Chapter 6
After days of staring at numbers, projections, and reports while trying to avoid Hem, Mina was ready for a cocktail. She took the first sip from her martini glass and groaned when the smooth liquor slid down her throat. The bite and blend were exactly what she needed after a long week.
She scanned the exclusive VIP section at The Ice Palace.
The club was a two- story renovated warehouse in the meatpacking district.
Every wall, surface, uniform, and piece of furniture was in a shade of icy white, gray, or blue.
The couches were plush velour, and the waitstaff was barely dressed.
The music pumped hot and loud on the first- level dance floor but was a few decibels quieter on the exclusive second floor.
“So how goes the due diligence review for the Punjabi company?” Rajneet asked.
“Or is it just one Punjabi that still has your attention?” She sat across from Mina in a dress cut to her navel and slit to her hips.
She was bronzed and toned, her hair perfectly tousled, and her lips a deep cherry red.
She had a scotch in one hand and wore a golf ball- size diamond on the other.
Mina looked like a pilgrim in comparison with her boat neck black dress that ended at her knees. She let out a sexually frustrated groan. “I should’ve never told you.”
“And rob me of this entertainment?” Raj said with a grin. “How dare you.”
“We ran into each other in the break room today, and we just…stared at each other. We’ve been around one another since we were kids Raj.
Since we were both forced to sit at the same kiddie table in the back of some auntie’s wedding in New York or New Jersey.
Even though we never really talked because the Singh brothers stuck together like glue, I knew he was good looking back then.
I mean how could I not? But I just never really noticed him until he pushed those doors open of the board room and strode in, sucking out all the oxygen. ”
“Maybe it wasn’t time for you two to recognize each other,” Raj replied simply.
“Well, it’s not the right time now, either.
I have way too much going on. But I mean, when did he get so…
I don’t know, hot? Not just good looking but hot.
The way he rattles off information about a company he hasn’t worked for in over a year is ridiculously sexy.
I am never like this, Raj. I have too many things on my plate right now to be like this. ”
“Honey, you’ve always had too many things on your plate. That’s why you don’t date. I think a nice distraction is in order.”
“Well, he’s definitely that. I don’t know why but whenever we talk, he’s so, intense and charming all at the same time. I’m not used to that.”
“You know I didn’t grow up here, darling. I became familiar with Bharat and the Singhs when I opened my own business ten years ago, so I don’t have historical context beyond that. But I did some digging. Are you interested in gossip?”
Mina fanned herself before she took another sip of her martini. “Uh, yes! Please. This man has me so confused and I could use any ammo you have.”
Rajneet began ticking fingers in the air like she was writing on a board.
“Hemdeep Singh. Graduated Ivy League. Studied computer science but showed an aptitude for corporate law. He started as an associate in his father’s company but quickly accelerated in the ranks.
He’d been working there since he was fifteen, so just as much hard work as it was legacy.
Was engaged briefly to a woman outside of the South Asian business community.
He left the company a year and a half ago to start his own firm.
He and his father haven’t seen eye to eye since, and rumor has it that his father was the reason why he isn’t married right now. ”
Mina’s jaw dropped. A pang of jealousy stabbed her in the chest, and it was so foreign that she didn’t know what to do with it. “What— what happened?”
“She left him and moved West. She was also a lawyer. They knew each other from school but didn’t start dating until a few years ago. Wedding deposits were paid, but it ended before invitations went out.”
“Wow, that’s . . . well. I’m surprised nothing made it to TMZ or at least India Abroad."
“My guess is that they were paid off.”
“How did you find this out?”
Raj waved a hand. “I’m in the business of secrets, baby. I have all sorts of resources.”
Mina’s mind was still reeling. “That’s some secret.”
“Well, it’s nowhere near as interesting as the doubts that are circling around the middle Singh brother’s leadership skills. People are whispering about how he wasn’t ready to take over as COO after Bharat went public and Hem left. Stock prices are barely stable.”
Mina wasn’t sure Ajay’s leadership had anything to do with why the company wasn’t succeeding.
The employees she met seemed happy and were loyal to the family.
The reports showed that they were on the right trajectory.
She knew something was going on that was more insidious than a hostile takeover attempt, and the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced her uncle was a part of the mess.
“So?” Raj said. “Are you going to tell him?”
“Tell him what?”
“That you plan on getting engaged, Mina. That your uncle is using you as pawn and you’re thinking about agreeing to a match made in business bliss.”
“I haven’t agreed to the arranged marriage yet. And I may not have to. Depending on how this due diligence turns out.”
Raj’s teasing expression faded. “Wait, are you serious?”
Mina shrugged. She’d do anything for her family’s business.
She couldn’t figure out any other solution at this point.
“My uncle is asking me to commit fraud on this compensation committee or get married to obtain the equity position I want. Either way, he has me over a barrel. My hope is that I’ll come to the same conclusion on the committee that Sanjeev wants. ”
Raj put down her tumbler. “And if you don’t? You can’t marry Virat, honey. You know that, right?”
“I figured you’d be in full support of something like this.”
Across the icy white café table that separated them, Mina saw the regret in Raj’s eyes.
“Robert and I decided to marry not because we loved each other, but because we knew we’d make good partners in business.
He wanted a socialite that could help him network, and I wanted someone who could help me stay in this country while I got my business off the ground.
Although my marriage hasn’t been terrible since we’re both getting what we wanted out of it, it’s loveless.
Robert and I are friendly, but we’re not friends.
We work together, but we don’t trust each other.
He has his business and social schedule, his discreet affairs, while I have mine.
Is that something you really want, Mina?
An arrangement with contracts? You have so much passion in you, so much fire.
Don’t let business and your mission for revenge snuff out that light. ”
Mina drank again, thinking about her friend’s words.
She admired Raj. So many people questioned her skills, her motives, and her lifestyle.
Despite that, she carried herself like a queen, giving the finger to anyone and everyone who dared step in her way.
But the stress of having no one to come home to, no one who understood her true passions and hopes and dreams, had to be exhausting.
A man approached their roped- off section. Normally Raj’s security would stop him, but he was immediately ushered in.
“Why hello, handsome,” Raj said as the man perched on the edge of her seat. He was clean- cut, polished, and a little too soft around the edges.
“Darling,” the man said in a crisp British accent. He took her hand in his and kissed it. “It’s been too long since you’ve made an appearance.”
“Business calls. This is my friend Mina. It’s her birthday. Tell her happy birthday, love.”
The man turned to her. His gray eyes nearly glowed, they matched the decor of their surroundings so well. “Happy birthday, love.”
“Uh, thanks.”
The man stroked a finger down the side of Raj’s neck.
“The Fire Lounge has our name on it. Can I steal you away and worship you for a bit?”
Mina choked and began to cough.
“Mina, you okay?” Raj said, reaching out and handing her a napkin.
“Fine,” she said hoarsely. “Went down the wrong tube.”
The British man seemed undisturbed by Mina’s interruption. “Darling? Fire Lounge.”
“Not tonight. I’m here celebrating with my friend.”
Mina waved a hand. “No, you should go get, uh, worshipped. I have to leave soon anyway.”
“What? It’s only eleven!”
“I have no idea what you’re doing with the body colonizer,” Mina said in Punjabi, “but don’t worry about me. I have to get up early and work tomorrow anyway.”
“I don’t like leaving you,” Raj replied. Her Punjabi crisp and rich, as if it was unearthed in Amritsar. “I’m the one who asked you to come out.”
“I’m a big girl. Seriously.”
After a long assessing stare, Raj let out a deep sigh. She leaned down and hugged Mina. “I’ll go, but why don’t you relax for a bit? I’ll leave security here for you in case too many of these pushy types try to bother you. But of course, you know I encourage it, considering your situation.”
Mina rolled her eyes and shooed her friend away.
Raj kissed the tips of her fingers and patted Mina’s cheek before she disappeared in the crowd, on her way to a satisfying night.
She glanced at her watch and the sliver of remaining liquid in her glass. “Happy birthday to me,” she said and downed the contents.
“Now that’s a terribly sad- looking drink for a birthday celebration,” she heard a familiar voice say.
Hem stood next to Raj’s security in black slacks and a fitted gray sweater that clung to wide shoulders and biceps so delicious they should be illegal.