Chapter Eighteen Rajneet

Raj wasn’t going to call him. Instead, she was going to pretend that she never had a brief, explosive, incredible week with a man who understood her, and focus on the next phase of her life like she’d planned when she first filed for divorce.

But when Khunda disappeared, Ajay was the only person she wanted to call for help. She watched for him out the front bay window, counting down the minutes, while periodically calling her dog’s name. When a cab stopped in front of her house, she yanked open the front door, her throat tightening as Ajay ran up her steps in a few short leaps.

“What is it? What happened? Are you hurt?”

She shook her head, closing the door behind him. Her accent was thicker than it had been in a while as she burst out, “I’m so sorry. I know you’re upset with me. I didn’t want you to see me like this.” She motioned to her hair that was piled on top of her head in disarray, her leggings, and her thin off-the-shoulder sweater.

“Soni, what happened?” he said, softer this time.

The nickname was the last push over the edge. She let out a sob and sank into his arms. He wrapped her close, filling the emptiness that had haunted her all week. His beard rubbed against her temple, and he stroked her back as she let go of some of her tension and stress and some of her tears.

She didn’t have anyone else who wouldn’t judge her for panicking over a dog. It took her a few more moments before she could pull back and stand on her own. He brushed a tear off the curve of her cheek with his thumb, stroking the grayish bruises under her eyes that she hadn’t had the heart to conceal. “Want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“It’s my dog.”

“Your dog?” His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Khunda? You were able to pick her up already.”

“It was time,” she said, sniffing. “They said Saturday, but this week has been... hard, so I pushed Jill and asked if I could get her today.”

The excitement she’d felt, the pure joy of finally having a dog, knowing she would soon have Khunda, had brightened up her whole week. She’d been able to redirect her confusion and grief about Ajay toward buying toys, a bed, water and food dishes, and securing private dog training classes.

Raj motioned for Ajay to follow her into her sitting room with its cream and mirrored furniture.

“I brought her in here,” Raj said, pointing to the plush bed she’d purchased and arranged next to the fireplace. “She seemed fine, but when I tried to leave, she started crying. I needed to use the bathroom, so I took her upstairs to my en suite with me and left her right outside the door. She’s less than three pounds, Ajay. When I came out Khunda was gone. I can’t find her anywhere. I don’t know what to do.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “We’ll find her.”

The way that he’d paused had her heart sinking. He’d given her distance now and repeatedly tugged on the sleeves of his suit jacket.

“Oh. You must think I’m... I panicked. You came all this way.”

She’d never felt quite this embarrassed before, as she turned toward the hallway again. He was looking at her like she had an alien head growing out of her neck. What had she been thinking? This wasn’t the type of relationship they’d agreed upon. She was being silly.

“I am so incredibly sorry for wasting your time like this. I-I don’t know what to do, but I can figure it out. Let me at least pay for the cab back—”

“Raj, you’re going to piss me off.”

Her shoulders snapped back. “I beg your pardon?”

“I think you heard me the first time.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Look, Khunda isn’t going to go anywhere. She’s going to be fine. Why don’t we look for her, then we can talk?”

Raj nodded. “I really am—”

“Raj, I’m glad you called me. I’m relieved that I was the person you came to. But we’re going to have take some time to talk about this, and you’re distracted. Come on. Show me where you put her.”

“Okay. Okay, I can do that.” She led the way back to the front of the house and up the spiral staircase to the second floor. Her bedroom was to the left through a set of French doors. Ajay had seen it the night after their date; he’d come home with her and spent a few hours in her bed. Fortunately, Kaka had come and cleaned it, considering the mess Raj had made during the week.

“Where did you leave her?”

She pointed to the bathroom and to the floor right next to the door. “She was right here.”

“And she doesn’t bark or anything when you call her name?”

“No, neither the Punjabi pronunciation nor the Americanized version they’d given her.”

Ajay got on his hands and knees in his hundred-thousand-dollar suit and peered under her bed. “I’m assuming you checked under here?”

“Yes, all over the house, including the basement apartment. Ajay, you’re going to crease your suit.”

“I’ll get it ironed again. And I wouldn’t waste your time with looking anywhere other than the top floor.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she’s too small for the stairs.”

She paused at the thought. Ajay was right. There was no way Khunda could’ve made it down the stairs with her size. And did she even know how to climb them in the first place? Raj would have to get safety gates to make sure there were no accidents.

Ajay stood and crossed the room into her dressing studio. He flipped on the lights. The recessed lighting filled the space with a soft sunlit glow. Everything looked exactly as she had left it that morning. Her jewelry island stood in the center of the room with a sparkling marble countertop. Her makeup vanity with lighted mirror was organized, and her wall-to-wall cabinets, featuring a glass case filled with her vintage handbags, were in order.

“This is like a shrine to designer clothes,” he said. “Is everything color coded?”

She glanced in the direction he’d pointed. Her wall of heeled shoes was color blocked from top to bottom. “How else am I supposed to get dressed fast and efficiently in the morning?”

He grinned at her, the first smile that she’d seen in so long. His eyes twinkled with a hint of wickedness. “Only you, Raj.”

A faint rustling sound came from one of the baskets tucked in the back corner of the closet.

“Oh my god.”

Ajay got on his hands and knees and crawled toward it. He gently pulled her linens hamper out. Khunda lay on her side, paws stretched out, eyes shut. She yawned and stretched.

“Khunda!” Raj scrambled to Ajay’s side and gently scooped her puppy up. She’d never been so relieved in her life. Khunda’s tiny tongue peeked out and licked at her chin. “You had me so worried,” she said in Punjabi.

“When she didn’t see you, she probably got scared and wanted to find your scent. That’s my guess anyway. Your sheets were probably the next best thing for her.”

Raj stroked a finger over Khunda’s forehead. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For coming all the way out here to help me find her.”

“You’re welcome.”

He crossed his legs and settled on the rug next to her. That suited her just fine as she didn’t want to move, either. She rocked her puppy, who lay so sweet and trusting in her arms. It took only a minute or two before Khunda’s big brown eyes drooped with fatigue and she was fast asleep again.

Ajay was making a move to stand and go when Raj spoke.

“I know that this is not the most comfortable spot to have that conversation, but if you’re up for it, I’d like to talk.”

“You would?” he said.

Raj nodded.

He took off his coat and set it on the rug next to him. “Okay,” he said.

“Ajay,” she started. Swallowing her pride was like choking on a fistful of nails. “I know you think I’m a coward, for good reasons, but I’m intelligent enough to know when a good deal is going to slip through my fingers because I’m holding myself back.”

“Are you going to tell me what was going through your mind last weekend? What happened?”

She rocked Khunda, comforted by the sound of tiny puppy snores. “Last weekend was sort of... Well, I reacted the same way I reacted today.”

“You reacted like you lost your dog?” he said.

She smiled at his skepticism. “Today wasn’t supposed to be like this. I did my research, and I have the time and the resources to successfully take care of one three-pound dog. Less than twenty-four hours later, I’m panicking. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be.”

“Love,” Ajay said, “no matter what kind, is never easy.”

The word frightened her. She didn’t think they were ready for it yet. It was too new, too powerful to say when they had so many battles ahead of them. Her company, his family, everything.

“You and I weren’t supposed to be like this, either. We were attracted to each other. We were going to have good sex, and then I would move on with my life and you’d move on with yours. But it didn’t turn out that way.”

Ajay shook his head.

“Did I ever tell you that Robert used to call me ice princess as a joke? He’d laugh about it because I’d have everything under control, but when something like this happened, he’d say that I’d thawed and become human. I think it scared him. I’m normally capable of doing anything and everything I want.”

“I won’t argue with you there, but Raj, tears don’t make you any less royal.”

Only Ajay would compare her to royalty when she was bedraggled and exhausted. “When I didn’t know what to do, I had to learn on my own and cope on my own. But losing a dog is so much different than any business-related loss I’ve faced.”

He reached out and scratched Khunda’s tiny head. “Happy to search for puppies in laundry baskets anytime you need.”

“Ajay,” she said, letting out a deep breath. “What I’m trying to tell you is that I want to be with you, but I don’t know how and that really is... frightening. I’m irritated that you were right about why I ran, but I’m not irritated enough to stop caring for what we could have together. If that’s what you still want, too.”

His mouth gaped, then he stroked a hand over his beard. “So, what you’re saying is that the panic you just felt, the panic associated with not knowing what to do with Khunda, is the same panic you feel around me? But you’re willing to overlook it, even though it irritates you that I was right?”

“Well... yes. That’s an accurate summation.”

“Raj, I don’t have a lot of experience with serious relationships, either. My connections with women have been mutually beneficial and short. This is all new to me, too.” He scooted forward and cupped her face, his voice softening to a gruff whisper. “But I know you’re worth it. The question is, am I going to have to fight with you every step of the way or are you going to be willing to adapt?”

She leaned into his touch. “You’re going to have to be patient with me. You can’t expect me to keep up and accept everything you want from me. And I’m admitting that I was wrong here, but there is a very good possibility that you’ll be wrong about something, too, darling.”

He grinned at her. “That’s fair. I’m sorry I put you in that position last weekend.”

She’d replayed that scene so many times and thought about how she would react so differently if she got the chance. “I’m sorry for not being there on the weekend when you spoke to your family about the buyout.”

“That’s okay. I understand why you didn’t want to be in that position. Zail will... Well, that’s a story for dinner maybe. Frankly, talking about it is miserable, and I’ve had enough of that without you in my bed this week.”

The knot that had formed in her stomach on Sunday began to loosen. “The feeling is mutual,” she said.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then sighed, strong and deep. “Raj, be with me. Stay with me. Stand by my side while I stand by yours. We’ll get through anything that comes at us. As long as we’re partners instead of adversaries.”

“Yes. Yes, I agree. Thank you for not giving up on negotiations, especially when the other party was falling apart and the deal looked raw.”

“The deal didn’t look raw.”

“That’s sweet of you to pretend.”

Ajay laughed. “Darling, I know a good deal when I see it. We’ll figure out the rest of the bumps in the road as we get to them. For now, I’m glad you’re happy with Khunda. I’m glad that you’re here and I can hold you again. Now maybe we can celebrate.”

“Celebrate? Celebrate what?”

“You’re selling your company, we’re together, and I have it on good authority that Bharat and a few other corporate members of Gen One are supporting your nomination for CEO.”

“I still have a few hurdles to jump over. My ex-husband being one of them. He’s determined to put roadblocks now that he knows about the sale.”

Ajay’s head jerked up, his gaze narrowing. “Is there anything I should know about? Anything I can do?”

“No. I can handle Robert. I am just biding my time. And you’re right. We should celebrate. What do you propose? Dinner?”

Ajay nodded. “Tomorrow night. Spend some time with Khunda tonight, then bring her over to my penthouse around six.”

“I believe we can arrange that.”

“Good.” He reached out and cupped her face, bringing it to his for a soft, sweet kiss. “I missed you. A little bit, because, you know. We’re new and all.”

“Missed you, too,” she said as her lips curved into a slow smile. “A little bit.”

He leaned forward again, but this time his mouth was covered by a small slobbering tongue. He looked down at the bright eyes of a dog.

“What? Khunda!” Raj giggled when Ajay picked up the wiggling puppy and dropped her ceremoniously back into the dirty clothes hamper.

“Stay put, pipsqueak,” he said. “I have to kiss your momma and make up for lost time.”