Chapter 21
Mina enjoyed the precious quiet with Hem through the night, but when dawn came, she couldn’t hold back the truth.
She sat with her love at her kitchen island with two cups of chai and the paranthas they’d ordered from a private chef.
They’d polished off most of their food by the time Mina finished sharing the intel she’d received through her new contact at the FBI and from Raj’s call the day before.
“How sure are you about Raj’s intel?” Hem asked.
“I couldn’t find anything that pointed to the contrary. And Raj is very good at what she does, so I’m inclined to believe her.”
“Okay.”
“You’re not surprised?”
“I’m relieved that we’re getting the answers we need. I knew we’d find the mole eventually, and I was prepared for the worst. Damnit, I have to tell Ajay and Zail. My brother is going to be heartbroken.”
Mina nodded. She knew he was talking about Zail. “I have a follow up with the FBI and more paperwork. You should go work at your place and I’ll stay here so we don’t get distracted.”
He pressed his knees harder against her thighs. “Or we could stay. We know we work well together. In the afternoon, I’ll take you for a walk, and we can try out that Italian place you wanted to go to last time for lunch. Maybe you can think about my moving- in offer some more.”
Mina snorted. “You want to play hooky during one of the most critical times in Bharat’s due diligence so you can argue with me about the pros of moving in? No dice, counselor.”
“A man can dream.”
“It’s fast,” Mina said. She reached out and cradled his face between her hands. Her big, strong man had such a soft heart. She had to be careful with it. “I’m not saying no. I’m just going to delay the discussions. Okay?”
One hand curled around her neck and massaged at the tension and stiffness. She closed her eyes and groaned.
“Thank you,” he said.
“For what?”
“For speaking up in that first board meeting. For seeing me this time, after all the times that you never saw me before. For sort of asking me to a club so we could drink whiskey. For coming out with me to Dosa Hutt on our first date, and for the few stolen moments we shared after that. And for calling the FBI and turning in the tape on your uncle. I know that couldn’t have been easy. ”
“It was actually very easy,” she said. “And maybe that’s why I feel some guilt.”
Hem kissed her then, slow and sweet. When he pulled away, Mina reached up to cup his face, scruffy from a day- old beard. “I love you.”
“I love you,” he replied.
Her phone buzzed on the counter, and Dad flashed across the screen. She debated letting it go to voice mail, but she had to continue acting as if everything was normal. With a sigh, she picked up. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Mina. I need to see you today.” His voice was the same baritone sound with a slight accent he’d never been able to shake. The only abnormality was his request. He never called her in for a meeting unless it was carefully scheduled in advance.
“Oh. I don’t think that’s possible. I can always make an appointment with you at the office for Monday morning.”
“I won’t be there. I no longer work at the firm.”
“What?”
“We need to meet in New Jersey, but away from Edison, away from the house where people would know to look for us. Nowhere obvious. Other than that restriction, I’m fine with whatever location is convenient for you.”
Mina looked up at Hem, and she saw his eyes narrow. He motioned for her to continue. “Dad, what do you mean you’re not working at the firm anymore? What happened? Did Sanjeev do something?”
“I’d like to ask you the same question. I need your availability, Mina. This is important.”
Her stomach pitched at the realization that if her father was ousted from the company, Sanjeev was most definitely going to target her next.
Had the news of the Virat’s family firm merger falling through convinced her uncles to let her go before her work at Bharat was complete?
Or was the decision solely based on her argument with Sanjeev in the office?
“Give me a second to check my calendar.” She pulled the phone away from her ear and pressed the mute button. “Did you hear?”
“I heard,” Hem said grimly.
“Where should I meet him?”
“You mean, where should we meet him. Tell your father that we’ll go to Montclair. It’ll be the best option if he’s worried about discretion. We’ll find a restaurant and you can text him the address.”
Mina repeated Hem’s message into the phone and confirmed that she was bringing a trusted friend along.
Her father agreed he’d be at the meeting point in one hour.
He refused to delay it any longer than that.
Mina and Hem would barely have enough time to get ready and leave the city, but it sounded too urgent to argue any more.
“This is a problem,” she said to Hem after she hung up. “Dad lived for that firm almost as much as Mom did. Almost as much as my uncles.”
“Then we have to find out what happened.” Hem pulled her into his arms and Mina sighed against his chest.
“I still can’t help but think I’m letting Mom down,” she whispered.
“I spent so much of my life focused on trying to avenge her memory, and now, in the eleventh hour, I feel like I’m not doing enough.
Sanjeev is going to take down the firm she built and I’m watching it happen.
” Hem rubbed a strong hand over her back.
“We don’t know what the future holds yet.
Let’s start by meeting your father. In the meantime, just know that there is no way your mother isn’t proud of who you are.
Let that be enough until we figure out the rest.”
Mina nodded and tilted her head back for a kiss. It was over too quickly, but they didn’t have the time for more. They had a meeting to go to.
Montclair was bursting with people enjoying an early fall Saturday morning.
The air smelled clean and fresh, while the trees were starting to turn red and orange.
Mina followed Hem into Java Cafe and to the back of the bustling restaurant.
As Mina took her seat at a scarred wooden table, she was glad the noise was at a loud enough volume that they didn’t have to worry about being overheard.
“Are you sure I should go to Alpine with you again after this is over?” she asked once the waitress left with their orders. “I think it’s too soon.”
“I’m sure,” Hem said. “I texted my mother that we’d be there when Dad got home. Both of us. Dad will have his private medical staff setting him up in one of the suites, so he may not be coherent, but Mom really wants to see you.”
She reached out and squeezed Hem’s hand. “It’s not just your brother trying to bleed me dry for information, right?”
Hem laughed. “It could be Ajay. Who knows? He’s definitely in CEO mode.”
“I bet you were gorgeous as a CEO,” she said and leaned forward to plant a kiss against his jaw. He wore a fitted white button- down shirt over a pair of dark wash jeans. When he tucked a curl over his ear, the diamond in his lobe sparkled.
“Darling, I am a CEO.”
She was about to lean in and kiss him again when she spotted a thin, older Indian man in baggy slacks and a beige shirt step through the door. He carried a briefcase his wife had given him, and a watch that was too loose for his wrist that he’d inherited from Mina’s grandfather.
Her father was here.
This was the same man who turned his back on Mina to take away the business she’d worked so hard to build.
She stood as he approached the table. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Mina.”
Hem stood as well and held out a hand. “Hem Singh. Nice to meet you.”
“You’re Deepak’s son,” Mina’s father said, taking Hem’s hand in a quick shake. “So, what Sanjeev was saying is true.”
Mina shared a look with Hem.
“What happened?” Mina said. “What did Sanjeev say?”
Her father pointed at Hem. “Do you trust him?”
“Yes, with my life.”
He let out a sigh. “First, my discretion about how I’m leaving the company is the one caveat in the severance package. I’d appreciate it that you never mention this conversation. Please, Mina.”
The way he said please had her pausing. Her father never asked her of anything in such a polite tone. His seriousness had her on edge. “I’ll keep what you say in confidence.”
“They’re going to fire you after you.”
She’d known that was coming. Sanjeev had warned her how it would end, but she never imagined that her father would be a part of her uncle’s decision in this way.
She reached under the table and gripped Hem’s hand. His long finger’s tangled with hers and kept her grounded. “Okay.”
“Mina,” her father said quietly. Confused.
“Tell me what happened.”
“Okay . . . okay, if you want. Both of your uncles called me into the office late last night. Cheryl from Human Resources was also present. Sanjeev and Nakul received word that the merger between Kohli & Associates and J.J.S. Immigration Law was cancelled. They believed you were the reason behind terminating the lucrative deal.”
“No, I was the reason behind that,” Hem said.
His soft amusement helped Mina relax a fraction.
“Sanjeev also mentioned that you’d jeopardized your position as head of the compensation board performing due diligence review at Bharat.
That you would be removed from your position after you present next week and another one of his .
. . connections would take over and review your work before a decision was made with the major shareholders. ”
“Like fucking hell,” she burst out. She was supposed to have more time.
Sanjeev wasn’t going to let her go until after she presented her findings at Bharat.
If she was gone sooner than the date of the quarterly board and shareholder meeting, then she wouldn’t be able to investigate the way she had been for the last few weeks.