I turned to Dad. ‘It’s a new line highlighting Indian craftsmanship by local artisans. I’m calling it Rivaayat.’
His cup froze mid-air. His hand trembled slightly as he put it down. A mix of pride, heartache and joy swam in his eyes. ‘Papa’s dream,’ he said softly.
A lump formed in my throat. I nodded. ‘I … I’m turning it into reality.’
‘New line?’ Mom asked, looking between both of us, a little stumped.
‘It was my father’s vision for the company,’ Dad replied, his gaze not leaving mine. ‘Your grandfather would be so proud of you. I am too, Jai. You have honoured his legacy in the best way possible.’
‘Congratulations, Jai.’ Mom smiled. ‘This is good news. Why didn’t you tell us about it?’
‘I didn’t tell anyone,’ I replied. ‘It was a surprise.’
Her eyebrow arched. ‘Not even your employees?’
‘No. It was so close to my heart, I needed everything to be perfect. So, I did it all by myself,’ I replied.
Well, Ananya helped, but she insisted on not taking any credit.
‘Not even your assistant? What’s the point of having employees if you can’t trust them to do what they are paid for?’
Irritation flared. ‘Anan— I mean, all employees are good at their jobs. But I wanted to do this project all on my own.’
She dug into her parfait.
‘That’s … incredibly thoughtful.’ Krisha’s hand covered mine. ‘I love it.’
I pulled mine away. ‘I’m very excited to show you, Dad,’ I said. ‘You’re going to love it.’
‘Where’s Ayaan?’ Mom asked. ‘It’s his company as well. He needs to attend this meeting.’
Right on cue, I saw some movement in the house.
A small, feminine figure was pressed against the French windows before moving away and disappearing into the living room. The window slidopen, and Ayaan stepped outside shirtless, his hair tousled and looking far too pleased with himself.
I suppressed a smile as he dropped into the chair on my other side. ‘Good morning.’
‘Ayaan, where is your shirt?’ Mom asked sharply. ‘And why are you late?’
‘I was sleeping, Mom, chill,’ he said, grabbing a croissant from the basket. ‘Hi, Bhai.’ His smile turned mischievous when he spotted Krisha. ‘Hi, Bhabhi.’
I shot him a glare. ‘How was your date last night?’
‘Great.’
As expected, Mom’s mouth twisted before she spoke, her voice razor-sharp, ‘Ayaan, you need to stop messing around. You’re twenty-four. You need to grow up and take some responsibility. Especially at work. How will anyone take you seriously? This is going to be your company one day; you need to act like it. You …’
I half-listened, more focused on enjoying my breakfast and Ayaan’s sulking face.
‘I need to prepare for my meeting.’ I rose once I was done. ‘See you two later.’
It took Dilip about twenty minutes to drop me off at the office.
The meeting was in an hour, and I was as prepared as I could be. There was only one thing I needed before I walked into it. Ananya.
It was Sunday yesterday, and since I took the day to prepare for my pitch, we didn’t see each other. I’d missed her.
The elevator doors slid open, and there she was.
