Page 34 of The Escape

“Then stop worrying about them and enjoy yourselves. You have only a couple of days left.”

Meher nodded.

Ratan was about to step away when his eyes returned to Ayaan.

“Ayaan. We need to speak. Call me privately once this call is over.”

The words themselves sounded casual. His expression was not. Ayaan caught it immediately.

“Sure. I’ll call you.”

“Good.” Ratan gave him a brief nod before turning back towards the others.

“You all enjoy the rest of your vacation. And tell Krish and Trisha not to worry about anything here either.”

“We will,” Meher promised.

Ratan smiled, but Ayaan continued watching him for another second.

“Everything is okay, right?”

“Everything is under control,” Ratan assured him. “It’s nothing you need to worry about right now. I just need to discuss something with you privately. A work matter. That’s all.”

Ayaan nodded, though he knew there was more to it than Ratan was willing to say in front of everyone. Raghav had noticed it too, but he said nothing.

Ratan was the President of GLEN, and Ayaan was part of the organisation. There were certain conversations that had no place in the middle of a family video call. If Ratan wanted to speak to Ayaan privately, there was clearly a reason. Whatever it was, Ayaan would deal with it. The women, however, seemed completely oblivious to the subtle exchange between the two men.

“Alright, then,” Kailash said, smiling at the screen. “You people enjoy yourselves. We’ll see you in two days.”

“Bye, Dad,” Ayaan said.

“Bye, everyone.”

The goodbyes followed one after another, and finally the call ended. The iPad screen went dark.

Meher immediately stretched her arms and smiled. “That was so nice. I didn’t realise how much I was missing everyone until we spoke to them.”

“So was I,” Siya admitted. Her eyes lingered on the blank screen for a moment. “Although now I’m craving Mom’s tea.”

Meher laughed. “Exactly my thought. Come on. Let’s order some.”

She looked at the men. “You two want tea?”

Both shook their heads.

“Fine. More for us.”

The women got up and walked towards the open café, already discussing what they wanted with their tea. Ayaan watched them disappear before reaching into his pocket for his phone. Ratan had asked him to call. There was no reason to keep him waiting.

He unlocked the phone, but before he could dial, Raghav’s hand settled firmly on his shoulder.

Ayaan looked up.

“If there’s something I need to know,” Raghav said quietly, “I need to know.”

Ayaan held his gaze for a moment. Raghav wasn’t trying to interfere in a GLEN matter. He was simply reminding Ayaan that if whatever Ratan wanted to discuss had anything to do with him, Raghav expected to be told.

Ayaan held his gaze for a moment before giving him a reassuring nod. “Don’t worry. I won’t hide anything from you. I made that mistake once. And I’m never doing it again.”