Page 34 of The Unwanted Husband
She never did anything halfway was what Ravi would say about her, and even when she was supposed to be taking it easy, she was hard at work. It was maddening and fascinating at the same time how she went from wanting to leave and deciding to stay. The moment she casually said they should marry.
He smiled, running his fingers through his hair. He never thought of marriage but if there was a woman who’d convinced him to get married was her. What got to him in the moment when she asked him to marry her, wasn’t just her stubborn determination to address a situation but the sparks in her eyes.
As he stood looking at her, he could not believe how she went from being a complete sociopath with the kids to jumping in the pool with them. He knew something changed for her and she has made him want to care about her, protect her like she was his.
She was the kind of woman who made everyone around her want to step up their game, just to keep up with her. And damn if that wasn’t the most attractive thing he’d ever seen, those beautiful eyes and the feel of her pillow-like lips still haunted him, making him hard night after night.
*****
Nina and Varun sat across from her in the office. She had brain fog from the pain medications but she didn’t want to skip the appointment with them, when she asked them to work on a weekend. It had been a week since she met them and it amazed her that they found everything regarding the case that she had trouble finding online.
Given the case her father filed was over a decade ago, she was surprised they were able to dig up all the details. “This is really good work.”
“Thank you, ma’am. We could not find the original contract but have some references and verbatim from it in the case file.”
Isha glanced through the details and nodded. “These were just the violations of the contract that are listed but we need the original document.” She pondered for a moment. “Is there an online portal that allows for lawyers to be searched?”
The two looked at each other and nodded.
“There is one,” Nina said and added, “But I don’t expect a lawyer to retain a case file from such a long time back.”
“We have no other choice.” Isha shared the name of the young lawyer her father had worked with and moments later they had an email address and a phone number for the firm.
Varun turned his computer screen to Isha. “This is a law firm in the northern part of the country. I don’t know if it is the same person your father worked with back then. The name seems to be different too.”
On instinct, she took her phone and dialed the phone number. A few rings in an operator answered the call.
“I’m Monisha Varma, daughter of Sahadev Varma, I’d like to talk to Mr. Bopanna please.” Isha was not ready to let go of any opportunity to not get connected with the lawyer. She had a feeling it had to be the person since the last name was listed as Bopa and not Bopanna for the lawyer.
“Ma’am, do you mean Mr. Bopa?”
“I’m looking for Mr. Surendar Bopanna. Would you please let him know I am calling about Sahadev Varma’s case that he took up years ago when he had just started his practice.”
“Okay, Ma’am.” The line went silent for a long time, minutes passed and Isha was losing hope that anyone was coming to the phone.
That’s when she heard a crackle before a male voice spoke on the phone. “Monisha?”
The voice that spoke on the other end was not familiar but the way the man said her name seemed overly familiar. This is a man who would meet with their father at home, sometimes all day preparing for the lawsuit.
“Yes, this is Monisha. How are you, Suri uncle?” She remembered her father addressing him as Suri, short for Surender.
She heard the man let out a great sigh of relief. “I’m so happy to hear from you. It’s been such a long time since…” his voice trailed off before he added, “It was my first case and till date I have an open wound from how everything happened.”
She paused for a moment. “Suri uncle, I want to re-open my father’s case.”
After a long pause he replied, “I would love to do that but in the last decade the man who wronged your father is a big man now. It is not going to be easy.”
She knew it would not be easy no matter how big the corporation had become. “I know why that company had growth. It was solely because of the manufacturing designs and components that he stole from my father. If we can show the patents and how they were leveraged for the growth of the company, we have a case.”
Another long pause. “What do you want out of this case? Money?”
“No,” her response was instantaneous. “I want the recognition and royalty he promised my father, along with the profit sharing from all these years. I do not need the money and will donate it to charity but the royalty is what is rightfully my father’s heirs. My niece and nephew, Vaishnavi and Vishruth Varma.”
She heard a joyful sound. “This is unbelievable. I thought I would never get to finish my first case.” Another pause and he added, “I never thought this day would come.”
Isha smiled. “I didn’t become a corporate lawyer for nothing. I work on acquisitions specifically so another person is not cheated like my father was, all those years back.”
“You are a corporate lawyer?” He let out a victorious laugh. “This is marvelous. I can’t wait to get started on this. How did you find all the details? I thought you moved to America with your aunt.” The man remembered all the details. He had worked with her father on the case, long and hard that he spent a lot of time at their house.
