Chapter 13
Another week had passed, and his workload showed no signs of slowing down.
The days blurred into one another with back-to-back meetings, endless emails, and decisions that carried more weight than anyone else in the room seemed to realize.
It was exhausting. And yet, he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Despite the long hours, he loved what he was building. This is what he’d always dreamed of doing. Today had been no different. It was late evening now, and for the first time all day, he had a few uninterrupted minutes to clear his inbox.
He had just leaned back in his chair, scanning the next email, when there was a knock at the door and Janak entered. Akash smiled, rising to touch his feet.
“How are you?” Janak asked, studying him carefully.
“Busy as usual,” Akash replied. “It’s late. What brings you to the office?”
Janak sighed, gesturing toward the sofas arranged on the far side of the room. “Let’s sit.”
They took their seats, and only then did Janak speak again. “I heard you handled the incident with the minister’s office very well.”
Akash shrugged. “I did what I had to do. They agreed to come on live TV and present their stance, so it ended well.”
Janak grimaced. “Apparently not so well.”
“What do you mean?”
“Yesterday, I was called for a meeting with some of the board members of Sehgal Media.”
Akash frowned. “Why wasn’t I called for it?”
“Because they specifically didn’t want you there.”
Unease crept up his spine. “I’m not sure I follow.”
Janak folded his hands. “The board is uneasy, especially after the near disaster last week involving the minister’s office.”
“I handled that. So, what exactly are they uneasy about?”
“I know you handled it, and I am proud of you. But the board is questioning your leadership. According to them, that situation would never have arisen if someone more senior had been in charge.”
The words landed like a blow. His spine stiffened. “That was a hiccup. We moved past it. I’m sure you must have faced similar situations when you were in charge. But point noted. Next time, I will ensure the team does better.”
“I know you will, my boy,” Janak replied. “But this isn’t about what I think. They’re using that incident as an excuse to question your leadership. They believe you are too young and inexperienced.”
Akash let out a short breath, half laugh, half disbelief. “And who is leading this crusade?”
“Suveer Malhotra,” Janak replied without hesitation.
Akash’s brows shot up. “Why? He’s known me since I was a kid. I’m friends with his grandkids. Why would he try to undermine me?”
“It’s because he’s known you since you were a kid that he’s expressing his doubts.
Suveer, as you know, can be difficult and traditional.
What I hadn’t anticipated was how quickly he would rush to poison the minds of the other board members.
As of now, the board is divided. Many of them are on your side.
But a few of them, the important ones, are now, thanks to him, second guessing your rise to the top position of Sehgal Media. ”
“This is bullshit,” Akash said. “They haven’t even given me a chance.”
Janak held his gaze. “Despite my belief in you, they don’t believe you can manage Sehgal Media without me standing behind you.”
“I do have you behind me,” Akash said sharply. “You're still here and supporting me.”
“They don’t believe my interest will last,” Janak said. “Especially now that everyone knows Sehgal Media doesn’t belong to me. That it never did.”
Silence stretched between them. Akash’s mind churned. Anger warred with concern. He needed the board to be on his side. He didn’t need the added headache of battling with the board, even the few who didn’t believe in him.
Janak’s voice was calm when he continued. “Suveer Malhotra has been very vocal. He’s reminding the others that you’re not a Sehgal, that I won’t be as involved because of that. He’s stirring unrest, furthering the divide amongst the board.”
“I’ve built my life around this company. It is mine, and I’ve worked hard to earn my place here,” Akash said forcefully. “That is the absolute truth.”
Janak nodded once. “I know, my dear boy. I know. But legacy businesses don’t run on truth alone. They run on names. On optics. On bloodlines people can understand.”
Akash stood abruptly, unable to sit still. “So, what am I expected to do?”
Janak clucked his tongue. “Don’t get agitated. Be smart about this.”
Akash turned, his anger sparking. “The only way to shut them up is to continue doing what I am doing. Let them watch me. Let them judge. I’ll deliver results, and they’ll have no choice but to fall in line.”
“That won’t be enough.” Janak rose from his chair slowly, as if he were choosing his next words with care. “The board is uneasy and so they’re considering putting in safeguards, setting up committees and restrictions.”
Akash’s stomach tightened. “They want to clip my wings?”
“They want to protect the company,” Janak said, his tone weary. “But yes. They want control.”
“You mean they want to control me,” Akash snapped, his anger threatening to boil over. All his life, he’d trained, worked hard, and done everything possible to be worthy of his inheritance, and now he was being dismissed without even being given a chance.
Janak studied him. “I’ve been thinking about this, and I think I may have a solution.”
Akash’s eyes sharpened. “What?”
Janak’s voice remained even. “You marry Shauna.”
“WHAT?” For a second, Akash thought he’d misheard. He blinked, shaking his head. Surely, Janak hadn’t proposed what he thought he had.
“I’m sorry… what?” he said again, slower this time.
Janak didn’t blink. “You marry her. It ties you formally to the Sehgal name. It reassures the board, stabilizes their perception, and ends the uncertainty.”
Akash’s chest tightened. “You’re talking about marriage like it’s—”
“—a merger,” Janak finished quietly. “In this case, it would be both.”
Akash let out a short, incredulous breath. “This is insane.”
“It is practical, actually,” Janak said. “And it is the fastest way to shut Suveer Malhotra’s mouth.”
Akash took a step forward. “You can’t just… Janak, she hates me. Even more now that I’ve taken away her dream.”
“Yet, she is still working for you,” Janak’s eyes remained steady. “Shauna is hurt. And angry. But she is also intelligent. She understands leverage. And she understands the business.”
In the last week, Shauna had continued to work from home, though he still wasn’t certain she had truly changed her mind about leaving. But that didn’t mean she’d be open to marrying him. Fuck. Even saying the words marry and Shauna in the same sentence felt like he was in an alternate universe.
His jaw clenched. “And what about Shauna? Why would she agree? What does she get out of this?”
“She stays and runs this beside you, like she’s always wanted,” Janak said simply.
Akash stared at him. “I’m not marrying her to appease the board. It’s wrong.”
Janak’s voice softened. “I’m giving you a solution that will shut the board up one hundred percent.”
Before Akash could respond, Janak took out his phone and tapped on it. Immediately, there was a knock on the door, and Shauna walked inside.
Akash froze. “You called her?”
Janak’s expression didn’t change. “Yes. She needs to listen to this too.”
“Listen to what?” Shauna asked. “Why am I here?”
Akash’s pulse thudded once, hard. Fuck. He couldn’t believe Janak was proposing a marriage between him and Shauna. It was unreal, impossible, and unimaginable.
Janak gestured to a chair. “Sit, Shauna.”
She flipped her hair over her shoulders and took a seat, looking poised and regal, like a queen. The only hint of emotion lay in her eyes. They were cool, icy, and edged with hurt.
Akash remained standing while Janak sat beside her.
“How are you?” Janak asked.
Her lips tightened. “Fine.”
Janak tilted his head. “It’s been three weeks since you’ve spoken to anyone in the family properly. We’re all worried about you.”
“You all should have considered that before you decided to keep me out of the loop when it was my future at stake.”
“I’m sorry, Shauna,” Janak sighed. “None of us meant to hurt you.”
She nodded, offering no reply.
Janak didn’t waste time. “The board has concerns.”
Shauna’s mouth twisted. “About what?” And then she looked at Akash. “About him? Why? He’s just taken over.”
Of course she missed nothing. She was sharp and intelligent, as always.
Janak’s expression remained calm. “They don’t trust his age. Suveer Malhotra has been stoking that distrust.”
Shauna’s eyes flicked briefly to Akash before returning to Janak. “I don’t understand what Suveer Malhotra gains by destabilizing the company. Akash has barely begun. The least they can do is give him time to prove himself.”
Akash stiffened. He hadn’t expected her to defend him the way she had, and he didn’t know what to make of it.
Janak continued, his tone steady. “They’re threatening to put safeguards in place to control him.”
“That’s absurd,” Shauna said without hesitation. “It signals a complete lack of faith in his leadership. That kind of doubt trickles down fast, and once it does, it will hurt the company far more than it protects it.”
Akash’s stomach tightened. He still couldn’t believe she was siding with him, when she never had before. But of course, she loved Sehgal Media as much as he did. And despite her misgivings about him, it would always come first for her.
“They’re using the near disaster in the newsroom last week to force this issue,” Akash said.
“That’s ridiculous,” Shauna said. “We handled it.”
“Nonetheless, it has led to this,” Janak countered.
“So, what’s your solution?” Shauna asked him. “And how does it involve me? Because I’m sure that’s why you called me here.”
Akash shook his head. “Trust me. You don’t want to know.”
She gave him a hard look. “Let me be the judge of that.”
Janak’s voice remained level. “My solution is marriage.”
The silence that followed was brutal.