Page 96 of The Ex Factor

“You don’t want to. It’s a tawdry tabloid.”

“All the same, we must be prepared, like you said.”

I pulled up a digital copy on my phone.

“Tech Billionaire, the New Playboy,” she read.

“The New Playboy?” I corrected with a smile. “There’s a question mark there.”

She continued reading.

After a disastrous and humiliating breakup earlier this year, the South Asian golden boy of tech, Sujit Rao, is attempting to make waves.

She looked up at me. “That’s very bad writing.”

I shrugged. “Told you it was a cheap gossip magazine.”

“But they could employ some decent writers to get more copies sold.”

I returned a tight smile and walked to the kitchen to get us water, while she continued reading aloud,

He was spotted over the weekend at a charity gala with an unknown woman, possibly a model.

“A model?” She grimaced, then returned her eyes to the phone.

The couple seemed very intimate as they shared giggles and whispers, which convinces us that there is something spicy brewing here…

She shook her head. “This is just terrible writing.”

The mystery woman created quite the storm on the dance floor, fetching adoring looks and roaring applause. Could this be the start of something big for Rao, or is it just a passing fancy? Will it end in love or is there more heartache in his future?

Ugh, I’ve read enough,” she said, offering the phone back to me.

“Read the final lines,” I suggested.

She scrolled down the drivel.

The identity of his glamorous companion is unknown at the moment, but it is only a matter of time until we discover who she is and uncover her connection to Sujit Rao.

Her eyes bulged. “Uncover her connection? They used the wordconnection. This is a threat, Sujit!” she cried with anger.

“Yup. And a thinly veiled one, at that.”

“Whoever wrote this is privy to our history. This is a fucking threat!” Aarti bubbled with rage and jumped from her seat.

“What’s the endgame here, though? I haven’t been able to figure that out.”

I handed her a bottle of water and we both cracked the seals in tandem and sipped in silence.

“The curious thing is that if they had wanted, they could have gotten a clear picture of your face and outed you right here, but they didn’t. Someone who wanted to target me but not you…” my voice trailed off as I realized whose handiwork this was.

Aarti sat upright. “You know who it is, don’t you?” she said.

I glanced at her. She had enough to worry about. I wasn’t about to add to her troubles.

“It’s probably a prank. It will blow over soon enough.” I got up swiftly and grabbed a container from the coffee table. “Come on, let me give you this rasam. This is what will get you back to health.”

SUJIT

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