by Nisha Sharma
“Bharat? What do you mean?”
“If I recommend that the company stay in your father’s hand, and anyone finds out we’re dating, my decision can be challenged because of my relationship with you. Then you’re going to have to start the whole process all over again. Not to mention, my reputation will be questioned. I can’t be distracted right now. For that reason, we hide what we have and then pick up after this is all over.”
Hem led her back to the couch and nudged her until she sat next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. “I won’t hurt my father’s chance at saving the company. But, Mina, after tonight, do you really think I can stay away? Could you? Honestly.”
Mina looked up at the sharp angle of his jaw. “I—I don’t know. I know that it’s important enough to try.”
He pulled her closer against him and kissed the crown of her head before resting his chin in that spot. “Fine, then give me this weekend. Be with me for the next two days and we’ll try to go back to avoiding each other after that. We can go for a walk in the park. Have brunch. Movies, drinks, whatever you want. Until we go back to work, we’ll be together.”
“Won’t it be harder for us on Monday then?”
“Yes.”
The finality in his voice had her giggling. “You’re a sucker for punishment then.”
“From you? Most definitely.”
She cuddled into him, as close as she could get. “Why couldn’t you have been a nice Punjabi doctor from a good family? Then there would’ve been no opportunity for our careers to cross.”
“Because what would be the fun in that?” Hem said with a chuckle. “Soon. We’ll get through all of this soon, and then you’ll not only be in my bed but in my home.”
Mina sighed. She wasn’t worried so much about where she’d end up, but how she was going to get there. Something wasn’t right with her due diligence preliminary report, and she still hadn’t told Hem about her uncle’s second offer. It wasn’t the right time yet, though. And Virat. Damn it, she’d have to put an end to that charade quickly. All without getting distracted.
Hem dimmed the lights so they could see the skyline clearly through the wall of windows. His scent wrapped around her, and as she slowly began to relax, Mina let herself hope that things were going to end up okay.
Chapter Twelve
Hemdeep Singh was obeying Mina’s wishes so well that her sexual frustration was through the roof.
For two weeks, he kept his distance, and only engaged when she caved and went to him after work hours. In secret, they cooked and ate dinner together while passionately arguing cases that he was considering for his firm. They jogged in the park whenever they could. Weekends were for brunches and relaxing in front of the TV. However, at work, they were the perfect example of professional colleagues. It drove Mina crazy.
Her new involvement with Hem was probably why it took her so long to notice the lack of text messages from Raj. She’d been neglecting her best friend. It took time, but she finally called Raj and asked to meet for lunch.
Knowing that her friend was going to grill her the minute they saw each other, Mina arrived at the trendy downtown Indian gastropub first. She ordered a mango lassi with pistachio brittle and relaxed against the plush royal blue booth. The gastropub was a new edition to the restaurant scene, and the atmosphere screamed 1970s India glamour. From the pendant lights to the copper dishes, there wasn’t a single detail that hadn’t been taken into account.
Mina was about to text Raj when she heard the whoosh of the front door. Her best friend stepped through the entrance and paused to scan the restaurant. Her elegant pose turned heads.
As always, Raj knew how to be fashionably late. Mina raised her hand and waved. “Right here!”
It wasn’t until Raj came closer that Mina started to notice the outfit was all wrong. Instead of Manolos or Louboutins, Raj had swapped her glam heels for a pair of white sneakers. When she unbuttoned her trench coat, she revealed a white tailored button-down shirt tucked into a pair of dark blue jeans. A slim Chanel belt glinted at her waist.
“Hey,” Mina said slowly.
“Hey.” Raj handed her coat to the waiter, who hung it on a hook next to a teal antique mirror. “I wasn’t at the office.”
“Yeah, I was wondering about that. Everything okay?”
Raj sighed. “I’ve been with my attorneys for the last week. We’re . . . working on something that I don’t want my husband to see.”
“Oh? Is there anything I can help with? You know, as your attorney best friend.”
“I wish. I’d trust you more than anything, but I don’t want to put you in the middle.”
Mina leaned forward and touched Raj’s hand. It was devoid of the bloodred polish she was so fond of. “Raj, what’s going on?”
“I can’t tell you just yet.” Her voice broke, and when she took off her sunglasses, Raj’s eyes were framed with deep bruised bags. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Her skin was also noticeably ashen under a mismatched shade of beige foundation.
“Oh, honey.”
“I promise that when it’s all done, you’ll be the first person I’ll celebrate with, but for now, it’s better if I keep all the cards to myself.”
Mina pushed her mango lassi forward. “I think you need this more than I do.”
Raj didn’t argue and took a healthy gulp from the glass. “Please distract me. Tell me about your sardar, and if he’s as dominating in bed as I imagine.”
Mina hesitated. She wanted to push, wanted to make sure Raj was okay, the same way Raj always checked up on her. It was so strange seeing her vibrant, capable friend looking haggard and . . . normal. “Raj, I’m here for you. Please talk to me.”
Raj reached out again and gripped Mina’s hand this time. Her fingers squeezed. “I promise everything is okay. I’m in the middle of a hasty . . . dispute. It’s big and it’ll affect my life in a significant way.”
“Then let me help.”
“I will. Not yet. Please.”
Mina sighed but made a mental note to check in on Raj more often. “Fine. But I can’t be distracted for long.”
“Don’t I know it,” Raj said with a laugh. “Come on. How is he in bed?”
“Well, we haven’t exactly been there yet.”
Raj’s eyebrow arched in a perfectly smooth lift that helped Mina relax. The waiter came at that moment, and they paused to order.
“Why haven’t you taken advantage of him?” Raj asked when they were left alone again.
“Because we’re trying to avoid any complications with his father’s company. If I get involved with the owner’s son, my decision can be challenged as not being impartial.” Mina told Raj about the fight she’d had with her uncles during the dinner party, and the resulting weekend she spent with Hem. She even told her that she’d left most of her new clothes at his house, hanging in the empty closet of one of the guest rooms, because he wanted pieces of her there. She mentioned the stolen kisses over the last two weeks, and how it was getting increasingly difficult to look unaffected by his presence. Their food was served, and they continued to talk about Mina’s predicament as they devoured their food.
“I still have to talk to Virat and my uncles about the merger,” Mina said. “I wanted to do it right after I came back from Hem’s two weeks ago, but I’m worried my uncle will retaliate. I feel like he’s starting to realize how much time I’m spending on the Bharat project and I don’t want him to pull me off that as punishment.”
Raj tapped her lower lip as she finished chewing her pappadum coated in cheese fondue. “I’m still stuck on how Sanjeev knows so much about Bharat technology. I may be naturally suspicious of men, but that’s where I would focus.”
“I am. Or I was. I’m not coming up with any leads.”
“Start looking in the unexpected places. You need to find out what Sanjeev wants more and dangle that in front of his face so he forgets the rest.”
Mina nodded. “I’m meeting with Bharat’s h
ead of research and development today. She flew in from California.”
“She?”
“Yes. Zail knew her at MIT. Since Sanjeev’s lead has to do with new technology, I’m hoping that this director will lead me in the right direction.”
Raj leaned back in her chair. She opened her mouth to speak when her phone buzzed next to her empty thali.
“Shit, yaar,” she said. “Can I take this?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Mina took a moment to pick up her phone and check her messages as well. She heard Raj mention something about a dissolution, but her attention was immediately diverted to the text from Hem.
HEM: Are you coming into the office today?
MINA: Yes. Finishing up lunch with Raj.
Mina began to exit out of her messenger app when Hem responded right away.
HEM: Come home with me afterwards.
It was the first time he’d asked her to spend time with him outside the office. The text left her warm and tingling inside.
MINA: I shouldn’t.
HEM: I want another weekend together. Just you and me. No, I need more than a weekend. This is driving me crazy.
MINA: Me, too. Hem, you and I both know why we should wait.
HEM: Dammit Mina, I want you until you scream. I want us sweaty and moaning in bed. I want to feel your heels pressing into my back as I taste you. And then I want to wake up next to you and watch the sunrise with you naked and warm beside me.
MINA: After the quarterly board review. Then I’m yours.
HEM: That’s too far away.
MINA: We’ll suffer together.
“That must be a damn good text,” Raj said. Mina looked up, surprised to see her friend smirking behind her glass.
“I’m in trouble,” Mina replied. She let out a ragged breath as the truth of her words hit her like a semi. “Damn it, I’m in real trouble.” She’d never felt the way that Hem made her feel. She’d never been sucked in with so much intensity. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to handle him or if she could handle him at all. They weren’t even dating and she felt consumed.
“He’s different, Mina. I can see it on your face. Do you want my company to do a discreet background check? It’s not exactly ethical, but I can get you history on finances, any gambling issues, drinking issues, drugs, secret women, you name it.”
Mina laughed. “I’ve spent enough time with him to know that Hem doesn’t do secrets well.”
“That kind of guy, huh?”
“Yes. I have to talk to my uncle soon. I need to take control of my life again.”
Raj leaned forward and touched Mina’s hand. “I know taking back your mother’s company is important to you, but if they fire you, I know there are other things you can do to reclaim your mother’s name.”
Mina didn’t want to think about that possibility. She was so close to getting where she needed to be. The idea of giving up now was too painful to imagine. “What would you do if you were in my position?”
“I would have fun,” Raj said. She leaned back in her seat again, waving a hand toward the waiter for the check. “You and I have spent way too much time trying to prove to ourselves and others that we aren’t like our family, that we aren’t pawns on someone else’s chess board.”
Mina wished it was that easy. “What do you think I should tell my uncle?”
“To fuck off.”
“Raj. Seriously.”
“I am being serious, Mina. I’d tell your uncle to screw himself, and then go do other things. Then he’ll have no control over you. The only reason he does is because you’re allowing it.”
“It’s not that easy, damn it. I’m doing this for my mother.”
“But what if this isn’t what she would’ve wanted? What if your mother’s hopes for your future were so much greater than hers? You’re making assumptions here, Mina.”
“I have to try it this way. If it doesn’t work, then I’ll do something else, but for right now, this is the best option for me.”
Raj let out a sigh. “Fine. If you think so, then I’ll support you.”
“Thank you.”
She followed Raj out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk. There was a distinct spring breeze that carried with it the smell of neighboring restaurants and street smog.
“Why can’t life be simpler than it is?” Mina said.
Raj slipped the glasses back on her face. The corners of her mouth tightened as she said, “Because life isn’t about simplicity or happiness. Sometimes, it’s a straight-up fucking tragedy, and we have to deal with it.”
The words were so harsh, so different than what Mina was used to, that she reached out and hugged Raj as tight as she could. Her friend shook for a moment, before returning the embrace.
“I’m giving you a couple weeks,” Mina said. “Then I’m going to start harassing you on a daily basis to find out what’s happening.”
“I need a month and then I’ll share everything.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Mina watched as her friend slipped into the back of her private vehicle and drove away before calling a car to take her to Bharat’s offices. Raj was never cagey, or secretive about projects she was working on. Whatever was happening was causing her a significant amount of pain.
She was so lost in thought that Mina jolted when her phone buzzed in her hand.
With a sigh, she answered. “Mina Kohli speaking.”
“Hi, Mina, it’s Virat Aulakh. How are you today?”
“Hi, Virat, how can I help you?”
“I was wondering if you’d be interested in meeting with me for dinner tomorrow night? Six thirty? I’m in New York and I can meet you at a place close to your offices.”
She mentally reviewed her calendar and the list of things she wanted to accomplish before the weekend. It wasn’t as much as she’d expected, and even though she wanted to talk to Sanjeev first, it didn’t hurt to speak with Virat about her situation.
“There’s a restaurant in my building. I’ll meet you outside.”
“Wonderful,” he said. His voice softened. “Looking forward to celebrating with you.”
“Celebrating? Celebrate what?”
When silence greeted her, she realized that he’d already hung up the phone. Maybe he assumed that she’d accept his offer despite her noncommittal stance on the issue. When her car arrived, she slid into the back seat, irritated that she had to deal with him, too.
“Men,” she muttered.
A moment later the driver’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Mina, right? Great name. Where are you from?”
Chapter Thirteen
By the time Mina set up her workstation in a conference room at Bharat, she was forced to swallow a couple Advil to stave off a headache. Between Raj, Virat, Hem, and her uncles, she had more personal issues than she cared to think about at once. She had started her computer and logged into Bharat’s network when she was interrupted by a young woman holding a venti Starbucks cup.
“Ms. Kohli?”
“Yes?”
“I’m Tiffany, Mr. Hemdeep’s personal assistant. He requested that you receive this today,” she said. Tiffany placed the cup in front of Mina and the fragrant smell of vanilla wafted around her. She nearly groaned with pleasure.
“Thanks.” She was still swooning over Hem’s thoughtfulness when she realized what the woman had said. “Personal assistant? I didn’t realize he had one.”
“I just started,” Tiffany replied. She straightened in her pressed black pantsuit. “I’m stationed at his law firm across town, but he wanted to make sure you were comfortable today.”
She looked over one shoulder then the other before she whispered, “I’m supposed to wait until after work to ask, but for the sake of efficiency, Mr. Singh is hoping to add some things to his penthouse for you, and has requested that I get your list of preferred beauty products.”
Mina almost choked on her latte. “What?�
��
Tiffany pulled out her phone, still whispering. “Would you like to speak with Mr. Singh? He said you wouldn’t approve.”
Wouldn’t approve was putting it mildly. “Can you tell him that he can shove—”
“Tiffany, I think Rafael is looking for you,” a voice said from the doorway. Mina looked up to see a beautiful pale face with large dark eyes framed in tortoiseshell glasses.
“Hey!” Tiffany’s voice returned to its normal volume. “Thanks, Sahar. It’s nice running into you again! Cute outfit.” Tiffany turned back to Mina. “I’ll get that information from you at a more convenient time, Ms. Kohli. Have a great day. Let me know if you need anything else.”
Tiffany slipped out of the room as quickly as she’d entered, leaving Mina with Sahar Ali Khan, Technical Director of Research and Development at Bharat, Inc.
“Tiffany has been buzzing in and out of the office for the last two days,” Sahar said. “Rafael is supposed to teach her the ropes. She’s eager to learn and she’s smart, but sometimes she lacks subtlety.”
“I can see that,” Mina replied, motioning to her latte. She stood and offered a hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Yeah, you, too,” Sahar said as she took the hand. Her bones were slender and delicate compared to Mina’s. Her grip, however, was just as strong.
“If you heard a word of what Tiffany was suggesting . . .”
Sahar shrugged and closed the door behind her. “I don’t tell secrets,” she said. “My lips are sealed.”
“Thanks.” Mina motioned to the chair next to her and waited until Sahar sat in it and folded her legs so that her white Converse were tucked under her knees. “You’re normally in the California office, right?”
“Yup. Me and my team are there. I don’t make it out to New York much because management comes to me. Zail is normally in Cali and we’re blessed with Deepak Uncle’s presence every once in a while, when he likes to tinker in the lab. He’s still as sharp as a tack so we welcome his intrusion.”
