Chapter Thirteen Ajay

This was not how he’d planned on spending his weekend, Ajay thought.

He’d just had a life-altering experience, watching Raj hold a puppy, his heart clenching at the pure joy on her face. He’d been sucker punched with the realization that he was in grave danger of feeling more than attraction and lust for this woman.

This was uncharted territory and his red-alert button was beeping uncontrollably in his head every time he looked at her.

And dammit, instead of focusing on Raj, he had to work. For the first time in his adult life, he wasn’t prioritizing his father’s company. He wanted to be with a woman instead.

If that didn’t make his red-alert button blare an even more deafening alarm, he didn’t know what would. It was vital now for Ajay to get his feelings under control. There was too much at stake for him to fall in love with a woman just because she looked like a goddess holding a puppy.

He brooded as they went back to Raj’s brownstone for her to change, and then back to his penthouse where he dropped off his car. His driver picked them up shortly after and started the trek to New Jersey.

“Are your brothers going to meet us at your place?” Raj asked.

“Hem, Mina, and Mina’s father, Tushar, will be there.”

Raj sat on the bench seat across from him, scrolling through her phone and nodding absently. “You got lucky with Tushar. He’s been great to work with. He’s already reviewed preliminary corporate documents.”

“But not Sri.”

She paused in her scrolling to glance at him. “No. Not Sri.”

Ajay had known Sri was a liability for a while now. Not because of Raj, but because of the man’s failure to provide current information. Why hadn’t he shared the intel about Sahar during one of his daily status updates?

“Can I ask you something?” he said to Raj.

She raised a brow. “If you’re done being pissy.”

“What? I was not being pissy.”

“Mmm-hmm,” she said, watching her phone. “You know, I’m only coming along because I feel a sense of obligation. My company started this project for Bharat, and even though RKH was removed, I follow through. You could be a little more grateful about it. I don’t have to be here.”

“Okay, fine. I was being pissy.” He didn’t have to tell her that he was actually pissy about the way things were between them, and not about the phone call she’d received from one of his employees. “Sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” she said.

“Great. I need your input.”

She sighed, which only made him grin.

“What is it?”

“Let’s say Bharat is hemorrhaging because of this mole who is selling our trade secrets. Hypothetically.”

“Right. Hypothetically.”

“We addressed Sahar, thanks to your company, but now we learn that we haven’t found the actual culprit. Other than fire Sri, what would you do?”

Raj put her phone aside. “You can’t really get anything accomplished if you don’t fire the people who are making bad calls. If you don’t fire Sri, nothing else you do will be of any value. Why are you so adamant about keeping Sri in the first place?”

Ajay rolled his shoulders, hating to admit how much he’d been at fault from the beginning with his head of security. “Because Sri was my first big hire at Bharat. When I started working as COO, I wanted a security department, so I personally handled the staffing. It was a big job to get that team set up. My father trusted me completely to do it right.”

Raj shrugged. “So? You made a call that at the time you felt was right. People change. Circumstances change. You can’t blame yourself if Sri didn’t turn out the way you’d hoped. Look at me. I hired my husband, and I never thought he’d screw me.”

Ajay grinned, took her hands, and dropped kisses in the centers of her palms. “What you’re saying is that it’s not me.”

“Are any of your other businesses in trouble?”

Ajay thought about his family’s vineyard. It was better than ever. They were now thinking about opening up a boutique B and B on the premises. The properties in Europe were thriving, and the other luxury investments were producing profits at exponential rates. He’d been personally responsible for making decisions about every project under the HAZ Industries umbrella.

“Bharat is the only one,” he finally answered.

“Then no one is going to question your decision to fire Sri except you,” she said, and leaned forward to give him a quick kiss.

“Yeah. Okay.” He felt marginally better but couldn’t decide if it was her words or the kiss that did it. He let her get back to her emails and knew that he had to use the rest of their travel time to work, too.

They’d attended to business for the rest of the drive to New Jersey. Raj worked on her phone, Ajay on his laptop. She asked him his opinion on various investments, and he asked hers as he thought about his impending CEO nomination and the patent application that still needed to be addressed. As weird as it sounded, sharing so many things in common and talking to Raj in the same language was comforting. He felt closer to her in some ways, and it was another layer of her personality that he felt intimately connected to.

The car turned into the long driveway, and Raj shifted forward until she sat at the edge of her seat to look out the window.

“Impressive,” she said.

Ajay grinned. “That’s the point.”

They pulled in front of the main house, and Ajay led Raj up the stairs to the front doors. After they kicked off their shoes on the entranceway mat, they walked barefoot down the tile corridor, past the arched opening, and into the expansive living room. His father staggered to his feet from his spot at the end of the long cream-colored sectional in front of a TV with international business news playing on low. His smile was bright, even though there was still worry in his eyes.

“Puttar? We weren’t expecting you today. Is everything okay? You brought company.”

Ajay rushed forward to grab his father’s arm. “Why don’t you sit down?”

“Nonsense. We have a guest!”

“Well, this handsome gentleman looks even more dashing since the last time I saw him,” Raj said smoothly. She crossed the room as quickly as Ajay had and took his father’s hands. “You can greet me just fine from this wonderful couch you’ve been sitting on. Just like your name suggests. A king on his throne.”

Deepak laughed, his cheeks turning ruddy with pleasure.

“Hullo, beti,” he said, referring to her as daughter.

“Why don’t you get comfortable? We’ll go dancing later when you’re up for it.” She gently urged him back onto the cushions even as she gave him a quick wink.

“It’s so lovely to see you, despite what can’t be the best of circumstances if my son has dragged you here on a Saturday for work.”

Ajay met Raj’s eyes and saw the understanding in them. He hadn’t told his parents about their brand-new relationship. He and Raj might be in their thirties, but he was an Indian man. His mother would make his life hell if she knew that they were dating. Hopefully Raj understood Ajay’s reasons for self-preservation with his family despite his eagerness to share the news with others.

The sound of the front door opening echoed down the hall. “Hello?” Hem called out.

“They must’ve been right behind us,” Ajay said. “We’re in the living room, guys!”

Hem and Mina walked in moments later.

“You know, I’m going to look forward to nailing this bastard. He keeps ruining my weekends,” Hem said.

“Puttar?” Ajay’s father gripped his wrist. “What is Hem talking about?”

“It’s a bit of a story, Papa,” Ajay said. “Raj, why don’t you— What? What is it?”

All her charm seemed to slip. He wondered what he’d done, then he realized that she wasn’t looking at him, but at someone over his shoulder.

His mother had entered the room, her hands clasped in front of her. “Hullo,” she said.

Mina was closest to her, so she reached out and gave her a quick hug. “Aunty, I smell something delicious.”

“Daal and rice,” his mother said and pinched Mina’s chin with affection. “More than enough for my future daughter-in-law. We’ll have some soon.”

Ajay could smell it now, too. The rich scent of spice wafted through the house, and his hunger warred with his focus on Raj and his concern for his father’s legacy.

He looked back at the woman who’d complicated his thoughts for the last month. For someone so easy with people, she remained quiet. She’d instantly charmed his father on two occasions now, but seemed to hide behind a wall with his mother. Ajay remembered that her own relationship with her mother was strained, especially since the woman was dying. He wondered if that was affecting her mood.

He looped an arm around his mother’s petite frame. “Rajneet Kaur Hothi. This is the first love of my life. Mumma, Raj is Mina’s best friend, as well as CEO and founder of RKH Collective, a company that Bharat is looking to purchase.”

“Ah, a smart woman,” his mother said in English. She held out a hand to shake. “Welcome to my home, Rajneet.”

Raj stepped forward to take the offered hand. “Sat Sri Akaal, Auntyji.” She shook, and then pressed her hands together in front of her chest. “You have a beautiful home and beautiful children, too.”

Ajay’s mother’s eyes instantly filled with tears. Raj’s calm expression turned to panic, and she looked at him, as if begging for him to do something, to do anything.

“Don’t worry about the crying,” Mina said as she came to the rescue. “She did that to me, too, the first time I spoke to her in Punjabi. Well, sort of. That day was a bit different than today.”

Ajay’s mother nodded vigorously, then pressed a hand to her chest. “I have such lovely sardarnis in my house now. It feels like home.”

“You’ve been a US citizen and calling New Jersey home for over thirty years,” Ajay quipped.

“Chup kaar,” she snapped at him. “We have guests.” Her smile, as bright as a sunbeam, brightened the room. “Would you like some cha? Why don’t you sit and have your discussion? I’ll have the cooks bring it out for us with some biscuits. Then, when you’re done, we’ll have a late lunch.”

“Thanks, Mumma,” Ajay said.

He waited until she left before he motioned for all of them to sit.

“Why don’t you talk about the phone call?” he said to Raj. “I think we should start there.”

Raj nodded, and then with her hands folded in front of her, she recapped the conversation she’d had with Roshan.

Hem swore and Ajay’s father sucked in a deep, audible breath.

“I thought the mole was Sahar,” Ajay’s father said.

“Apparently not,” Ajay said. “She never went to work for WTA. Completely vanished. And, apparently, Sri knew about her disappearance and never told me.”

“Did you tell Zail and Bhram?” Hem asked.

“Not yet. I know they need to be brought up to speed.”

Ajay’s father raised a hand to silence his sons. He shifted to look at Raj. “You didn’t have to bring this information to us.”

“If you’re going to buy my company, you need to know that both I and my business are built on integrity. I also feel... responsible. My people discovered Sahar Ali Khan’s background. But maybe we were wrong after all. I would like to lend my services in any way I can.”

Ajay clasped her knee and squeezed. He realized everyone had seen the gesture and focused on his hand. He immediately pulled away.

As the conversation continued around them, he realized that his father’s bright smile was focused on him, despite the chaos their company was in. Deepak Singh was going to tell his wife that Ajay had touched a girl, and it was going to be all over for him. How was he going to address his mother when things were still so new with Raj?

“I think you guys need a red herring,” Mina said, her words breaking his focus from the woman at his side.

“A red herring? What do you mean?”

“A distraction. You need a distraction that will take WTA’s attention away from the mole and onto something else. Luckily, you have one.”

“Still not following, Mina,” he said.

“Look, WTA wants information the mole can provide. Robert, Raj’s ex, is now WTA’s representative. It would be important for him to know the mole, assuming that Robert was the kind of guy to play dirty.”

“He is,” Raj said without a qualm.

Mina grinned. “If you announce that Bharat is buying your company, Raj, would Robert care?”

“Probably, since our divorce—” She glanced at Ajay’s father. “Our divorce isn’t final yet. My ex would be concerned about how it would make him look. He’d most definitely confront me about it.”

“So not only would he be distracted from finding out Bharat’s trade secrets, he’d also possibly let something slip when he speaks with you. Something that we can use.”

“And it’ll teach Robert a lesson, which I wholeheartedly support,” Raj said, her voice hard. “We have to move quickly, though. Ajay, what do you think? Are you ready to make me an offer for my business?”

Isn’t that the multimillion-dollar question? he thought. “It’s a stretch that all of this will work. We can test your theory by spreading the rumor that we’re buying your company.”

Mina shook her head. “There might be other people involved. You’re going to have to make it a real thing. That’s what you want anyway, right?”

Ajay still needed answers about her financials, her company focus and strategy, and her client sales contracts.

Most importantly, he hadn’t had an opportunity to talk to Zail. The news would affect him the most, both from a security perspective and from a personal one.

Zail was his baby brother. His feelings had always been the softest. Ajay needed to think about Zail over Raj at this point. Family came first.

“Puttar.” His father’s voice cut through his thoughts. “You can’t make everyone happy,” he said softly.

Ajay faced Raj again. The light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling cathedral windows and shone on the deep inky black of her hair. This move would effectively tie their histories together forever. It might still be a business decision for her, but his family’s legacy was personal to him.

The corner of her mouth curved, and she raised that perfectly arched brow, the move a direct challenge. She was asking him what he was waiting for, and he wished he could answer her. He wanted approval, trust, and belief that he was meant to lead this company, lead the family business that he’d loved from childhood.

But sometimes that meant taking risks and not receiving the family validation he craved.

Ajay pulled out his phone and called Rafael.

“Rafael, I know it’s a Sunday, but I need you to get my head of communications on the line for that meeting in an hour. Tell them to prep our standard release for an acquisition. We’re about to purchase a company.”

“Yes, sir. Is that all?”

Ajay pulled the phone away from his ear. “Raj, do you want our communications team to draft the release for your office, too?”

The withering look she shot him had Ajay grinning before he told Rafael he was good.

“I’m trying to help,” he said when he hung up.

“Stay in your lane, Singh. The company isn’t yours yet. You still haven’t given me a dollar amount.”

“Then I guess we better get to work finishing the financial assessment if we’re going to print tomorrow with the news.”

Raj whipped out her own phone and stood. “Hey, Tracey? I need you to email me a few files from Legal. Oh, and get Harnette on my calendar for an hour from now, please.”

She excused herself as she left the living room. Ajay’s mother had reentered and watched as Raj passed her, phone in hand.

“She’s perfect for you, my baby,” Ajay’s mother said. Her round face beamed with joy. “You both know how to order people around on your phones.”

“Aunty,” Mina said with a grin. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”