“Thanks,” Ajay said. He strode directly to his desk, dropped his bag, and booted up his computer. “I need to know the minute any family member walks into this office. Bhram. Hem. My mother. Mina. Zail. Literally anyone.”

“Done,” Rafael said. “Do you need me to stall?”

“No,” Ajay said. “But don’t let them come back here. Send them to the conference room. I have to do some research, follow up on a hunch about our leak.” He sat down in his high-backed leather chair and looked at the one friend who had always been by his side. Rafael had started as a consultant, worked his way up the ranks to executive assistant supporting his father, and now he was supporting Ajay. He was driven, smart, loyal, and a friend.

“Rafael, can you close the door?”

Without a word, Rafael did as Ajay asked. “What’s going on?”

“I was just thinking how long we’ve known each other.”

A hint of a smile curved at the corner of Rafael’s normally stoic face. “Long enough for us to have a few drinking stories together.”

“That is unfortunately the truth.” Ajay leaned back in his chair and straightened his tie, trying to think of the right words, the right thing to say. “If you were in my position, and you had an article written about your partner, what would you do?”

Rafael let out a breath. “Probably ask you for advice, I suppose.”

“No, seriously.”

“I am,” Rafael said. He sat down in one of the companion chairs across from the desk, tossed his tablet aside, and leaned back in his seat. “Ajay, you’ve always been the most levelheaded out of all three of your brothers, recent fistfight aside. You are a strategist, your memory is practically eidetic, and you make clients and competitors nervous because your brain can figure out the odds faster than most geniuses in the tech industry. If anyone has advice on how to clean up a shit show and do it right, it would be you.”

Ajay wanted to believe Rafael. He needed to believe it. But sometimes having faith in himself was his biggest challenge.

Which was why he needed to surround himself with the best talent, to make sure that he was always focused on the possibilities and not the doubts that circled his mind like vultures.

“I need to ask you something.”

Rafael readied his tablet again. “Okay.”

“Will you be my chief of staff starting in January when I take over the CEO position?”

Rafael’s jaw dropped. Ajay had never seen him so surprised before, and the reaction made him grin.

“Is this because I just gave you a compliment?”