Page 18 of How to Get Even

Tej winced. ‘She still breathing?’

‘I’m not that bad.’

‘You can be chilling, bro.’

‘And you sound like you’re still in high school,bro, yet you’re running the US arm of a family business that would rival Rupert Maxwell.’

‘What was it? The home page website copy?’

Chase nodded.

‘You hate that copy. Julia wrote it,’ Tej offered.

‘I know. I just wanted to see what she would do.’

‘That can backfire, you know. I wouldn’t do it again.’

‘It wouldn’tworkagain; she’s too clever for that,’ Chase admitted. Bella had been careful but fierce, and he’d liked that.

‘High praise from Chase Miller. She just earned herself a bonus.’

‘No need to go overboard,’ Chase muttered. He dragged his eyes away from the halo the table lamp was creating around her golden hair and focused on Tej.

‘Is she aware of what people are saying?’ Tej asked, referring to Bella and the bitchy gossip that sailed horribly close to Chase’s first reaction to her hire.

Chase pulled a face. ‘Doubt it.’

‘Do you think it’s worth giving her a heads up?’

‘I think we were the ones that hired her to do this job. It’s up to us to hold the fort until she can prove herself. Telling her now would only make her self-conscious.’

‘Your call,’ Tej said, leaving it with Chase.

And Chase hoped it was the right one. It was a fine line protecting her from the industry’s doubts about her, but he’d put money on Bella changing their minds pretty damn quick.

‘How’s your mom?’ he asked Tej, changing the subject.

‘From anyone else I’d think that was the start of an insult, but she loves you more than me, dude.’

‘What can I say? I’m charming. Mothers love me,’ he said, ignoring the tightening of scar tissue across an old wound.

‘Can you start on the aunties too? They’re the worst ones.Beta, I have the perfect woman for you.Beta, you just have to meet her.Beta, she makes the most amazing insert-your-favourite-snack-here.’

Chase smiled as Tej’s accent thickened with his impressions. His mother had been trying to get him to marry for the last five years and so far, Tej had done everything to avoid an engagement aside from declaring himself gay – which he couldn’t do, because he couldn’t lie to his mother. But ever since his thirtieth birthday last year, things had got intense.

‘Just go on a few dates,’ Chase tried.

‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but only a white guy would say something so monumentally stupid to an unwed Indian first-born son this damn close to the marriage mart.’

‘Fair enough,’ Chase said, raising his hands in surrender.

‘Have you told the others about Zadzisai?’ Tej asked.

Chase pulled a face and shook his head. ‘I don’t want to worry them. And Bella will really want to change the copy then.’

Tej smiled. ‘I like her.’

‘Mmm,’ was all Chase would say in response. The jury was still out. Though she had won some points just now on the copy for the website.

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