Chapter Fifteen Ajay

Ajay woke with the instinctive awareness that that it was almost four in the morning. He couldn’t help but smile, even before he opened his eyes, because he felt Raj in his arms, in his bed. She shifted, as if hearing his thoughts, and her bottom snuggled against his morning wood. It was tempting to touch her, to wake her, as well, but she needed sleep. Today was going to be a long one for everybody. He grabbed his phone from the side table and turned off his alarm.

Raj shifted again, and her adorably sexy sigh of contentment echoed like a quiet whisper in the dark of the room. His vision adjusted to the early-morning shadows, and he propped his head in his hand and looked down at her full, relaxed mouth, the thick fan of lashes forming a crescent shape on her cheeks, and the smooth, naked skin scrubbed free of makeup.

She looked so innocent now, unlike the reserved woman he’d gotten to know. And then, when she set out to seduce him, who would’ve thought this strong, smart, gorgeous, classy woman would accept his filthy demands and beg for more? The things they’d done together still made him grin.

He waited for a few more minutes, enjoying her warmth, the softness of her skin, and her presence in his bed, before he slid from under the covers, phone in hand. He set out a towel and a new toothbrush for her in his bathroom, then he grabbed a pair of boxers and left the room.

He switched on lights as he moved through the kitchen but paused when he saw the small swatch of black panties hooked over the arm of one of his dining chairs. He took the underwear, walked over to a small side table in his living area, and shoved them inside a drawer.

He’d deal with his feelings about why he wanted to keep them later.

The rest of the kitchen was in decent shape. That surprised him since they’d gone at each other like animals. He knew that he needed time to figure out how he felt about her, but he couldn’t stop himself from wanting her and wanting to be with her. He had to practically beg her to stay the night so he could have this morning moment when she was unguarded and curled next to him.

And wasn’t their timing so damn complicated? He began to load water and beans into his coffee machine for a freshly ground brew. He thought about chai, but that would have to wait.

Ajay leaned against the counter, head bent as he untangled his night with Raj from the call he’d had with his brothers and his executive team the day before. Zail had reacted to the news just as Ajay’d imagined he would.

“I told you, brother. I told all of you! Sahar didn’t do this!”

Luckily people like Tushar supported his decision. “By purchasing Ms. Hothi’s company, we automatically have stronger cybersecurity measures. Her service area is a natural extension of ours, and she has a reputation for being one of the best.”

Zail disagreed, fighting bitterly with everyone until finally Ajay had to end the call. He still remembered the way his brother Hem had tried to comfort him.

“Brother, you’re putting too much pressure on yourself.”

“How does it look to our board and our shareholders if my own brother doesn’t support me? I’m already failing, and I haven’t even gotten the CEO title yet,” he’d said.

“You can’t compare your situation to Dad’s and mine. Dad literally had no one else that challenged his decisions. And when I was in charge of operations, Bharat hadn’t gone public yet. The company was still a midsize, privately owned family business. You have to have faith that this is going to work.”

The coffee machine beeped and he poured himself a cup. Walking to his windows, he watched the promise of a fall sunrise struggle to come to light.

“I hope you’re right, Hem,” he murmured to himself. He’d have to have faith and convince Zail that this was for the best.

Now that he was fully in the right mind to work, he looked at the time and decided to take a chance and call his brother. He let out a deep breath and pressed the phone to his ear. It was two thirty in the morning in California. Zail would be up.

The ringing stopped and a gruff grunt was the only answer he received.

“I wanted to check to see how you’re doing.”

“You mean after you cut off the call yesterday because you didn’t like what I had to say?”

“Zail, you wouldn’t listen to anyone.”

“That’s because you have lost your mind and have decided to actually buy the company that started this whole mess in the first place!”

“You heard from the data team yourself. The information was fed to the security consultants we hired.”

“That just makes her incompetent.”

“No more than we are.” Ajay heard the sound of a car door slam. “Are you going somewhere?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Zail replied. He had a sharp bite in his voice. “My team has been effectively shut down since last night, so I’m coming back to the East Coast. I’m taking the family jet, so I should be there before noon. Someone needs to convince you and everyone else in that office that you’re thinking with your dick and that there hasn’t been a single thing of value she’s brought to the table.”

“I’ve only wanted what’s best for this company,” Ajay responded. “And it’s fucking pissing me off that you’re accusing me of putting my personal feelings in front of a solid business decision. I need you to get yourself together and support this purchase, Zail.”

“No.” The sound was final and had a hint of bite to it. “And if you go through with this purchase, next month at the board meeting and quarterly shareholders’ meeting, I’ll fight you.”

Ajay felt his stomach pitch, and his coffee sloshed over the rim of its cup and splattered onto the floor. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, bhai, that I’m going to vote against you as CEO and call into question your decision-making capacity. I won’t let you screw all of us.”

Ajay felt as if his brother had just driven a knife into his back and twisted the handle. The hurt from Zail’s accusation was strong enough to bleed. He placed the cup on the nearest table, taking a moment to get his breath back.

“You’d jeopardize the future of Bharat, Dad’s dream, because of your hurt feelings? You’re the only one acting this way, Zail. Papa and Hem are on board. So is Bhram.”

“And none of them are thinking clearly. Or maybe none of them know about Rajneet Kaur Hothi’s background.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I spoke to Sri myself. He said you had a little research project that I should know about. He told me everything. Hothi’s father’s opium operation, their drug-trafficking connections. All of it. How could you be with someone whose family is in the same business that almost killed our uncle?”

Ajay had completely forgotten that he’d asked Sri to look into Raj’s story. But that had been before. Before he spent time with her and slept with her.

Before he trusted her.

His blood began to boil. Sri was under strict instructions that the information was for him only. He had no right to share any of that intel with anyone but him. Ajay knew now that it was time for his head of security to go.

He’d have to take care of that later.

“Zail,” he said, cutting off his brother. “Fighting me and my CEO nomination is going to create tension with the board, uncertainty with our shareholders, and potentially jeopardize our clients. Think about what you’d be doing.”

“You think I give a shit?” Zail yelled back. “This woman cost me Sahar.”

“I think you’re shifting the blame there, brother. You cost yourself Sahar, and now you’re not thinking about the repercussions for the rest of us.”

“I’ve had hours to think,” Zail replied. “I’ll be seeing you real soon, bhai.”

Zail hung up the phone, and the rage, the feeling of betrayal, had him hurling his phone across the room.

He’d whirled toward the kitchen, and that’s when he saw Raj, dressed in the same clothes she’d worn the day before, standing on the staircase. She didn’t have her mask on, the one that hid her so well from everyone, including him.

“I think I’ll call myself a car.”

“What? Why?”

“Because it’s not my place to be here right now, I think.”

It took him a moment to realize that she was telling him she was leaving. He was breathless from the one-two blow. His brother had just pulled his support for Ajay’s CEO position, and Raj, the reason for Zail’s animosity, was going to leave him to deal with it on his own.

He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m going back into the city in a little bit. Let me get dressed and I’ll take you.”

She shook her head. “It’s out of your way. And it’s better if you stay here and I go back alone. I heard some of that conversation. One-sided, of course, but I knew what was happening.”

“Zail’s temper is getting the best of him right now. He’ll come for a visit and we’ll talk it out. That’s what family does.”

She gave him a wide berth as she went over to the dining table and started gathering her things. That distance only angered him more. He knew that he was spoiling for a fight. He felt it bubbling inside of him.

Let her go. Let her go so that you can breathe. Then talk to Hem.

He didn’t need the complication of a woman in his life, even though that woman was better than anyone he’d ever been with before.

She gave him a serene smile. “It’s been an enlightening weekend, darling.”

He ground his teeth at the endearment.

“So that’s it? You’re going to leave when something gets a little uncomfortable? I thought you stopped being so afraid of us, Raj.”

He saw the flicker in her eyes. The brief flash of guilt that told him more than he wanted to know. “It’s a family matter, Ajay. You have a lot of family. I don’t want to get in the way...”

“Too late.”

She looked up from where she was sliding her laptop and files back into her bag. “Excuse me?”

“Too late. Zail found out about your family’s poppy farms and their connection to drug trafficking in Punjab.”

“What? How?”

“I had asked Sri to look into your background. He told Zail.”

“You had that son-of-a-bitch do recon on me? Who else is he going to tell? I told you that he’s a problem!”

“Yeah, well, he’s not my only one. Zail is pulling his support for my CEO nomination, which will cost me the seat because he thinks I should not acquire your company and I definitely shouldn’t be involved with you. I think that means you’re very involved. Instead of standing your ground, defending yourself by my side, you’re leaving.”

“It’s just business, Ajay.”

“It’s not just business to me. It’s family. It’s my goddamn life. It’s our life.”

Raj swung her bag over one shoulder and gave him that same infuriatingly serene look. “I didn’t realize when we started sleeping together that my obligations included making your brothers happy, too. Was that in the fine print?”

“No one is asking you to make my brothers happy,” Ajay said, crossing his arms over his chest. “But I did ask for your support.”

“And what am I supposed to do to support you? Talk to Zail and say, Listen to your brother. I’m actually a nice person. Yes, that’s going to work really well.”

“Well that’s sure as hell better than escaping and leaving me holding the bag.”

Her fingers clenched the strap of her bag. “I understand that you’re mad at your brother. I don’t appreciate that you’re taking it out on me.”

And because that was exactly what he’d been doing, he felt the rage grow bigger inside of him. Before he could stop himself, he moved in until they were inches apart. “Tell me how you feel about me. Is this just business, too?”

“I thought that we already talked about this.”

“No, we agreed to some terms, used a few labels, but you never shared how you felt. It’s been a week, Raj, but we’ve been dancing around each other since the Gen One gala. Don’t tell me you haven’t figured it out yet.”

She stepped back. “Like I said. We talked about this. I’m referring to how I will only give you what I’m ready to give, and calling me a coward or trying to put me in my place will not work. Call me when you’re done throwing your tantrum, Ajay.”

There was that flicker of doubt in her eyes, and he gripped it with slippery, desperate fingers. This was going to hurt them both, but it was the only way.

“I won’t.”

“Excuse me?”

He moved away from her now, resuming his post near the windows. His brothers’ smiling faces judged him from their frames on his mantel, and he had to force himself to remain focused.

“I won’t call you, Raj. I knew you were going to do this. I knew that after you saw how great we were together you’d use any excuse to backpedal. But you’re right about one thing. It’s your decision. When you’re ready to tell the truth, then you can call me. Until then, I’ll only speak to your attorneys. That’s how you wanted it in the first place, right?”

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, her voice cracking. The sound was deafening to his ears. “I don’t know what you want from me, Ajay.”

“I’ve already told you.” He held his ground, refusing to go to her. “I want you here. I want you with me. I want you to accept that there is something between us, and it’s fucking scary but it’s worth it.”

“I... can’t. I have to do what’s best for me.”

“With no care in the world for how it affects other people, right?”

He saw the shock on her face and the hurt. “I knew we’d be done someday, but I never thought it would be so soon,” she whispered. “At your request, we’ll leave this to the lawyers.”

Ajay heard the clear snick of the door closing behind her.

It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to race after her, to give her whatever she wanted, but he couldn’t. She was the one who’d taught him to never settle for less than what he deserved.

He crossed the room and picked up his phone from where he’d thrown it. The screen had a crack in it. The device still worked, though. He’d just hold on to it and carry it around wherever he was, like tucking it under his pillow when he slept, or putting it on the vanity when he was showering so he could hear it.

If Raj called him and told him how she felt, asked him if they could try again, he’d do everything in his power to prove that she deserved happiness, too, and he was eager to give it to her. But until then, he’d have to focus on his first love.

His father’s company.

The only problem was that work was starting to let him down, too. Hopefully if he put in the effort, things would go back to normal.

That way, Ajay could figure out a way to stop hurting.