The Takeover Effect

by Nisha Sharma

  Josette took over when they cleared the doors, and just like that, Sanjeev was gone. He was most likely going to serve a prison sentence as well as pay a hefty fine.

  Hem moved to stand next to Mina, placing a hand on the small of her back. She shuddered under his touch and whispered to him, “It’s finally over.”

  They listened as Ajay redirected the meeting for the rest of the members. “Ladies and gentleman, it has come to our attention that there are a few more of you that have been trading secrets with WTA for profit and to the detriment of Bharat, Inc.”

  Systematically, they revealed the evidence in the public forum, forcing reactions of surprise and confessions made from desperation. In twenty minutes, four more board members were removed.

  And then it was done.

  Hem and his brothers, with the help of Mina Kohli, had gotten rid of the snakes for good.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Mina woke up to the soft brush of fingers against her cheek. Hem pushed her hair out of her face to expose her to the bright morning sunlight.

  Instead of rolling over and snuggling into him, she pulled one of the pillows out from under her head and covered her face. She lay on her side with Hem snuggled against her, and she could feel that he was already awake.

  “It’s too early, Hem,” she snarled. She loved the man but she was definitely going to kill him if he didn’t let her sleep.

  Hem’s soft chuckle hinted that he was inching closer to her. “We have a lot to do today,” he whispered. “Starting with each other.”

  His hands stroked over her thigh and one of his legs pushed gently between hers. Mina grunted, but she didn’t push him away. Her awareness grew when his hand snaked over her torso and cupped her mound.

  “Are you awake now?” he whispered.

  She let out a soft sigh when he pressed slow, firm circles against her clit.

  It took less than thirty seconds for his touch to elicit a moan. She shoved the pillow off her face and rolled onto her back. Hem’s lips were waiting for her, and she cupped his face when their mouths met.

  Their lovemaking was slow and sweet. Hem took his time pleasuring her, and Mina slowly stroked her hands down the ridges of his back. When he finally slipped inside her, she was fully awake and all her thoughts were of Hem. He lifted her to the highest peak of an orgasm, and when she tumbled over, he found his release as well.

  What felt like hours later, Hem rolled to his side and pulled her against him.

  “I love you,” he said in Punjabi.

  “I love you,” she repeated. “Even though you woke me up when I so desperately wanted to sleep.”

  “I wish I could let you,” Hem said.

  “You could’ve,” she said and stretched against him. Even though her body felt loose and limber after her quick mattress workout, she still felt like she could use a few more hours of rest to let her brain catch up. “What time is it anyway?”

  “Almost 11:00 a.m.”

  “Hem, if a person spends the day with the FBI, then most of the night working with the press on interviews and releases, they deserve as much sleep as they want.”

  Hum nuzzled his nose against hers. “I’d love to give you that luxury, baby, but I want to take you out somewhere before my parents come for dinner tonight. They want to celebrate.”

  “Oh, that’s right. What are we celebrating?”

  “We’re going to toast a successful board meeting, but I think they just want to spend more time with you. But don’t worry about that right now. Come on. Let’s get ready. I’m going to take you out.”

  Mina groaned when he got out of bed. He’d been so warm and snuggly. The blankets weren’t so bad, though, and she tried to cover her face with them, when he ripped them off the bed.

  “Hey!”

  “I guess you need some help,” he said cheerfully and carried her into the bathroom.

  “I better get coffee!” she shouted as he ushered her into the shower stall.

  An hour and a half later, after Hem spent a little longer than necessary taking care of her with the help of strategically aimed body jets, they turned down a side street in Jersey City.

  “I didn’t even get coffee yet,” Mina mumbled. She was barefaced and had barely managed to get her hair pinned up.

  “I thought you might want some chai instead.”

  “Chai?” The thought had her cheering up as Hem parallel parked the car in the first available spot. “Where are we getting chai here? Isn’t there a Little India section a few streets away?”

  “You’ll see.”

  He rounded the car and met her on the sidewalk. They strolled hand in hand toward the closest intersection. The air was crisp, and the feel of Hem against her side made her brim with love. It was surreal how quickly her life had changed in such a short amount of time. She’d woken up on her thirtieth birthday alone and with the single focus of honoring her mother’s memory. Now, she was making peace with the past and looking to build a future with someone new.

  Hem pulled her to a stop in front of a store. “Here we are.”

  Mina looked up and burst out laughing at the sign. “Parantha Palace? Really?”

  Hem shrugged. “It’s supposed to have some of the best paranthas in the tristate area. The restaurant owner has a successful place in Delhi and then tried to make it work in Queens, but they were competing with other fast food Indian chains like Dosa Hutt. So Jersey City became their new home. I think it’s going to work out for them.”

  Mina smiled. “Okay, let’s go in.”

  They stepped through the doors into a charming café with thick wooden tables and Bollywood posters on the walls. The smell of spices filtered through the kitchen door behind a glass counter. Mina’s eyes nearly fell out of her head when she saw the extensive menu.

  “Why are we here again?” she asked.

  “Just order. I’ll tell you when we grab a table.”

  She went with the basics and decided that they should come back so she could go down the menu in order and try something new each time. Hem got the same, and after paying at the counter, he led her to a table in the back of the restaurant.

  “So?” he said. “What do you think of this place?”

  “It’s cute. What brought this on, though?”

  Hem reached across the table, hands up. When she put her palms against his, he gripped her fingers. “Our first breakfast together. We had paranthas.”

  “Our first . . . oh!”

  “I thought this was . . . fitting after that night. I know my family has said it, but I don’t think I have yet. Thank you. Thank you for coming to us, for helping us, when you didn’t have to. I know that going against your mother’s firm wasn’t something you ever wanted to do, but—”

  “No,” Mina said. “No, stop. Hem, my uncle was wrong. What he was doing was wrong. And after talking to my father, I know that my mother’s firm closed the day she died.”

  A waiter brought two steaming-hot cups of chai to their table, forcing Mina and Hem to pull apart.

  “Want to know why I really brought you here?” Hem asked.

  “Why?”

  “Because I think this could be our Dosa Hutt.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  He rubbed his chin and then the back of his neck. “Mina, we’ve only been together for a short period of time, but you’re different than . . . well, you’re different to me. My parents understood that their relationship would last, too. That’s why they talked about the impossible when they sat across from each other at the Dosa Hutt. They knew that if they were together, the impossible was within their grasp.

  “That’s what I want for us. When we want to talk about our dreams, we can come here, to our version of the Dosa Hutt. I’ll believe in you, if you believe in me.”

  Mina couldn’t help herself. She leaned across the table, grabbed Hem’s face in her hands, and kissed him. It was quick, considering their current location, but it felt right. “I love you so much, Hemdeep Si
ngh. Yes, of course I’ll believe in you. Always. Here, we’re on equal ground.”

  She felt her eyes water under the intensity of the emotions on his face. He gripped her hands in his.

  “Are you going to work with me? Build my firm into our firm?”

  “You really want me to? I mean, I know that I was temporarily working with you so I could be in that boardroom, but I never expected you to make me a permanent member of your team.”

  “Partner. I want you at my side. I want to work with you, argue with you, and be with you every day.”

  “Then yes!” Mina laughed. “Yes, of course I’ll work with you. As soon as you put me on payroll.”

  “Done.” His grin was infectious, and it was that expression that had Mina taking a leap of faith and accepting the fact that she was about to have more changes in her life.

  “Hem? Because I believe in you, and we can believe in the impossible together, I’ll finally answer your question. Yes.”

  “Yes?” His brows knit together. “Yes to what?”

  “Yes, I’ll move in with you.”

  Mina had the pleasure of seeing his face morph into shock. Then she was pulled out of her chair and spun in a circle in the middle of a half-empty restaurant in Jersey City. It didn’t matter to Mina, though. She was with the love of her life, and her future had never looked brighter than it did in that moment with him.

  “How are you holding up, beta?” Hem’s mother asked. She’d arrived with Zail and Hem’s father an hour earlier. It had taken her only moments to realize something had happened between Hem and Mina. When Hem had told her that they were moving in together, the older woman had teared up and grabbed both of them in fierce hugs. There was only one way to celebrate, she had said. With food.

  “I feel good,” Mina said as she helped pour a cup of chai for Hem’s father. “I think that after Sanjeev was held accountable, I realized how important it was to do what was right for me versus what I thought was right for my mother.”

  Hem rounded the counter and wrapped an arm around Mina’s waist. “I’m sorry about the office raid at Kohli and Associates today. I know they were only seizing computers and documents that connected to your uncles, but that couldn’t have felt good.”

  It hadn’t, Mina thought. She’d been so sure she had shed any and all claim over her mother’s firm, but when she’d started getting text messages about the issued warrant and the authorities showing up, she’d thought she might burst into tears. She’d had to go to the bathroom and lock herself in so she could catch her breath. Hopefully time would rid her of that knee-jerk reaction.

  She reached up and cupped Hem’s face for the briefest of touches. “I have a new firm to get my hands on.”

  “After the way you helped secure three former Kohli and Associates clients before you even signed the HR paperwork? You have carte blanche.”

  “Three clients?” Zail asked as he snagged a cashew from the snack tray on the table. “That’s impressive. Do you think your father has that kind of talent?”

  “I don’t—wait, why are you asking?”

  Zail shrugged. “He’s unemployed, right? And he’s not exactly ancient. Younger than dad here. He may be considering in-house work. Hem wasn’t filling the SVP of legal position at Bharat on a permanent basis, and it’s vacant again.”

  “Wow, I mean, you’d have to ask him but I think that’s an incredible offer.”

  “I like to work with people with integrity and it sounds like your father has it,” Deepak Singh said. “I’m sure Ajay will get the ball rolling.”

  “We’re having him over for dinner tomorrow night,” Hem added. “We can also talk to him together.”

  Zail cleared his throat and shot Mina a pointed look.

  “What? What is it?”

  “Nothing really, it’s just that when I look at your current situation, I’m curious about something. You and Hem. You’re going to live together.”

  “And work together,” Deepak added.

  “And you love each other,” Hem’s mother said.

  “When is the wedding?” they said in unison.

  The cup almost slipped from Mina’s fingers. “Whose wedding?”

  “Yours!” Hem’s mother said.

  “I’m not getting married,” Mina blurted out.

  Wedding? That was . . . a lot. And there were so many people looking at her while she processed that word. The idea of spending her life with anyone was a foreign concept to her. She hadn’t thought about it with Hem since they’d been so busy.

  But she could see it.

  They were about to live with each other, and instead of being fearful, she was looking forward to it. The weeks they’d circled each other had been educational for her. She’d learned how easy it was to be with Hem and how much they had in common. She couldn’t wait for them to learn more about each other.

  She felt Hem’s hand press on the small of her back until she turned to look at him. He took her cup from her hands and then sandwiched her palms between his. When their eyes connected, she felt steadier again.

  “Mina and I,” Hem said in a firm tone, “will let you know when we’re ready to get married. You’ll hear our answer first, but until then, please don’t try to push us.”

  “It’s probably better you hold off anyway,” Zail said.

  Mina knew that Zail was giving her an out, and she grabbed it with both hands. “Why?”

  “Because we have to figure out how we’re going to deal with WTA still. Even though we served them with papers, they still own a large percentage of shares. They get a say in the new board members that will be elected to replace the ones we lost.”

  “Don’t worry about that, puttar,” Deepak said. “I’ve come to trust your brother Ajay. He’s supposed to attend a fund-raiser tonight, and the WTA attorney who was on the shareholder call will be there. Ajay is going to have a talk with him to see if he can learn about WTA’s strategy.”

  Mina held her hand up to get the Singhs’ attention. “There was a WTA attorney that dialed in? They’re moving in on the company that quickly?”

  “Yeah, at least that’s what it sounded like,” Hem said. “He threatened to call the SEC if we didn’t allow the shareholders to listen in on discussions about the WTA offer. I hung up on him after saying that it was a conflict of interest.”

  “What was his name again, Hem?” Zail asked. “Robert Douglass or something, right?”

  Mina’s heart stopped. “Wait, wait, wait. Did you just say Robert Douglass? With two s’s?”

  Hem’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. With two s’s. That’s exactly how he introduced himself.”

  “Oh my god,” she said and covered her face with her hands.

  “What? What is it?”

  “I know a Robert Douglass with two s’s, who just happens to be an attorney.”

  Hem’s mouth fell open. “How? Who?”

  Mina lifted herself out of the chair and pulled her phone from her pocket. She quickly typed a message.

  MINA: Did your husband get a job at WTA?

  The response came almost immediately.

  RAJ: . . . you found out. I was going to tell you.

  MINA: What the hell, Raj??

  RAJ: There is so much more going on than that, Mina. I’m so sorry.

  MINA: Like what? We just arrested Sanjeev yesterday and filed a suit against WTA. If there is anything that affects either of those things, please let me know.

  RAJ: It doesn’t. It just affects me. I’m sorry, I have to get ready for this fund-raiser I’m going to tonight. After that I can talk.

  MINA: No, you have to give me something to go off of. What’s happening? Please tell me it’s a coincidence your husband is going after Bharat.

  RAJ: Mina . . . it’s so complicated.

  MINA: I don’t see why.

  RAJ: Well, let’s start with the fact that I’m getting divorced.

  Acknowledgments

  A book is a team effort, and The Takeover Effect would’ve ne
ver happened without the amazing support of a few very important people in my life. First, thanks to my agent, Joy Tutela, at David Black Literary for always being open to my zany new ideas. Joy, without your support, half of the books I write wouldn’t have happened. To Elle Keck for remaining calm and collected whenever I was on the verge of losing my cool. Elle, thank you for always believing in me. To Caridad Pineiro, author, mentor, and confidant. Your legal expertise was fantastic, and any and all errors in this book are completely my fault. And to my friends Smita Kurrumchand and Ali Magnotti-Nagel, for reading early copies and telling me my writing was good even though I know it wasn’t. Your support keeps me going, guys. Next round is on me.

  Announcement

  The next exciting installment in the Singh Family Trilogy is arriving November 2019!

  About the Author

  Nisha Sharma is the author of the YA rom-com, My So-Called Bollywood Life, and The Takeover Effect, the first in an adult romance trilogy. She grew up immersed in Bollywood movies, eighties pop-culture, and romance novels, so it comes as no surprise that her work features all three. Her writing has been praised by NPR, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Buzzfeed, Hypable, and more.

  Movie rights for My So-Called Bollywood Life have been optioned by Gurinder Chadha (Bend it Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice) and Susan Cartsonis (Freaky Friday the Musical, The Duff, Middle School is the Worst).

  Nisha lives in New Jersey with her Alaskan-born husband, her cat Lizzie Bennett, and her dog Nancey Drew.

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

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