Chapter 26 Deepak
Chapter 26 Deepak
Text messages from seven months ago:
OLIVIA: Hi, handsome. I think it’s important that fiancés have each other’s numbers, don’t you? I can’t believe we waited this long.
We’ve already been engaged a few weeks.
OLIVIA: Would you like to go out to dinner tonight? I was invited to a new restaurant that’s opening in Brooklyn. It would look good
for both of us to be seen in public together for Illyria Media Group.
DEEPAK: Hi, Olivia. Unfortunately, I have a work engagement. Let me connect you with my assistant, Kim. She’ll coordinate the best
time for us to connect.
Deepak spent the rest of the week walking around in a perpetual state of bliss.
He was dating his wife. When he held her hand it was because he wanted to. When he twined his fingers through hers and kissed
her knuckle right above the ring he’d given her, it was because he wanted to taste her skin. And when he laughed with her,
it was because they had joked about something that was just for them.
He sat staring out of his office windows, looking at the clouded skies over New York City, the depths of fall rolling in like
another storm, when there was a knock on his office door. He was about to tell his assistant that he needed another moment
before he hopped on his next call when a deep baritone voice, thick with an accent, interrupted his thoughts.
“If this is what you plan on doing as the next CEO, I doubt you’ll be able to convince Narinder on the board that you’re a
good enough candidate for the job.”
Deepak whirled to see Veera’s father standing with his hands tucked in his suit pockets. His thick white hair was combed back,
and he wore a gold Rolex the size of a baseball.
“Mr. Mathur,” Deepak said smoothly as he got to his feet. “I have a call in a few minutes, but I’m happy to make time if you
need to review something with me.”
Malkit Mathur stepped inside the office and closed the door behind him. “No need to be so formal. I am your father-in-law
now.”
Too bad the man hadn’t acted like much of a father.
Deepak simply waited, legs spread, watching this former CEO peruse the shelves in Deepak’s office. He stopped in front of
a picture of Deepak with Bobbi, Bunty, Kareena, Prem, and Veera standing in their Taylor Swift shirts in Vegas at Prem’s and
Kareena’s joint bachelor and bachelorette party. They were re-creating the opening scene from Friends in front of the Bellagio fountain, and someone was kind enough to take a few of the shots for them.
“When was this taken?” he asked casually. His fingers lingered on the edge of the frame, next to Veera’s face.
“A little over a year ago now,” Deepak said.
“Hmm.”
Deepak waited for him to come around until the old man stood in front of his desk. “Is there anything you need? Documents
for the board?”
Malkit shook his head. “I just came to tell you the news that we found a candidate that we’re interviewing for the CEO position.
They’re a former Mathur Financial Group employee, and I believe they’d be an excellent fit for the role.”
The news was a sucker punch. He’d hoped after all this time that the board wouldn’t be able to find someone before his father’s
retirement. That they’d all just let it go.
“Anyone I know?” Deepak said casually.
Veera’s father smiled, and it took on a sinister edge. “Possibly.”
“Well then, I look forward to the competition,” Deepak said. He made a mental note to ask his father about it later.
“There is one more thing,” he said. Deepak didn’t like the way his lips curved in a smile that was as slick as an oil spill.
“I saw the little presentation my daughter put together. The equitable lending practices project? I ran the numbers, and it’s
not going to work for Illyria. Feel free to tell her that we won’t be hiring her, or adopting her plan in the near future.”
This time, Deepak had to school his features. His hands fisted at his sides. “I don’t believe I asked you for your input or
permission.”
“You didn’t have to,” Malkit Mathur said. “I’m the CFO, and I work directly with your father. End of discussion.”
Just as he turned to leave, Deepak leaned forward, resting his fists on the surface of his desk, the same one he’d had since
he was promoted to director of the marketing department.
“We missed you at our wedding reception a few weeks ago,” he said casually.
The other man stopped halfway across the room. He turned slowly. “Yes, I heard from some of the other board members that it was a beautiful affair. Unfortunately, people are still wondering about your intentions, Deepak, considering how fast you married another woman when you were engaged to Olivia Mathur.”
“Because I was engaged for the wrong reasons,” he said. Although this man didn’t deserve the truth, Deepak gave it to him.
“Now I have a question for you. Why did you encourage your daughters to work for Mathur Financial Group if you were never
going to give them an opportunity to lead the company?”
“Excuse me?” Veera’s father gaped at him, his face turning ruddy.
“You heard me,” Deepak replied, as he rounded his desk. “It sounded like you were looking for a buyout opportunity with a
larger business for a while.”
There was irritation in Malkit’s eyes, an arrogance that had hurt Veera in the past. “I don’t see how this is relevant.”
“I married your daughter,” Deepak replied. “I’m thinking about hiring her back. In fact, I want to give her your job. I can
see how incredible her work is. I know that her proposal has merit, and it’s worth investigating. If we’re expanding our operations,
that makes it my business.”
“My job?” The words exploded from his mouth in fury. “That would be the biggest mistake Illyria could ever make! As one of
the largest shareholders, there is no way I will let you try to bully me into retirement.”
“Oh, I don’t need to bully you,” Deepak said softly. He stepped even closer until he could see Malkit’s pupils shrink. “Your
numbers speak for themselves. I have been reading them as I put together the year-end reports for the board.”
“That’s preposterous !” Malkit stumbled two steps back and straightened his lapel. “I see what this is. You’re throwing a tantrum to get your way. Puttar, it’s clear to me that as CEO, you’ll just drive what your father built into the ground.”
Deepak closed the distance between them again, looming over the older man who was beginning to perspire at his temples.
“Why are you so against Veera succeeding?” he said in slow, measured words.
“Because she isn’t qualified to lead an organization,” he said, his words taking on a hard edge. “She will never be qualified.
She’s too soft for this business, and she should be home like her mother.”
Deepak wanted to believe in the selflessness of this man’s comment but he had a feeling that it wasn’t quite honest. There
was something else there, under the surface, that had Deepak pausing. Then it all started to click into place.
“Are you threatened by your own daughter?”
The man sputtered. “You are out of your mind, Deepak. You, just like my daughter, have an inflated sense of self-worth.”
That was it, Deepak thought as he rocked back on his heels. That was the real answer behind what was going on. “You are threatened by her. Because she is better than you. She calls you out on your bullshit. What kind of man is afraid of his
own child’s success? Malkit, you haven’t seen her in so long. Doesn’t she matter to you more than business?”
“That is none of your concern—”
“It absolutely is,” Deepak said. “We’re talking about my wife, and I will not stand for anyone hurting her. If you want to
come in here and threaten to pull support because you think I’m unfit, fine. But if you’re doing it to get back at Veera,
at your incredible, intelligent daughter who has only wanted your love and your respect, then you’re going to have a fight
on your hands. Do I make myself clear?”
He saw Veera’s father swallow, then take a step back. “Have you no respect for your elders?” he said in Punjabi. His voice wavered, thick with anger and disgust. “Have you no appreciation for what we’ve done to give you what you have?”
“I have plenty of respect for my parents,” Deepak said. “But for you? Because of the way you’ve hurt Veera? Absolutely not.”
He absolutely hated when people demanded respect simply because they had aged past a certain point. Silent obedience was not
in Deepak’s DNA.
There was that glint in Malkit’s eye again even as he backed up a step. “What makes you think you are so much better than
me?” he replied. “When you’ve done nothing but hurt my daughter, too? We’re no different, Deepak Datta.”
“We couldn’t be more different.”
Malkit removed a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed it at his forehead. “You’re hurting Veera, too, are you not? After
all, she was your second choice. My wife told me that Sana is still looking for Olivia. I specialized in strategy, Deepak. What are you hoping to do,
pass one wife up for another when she comes back? Whatever is the most beneficial to you to get Illyria?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I don’t?” he said, eyebrow raised. “As far as I know, your religious ceremony still hasn’t been formalized yet. There is
no marriage license. How long do you think that people are going to let you enjoy your little show before they start asking
questions?”
Deepak clenched his jaw. No, he thought. He refused to put up with this shit. “Your absence from Veera’s life, both personally
and professionally, means that you’ve lost the right to talk about her in any way. Your little intimidation visit today is
proof that you’ve gone too far.”
Malkit opened his mouth to speak, but Deepak cut him off. “Enough. Just know this, that whatever happens with the vote, I’ll make sure that should you breathe wrong in my wife’s direction, I will do everything in my power to wipe you out so that people won’t even remember your name. Are we clear?”
The lines around Veera’s father’s mouth deepened into worn grooves. He adjusted his shirtsleeves while slowly retreating toward
the door.
“I think your father and your family have taken Illyria as far as it will go,” Malkit said. “Your father is at least smart
enough to know that and step down.”
Before he opened the office door, he stopped and faced Deepak. “Just know that I am waiting, as is the rest of the board,
for you to leave Veera and go back to Olivia when it suits your business interests. Regardless of what the media says about
how you look like star-crossed lovers, I’m not buying it. Whatever you think, I hope I’m wrong.”
Then he was gone, leaving Deepak alone in his office, the light on his call comm flashing with his waiting conference line.
Except all he could think about was whether Veera’s father was right. Were people expecting him to leave Veera for Olivia?
Is that what Veera believed, too?
No, that wasn’t possible. He paced the floor of his office, walking back and forth along the same worn carpeted space. Despite
the very serious threat of losing everything he’d worked for, all he could think about was the woman who was currently littering
his house with her charging cords and cables. The woman he flew halfway around the world to find and to be with.
His chest was pounding so hard that he had to bend over at the waist and prop his hands on his knees to breathe.
Damn it, he was having a heart attack again. Sweat formed at the base of his spine, and he closed his eyes and tried to breathe through the incredible pounding in his chest, his thoughts flooded with Veera. He stuck two fingers between his collar and his tie and pulled, trying to suck in more air.
In that moment, he didn’t care about his legacy for shit, and all he wanted to do was make sure that his wife was okay.
He stumbled back to his desk to call his assistant. He had to cancel his calls for the day. He needed to plan. He needed a
well-developed strategy.