London
The first thing Esha noticed about the office was the cold. It was really cold in there. It felt like a freezer. It felt like winter inside the room.
Esha stood in the doorway. She was wearing a silk blouse. The blouse was thin. She started to shiver. She wondered if the cold was on purpose. Maybe Zaviyar Khan liked the cold. Maybe he was cold inside so he liked the room to be cold too.
"You are late" a voice said.
Esha looked across the room. The room was huge. It was a very big office. You could play a game of tennis in there. There were windows on all the walls. The windows showed the rain. The windows showed the grey sky of London.
Zaviyar Khan was sitting behind a desk. The desk was made of black stone. It looked like a tombstone. He did not look up. He was reading a paper. He was holding a red pen. He held the pen like it was a knife.
Esha looked at her watch. It was a Cartier watch. It was a fake watch but it looked real. "I am three minutes early" Esha said.
"My schedule says 9:00 AM. It is 9:00 and thirty seconds." He finally looked up.
Esha stopped breathing for a second.
The photos were wrong. The photos in the magazines were wrong.
In the magazines Zaviyar Khan looked nice. He looked polished. He looked safe. In person he looked dangerous. He looked like trouble. He had dark circles under his eyes. He looked tired. He looked like he had a fever. He had not shaved. He looked messy.
He was not wearing a tie. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top. You could see his skin.
He looked rough. He looked like a man who was about to snap. He looked like a man who was holding on to a rope and the rope was breaking.
"I had to get through your security" Esha said. She walked into the room. Her heels made a noise. Click clack. Click clack. "Your guards are very thorough. One of them tried to take my nail file. He thought the nail file was a weapon."
"Can't be too careful" Zaviyar said. He dropped the pen. The pen hit the desk. He leaned back in his chair. He stared at her.
It was not a nice stare. He was not looking at her because she was pretty. He was looking at her like she was a puzzle. He was looking for pieces that did not fit. He was dissecting her.
Esha kept walking. She forced herself to walk. She pulled out a chair. She sat down. She did not ask if she could sit. She just sat. She crossed her legs. She put her bag on the floor.
"So" she said. She looked him in the eyes. "I hear you are losing money. I hear you are bleeding money."
Zaviyar blinked. He looked surprised. He was not used to people talking like that. Good.
"Direct" he mumbled. "I like that. Direct is good."
"I am expensive" Esha said. "Small talk costs extra money. Harris sent me the papers on the plane. The US division is a mess. It is a disaster. You are losing customers. Your prices are being beaten. Your company is bloated."
"Tell me something I do not know" Zaviyar said. He rubbed his head. He looked like he had a headache. Everyone in this story has a headache.
"You have a mole" Esha said.
The room got very quiet. The sound of the air conditioning got louder. Hummmm.
Zaviyar stopped rubbing his head. He leaned forward. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me" Esha said. Her voice was steady. She did not let her voice shake. "The numbers do not make sense Zaviyar. You are losing bids by tiny amounts. It is impossible. Someone is giving your prices to the other side. Someone is telling the competition your secrets."
"To the Roys" Zaviyar whispered. The way he said the name was scary. It was full of hate. It was not business hate. It was personal hate.
"Probably" Esha said. She forced herself not to react. That is my name she thought. He hates my name. "So here is my condition."
"Condition? You have not even been hired yet."
"You already hired me when you paid the money" Esha said. "My condition is this. I get total access. I want to see everything. No secrets. No locked folders. If I am going to find the leak I need to see everything. Even your emails."
Zaviyar laughed. It was a short laugh. It was a dry laugh. "You want access to my personal server? On the first day?"
"If you do not trust me fire me" Esha said. She reached for her bag. "I will keep the money."
She started to stand up.
"Sit down" Zaviyar said. It was a command.
Esha froze. She sat down.
Zaviyar looked at her for a long time. He looked tired. He looked like a man who was sick of liars. He was surrounded by people who said yes all the time. He wanted someone to say no.
"You are arrogant" he said quietly.
"I am good at my job" she said. "There is a difference."
Zaviyar opened a drawer. He pulled out a keycard. It was black. He slid it across the marble desk. The card stopped right at the edge.
"That is a Level 5 pass" he said. "It opens every door in the building. It unlocks every file on the computer."
Esha looked at the card. That card was the weapon. That card was the thing she came for. It was right there.
"But listen to me Anya" Zaviyar said. His voice got low. It got rough. "I am letting you in because I am desperate. I need help. But if you betray me... if I find out you are working against me..."
He did not finish the sentence. He did not have to. His eyes finished the sentence. His eyes said he would destroy her.
Esha picked up the card. Her fingers touched the cold desk.
"I am not selling you out" she lied. She lied right to his face. "I am here to fix your mess."
"Good" Zaviyar said. He picked up his red pen again. "Then go to your office. It is next door. And fix the AC on your way out. It is freezing in here."
Esha stood up. She walked to the door. She could feel his eyes on her back. His eyes felt like they were burning her back.
When the glass doors closed behind her she leaned against the wall. She let out a breath. Her breath was shaky. Her heart was beating very fast. It felt like a bird was trapped in her chest.
He was smarter than she thought. And he was sadder than she thought.
This was going to be hard. This was going to be harder than she planned.