Now that he was fully in the right mind to work, he looked at the time and decided to take a chance and call his brother. He let out a deep breath and pressed the phone to his ear. It was two thirty in the morning in California. Zail would be up.

The ringing stopped and a gruff grunt was the only answer he received.

“I wanted to check to see how you’re doing.”

“You mean after you cut off the call yesterday because you didn’t like what I had to say?”

“Zail, you wouldn’t listen to anyone.”

“That’s because you have lost your mind and have decided to actually buy the company that started this whole mess in the first place!”

“You heard from the data team yourself. The information was fed to the security consultants we hired.”

“That just makes her incompetent.”

“No more than we are.” Ajay heard the sound of a car door slam. “Are you going somewhere?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Zail replied. He had a sharp bite in his voice. “My team has been effectively shut down since last night, so I’m coming back to the East Coast. I’m taking the family jet, so I should be there before noon. Someone needs to convince you and everyone else in that office that you’re thinking with your dick and that there hasn’t been a single thing of value she’s brought to the table.”

“I’ve only wanted what’s best for this company,” Ajay responded. “And it’s fucking pissing me off that you’re accusing me of putting my personal feelings in front of a solid business decision. I need you to get yourself together and support this purchase, Zail.”

“No.” The sound was final and had a hint of bite to it. “And if you go through with this purchase, next month at the board meeting and quarterly shareholders’ meeting, I’ll fight you.”

Ajay felt his stomach pitch, and his coffee sloshed over the rim of its cup and splattered onto the floor. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, bhai, that I’m going to vote against you as CEO and call into question your decision-making capacity. I won’t let you screw all of us.”

Ajay felt as if his brother had just driven a knife into his back and twisted the handle. The hurt from Zail’s accusation was strong enough to bleed. He placed the cup on the nearest table, taking a moment to get his breath back.

“You’d jeopardize the future of Bharat, Dad’s dream, because of your hurt feelings? You’re the only one acting this way, Zail. Papa and Hem are on board. So is Bhram.”

“And none of them are thinking clearly. Or maybe none of them know about Rajneet Kaur Hothi’s background.”

“What are you talking about?”