Page 44 of Every Move You Make
“They want a written apology and an on-air clarification retracting the allegation,” Chitra continued. “Within the hour.”
Before he could respond, another voice cut in. “Absolutely not.”
Akash turned to see Shauna striding in, her steps strong and purposeful, her eyes blazing with fury. For a split second, something inside him loosened. He hadn’t seen her in two weeks, and now it felt like his whole body was exhaling a collective sigh of relief. He stiffened immediately. What the hell was that? He was the head of a large media empire, which was currently in crisis. He couldn’t afford to behave irrationally about a woman who could probably be the cause of said crisis.
“Apologizing means admitting liability,” Shauna said, coming to stand in front of him. “That is not happening.”
His gaze locked onto her. “Were you aware that Mr. Shetty was going to make that claim?”
Her eyes snapped to him. “Of course not. He went off script.”
He studied her for a long moment, looking for any sign of malice or treachery on her face, but found none. Sighing, he said, “An apology will make us look weak. We will lose credibility.”
“Agreed. I won’t allow anyone to dictate our response,” Shauna stated boldly.
“They will file an injunction,” Chitra warned.
“I don’t care,” Shauna shot back. “We can’t give in to threats. It’s not our fault Mr. Shetty decided to self-destruct on live television. The responsibility is his, not ours.”
“But he made that statement on our channel,” Chitra insisted.
“GVN doesn’t apologize for someone else’s recklessness,” Shauna said. “So let them do what they want. I don’t care.”
“But I do,” Akash interjected. “The responsibility of this network rests with me. I can’t allow the fallout from one panel discussion to destabilize GVN.” He addressed both the women. “Let’s continue this in my office.”
Minutes later, the three of them were gathered in his office. Shauna stood near his desk, spine straight, arms folded loosely. Chitra stood on the other side, tablet in hand, waiting.
“I will not agree to issue an apology,” Shauna said first, her voice steady.
“I’m with you on that,” Akash replied evenly. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stand by and do nothing. The minister’s office has threatened to sue. And like I already said, I won’t allow this one panel discussion to destabilize the network, or my leadership, two weeks after taking over.”
Shauna studied him for a beat, then gave a small nod.
“Fine,” she said. “What do you recommend?”
Akash began pacing slowly, his hands clasped behind his back, his mind already mapping out the optics.
“We don’t retreat,” he said finally. “We escalate intelligently.”
Both women watched him.
“Let’s issue a statement reaffirming that GVN stands by responsible journalism and open discourse. We clarify that the allegation was made by a guest during a live debate and remains unverified.”
He paused, then said, “And then we invite the minister’s office to appear on air tonight.”
Chitra blinked. “Tonight?”
“Yes,” Akash said. “Tell them we’re willing to give them a prime-time slot with the same anchor, to show the world where they stand regarding these allegations.”
Shauna’s eyes narrowed. “You’re giving them center stage?”
“Absolutely. And if they refuse, we make it public that we offered them the space to respond.”
He stopped pacing and looked directly at her. “This way, we don’t look defensive or guilty. We look confident.”
Chitra nodded slowly. “And legally?”
“Legally,” he said, “we document that we challenged the claim in real time and offered an immediate right of reply. That weakens any argument for an injunction.”
