Page 25 of No Boss
“No.” The word came firm.
He turned to face her. “She is sabotaging a legal sale…”
“She is protecting what she believes your father entrusted to her family’s care.”
“That is not her decision to make.”
“No,” Sarita replied calmly. “It isn’t. But removing her family won’t solve your problem. It will make it worse.”
He drew in a sharp breath. “How?”
She rose and walked toward him. “Generations of that family kept Anand Mahal standing. Devendra ji, most of all, after we moved here.”
Her gaze did not waver. “When walls cracked, they repaired them. When festivals came, they hosted thousands in our name.When your father stopped responding to reports, they kept sending them. For twenty-eight years. You remove Devendra ji now, and the community turns against you. Every newspaper in Jaipur runs the same story.”
Her tone sharpened slightly. “The foreign heir throws out loyal servants after his father’s death.”
A slight tilt of her head. “Selling becomes far more difficult once your name turns against you.”
His jaw set tighter.
“And Meera,” Sarita continued, her voice softening, “you may dislike what she’s doing. But her family knows that Haveli in ways no consultant ever will.”
He didn’t respond. Because he couldn’t argue with it.
He hated that she was right. He hated the shape of it more.
He couldn’t sell without cooperation. He couldn’t force cooperation from Dubai. And he couldn’t remove the Chauhans without making everything worse.
For the first time, it felt less like control and more like a trap.
“I’m going to Jaipur,” Abhinav decided. “Personally. Next week.”
Sarita studied him for a moment.
“Good. I’m coming too,” Naina announced from the doorway.
He turned.
She stood there with that bright, composed expression that always meant her decision had been made.
“No.”
“I need to see the tradition for my new collection,” she replied, stepping inside. “Indian heritage pieces. The carvings, the attire, the jewellery. Bhai, this is research. And I deserve to see the place of our ancestors before it is sold.”
“No,” he repeated.
“I’m also coming,” Sarita added.
He glanced at her.
“It’s been a long time since I visited.”
He looked between them, calculating. An argument would waste time. Their presence would help. His mother would ease tensions. Naina would manage the emotional parts he had no patience for.
“Fine,” he said at last. “Both of you come. But this is not a holiday. We go, I deal with this, and we return.”
“Charming as always,” Naina murmured, slipping her arm through his.
