“I believe in you, Hari,” Vansh added fiercely.

Hari looked at Vansh with such adoration, Naina could practically see him steeling his spine to not disappoint him. “I can do it,” he said, still shaking.

Naina had the urge to snap at Vansh, but Hari was making too much of an effort and she couldn’t bring herself to. “Only if you want to.” With a glare at Vansh, which he stubbornly ignored, she pressed the intercom and asked Mariel to bring in some hot chocolate.

Vansh took Hari’s hand. “Naina is right. Only do it if you want to. But you’ve done such amazing work and I know you want to help your friends at the community center. Mikhail and Tina and—”

“Tim and Douglas,” Hari added.

“They already have jobs thanks to you. You’re a matchmaker, remember?” Vansh said. “You’re stronger than you think.”

Hari smiled, but it was so forced Naina wanted to shake Vansh.

Don’t do this, she mouthed to Vansh.

Have some faith, he mouthed back. He took the hot chocolate from Mariel, and brought it to Hari. “Thanks, Mariel, that looks intensely chocolaty. Fit for a star who’s going to kill his presentation.”

“Vansh!” Naina snapped. Hari started shaking again and she kicked herself. “It’s okay,” she said much more calmly. “The hot chocolate does look delicious.”

“Mr. Mehta just called to say you need to be upstairs,” Mariel said, looking concerned. In the ten seconds she’d been there, even she could see that this was not good for Hari.

Vansh looked unsure for a minute, but then he stood, determined as ever. “I know you can do it. I’ll do most of the talking and it will be over before you know it. This will help bolster your confidence. Trust me.”

No it won’t, Naina wanted to scream, but Hari was forcing a spring into his step, despite his obviously trembling legs.

“All you have to do is show them the mock-ups of the UI, which is slick and intuitive, and then walk them through the code that parses the data. You have everything in here.” Vansh tapped the laptop and gathered the notes they’d been working on. “Naina and I will take care of everything else. We want them to see that this solution comes from a place of real experience.”

By the time they had made their way up to the hundredth floor, the boardroom was full of seven very serious-looking men and two very serious-looking women, each one of them used to only ever having their way.

Hari watched them through the glass wall of the lobby. “I can do it,” he said with such hope that Naina had to nod.