“Don’t worry about Gopal,” Bhram said. “The people in charge are very qualified. You have enough on your shoulders to think about. Focus on the acquisition and leave the rest to the competent people in the company.”

“Thanks, Bhram.”

Rafael knocked on the doorframe. His gaze slid over to Bhram, held for a moment, then returned to Ajay. “Sri is here to see you.”

As if his day couldn’t get any worse. He’d been avoiding his head of security until he could compile the information he needed before terminating Sri’s employment.

“Does he know I only have five minutes before my next call?”

“I told him.”

“Good. Send him in.”

When Rafael didn’t budge and continued to stare at Bhram, Ajay stuck two fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle, just like Mina had taught him.

Both his cousin and assistant jumped.

“Rafael, sooner rather than later.”

“Right. Okay. Bhram, I can show you out.”

Bhram was out of his chair like a shot, following on Rafael’s heels. Ajay rolled his eyes. Watching those two was like watching a telenovela crossed with an Indian soap.

Sri appeared moments later, wearing his customary black sweatshirt and Chucks. He was the oldest member of Raj’s security team, the most senior member, and he still looked like he was trying to fit in at a Silicon Valley tech mixer.

“How can I help you, Sri?” he said.

“Uh, sir, I wanted to ask if there was a problem.”

Ajay motioned to one of the chairs. Sri shook his head. “What do you mean?”

“Sir, my team and I have been working to locate Sahar Ali Khan for a while now. Same with intel on WTA and, most recently, Rajneet Kaur Hothi. We’ve been working hard—”

“With zero results.”

Sri glanced to the side, failing to look him in the eye. “Be that as it may, in my opinion as your security lead, it’s important to continue looking.”

This son of a bitch, Ajay thought. He’d trusted him. He’d defended him.

“I agree with you, Sri, but this isn’t supposed to be a difficult project. I haven’t gotten any information from you that shows me you’re making headway. That’s why I asked Legal to look into your team.”

This time, Sri’s cheeks went ashen. “Sir . . .”

“Nothing to worry about. Just making sure we don’t have another data leak. You understand.”

“Sir, we were blocked out of the system last night. If I could get access and download some of the files I need to work on, then I won’t be so unproductive.”

“No need,” Ajay said with a wave of his hand. “You’ll get paid regardless.”