Chapter 11
Mina was quiet until Hem drove into the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel.
“Are you taking me to my condo?” she asked.
“Not yet.”
Hem had braced himself for an argument, for some sort of reminder about how they worked together. Instead, she sank back into her seat in silence for the rest of the drive.
He understood the importance of her independence.
He also knew that she had secrets, and a history that she was guarding with every last ounce of strength she possessed.
He’d let her keep her secrets until she was ready to share, but until that time came, he’d stand by her side until she trusted him.
In all fairness, he was keeping secrets, too. About his relationship to his father, about his feelings for Mina, and about his past.
Since he’d returned to Bharat, he’d occupied himself with learning the ropes again while touching based every morning with his firm’s legal team.
He’d hadn’t returned to the family estate to check on his father a second time.
When his mother had called all three Singh sons home for dinner that night, he’d reluctantly agreed.
It had taken thirty minutes for his parents to remind him why he left in the first place.
“Don’t you see how good it is to work with the family again, beta?”
“Your brothers need your support.”
“Come, let bygones be bygones. Lisa wasn’t the right fit for you. I did you a favor.”
He’d barely kept his cool through the entirety of the meal before he’d bolted out of there.
Calling Mina, hearing her voice, was like catching a life raft when he was lost at sea. But she was in pain, and focusing on her helped ground him in something other than his own mess.
He pulled into his building’s underground garage and passed the keys to the valet. Mina didn’t argue when he took her laptop bag and led her into the private elevator and upstairs to his floor. When the doors opened, the New York skyline glittered through the windows and stretched to the horizon.
Hem kicked off his shoes and walked over to the com panel to turn on the recessed lighting to a dim glow. Mina took her time as she slipped out of her heels and followed him into the kitchen area.
“Want some wine?” he asked.
“Yes, please.” She let out a long sigh as she slid onto one of the counter stools.
“Any particular preference?”
“Surprise me.”
He walked over to the wine fridge and pulled out one of his family’s labels. “Why don’t you get comfortable while I pour this for us? Your things are still in the master bath.”
She looked at him with puzzlement. “My things? What things?”
“The ones Rafael purchased for you a few weeks ago. Also, I texted him when we hit that traffic on 95. I asked him to drop off more clothes. Some variety this time. They should be on the bed already.”
“Hem, I’m going home tonight.”
“Mina, do you really want to sit around in the same work clothes you’ve had on since six this morning?”
“I’m dressed fine for one drink.”
He grinned at her mutinous expression. “I like buying things for you. Well, I like whatever Rafael buys for you, knowing that I’m the one who gave them to you.”
“Hem!”
“Please?” he said. “First of all, what’s the point in me having money if I can’t spend it on whoever I want? And second of all, it makes me feel like we’re moving forward even though we’re stuck because we work together right now.”
Her expression softened. She walked over to him and stood on her toes to press a kiss against his cheek. The tension in his shoulders eased.
“I do like free clothes,” she said quietly.
“Who doesn’t, am I right?”
“And they obviously don’t come with strings,” she added.
Hem gaped at her. “I would never.”
“Fancy underwear, too?”
“Naturally.”
“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll take your no-strings money because I know it means a lot to you to do this. But if I don’t like them, I’m not going to wear them. And I still may go home tonight. Understood?”
“Yes. Of course. I just want to make you happy.”
Hem stifled a laugh at the way she turned on her bare feet and strode down the hall toward the master suite.
If he had it his way, she’d be in his space, in his room all the time. She looked like she belonged here.
He took a sip of wine as the realization began to set in.
Mina belonged there.
Fuck. Hem was ruined for other women.
When she left him, if she left him, he’d have to brace himself for a pain that would be so much fiercer than he’d ever felt before.
He’d finished pouring two glasses of Riesling when he heard the sound of the shower from the master bath. He left the glasses on the counter and headed toward the back of the penthouse to make sure Mina had everything she needed.
The bathroom door was closed, but there were multiple outfits laid out carefully on the bed with a discarded bag on the floor. Leggings, a thin jersey sweater, dark jeans, a high neck sleeveless top, a pair of thin cotton pajamas, and multiple options of comfortable yet sexy lingerie.
She had to have liked the clothes with the way she laid them out with such reference, Hem mused. And since she was going to be comfortable, he might as well be, too.
Hem took off his tie, button- down shirt, and slacks in favor of a pair of athletic shorts and T- shirt. The shower shut off just as he returned to the kitchen. His cook left some pre-prepared trays for snacking that he could heat up.
Fifteen minutes later, Mina joined him in the great room, barefaced, her hair on top of her head, dressed in the leggings and the pajama top. She looked younger, more carefree, like she had the morning he’d showed up at her door.
“They fit,” Hem said as he placed the stuffed mushrooms and crackers on the coffee table. “Do you like them?”
“You know I do,” Mina grumbled. She sat next to him on the couch. “I know that your ex hated when you bought her anything, and I sort of understand why. It’s easy to get comfortable with the way you spend money, Hemdeep Singh.”
“Would it freak you out if I told you that I was just getting started?”
“Hem.”
He chucked as he ran a finger along the see- through mesh panel in her leggings that stretched from mid- thigh to ankle. “I like this.”
“Mmm- hmm.” She took a sip from her glass, her eyebrows lifting almost to her hairline. “The wine is really good, Hem. What is it?”
“It’s from our family’s winery and distillery. Saffron Fields. The Riesling. I figured you’d like it.”
“Saffron Fields is yours? No wonder it tasted familiar. This is like a hundred dollars a bottle. Is that part of Bharat, Inc.?”
Hem shook his head, distracted by the way some of her curls escaped the topknot and rested against her slender nape.
“Saffron, along with our other ancillary businesses, are under Haz Industries. My father diversified after we were all born and decided to keep that part of his work separate from Bharat. Smart move on his part.”
“Very,” Mina mumbled behind her wineglass.
Hem grinned as he put his glass on the coffee table.
He tossed one of the throw pillows at her legs, and before she could move, he lay down so his head rested in her lap.
He expected her to push him away, but she began stroking her fingers through his hair.
The feeling of her fingertips against his scalp sent sparks of sensation through his skin.
He groaned and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her, the fresh floral scent on her skin.
“Hem?”
“Mmm- hmm?”
“Bharat has a little over a thousand employees, a location in California, London, Canada, and New York, and operates in a niche industry. And Saffron Fields has a great reputation, but it’s not a large- scale operation.
How has your father made it to the billionaire list two years in a row with a few, albeit successful, operations? ”
Hem took her wineglass from her hand and put it next to his. Curling his fingers around the back of her neck, he pulled her down for a kiss so achingly sweet that he had to control himself from taking more. She tasted better each time.
Mina pushed against his chest and he reluctantly let her go. “Hem,” she whispered.
“Yeah.” He let out a frustrated sigh. “We have a sizeable agricultural business outside Vancouver managed by my mother’s brother and wife,” he said, pressing a kiss to her wrist. “Plus the luxury high- rises in LA, Miami, Toronto, the hotels on Ibiza and the Amalfi Coast, and the shipping business in Mumbai and Dubai.”
“Wow, that’s?—”
“We own two network television stations, a chain of grocery stores, restaurants, nightclubs in Vegas, Singapore, and Ibiza, and a few smaller enterprises.”
Mina gaped at him. “You’re serious.”
“Deadly,” Hem said. “We have people we trust on- site to manage all of our extended property interests, but Ajay pulls the strings for most of it. To answer your question, most of our revenue is from Dad’s patents.”
“Are the patents why it is such a big deal if WTA buys out Bharat?”
“No, it’s mostly because Bharat represents more to my father than a software company.
It’s his American dream. When his brothers and cousins were playing with toy guns and pretending to be cops, he was writing code.
His greatest achievement in this world is something he wants to pass to his children, and we’ll do whatever it takes to help him with that goal. ”
Mina brushed her fingertips against the diamond stud in his ear. “Family is important to you. You trust them to have your back when you need them the most.”
“Yes.”
“My mother trusted her family, too. It got her killed.”
Mina knew that if she was going to have a relationship with Hem, then she’d have to tell him the truth about Sanjeev’s directive, and her reasoning for working with her uncles.
She wasn’t sure she could come clean quite yet about Bharat, but that was only because she wanted to uncover a bit more information, search a bit longer for proof, before she brought everything to the Singh brothers. However, she could tell him about her mom.