Chapter 36

—Saturday, February 5, 2022, 8:00AM—

Imlie woke up late, she couldn’t believe she was so late. She checked the time on her phone and sprang out of bed, brushing her teeth as fast as she could. She then took the fastest shower she’d ever taken, and didn’t bother to take her hair out of a towel when she came downstairs. She rushed a prayer to her Sita Maiya murti upstairs and then sprinted downstairs to the breakfast table. Where she expected to see Kaki Maa and Arpita Didi at the breakfast table, it was just Aryan, in his regular seat, reading the paper with his daily coffee.

“Kaki Maa aur Arpita Didi kahaan hain?” Imlie asked, pulling a chair and spreading a healthy serving of butter on a paratha. (Where are Kaki Maa and Arpita Didi?)

Aryan didn’t look up from his paper, “They went to the temple,” and he muttered under his breath, “no doubt to pray for me.”

Imlie heard him, “They should pray for you, because today’s the first time you’re going to have to deal with not getting what you want.”

That got Aryan’s attention, he put down his paper, “Itna confidence kahaan se leti ho tum? Kya tumne kissi tijoree mein band kar rakha hai? (Where do you get so much confidence? Do you have it locked up in some safe somewhere?)

“You know what I’m going to say to that, don’t you?” Imlie stuffed another bite of paratha into her mouth. Aryan glared at her and she gave a paratha mouthful smile.

Aryan gave her a withering look and went back to the paper, hiding his actual smile behind it. Anyone else, and Aryan would have wasted no time in extolling them on the exact number of unhealthy carbs they were ingesting, how they shouldn’t be eating that quickly, and how perhaps they should stick to smiling when they didn’t have a mouthful of food. But he managed to restrain himself in front of Imlie nowadays.

Imlie ate in silence, watching Aryan, waiting for some other quip about Imlie trying to stop him today. Nothing came. Aryan finished his coffee and set down the paper again, “Ready to go,” he asked, “or do you want to eat some more parathas, I don’t know if there’s enough atta left in the house, but I’m sure we can get some more.”

Imlie glared at him, “I’m ready, and in fact, I do want another paratha. She rolled one up with acchaar spread on it, and took it with her to the front door.”

Aryan rolled his eyes and followed her.

The car ride would have been silent, but Imlie wanted to keep the streak going of Aryan not bugging her about anything to do with the meeting, so she threw caution to the wind and turned on the radio, lowering her window down as well.

After a minute or so of some recently released upbeat Bollywood song, Aryan turned off the radio, “Imlie, we’re in one of the most polluted cities in the world, and you want to roll down the window? Also, all these poor commuters are going to work, they don’t need to hear your horrible singing this early in the morning.”

Imlie looked at him, smiled, and just turned the radio on again.

Aryan willed the traffic dissipate, because more than the music, the nervousness over the meeting was killing him. They had fifteen minutes before it started, but he needed to get there early, just in case there were any problems with what he had planned.

Aryan almost swerved into the parking lot, and looked at his watch as he undid his seatbelt. He looked at Imlie, he should probably say something to her.

“Imlie,” Aryan started. She was grabbing her bag and undoing her seatbelt. Imlie looked over at him.

“Yes…ABP?” Imlie asked, unsure of where this was going.”

“Whatever happens, you’ll still forgive me, right?” Aryan asked. “You can’t take it back, you already said you forgave me.”

Imlie sighed, “If everything goes as fairly as it can, and you stay calm…yes, I’ll still forgive you. Happy?”

Aryan looked at her, “I’ll know if I’m happy in a bit.”

They got out of the car and made their way to the office. Unluckily, for who it wasn’t certain, they met Aditya in the lobby of the building.

Aditya looked at Imlie and then Aryan, his clearly nervous demeanor transforming almost immediately into one of misplaced smugness, “Ah, the royal couple of the Bhaskar Times have graced us with their presence.”

Imlie rolled her eyes, “Is this really the time, come on.” She had gotten used to Aditya’s taunts about her relationship with Aryan, and while it used to bother her, back when she was still technically married. It didn’t bother her anymore. Mainly because there was nothing going on, but even if there were, and that would be a very very low probability, it wouldn’t be something she or Aryan deserved a taunt for.

Aryan clenched his jaw, he wanted to slap the guy and it had only been five seconds, but he remembered he just promised Imlie he’d stay calm. He took a breath, “Is there a reason you’re here Mr. Tripathi?” Aryan assumed Aditya wouldn’t know Imlie had gotten the information about the meeting from him, in fact he was sure of it. If Imlie had told Aditya where she got the information, there was no way Aditya would have shown up. Imlie caught onto this quickly.

“We’re here to crash your settlement meeting. I thought that was obvious when I got in the car with you, Aryan?” Imlie said, nonchalantly, and headed to the elevator.

The three of them shuffled inside, and Imlie readied herself for the most awkward elevator ride of her life, and then before the door could close, a hand stopped it.

Shiv stepped in. He nodded a greeting to Aryan and Aditya, and added, “Morning, Imlie. How are you?”

Imlie smiled, “Doing pretty great, and yourself.”

Shiv smiled at his shoes, well aware that Imlie would probably claw herself out of this elevator with her bare hands if it dared to get stuck, “Just peachy.”

When the doors opened, Aryan stood aside to let Imlie out first, and then followed Shiv and Aditya.

Aryan straightened his jacket, “Well, I guess that you’re all here, I can’t exactly stop you from joining in. In fact, the opposing lawyer was frustrated when I told him I didn’t know if the reporter in question would be coming in. But, Imlie, is there a reason you want to be in on the meeting?” He knew she would do whatever it took to get in the room, but he hoped that his resisting would perhaps hold her back. She didn’t really need to be a part of this, not when it was all ending anyway.

Before Imlie could snap back, Shiv stepped in, “I understand your concern, Aryan, but, Imlie helped me prep for the case, so I think it’s best she’s in there. I promise, we’ll both, in fact, all three of us will, strive to keep it professional.”

Aryan couldn’t argue with this, but he wished he could. He fought back the urge to grab Shiv and perhaps scream at him until he wiped the smile off his face. Why was he smiling, I mean sure people were happy, but this guy. Ugh, Aryan couldn’t stand him.

They all followed Aryan into the conference room, the Bhaskar Times’ lawyer was waiting for them. He looked surprised to see Aditya, Imlie, and a stranger following Aryan, but he composed himself after a few seconds.

A few minutes later, the door swung open and Khanna and Mahendra Global’s general counsel, Raj Dixit entered the room.

“I would have thought you would have waited in the lobby to see us up, Aryan?” Khanna said, without a glance at anyone else in the room, “Didn’t they teach you manners where you went to school?”

Aryan stayed seated, “No, they were busy teaching us not to waste our time, I guess it’s how I turned out so ill-mannered. Please, take a seat. Let’s get started.”

Before Aryan, Khanna, and unfortunately Aditya, could say anything else, it seemed all the lawyers in the room wanted a piece. Imlie decided the best seat was one away from the table, in a chair next to the window, facing the table in the center of the room. She spun her head around trying to figure out who spoke first, and it turned out it wasn’t Shiv or the Bhaskar Times’ lawyer (who’s name was Narayan), but Dixit.

Dixit cleared his throat and repeated himself in case anyone missed it in the clamoring, “I think it’s best if we go over the case details first, and from this point forward, it’s probably best if only the lawyers speak. Unless the clients have a question. He looked at everyone in the room as if he would like it very much if no one had questions, even his own client.

The next ten minutes were rather boring, at least for Imlie, because she already knew the details of the case. She knew what Khanna claimed he’d lost, what the article had gotten wrong, how they decided they could prove Aditya willfully made a mistake, and on and on.

But then Dixit stopped talking, and he looked at Narayan, assuming he would start speaking now for his client; Dixit didn’t seem to register that Shiv, Aditya, or Imlie were even in the room. Narayan fumbled, he was a good lawyer, at least he used to be, but the past few weeks working under Aryan Singh Rathore had been a major kick in his guts…and his confidence. It wasn’t that there were any difficult tasks over the past few weeks, in fact, this case was the most interesting thing Narayan had worked on in a long time. However, Aryan’s presence, even his existence in his office many floors above Narayan’s made him nervous.

Aryan didn’t miss a beat, “I think what the paper’s attorney wants to emphasize is that not only is your ask for damages ludicrously high, it’s largely baseless. We have issued the retraction, if you read the Saturday edition of the paper this morning. And we will issue another one tomorrow, and Monday. Based on probabilities and assumptions on certain quantities I had to make of your bank balance and investment accounts and the like,” Aryan was on a roll and he wasn’t letting Dixit or Khanna interrupt, “you’re owed no more than 50 lakhs. And that’s with my overestimates of your balances. I don’t think, Mr. Dixit, you did the smart thing here by agreeing to be Mr. Khanna’s counsel, seeing as you also represent your firm’s interests. And if Mr. Khanna is going to drag this on unnecessarily, I expect it will do more bad than good for Mahendra Global. So, it might be smart to consider that. Unlike Mr. Khanna here, I’m willing to fight this to the end, you know what they say, the rich are the best penny pinchers.”

Aryan leaned back in his chair and waited for someone else to speak, he expected Khanna would blow up first.

There was a few minutes of dead air, and Imlie was honestly awestruck. She knew, because Aryan gave up an opportunity to tell her, that Aryan was an excellent negotiator and clearly that was important in his job, but seeing him in actual action, doing something other than run a newspaper, it was…well, impressive. Aryan didn’t technically know how to run a newspaper, and now Imlie realized how he’d managed it so far, he really was a sponge. From what little she knew about what kind of classes Aryan probably took during his MBA, she knew for a fact he wouldn’t have taken enough classes to know this much about the law. What she couldn’t figure out, was whether or not Aryan’s lowball offer was a bad thing or a good thing for Aditya. Imlie remembered that Shiv predicted Aryan would come in with a low offer, but Shiv had assumed it would be 5 crore, or maybe 4, not this low.

Finally, Khanna couldn’t take it any longer, “Are you serious? Are you seriously going to offer 50 lakhs and treat it as a smart negotiating play? You have nothing, Aryan. In fact, I don’t plan on resting until this whole paper goes under, starting with this pathetic reporter here.”

This time Shiv spoke instead of Narayan or Aryan, “Actually, Mr. Khanna, if I may. It’s clear that Bhaskar Times has a pretty strong case. First, they proceeded with a retraction with immense speed, no one can argue that they’re being malicious towards you. Second, you can’t prove Mr. Tripathi had any specific ill will towards you. You also can’t prove without a reasonable doubt that Mr. Tripathi didn’t do all the necessary research before sending this to his editor. Nor can you prove that the Bhaskar Times went out of the way to ignore any mistakes Mr. Tripathi made. Of course in this country libel and defamation suits run differently than they do in the UK, the onus is on the defendant to prove they didn’t make a mistake under British and Indian law. But I think you’ll find that even if Mr. Narayan here doesn’t make a strong case, I will be. Sure you may think you can outspend Mr. Tripathi into giving up, but what you’ll really be doing is extending the period of time your name is in the mud.”

Imlie looked at Aryan, but this time there was no smirk on his face. Imlie couldn’t tell if this meant he was unhappy or if he’d just gotten better at hiding his emotions.

Before Khanna could respond to Shiv, Dixit, his lawyer did, “So, does that mean you plan on staying with the case even if it reaches actual litigation Mr. Agarwal? Will your firm let you do that?”

Shiv smiled, “I have a set amount of hours I’m allowed to devote to pro-bono cases, and even if I didn’t, my superiors love me, because I bring in dozens of clients for their entertainment lawyers. So don’t worry about me, Mr. Dixit. I’d worry about your client…or should I say, clients. I don’t think Mr. Rathore hit the conflict of interest point hard enough, and it seems Mr. Narayan is still finding his voice, so I’ll make it clearer: if you continue with this case as Mr. Khanna’s personal lawyer, you’re going to find yourself in a stick situation with your actual employer, Mahendra Global.”

Dixit leaned back to take this in, “Be that as it may, I don’t think we can accept 50 lakhs—“

Khanna interrupted him, “Damn right we can’t! I lost way more than that in less than twenty four hours because of this stupid article.”

Aditya tried to interrupt, but this time Narayan found his voice, finally, “Even getting Mr. Tripathi fired is going to take a lot more effort than this settlement conference, Mr. Khanna. We won’t be pressured into anything, especially not spending more than is necessary on this case. Also it will definitely take at least a few months of investigation and depositions to prove anything that you and your counsel have listed in the suit. As Mr. Agarwal mentioned, libel laws aren’t usually on the defendant’s side in this country, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to defend the free speech of a newspaper. It’s in your best interests to let this matter end quickly, and take what you’ve been offered.”

Khanna stood up, looking like he wanted to flip the table over, “I have done nothing wrong! This is not just insulting Aryan, it’s pure insanity. How can you side with a reporter who you yourself think isn’t up to the task, I heard you berate him after I left. There’s no way you’re going to risk this paper and perhaps your other businesses because of him.”

Aryan leaned forward, “Mr. Khanna,” his voice was deadly quiet, “you don’t know anything about me, how I conduct my business, or what I’m capable of. So stay on topic. And I would listen to your counsel before speaking, it doesn’t look like he agrees with you or your outbursts.”

Khanna looked down at Dixit, who was indeed frustrated, but not with Narayan or Aryan or even Shiv.

Dixit muttered, “Sit down, Mr. Khanna.”

Khanna sat down.

Dixit started to speak, “I think we should stop this meeting here, it doesn’t look like either of you,” he looked at Shiv and Aryan, completely ignoring Narayan, “are ready to negotiate in good faith—“

Just then the door swung open, and in walked Radhika, Dev, and Chitra.

Imlie looked at them, and her jaw dropped. She scooted up to Shiv and whispered in his ear, “Did you tell Chitra about the meeting?”

Shiv whispered back, “I did, in passing, but I don’t think I mentioned the time. I also didn’t tell her to come.”

Imlie sat back down, worried about Radhika. Radhika’s face looked pale and scared.

Dixit was exasperated now, “Mr. Rathore, just how many people did you invite to this settlement conference? What the hell is going on?”

Khanna looked at Radhika, his face twisted into a sneer of anger, “What are you doing here?”

Imlie looked at Khanna, she could tell that behind his anger was nervousness.

Chitra spoke for Radhika, “I clearly don’t have to introduce my client to you Mr. Khanna, but I’ll introduce myself and her friend, who you might also know. I’m Chitra Das, Radhika Apte’s lawyer. And this is Dev, Radhika’s friend. He’s not here as your employee today, however, but as Radhika’s moral support.

Chitra pulled out a chair for Radhika, and sat down next to her. Radhika was seated across from Khanna, but as far away as she could manage. Dev took a seat in the back row, away from the table, near Imlie, right behind Radhika.

Chitra started up again, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Dixit, I understand you’re Khanna’s personal counsel on this. I came to know of this meeting and I decided it was best to make our position known. I’m not sure if your client has told you, but he might be facing a lawsuit of his own in a few days, for assaulting my client, and causing her miscarriage. We not only have ample evidence to prove our case, but I’ve convinced Radhika that she will be perfectly safe in testifying.”

Imlie wanted to stand up and end this, she didn’t know Radhika well, but testifying about this in open court, it seemed horrible. It seemed like the worst possible thing for her. Imlie looked at Radhika, her face was expressionless, but she was looking straight at Khanna, clearly working hard to maintain her composure.

Khanna sneered, “Radhika, are you sure you want to do that? As you know, I have a lot I can say about—“

Chitra interrupted, “Please only address me, not my client, Mr. Khanna. And to answer your question, yes she is sure. But…it doesn’t have to come to that. You, and everyone else in this room, will can make all this…everything, go away. Ms. Apte wants no financial remuneration from you, Mr. Khanna. She would like a written apology, and a private, legally binding agreement, that you, or anyone you try to pressure or hire, won’t contact her, approach her, or even come within 100 yards of her. Also, you drop this nonsense suit against Bhaskar Times. That’s all. In exchange, Ms. Apte doesn’t sue, she won’t go to the press, nor will your family and colleagues find out exactly what kind of pathetic, disgusting, and cruel man you really are.”

Khanna’s face was completely red by now, “Are you kidding me? Are you goddamn serious? This is all a lie, Dixit. They have nothing—“

Dixit interjected, he was aware of Chitra’s reputation, and he knew she didn’t take cases unless she had a high chance of succeeding on the evidence alone, “Ms. Das, I would like to see this evidence, before we make…before we move forward.”

Khanna almost screaming now, “Dixit, are you seriously listening to this woman? She is representing one of the most characterless people I’ve ever met. They’re both lying!”

Aryan finally spoke up, “Mr. Khanna. I would like to repeat myself, please listen to your lawyer and shut up, because whatever you say here is officially on the record, it has an impact on any case that you bring, or is brought against you. Also, in my presence, you will not, under any circumstances, attempt to attack the character of a woman, or anyone for that matter. And…”

Khanna looked at Aryan, “And?!”

Aryan leaned back, “Abhi ke liye, yeh teesri baat, udhaar rahee.” (For now, this third point, it will remain a debt.)

Chitra had slid across the basics of Radhika’s medical records, her written testimony to Chitra she’d given, and the contemporary testimony of Dev and Radhika’s roommate who’d seen her injuries. Dixit was reading it with increasing worry.

Dixit pulled Khanna towards him and whispered in his ear, “Mr. Khanna, this is not good. Even if I, or any lawyer you hire, succeeds in the Bhaskar Times case and then this one, it will be a Pyrrhic victory for you. Sign the NDA, write the apology. That’s my best advice at this moment.”

Khanna didn’t calm down, he glared at Radhika, “Why the hell are you here? Why did you interfere in this? Do you know what I can do to you? No one is going to believe you, this isn’t going to work, Radhika—“

Chitra raised her voice, “Mr. Khanna, I’ve already told you—“

Then, Radhika spoke. Her voice was quiet, but steady, “I don’t care what you think you can do, or what you do, Sunil. Not anymore. I interfered, as you say, because it was clear that you could use this case against this paper to call me a liar too. I couldn’t let that happen. But the reason I’m asking Chitra for an NDA and only an apology, is because what you threatened me with, telling me family, humiliating me in front of my colleagues, the whole country, I can’t do that to your family. I’m not that cruel. I met someone recently, who told me that revenge wasn’t the best path forward, not because it could hurt the wrong people in the end, but because it wouldn’t give me the peace I wanted. It wouldn’t end up helping me move on. It wouldn’t be best for me. Then someone else told me they reached the same realization. I took these two conversations as a sign, that I needed to move on. I don’t have to forgive you, but I do need this apology and you to stay away from me to move on. To feel safe. To be able to breathe again. But, if you don’t give it to me, I will go to the press, I will sue. I am not afraid. I know my story might not be enough to land you in jail, it won’t be enough to stop you from doing this to some other woman, or even for you to lose your job; but it’s enough for me, for now. So take the out, and don’t, don’t you ever think you can threaten me again.”

Imlie’s jaw dropped, she wanted to cheer loudly. She didn’t know Radhika’s full story, but she’d heard enough before this and during this meeting to figure out that Radhika was more brave than she thought she’d ever been in her life. She felt immensely selfish in that moment, however, because she knew if Khanna caved, she would partially be happy because it would mean Aditya, more importantly her family, would be safe. She put that selfish thought aside, for the moment, and tried to focus just on Radhika and her chance to move on. She hoped she got it. Imlie glanced at Dev, who looked back at her and grinned, clearly they were both immensely happy for Radhika at this moment. Imlie’s gaze moved to Aryan now, and his face was still expressionless. She couldn’t figure out, for the life of her, how angry or frustrated he was that this hadn’t gone the way he’d planned.

There were at least ten seconds of dead air, no one spoke. In fact, Imlie could hear birds chirping outside the window.

Finally, Dixit spoke, “I think we’re going to end up closing both these matters. Ms. Das, please send the NDA and the other requirements to my office at Mahendra Global by end of business today. If there are any concerns, I will call you. Mr. Khanna, let’s leave…now.”

Khanna stood up reluctantly, still seething.

Aryan stood up now, “I guess, as they say, all’s well that ends well. But, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Dixit, one more thing, before you leave. While everyone here will sign an NDA about what was said today, and so will I. But, you see, before this meeting, I already purchased 10% controlling interest in Mahendra Global, and at the next board meeting, I will be pushing you and anyone who supports your behavior, out. That was the third point I forgot to mention earlier. Oops.” He smiled dryly at the shocked look on Khanna’s and Dixit’s faces. The two of them left without another word, except it looked like Khanna almost had to be dragged out by Dixit.

When the two of them left, Dev let out a low whistle, “Aryan, buddy, that was cold blooded. I love it.”

Narayan looked warily at Aryan, and took the opportunity to scamper out of the room, saying a hasty goodbye to everyone and muttering something about work he had pending.

Chitra laughed, “Honestly, I’ve worked around Dixit for years, I’ve seen superiors try to battle him in deposition after deposition, even before he was at Mahendra, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that furious. Nice job, Mr. Rathore.”

Shiv added, “Actually, who I think we should be congratulating right now is Ms. Apte. Thank you, so much. I don’t know what convinced you, and I know you absolutely didn’t have to do that. But, honestly, I’m just happy it worked out in the best possible way for you.

Aditya, finally, cleared his throat, to thank Radhika, but Imlie spoke before he could.

“Radhika Didi, aap toh toophaan se bhee taakatavar nikalee, just amazing. And thank you.” (You turned out stronger than a storm.)

Radhika smiled, stood up and walked over to hug Imlie, “No Imlie, thank you, honestly if I hadn’t met you before I met Chitra, I don’t know where my head would have been during all this. You…you were really an inspiration to me that day, and today. You and—“

Shiv laughed, and Radhika stopped speaking because Shiv added, “I think we should all go out to celebrate, it’s a Saturday, and you have an almost American here with you today, do you want to try this one spot in Delhi that I found which serves an actual American style brunch? And by American, half the dishes are just French dishes converted to American…and made by Indians. My sister and I tried it, and it’s excellent.”

Chitra piped up, “Oooh, I have some work, but I’m gonna put that off, because I want to join in.”

Radhika added, forgetting what she was saying to Imlie, “Yes, me too. Also, Imlie you’re definitely coming.”

Imlie hesitated, glancing not at Aditya, but at Aryan, he was still expressionless, “Sure, but let me just call—“

Aditya spoke up, “You all enjoy your breakfast, I’m going to go call my family. Shiv, thank you for your help.” Aditya left the room, dialing a number on his phone as he walked out, he didn’t thank Imlie, of course.

Imlie looked at Aryan, but he still wouldn’t meet her gaze, “I’m just going to try to speak to my family…” she trailed off, and left the room as well.

Shiv didn’t let the awkwardness fester for more than a couple seconds, “I’ll message and make the reservation, my sister knows the head chef, it’ll be easy.”

Radhika finally asked the question, because she and Chitra were out of the loop, “Why is Imlie’s family…Mr. Tripathi’s?”

Shiv and Dev glanced sideways at Aryan, but Dev answered Radhika quickly, “It’s a long story, but I’m sure she’ll tell you when she gets the chance.”

The five of them made their way out of the conference room, Aryan and Shiv trailing them. Once outside, Aryan’s eyes fell on Aditya and Imlie, and he tried to calm the wave of frustration that was rushing over him. It was an all too familiar feeling by now, he’d failed over and over again at reassuring himself that Imlie was strong enough to avoid Aditya’s pathetic need for attention. In fact, he’d given up trying to convince Imlie that the Tripathis weren’t good enough for her as well, because that was just a nonstarter with her.

Shiv jerked Aryan out of his thoughts, muttering, “I wouldn’t worry about him. He’s barely a secondary character.”

Aryan looked at Shiv, nonplussed, “Excuse me?”

Shiv smiled, “I said, I wouldn’t worry about Mr. Tripathi…and Imlie. He’s not the primary character in her story. He’s not even proper antagonist material if you ask me.”

Aryan realized what he was saying, “Wait, did Imlie…” Aryan felt a new and different rush of anger wave over him, he didn’t know why, but if Imlie had told Shiv about their stupid inside joke…it just felt wrong.

Shiv shook his head, chuckling, “Don’t worry, Romeo, she didn’t tell me the ‘top secret inside joke,’ I have a sister who works in Bollywood. Also, it’s not that hard to figure out that it has something to do with film tropes…hero, villain, item girl?” Shiv smiled at Aryan, trying to reassure him.

Aryan straightened his jacket, “Right…anyway, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not worried about anything.”

Shiv nodded, “Sure. Sure. By the way, I have a friend, in Mumbai, he’s the editor-in-chief of a big paper there. I helped his little brother get into law school, and I’m about to help that same little brother get a job at a firm. So, if you want me to make a call…”

Aryan raised his eyebrow.

Shiv only winked in reply, and he noticed Aditya approaching in his peripheral vision, Imlie not far behind.

Aditya walked up to Chitra and Radhika first, offering the both of them a shorter than necessary thank you. Radhika, more confused than anything, responded with a “you’re welcome,” she grew more confused when Aditya plainly didn’t seem to listen to her when she added, “but I don’t think I could have done it without Imlie, in the end.”

Aditya turned and walked the few feet to face Aryan. Imlie looked apologetically at Radhika, Chitra, and Dev and crossed the distance to stand almost in between Aryan and Aditya. Before she could say anything, however, Aditya spoke.

“If the drama is over, Aryan, I would like to turn in my resignation now, of course, I’ll make it a two weeks, so that I can train anyone new you hire in my place. But, I doubt it’s going to be difficult for me to find a new position, and I’m sure you’re not interested in having me train anyone.” Aditya took a sealed envelope from his bag, the same resignation letter he’d prepared before.

Imlie wanted to stop him, to slap him, to shake him into realizing that he needed this job for the Tripathis. That there was no guarantee he’d find something else. But at that moment, all she knew she had to do was to stop Aryan from reacting poorly. She looked at him, starting to speak.

Shiv interjected, before either “Mr. Tripathi. I know now that the case against you and the paper seems to have fizzled out, I’m probably not you’re lawyer anymore, but I think you’ve made the right decision—“

Aditya said, “You’re right, Mr. Agarwal, you’re not my lawyer anymore. But thank you for everything you’ve done for me and my family, and for agreeing with me here.” He looked coldly back at Aryan, just waiting for his blow up.

Aryan, surprising Shiv, Imlie, and Aditya, just took the envelope from Aditya and smiled, “I wish you the best of luck, Mr. Tripathi. Have a great day. Now if you don’t mind, I have some work to handle before I head out for the day.” He turned on his heel and went into his office. Aditya left as well, first gathering all his belongings from his desk, and then to the elevator. He didn’t know what or care whether Aryan had planned anything else, he just knew he didn’t want to look at that smug face ever again.

Shiv and Imlie stood awkwardly, Dev walked over to them, and offered his congratulations to Imlie, “Imlie, I don’t know what you managed to say to Aryan, but thank you. I thought he’d never let his stubborn and frankly childish, plan go.”

Imlie smiled, worried about Aryan more now, “I don’t think it was me…I think it really was Arpita Didi and Kaki Maa who got through to him, but it doesn’t matter now. I’m…I’m just happy it’s over now. But—“ She wanted to add she was worried, worried that it wasn’t over for Aryan, that it was just beginning for him, but she didn’t

She looked at Radhika, “Did I already thank you? Even if I did, thank you thank you thank you a thousand times. I can’t believe you did this. I mean, it’s unbelievable. Also, I just want you to know, I didn’t ask Dev or Shiv or Chitra here to convince you—“ Imlie didn’t know what to say, her eyes welled up.

Radhika laughed, “Imlie, didn’t you hear what I said in there. I’m pretty sure you’re the once that convinced me. To put myself first. But, I think partial credit goes to Mr. Rathore, he’s the one who got my number from Dev and talked to me about the meeting.”

Imlie’s jaw dropped, “So he’s the person you mentioned inside…who talked about his realization?”

Radhika nodded, smiling, “I think you’ve got a new member of your fan club. Or perhaps he’s the founding member?” She looked at Dev chuckling.

Dev nodded, “He probably is. Honestly, after the crap he pulled, when he called me, and then Radhika, I was ready to come over to his house and punch him. But I held back. I might still punch him if he tries anything again.”

Chitra added, “I’m genuinely very impressed with Mr. Rathore. I’m not sure what the exact story here is between him and Mr. Tripathi, but it seems it’s not just Radhika that got a little closure today. Also, in the end, financially at least, Aryan’s out on top. He doesn’t have to pay a dime to Khanna, he’ll make a fortune by joining the board of Mahendra Global, and it looks like he’s paying one less salary at this paper.”

Shiv chuckled nervously, he could tell that Aditya’s resignation wasn’t going to go down that easily with Imlie. “Shall we head out, I have the reservation for six for half an hour from now, so if we leave now we’ll get there perfectly on time.”

The group nodded, and Imlie added, “I think I’ll go get Aryan.”

She headed to his office. She wasn’t just confused, she was overjoyed. Aryan had really put everything aside, his revenge, his hatred, even his pain—to end this. But she knew it couldn’t have been easy for him. It wasn’t Aditya’s recent taunts after he’d hung on on Maa that were bugging her now. She wasn’t even thinking about Maa’s gratitude, or Rupi Didi’s quick request to join them for dinner tonight. The only though running through her head was Aryan, whether he was okay, whether he was going to get through this.

She opened the door, quietly, and she saw Aryan typing on his laptop. He looked fine. She approached him, slowly.

“Aryan…” Imlie said, she wanted him to know she wasn’t in a gloating mood. In fact, she didn’t think she could gloat about anything that had happened, it wasn’t like she’d done anything special except get Shiv to be Aditya’s lawyer, and in the end that hadn’t been the defining solution to anything.

Aryan looked up at her, “I’m coming, just let me send this email. I have that board meeting coming up, and I need to send this proposal out. Give me a minute…” Aryan went back to the laptop.

“Thank you.” Imlie blurted out, more abruptly than she had intended. Aryan looked back at her, meeting her gaze.

“I mean…Radhika told me that you…I know you must not have wanted to, but thank you for—“

“I didn’t do it for you, Imlie.” Aryan said. Closing his laptop and grabbing his coat from the rack behind him. He turned away from her as he put it on.

“I know,” Imlie said, trying not to sound sat at that fact. Why should she feel sad about it? Of course he had’t done it for her. He’d done it because Arpita Didi and Kaki Maa had convinced him, or perhaps he’d found no other way to get Radhika out of the mess. Whatever the reason, in the end it was good. Good for him. But Imlie, irrationally she knew, felt a little smaller at the realization that yet again, she hadn’t factored into his calculations or thoughts.

“I know you didn’t do it for me, ABP. You did it for Didi…and Kaki Maa. And Radhika, but still—“

“I don’t think we have time for your lengthy thank you speeches right now. We should go.” Aryan walked past her to the door, but Imlie held him back.

“Why do you make everything so hard? Can’t you accept a simple thank you?” Imlie was getting frustrated now.

Aryan turned to her, “Fine. I’ve accepted your thank you. You’re welcome. It’s great that everything ended this way, your Babusahib is safe. I’m sure the two of you had a great big laugh at all of this. And, now, how many insults or accusations can I expect from you because I accepted his resignation?”

Imlie looked stricken, “Are you kidding me?”

But then she calmed down, “None. I’m not here because of that.”

Aryan softened a little, “You mean, you’re not going to—“ Aryan wanted to say ‘go back to him,’ but he stopped himself, “you’re not going to try to get him or me to stop the resignation?”

Imlie laughed, “I think at this point it would be easier for me to collect every grain of sand from every beach in the world than stop Aditya from doing anything. He’ll…he’ll find something else. He has experience. And I can find another way to help my family pay down the debt, not to mention the five crores I still owe you, for the house.”

Aryan bit back a grin, “Six, actually.”

Imlie glared at him, “You love wasting money don’t you?”

Aryan shrugged coolly, “I get what I want, the number of zeroes I add to a check don’t really matter.”

Imlie rolled her eyes, “That’s a line only you could say. If anyone else said it, they’d sound like a complete jerk.”

Aryan grinned, his head had been swimming with thoughts of Arvind and Aditya, but after Imlie had come in, it all seemed to melt away. “Shall we? Your new lawyer friend must be losing himself waiting for you.”

Aryan’s jaw clenched at the thought of having to share a table with Shiv. Sure, the guy seemed, not completely horrible at his job. But still. Aryan wondered if he’d been serious about his friend in Mumbai.

Imlie lifted her chin, “Well, it’s not just me with a lawyer friend now, is it? Ms. Das was singing your praises earlier, so…” Imlie didn’t know why she said it. In fact, she didn’t know why it bothered her. Why should she care that Aryan had impressed Chitra? She looked at Aryan, who seemed suddenly very pleased with himself.

“Of course she was impressed, Imlie. I’m, Aryan Singh Rathore.” Aryan winked and left the office. Imlie shook her head, chuckling, and followed him. That pleased look on Aryan’s face still bothered her, not to mention she could tell Aryan was fighting back a major wave of pain at the moment.