Olivia's video with a press statement?"

"Still working on it," he replied ruefully. "No one knows I'm here, including our friends, so hopefully the next few days

will give me a chance to figure out how I'm going to save my candidacy."

Veera knew that she didn't have a right to ask, that she shouldn't interfere, but she couldn't help herself. She leaned over

the table. "Why didn't you tell me when you first decided to marry Olivia? After we became friends, you used to tell me everything,

but I found out at Prem and Kareena's wedding when I overheard our moms talking in the bathroom about it. Then there was the

press release."

His eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline. "You never told me that."

"Considering my job insecurity a week later when the merger began, I didn't exactly have time."

He leaned closer to her and twisted one of her stray curls around his finger and tugged ever so slightly. "I didn't mention

Olivia because I didn't want to disappoint you."

She gaped. "Disappoint me ?"

"Your opinion matters, and I knew even then that marrying Olivia was very much a... business decision. I didn't think you'd

approve."

"No," she said. "No, I probably wouldn't have." She didn't add that her reasons for why she thought they didn't belong together

were purely selfish on her part.

Before Veera could urge the conversation into more neutral territory, Deepak tugged on her curl again. The warmth of his hand

was so close to her cheek that she had to fight the urge to lean into his touch.

"Now can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm," she said.

"It's been eight months since you left to travel the world. Did you think about us?"

" Us? " Her heart began to pound hard enough that she was afraid he'd see the thrumming at the base of her neck. She felt like he'd

slowly reopened the wound that she'd worked hard to seal shut after all this time.

"I'm glad you valued our friendship," she said, then sat back in her seat.

He frowned at her, then cocked his head. "I value you—"

"I brought shots!" Sana said, as she placed a small tray down between them. There were six small shot glasses in various hues

arranged in a circle. She plopped down in her chair and immediately placed two glasses in front of Veera, then another two

in front of Deepak.

"You can't be serious," Veera said, blandly. "We're not twenty-five, Sana."

"No, which is why this is going to hurt so much more in the morning. But, hey, I think we could all use some mind-numbing

liquid courage. That's what people do in Goa, right?" She lifted one glass and cleared her throat. "To almost dying in a yacht-wreck!"

Deepak glanced at Veera, then at the drinks. "What the hell," he said, as he lifted his shot glass. "To potentially losing

my chance at CEO and my legacy."

Veera looked between the two of them and knew that she was outnumbered. Maybe this would help cauterize her heart wounds.

She picked up one of the glasses and held it up. "To wasting eight months traveling around the world only to not have a job,

a lover, or a family."

Deepak and Sana stared at her, their mouths gaping.

In her defense, it was technically their idea to toast. She tossed back the shot and felt the burn of the subpar liquor slide down her throat.

Sana and Deepak finally drank their shots, and they all turned their glasses upside down on the table.

Then Sana handed out the second shot glass. In the distance, a group of hotel employees were walking across the sandy beach

toward the water's edge. They carried large parts of a mandap with them that they were most likely going to set up for a sunset

wedding. Veera had been at the hotel long enough to see a few small, quiet elopements occur on the same makeshift platform.

"To the bride and groom getting married today!" Sana said, lifting her shot glass in the direction of the mandap construction.

"To rejoining the marriage market!" Deepak said, holding up his glass, too.

Veera thought about their toast, then held up her glass as well. "To updating my LinkedIn profile!"

She was met with stares again, but she didn't care. She downed the shot in one burning gulp. When the familiar numbness began

to seep through her blood, the floating sensation that took some of the weight off her shoulders, she embraced it wholeheartedly.

The man she'd fallen in love with was here, not because he wanted to help her when she called... but because she was a

convenient place to hide from his problems. The sister she'd trusted hadn't wanted to travel with her so they could go into

business. And her best friends back home, the found family she'd loved since they were in college, had no idea what was going

on in her life anymore.

So if she fell into another shot glass or two to help feel just a bit disconnected from the world, even if it was just for

one night, she was going to embrace the moment with open arms.

She stood and shouted in the general direction of the bar, "More shots, please!"