“That doesn’t make sense. If I was interested in him, why would I interview the men on my dad’s list?”

“Because of Jonas and all the men before him,” Daisy said. “And because of Dev. Because you knew you could get serious about Sam and it scared you. Going on your dad’s blind dates was the safe option, and the game meant you could keep Sam around.”

Layla’s heart squeezed in her chest. “Well, he’s not around now, and even if I could stay here, I don’t want to.”

“So what? You don’t need this office to be successful.” On a roll now, Daisy stood and gestured wildly. “You can run your business from anywhere—a coffee shop, or a shared office space, or even my parents’ garage, if you don’t mind sharing with Max.”

Max barked at the sound of his name. Whoever had cleaned the office had also fixed his basket and collected his toys, but Max had refused to go near it since they’d come in.

“But it’s not going to happen if you give up,” Daisy continued. “So you hooked up with a guy you liked and you lost him. So you have to move to another location. When you were in New York, you would never have taken those chances. You were too afraid of getting hurt. But you’re stronger now. Your biggest fears came true, and you’re still standing.”

A smile curved Layla’s lips. “Where were you with the motivational speech when I ran away to New York?”

“Right here waiting for you to come to your senses and move back home.”

Layla leaned against her desk, toying with the cup of pencils. “I’ve been to three interviews this week with recruitment agencies and I couldn’t see myself at any one of them. The idea of starting from the bottom again, having to answer to someone, pandering to corporate clients, and playing office politics just doesn’t appeal after running things on my own. This business was a dream I had that I never thought would come true, and then it did.” She pulled out the scrap of paper she had written on after her interview and handed it to Daisy. “And now, I’ve come up with a name . . . Patel Personnel. I think Lakshmi Auntie would call that a sign.”

“That’s awesome. I love it!”

The door opened and Layla’s father walked into the office. She moved to help him, and he waved her away. “I’m fine, beta. I took the elevator this time. I never got a chance to see your new office so I came for a visit while you are here.” His gaze fell on the purple chaise. “Did Deepa Auntie give you that?”

“Yes. And the elephant table and beaded lamp.”

“She never did have any taste.”

“Are there fresh pakoras in the kitchen, Nasir Uncle?” Daisy already had her bag in her hand.

“I put aside a plate for you, and there’s a special treat for Max. You’d better hurry before they’re gone.”

Max wagged his little tail and followed Daisy out the door. Layla sat beside her father on the chaise as he looked around.

“We didn’t really do much with it,” Layla said. “We thought one of us was going to leave.”

“Dev decorated this office.” Her father patted her knee. “It was supposed to be the heart of the Patel family enterprise.”

“I remember,” she said gently. “He had big dreams, and we could have made them come true if not for what Sam and his partner did.”

Her father leaned back, stretching his legs under the elephant table. “Sam withdrew the eviction proceedings and offered us a new lease with better terms.”

“That’s great, Dad.” A wave of relief washed over her. “You don’t have to leave.”

“I told him no,” her father said. “The big restaurant, the Patel enterprise . . . that was never our dream.”

“But what will you do?” Her parents had run the restaurant since before Dev was born. She couldn’t imagine them doing anything else.

“We’re going to relocate the restaurant back to Sunnyvale. That’s where we belong. We came here for Dev, and we stayed for his memory. But now it’s time for us to go. This illness has made me realize that in the short time we have here, we can’t cling to the past. This location isn’t good for a family restaurant, and I don’t need a big Patel enterprise to be happy. I need my daughter and my wife, my family and my friends, and a small restaurant in the heart of our community where the tables are always full and people drop by for a cup of chai to share their day with us. The eviction was the push we needed to make a new start. I told Sam this so he didn’t feel so bad.”

“I can’t believe you could even talk to him after what he did.”

Her father smiled. “When you get to be my age, it’s easier to forgive. His motives were good. His methods not so much.”

“He lied to me, Dad.” Her hands twisted in her lap. “He betrayed me. He destroyed the office. He hurt you, and he hurt me. He had a choice and he made the wrong one.” Her blood rushed hot and furious through her veins. “He’s no better than Jonas.”

“He asked me to give you this.” He held out the envelope he’d been holding since he arrived. “Sam offered to lease the office to you on the same terms he offered me.”

Layla skimmed the document. “I don’t want it. He’s trying to buy me off, just like he tried to buy off his clients with the big party. I’m not interested in having him for a landlord. He’s arrogant and stubborn and a control freak. He couldn’t start work until his pencils were lined up in a neat row, and he never left work without clearing off his desk. The only time I’ve seen him with a hair out of place was the night of the party. We didn’t agree on anything. And he supports the A’s. That says it all.”

“You are proud, like your mother. She once refused to let a famous critic into the restaurant because he had written that her dal lacked sophistication.”

Layla laughed. “Sounds like Mom.”

Her father pushed to stand. “Do you know why your mother and I have stayed together for so long?”

“You were friends first?”

“No,” he said. “Because we disagreed so often. She liked her dal like a soup, and I like it thick. She wanted to add turmeric to a stew and I wanted to add cumin. She wanted to pack samosas in your lunch and I wanted you to have American food. I never know what the day will hold. Walking into the kitchen every morning is like going into a battlefield. She challenges me. She makes me a better person. I’m a passionate man, and your mother makes my heart race. Maybe that’s why I needed a new one. So I could keep arguing with her for the next twenty years.”

Layla swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I had hoped there would be someone like that for me on your list. But I didn’t meet anyone I could see myself being as happy with as you are with Mom.”