“More for me, then,” Ajay said. “The food is the best part of this whole wedding.” He eyed a passing tray and decided to forgo the tandoori brie with mint chutney.

“Do you know how much money we’re all burning by being here instead of working in the office?”

“To the penny,” Ajay replied. “But we still have to make an appearance.”

“Next time, I’m going to fake a travel delay. Mom wants you to stop hiding in the corner and come back to the table.”

“I’m not hiding, I’m—”

“Looking for Raj. I know.” The bitterness was obvious in his voice.

Ajay reached out and clasped his brother’s shoulder. “I haven’t made a decision yet or talked to Dad about it. We’ll have to do this together, anyway. Dad, you, Hem, and me.”

Zail’s eyebrows furrowed and his frown deepened. “The fact that you’re considering it at all is what bothers me. She’s why we lost Sahar. That should be enough of a reason not to even give her the time of day.”

“Sahar is why we lost Sahar, Zail.”

“It was a setup,” he said through gritted teeth. “The security report is super vague, isn’t it? You have a name of her potential relative, and a bunch of possible connections, but no family pictures, no birth certificates, nothing concrete. I’m telling you, bhai. There is no way Sahar’s uncle works for WTA. I would’ve known about it. We went to school together. We worked together. Raj’s intel is wrong or she’s played you.”

“Raj had nothing to gain by getting rid of Sahar. And Sri, our head of security, couldn’t find anything that disproved Raj’s findings.”

“Sri is an idiot and you should’ve fired him the minute he screwed up.”

Zail had never hidden his feelings about Sri. The fact that Raj agreed with him and had said something similar at the gala rubbed Ajay the wrong way. Maybe it was time to call Sri in and transfer him to a different department. It was just that the man was his first hire since he started the department. Since Ajay had brought him on to lead the cyber security team, Sri had always been loyal. Maybe something had changed.

A group of aunties wearing brightly colored saris and anarkalis giggled behind their hands as they passed. Ajay could barely control an eye roll. He looked over at his brother.

“I’m sorry. I know you don’t like Sri or Raj, and you believed in Sahar, but there was nothing more we could do. Come on. Let’s get back before we’re accosted.”

They wove through tables and dancers until they reached the secluded corner where Uncle Frankie had put the entire Singh family. Ajay’s parents sat at one end of the table while Hem and Mina sat next to them.