Their secret twins, p.20
Their Secret Twins,
p.20
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The Business Between Them
by Mona Shroff
Prologue
Reena Pandya entered the apartment, took off her heels and suit jacket, placing them neatly in the closet. Tears that she had kept at bay for hours burned behind her eyes.
She had failed.
She’d done everything in her power to save her family legacy, Lulu’s Boutique Hotel, to no avail. Her heart was broken.
Technically, Lulu’s belonged to her parents. But between her and her two brothers, she was the one who wanted to run the family business. She was the one who was to have been the owner.
But not after tonight. After tonight, the bank would own Lulu’s. Tears started to pool, causing her vision to blur. It didn’t matter, really. After six months, she could navigate Akash Gupta’s giant loft blindfolded. Falling for Akash was the one thing in her life she hadn’t planned on, but his love had become the one thing she had come to rely on.
She walked down the small hallway to the large sitting room. Right now, she simply needed the strength and warmth of Akash’s arms around her, so she could forget the world for a little while. She didn’t want to think about how she had failed her family, or worse how she had failed herself. Getting lost in Akash’s support and faith would give her the strength to face tomorrow.
Because tomorrow, the hotel that meant so much to her, that she’d fought so hard for, would be lost. A thought she could hardly bear. And tomorrow was also her twenty-seventh birthday. The day that her father was supposed to transfer Lulu’s to her.
The scent of Akash’s cologne wafted softly in the air. He was home. The thought calmed her ache.
His sister, Asha Gupta, was an upcoming social media influencer. She’d booked her wedding at Lulu’s, and the event would have been just the thing to help bring major revenue—and media attention—to her floundering hotel. But Asha’s fiancé had been caught cheating on her, which meant no wedding. No money. No media.
Which meant that unless the mortgage money showed up by some miracle, Reena was losing her family’s business tomorrow.
Although not for her lack of trying to cover up Asha’s fiancé’s—well, her ex-fiancé’s—indiscretions.
Reena had only known for just the past twenty-four hours, but yes. She’d been willing to cover it up and allow the wedding to proceed anyway. She ran a hotel. A business. Not a clinic for relationship troubles.
They were behind in operating expense payments, and the bank note was a week overdue. There simply was not any money. Or time. She’d simply had no other options. That’s why Akash was waiting for her. Because he knew she’d come here.
He’d clearly been angry about the way she had handled the wedding cancellation. She had seen the pain and anger in his movements when he left the restaurant. Of course he was upset, but once she had a chance to explain, she was sure he would understand.
Their bond had only been deepening these past few months—it was something she had come to rely on. She craved that constant now more than ever.
She stepped into the living room, where the only light came from a small table lamp. Akash must have heard her come in, but he said nothing as he stood, facing out toward the floor to ceiling windows, taking in the night view of Inner Harbor. Lights reflected in the water from waterfront restaurants, the silhouttes of the tall ships in the distance. He raised his glass of bourbon to his lips and sipped.
“Hey.” Reena walked toward him. “I was hoping to find you here.” She wrapped her arms around him from his back as she had done so many times over the past few months. She loved holding him like this, where she could feel his body flush with hers. Where she could feel the strength in his back and revel in the comfort of his scent. But instead of relaxing into her embrace as he usually did or turning around and enveloping her in his arms, his muscles tensed.
“What’s the matter?” She pulled back.
“You’re kidding, right?” Akash’s voice was a low grumble on a regular day. Right now, laced with anger as it was, it was a whisper, a rumble deep in his throat.
Even in a bad mood, it was sexy as hell.
“I’m sorry?” She walked around so she was facing him. That’s when she saw the anguish in his eyes.
“What happened?”
She furrowed her brow. He had been there. He had heard. “Rahul cheated on your sister.”
Her pressed his lips together, narrowing his eyes at her as if she were being flippant. “I got that. What I don’t get is that fact that you knew about it.”
She opened her mouth to explain, but he cut her off.
“How could you?” he spat the words at her with venom. “This was supposed to be a...a mutually beneficial arrangement, Reena. I wanted my sister’s wedding to be held at Lulu’s so you could get to know her without revealing who we are to each other. So that when we decided to let our families know we were together, it wouldn’t be a complete shock.” He paused for breath. “And so you could save Lulu’s.” He took a step away from her, shaking his head. “But then you were ready to let her marry a cheater.” The words hit her like knives.
Reena fought to maintain her composure. It was a skill she had refined over years being in the hotel business. Never let them see you sweat. “She’s a client. It’s my responsibility to remain detached, to be professional. Private matters between my clients are private.”
Akash’s eyes widened in disbelief. Reena raised an eyebrow at him. As if he had never put business before emotion before. “Your job is the definition of putting business before people—”
“She’s my sister. My family,” Akash said. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” He did not wait for her reply. “Business isn’t everything.”
Reena clamped her mouth shut. Six months together. The things they’d shared together. The things they’d done. The things they’d said to one another behind closed doors.
Things like I love you.
All reduced to his last words. Her heart thudded in her already drained body, the pounding reverberating in her ears.
“Lulu’s is more than a business. It’s my family legacy. Everything I did was to save that legacy. Everything my parents worked and sacrificed for.” She paused for breath. Her frustration fumed inside her.
“She’s my sister—but even without that, she’s a person. A person who does not deserve to be married to a known cheater, just so you can use their wedding to save your hotel.” Akash didn’t yell when he was angry. He seethed.
“You know what? This is over.” His gravelly tone cracked a bit on the last word. “I watched your cutthroat attitude in business dealings before, but I never thought you would stoop this low.” He continued.
Her heart throbbed in her chest. This low? Was he serious right now? She had seen his father rob hundreds of people of their jobs as he bought and sold businesses. Health care stripped, retirements lost. Near complete disregard for actual people and their lives. Akash himself had pushed through a few deals like that personally. He’d come to her, in those times, heartbroken that people had lost their jobs. But he’d done the deals anyway. It was business.
“You made your choice, when you erased the video of Rahul kissing another woman. The evidence of his cheating.” Akash tossed back the remains of the whiskey in his glass.
He smelled amazing, the musky remnants of his cologne, leather from his jacket, and him. She had gotten used to that scent at the end of the day—no matter how long the day had been—had even found it comforting.
She ripped herself away from him and the comfort that he had once offered. She had been trying to save her family’s legacy. Their hotel. She had to save it; it was everything to her. Akash knew this.
Akash stared at her and shook his head. “I...I thought I knew who I fell in love with.” He hardened his gaze. “Clearly I did not.”
Reena stared him down, pushing back those tears and ignoring the light-headed feeling of her world falling apart. Her world crashed and folded as she turned back toward the door. Mechanically, she slipped on her heels and grabbed her jacket. This couldn’t be happening.
Except that it was.
She fought the tears and screams of anguish and frustration that were building up inside her. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She spoke through gritted teeth. “Neither did I.”
Copyright © 2023 by Mona Shroff
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ISBN-13: 9780369733917
Their Secret Twins
Copyright © 2023 by TTQ Books LLC
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Tara Taylor Quinn, Their Secret Twins
