“What dirty secrets?” He spread his arms out as if looking for someone to challenge his statement. “You’ve been away for a long time, Raj, but I expected you to at least keep tabs on us. We’ve been outsourcing opium to pharmaceutical companies in Europe and the US. Nothing dirty about that, nah?”

“Wh-what?”

“There is more profit in pharma. We’re legal now. Mostly.” His grin was quick and reminded her of the boy that he used to be. “There are still a lot of people who want what we have. We play nice in the sandbox, but almost all of our money is clean. Now, as a peace offering, I can purchase your ticket, and you can be in and out of India in twenty-four hours. When would you like to leave?”

She was losing ground. She could feel it sliding out from under her. The freedom that she loved so much was disappearing like it used to when she was a child.

Except she wasn’t a child anymore. She wasn’t going to fall in line.

“Guru, I can’t just pick up and leave. I own a business. I’m in the middle of—”

“A divorce, I know.”

Her shoulders straightened at the disapproval in his voice. “I also own a company. And, like I said, my family’s guilty conscience is not my responsibility. I have a negotiation in progress, so if you’ll excuse me.”

His eyebrows formed a V, and his gaze narrowed. “With a South Asian tech company?”

“It’s time you leave, Guru!”

Even as she stood, horrified at the way she’d shouted, Guru sat smiling at her. “You never used to worry about yelling before. You were always screaming and yelling as you ran all over the farmhouse when you were a kid.”

“Those days are over now.”

He stood, straightened his tie and jacket. “I guess so. Our mother is on a timeline. I’ll give your assistant my phone number. Try not to block this one. And don’t take too long to decide. Even though I’m taking business meetings and working remotely, I need to get back to India. Commit.”

“I’m not committing to anything and your bullying me is not going to work.” She saw her assistant standing at her desk through the glass wall of her office and shook her head. Dammit, she was still yelling.

“You always were quick tempered,” Guru said with an amused smile. “The Punjabi princess that was the family phataka. A firecracker.” He buttoned his suit jacket and moved toward the door. “I can’t force you to come. Obviously. But we’ll be seeing a lot of each other until you decide to do the right thing. This is for Mumma, Rajneet. Business shouldn’t get in the way.”