SHANTI(Grandma) POV
After we all settled into the car and the luggage was stowed, I restarted the conversation.
"So, Rudra," I began, my voice a mix of amusement and genuine curiosity, "you offered Raghu a job?"
"Yes," Ryan replied, his composure unnervingly solid for a boy his age.
"And you didn't even tell him what he'd be doing?" I challenged, glancing at Raghu in the back seat.
Raghu, still looking slightly bewildered, leaned forward. "He never asked!"
Ryan merely shrugged. "Well, I'm asking now!" Raghu declared, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
"Until we have more people," Ryan said, his tone completely serious, "you will do everything I ask you to do."
Raghu's shoulders slumped in theatrical defeat. "So, I'm basically an errand boy."
"Or," Ryan countered, a mischievous glint in his eye, "you can think of yourself as the Chief Secretary."
"That's basically just a glorified errand boy," Raghu grumbled, a smile tugging at his lips despite himself.
"That's why I'm doubling your salary," Ryan stated. "I don't have many people under me, so you'll be my right hand."
I couldn't help but interject. "Do you even know how much he earns?"
Ryan gave a confident shrug. "It doesn't matter. When I'm on track, it will be just pocket change."
Raghu let out a barking laugh. "Oh! Confident, are we? You know I earn about 3.5 million rupees per year?"
"Still pocket change," Ryan replied without a moment's hesitation, his voice holding an unshakable conviction that silenced the car.
I felt a genuine sense of awe. "And what exactly are you working on, Rudra?"
"I plan to register an investment company."
David, still focused on the road, snorted. "You know seven-year-olds can't register companies, right?"
"That's why I'll have Grandpa be my representative," Ryan said, a twinkle in his eye.
David sighed dramatically. "Sorry, boy, I don't plan to work. I'm enjoying my retirement."
"When I convince Grandma, you won't have a choice," Ryan said, the humor now fully back in his voice.
I smiled inwardly. The boy was prepared.
"That's true, Uncle," Raghu mumbled from the back seat, as if he had firsthand knowledge of the sheer force of my will.
"Hmph, I'm the head of this house, boy," David grumbled, puffing out his chest.
"Ara, shouldn't you focus on the road?" I said, cutting him off before he could get a real argument going.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied dutifully.
"Sure, we believe you," both Raghu and Ryan said in unison, a chorus of shared amusement, causing me to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.
I turned to Raghu. "So, what do you think about the offer?"
"Honestly, if it didn't come from a seven-year-old, I would have agreed in a heartbeat," he admitted.
I gave him my most serious look. "How about if I tell you to agree?" My voice left no room for negotiation.
"Then I don't have a choice, Auntie. Your word is my command."
Ryan looked at him, puzzled. "Why did you agree so fast when Grandma said to?"
"Ah! You don't know, do you?" Raghu said, a fond smile on his face. "Most of my education was paid for by your Grandma. With my family's situation, I would have never been able to attend college otherwise."
"I see," Ryan said, his expression softening as he understood the depth of the debt.
"Yes, boy, my wife is quite rich," David said proudly, his chest puffed out again.
"Your business is also doing well, Grandpa," Ryan pointed out.
"No, it's all your Grandmother's. I'm just a manager."
Ryan's eyes widened. "But I thought she was just a priestess at the temple?"
"When I married her, I thought so, too," David said with a wry smile.
"What happened then?" Ryan pressed.
"Just a year or two after your father's birth, some stock market problem caused the company I was working for to lay off people. I was one of them. I wanted to find another job, but India wasn't my home ground. So I tried to start a business, but I lacked funds. As I was almost despairing, she gave me the money to start my own business. I later came to know she sold all her jewelry, except for the family heirlooms, and even mortgaged some land to get the money. So when I started the business, I registered everything in her name. I would be a pauper now if not for her."
"Good for you," Ryan said. "Now you have a chance to be rich yourself."
"Richer than your Grandmother?" David laughed.
"Sadly, no," Ryan replied. "As I, too, will have to beg her for investment. And since you will once again be just a glorified manager, you have no chance against the biggest investor."
David looked at me in the rearview mirror, his face a perfect picture of mock helplessness. "Don't I stand a chance?"
"No way, dear," I said, unable to hide my smile.
"In the hierarchy of the world, she will always be your boss, Grandfather. In every field," Ryan said, cementing his authority.
David let out a sigh of happy resignation. "Can't do anything about it. I just found myself a wife that's too capable."
"Back to the topic, you should deal with your resignation, Uncle Raghu," Ryan said.
"Sure," Raghu agreed, already pulling out his phone.
And so, after dropping Uncle Raghu at his house, we returned to ours.