FF: Web of Lies - COMPLETED on p80 - Page 12

Really good Amazing, your writting is one-off Plzz update soon Do keep up the good work! And please PM me:)

Originally posted by: arhifandebi

Wanted to ask you one thing...How do you know so much about hacking... It was really very interesting to read about that...

CHAPTER FOUR

The next day, Asad drives Zoya to her office. His mouth tightens as he looks around the desolate area.

"Don't leave the building alone," he orders Zoya as she gets out of his SUV. "Don't even wait outside for me to pick you up. There's no one around to hear you scream."

Zoya rolls her eyes. "My coworkers will hear me, Mr. Khan. I'm not working alone or in the middle of the jungle. And I'm not stupid. I'm from New York, remember?"

They meet up in front of the car. Asad still looks unhappy.

"I'll have those security updates done by the end of the week." He tucks his sun glasses into his suit pocket as they enter the cool, dark building. "When does the guard start work?"

"I don't know if Malak hired a security guard," Zoya says easily.

Asad punches the button for the elevator and scowls at her. "He wants you to work in a deserted building, all by yourself and he doesn't plan to hire security to watch over you?"

"Mr. Khan, the office is not deserted. Malak is here as are Mr. Nair and Tej. Plus there will be more people as the business grows. In fact, it brings a couplet to mind."

Asad massages his brow. "Ms. Farooqui, I have a very busy day and don't have time for your nonsense."

She ignores him and holds out her hand dramatically.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west,

When the moon shines and day comes to rest,

Be not afraid of life's daily test,

For Zoya Farooqui always knows best!

She brings her hand to her forehead. "Thank you, thank you."

Asad signs heavily. The elevator arrives with a soft ping. Zoya gets into the steel cage and looks enquiringly at him. He crosses his arms but enters the lift. She turns to him with a coaxing smile.

"I don't know why you're so upset, Mr. Khan. I thought you'd be thrilled to be rid of me."

"What?" Asad drops his arms.

"You always say I'm a musibat who only brings problems into your life. The more I'm at work here, the less time I'll spend irritating you. Soon, once I finish the storage and retrieval system for Dilshad Construction, I won't be a nuisance to you at all." She waves her hand like a magician performing a disappearing act. "Poof! Your musibat will be gone."

The doors open and Zoya steps out of the elevator. She misses the stricken expression on Asad's face.

"Woh, actually...Ms. Farooqui..." he begins.

Zoya doesn't hear him. She bounds forward to open the door to the K7 Consulting Group office. A pretty young woman dressed in a simple kameez salwar with her hair tied in a neat braid looks up from the network schematics she's studying and smiles.

"Hello," she says. "May I help you?"

Zoya gives her a brilliant smile. "Hi, I'm Zoya Farooqui. I work here, too!"

The young woman laughs. "Ahh, yes, Ms. Farooqui. Mr. Hussein said you'd be in this morning. I'm Surita Patel."

"Please, call me Zoya." She gestures to Asad, who comes in behind her. "This is Asad Ahmed Khan. You can call him Grumpy."

Asad nods briefly at Surita. She smiles in response, her gaze running up and down his body with obvious appreciation. Asad is too busy glaring at Zoya to notice the receptionist's attention but Zoya watches Surita's smile deepen and eyes soften. She shifts so that Asad is blocked behind her. Surita blinks and jerks back in reaction. Her face flushes and the smile dies on her lips.

"Don't worry about him. He's not staying." Zoya's voice is sharp and noticeably cooler.

"Why not?" Asad demands.

Zoya turns to him. "Weren't you just saying how busy you are and how you don't have time for my nonsense? So, thank you for driving me to work. You may leave now."

Asad expression hardens. "I'm not finished checking out the security of this office."

He turns to inspect the door lock. Zoya looks over at Surita again. Surita has her head down over her computer diagrams but she's still watching Asad through her lashes. Zoya's mouth tightens into a flat line.

"Is this really necessary?" She puts her hands on her hips. "I told you I'm perfectly fine here."

Asad gives her a tight glare over his shoulder but is interrupted before he can speak.

"This isn't a social club," a harsh voice calls out. "Are you here to work or not?"

They all turn to see the speaker. A fit young man in his mid-twenties is seated at one of the cubicles.

"I can't concentrate with you talking," the man complains. "Why is it when women get together all they do is gossip about their hair and their boyfriends?"

Surita turns back to Zoya and rolls her eyes. "That's Dev Baljeet."

Dev doesn't respond to the introduction. He returns his attention to his computer and starts pounding his keyboard. Surita sighs heavily but Zoya shrugs, unconcerned by Dev's attitude.

"Wonderful. Now I have another akdu to deal with," she says with a heavy sigh.

Surita's answering smile is more of a grimace. She gets up from her seat. "I'll show you to your workstation."

She leads Zoya to the cubicle next to Dev's. Zoya can see his head over the partition but Dev doesn't even glance at her. Surita leans close and whispers in Zoya's ear.

"Your boyfriend is gorgeous." She nods to Asad, who is busy testing the front door lock. "And so protective."

"He's not m--" Zoya stops speaking and her mouth drops open as she stares at Asad. "What is he doing?"

Asad has locked the door and is tugging on it with frame-rattling force. The door shudders but hold firm, the bolts still steadily in place. Surita and Zoya watch him in bewildered confusion for a few startled seconds.

Zoya shakes her head at his actions. "He's overprotective and a little crazy."

Surita straightens. "Better that he's overprotective and crazy about you than a guy who isn't willing to do whatever it takes to keep you safe."

Zoya and Surita jerk when Asad kicks the door. Even Dev looks up from his keyboard.

"What is wrong with your psycho boyfriend?" He gets up from his cubicle. "Stop that! This is private property."

"It's my private property." Asad strides over to him. "I own this building."

Dev's mouth drops open. Surita looks at Asad with deeper interest. Zoya looks between Surita and Dev, as though undecided which of them to address first.

"What's that banging?" Malak leans out of his office. "What's going on?" He sees Asad and the animation drains from his face. "Oh, it's just you."

He ducks back into his office but comes out seconds later with a stack of paper folders. He takes them over to Zoya and gives her a joyful smile. "Zoya, you're here! This is great. Welcome. I've already got a dozen customers eager to have you try to break into their sites."

Malak deposits the folders on her desk. As he withdraws his hand, Zoya sees that his middle finger is in a splint and bandage. She reaches out and gently touches his wrist.

"Malak, what happened to your finger?"

Malak smiles easily. "I was setting up servers yesterday and one landed on my finger."

Asad looks at the splint. "Only your center finger? Why weren't your other fingers damaged, too?"

Malak ignores him. "Zoya, can you start right away? The clients are piling up."

Zoya settles into her chair and reaches for the top file. "Of course."

Kesavan comes out of his office. "Good morning, Zoya! Already at work, I see. That's excellent. With your work ethic, you'll be going places in no time."

Asad goes rigid. Kesavan nods to him in greeting then looks beyond Asad.

"What happened to the door?" Kesavan gestures to the footprint on the wooden frame. "Why is it dirty?"

"I was testing its durability," Asad explains. "Older doors just have a latch lock and weak hinges. Those can be torn off with a single good kick." He smiles with satisfaction. "My doors are stronger than that."

Kesavan stares at Asad with widening eyes. "Oh, okay."

Asad turns to Zoya. "I'll be back at 11:00 to pick you up."

"Why so early?" Malak demands. "That's not even a half day."

Asad's mouth tightens but Zoya speaks up before he can get into a confrontation with Malak.

"Malak, the entire Dilshad Construction office has been disrupted by my project," she says quietly. "I'm close to finishing it. I'll give you as much time as I can because you need me but I won't allow the staff to be any more inconvenienced than they already have been."

Kesavan nods. "Of course, of course. We understand." He smiles at Asad. "You're very lucky to have such an amazing computer expert working for you."

"I don't believe in luck." Asad glances at Zoya. "11:00?"

She smiles and tilts her head in agreement. Asad nods to Kesavan and Surita but ignores Malak and Dev then leaves the office.

***

Asad returns promptly at 11:00. Zoya is at her desk, files scattered around her. She has two scarred pencils tucked behind her ear and is chewing on a third. Asad winces as he takes in the cups of milky half-drunk coffee, diet Coke cans, bags of chips and crumbs littering her work surface.

"Are you ready to go?" he asks, looking away from her disorderly desk.

"Hmm?" She blinks at him as though coming out of a trance.

"She's working," Dev snaps, raising his head over the cubicle divider. "Her lunch break isn't for another hour. Go away."

Asad's jaw hardens and he turns towards Dev. Dev's eyes narrow but he doesn't back down. Zoya jumps up.

"Yes, I'm ready! I'm at a good stopping point."

She gathers up her files, nearly spilling a cup of stale coffee in the process. Asad's quick reflexes keep the cup from tipping but some of the sticky-sweet liquid splashes onto his fingers.

"Sorry about that." Zoya hands him a tissue box.

He looks away as she sweeps debris into the dustbin and gathers up the coffee cups. She dumps them into the sink beside the cappuccino machine. Asad hands her a tissue and gestures to her chin. She wipes her face then brushes off her shirt and jeans.

"There. Am I better now?" she asks him.

"You don't need to be better, Zoya." Malak appears beside her. "If he has a problem with you then he's the one who needs to change."

Asad doesn't even spare Malak a glance. He reaches into Zoya's cubicle and snags her shoulder bag.

"Ready to go?" he asks her again.

Zoya looks from Malak to Asad then back to Malak.

"Again, what is going on between you two?" she demands. "Why can't you get along?"

Asad's jaw hardens and he crosses his arms. Malak mimics the motion.

"There's nothing going on," Malak says coolly. "I just worry about you when you're with him. He doesn't respect you, Zoya."

"Really?" Asad raises his eyebrows. "I brought her to work exactly on time and now I'm here to take her exactly on time. How is that not respectful?"

"You criticized her appearance," Malak snaps back.

"I did not." Asad's voice is still calm but his eyes begin to glitter. "I merely pointed out some crumbs on her chin."

"Oh, wow, look at the time." Zoya steps between them. "We need to hurry if we want to get downtown before the lunchtime traffic."

Asad nods and plucks the pencils out from behind her ear. Malak looks at the stack of files at Zoya's workstation.

"Were you able to crack any sites, Zoya?"

"No, not yet." Zoya hangs her bag on her shoulder. "I've been organizing my files so I can build similar codes and enter multiple sites at the same time. I'll hit them tomorrow."

Malak tenses. "Why the delay? You're Zero Strike. You're supposed to be able to hit a site within seconds. That's why we hired you."

She frowns. "Well, yes, but I have to prepare before each hack. I can't go in cold."

Malak takes a deep breath and relaxes. "Yes, of course. How about you give me your base codes and I'll continue your work during the afternoon?"

Zoya stares at him in open-mouthed shocked. It takes her a moment to find her voice.

"I'm not giving you my codes. They're my private property, as we agreed." She frowns at him. "My contract states I only have to give you the results of my hacks, not the codes I used to make the hit."

"Yes, I understand but we have a lot of work piling up." Malak's voice tightens. "It's important that we build up strong client relationships. Our clients need to know they can trust us to finish on time and on budget."

"That's your problem, not hers." Asad takes Zoya's elbow and turns her for the door. "You're the boss. Deal with it."

Zoya is quiet as they cross the hall and enter the lift. She shakes her head, her lips parted.

"What's wrong?" Asad asks.

"Malak asked for my codes." Zoya shakes her head again. "That's like asking me for my fingerprints. My codes are mine. They identify me. No hacker gives up their codes. Why would he even ask?"

"Maybe it's because his real interest is his business?" Asad suggests. "He probably thinks he only needs your codes and not you."

The lift pings as the doors open. Zoya gets out and Asad follows.

"That's not possible, Mr. Khan. Malak's my friend. He would never do that to me."

Asad snorts. Zoya ignores him.

"Anyway, he can't. He doesn't have the skill. No one in that office does, other than me. Please don't even get me started on that idiot, Dev."

"Why?" Asad stiffens. "What did he do?"

"That's a good question. I don't have a good answer. Did you notice he didn't have a pile of files on his desk?"

Asad unlocks his car and Zoya settles into the passenger seat.

"And he's so secretive. If I got up for coffee, he'd shut off his computer monitor. Like he was afraid I'd see what he was doing."

Asad pulls out of the parking lot. "Maybe he's as protective of his codes as you are."

Zoya sniffs. "He can't be much of a security specialist if his only protection is to turn off his monitor." She turns in her seat to face Asad. "Mr. Khan, we're on a shared network with internet access. Dev didn't even setup a firewall. I could access his machine remotely and install a key recorder to break his passwords just like that." She snaps her fingers to demonstrate.

Asad gives her a sideway's glance. "Have you ever done anything like that with my computer?"

"No." Zoya shrugs. "Why would I? There's nothing interesting on your laptop."

Asad glares at her. Her eyes widen as she realizes what she just said.

"Mr. Khan, I was only looking for work-related files that you might have not printed out. I have no interest in your bodybuilding websites." She slaps her hand over her mouth to shut herself up.

Asad's jaw hardens. Zoya turns on the radio - loudly - and looks out the window, pretending to be fascinated by the passing scenery. Finally, they pull into Asad's office.

"Is anything I own safe from you?" he grumbles as they go up to his office.

"Define 'safe', Mr. Khan," she hedges.

He glares at her again as they round the corner to his glass-walled office. The place is a madhouse. Asad's assistant and the secretaries are frantically going through the files in his office and the conference room across from it.

"My files!" Zoya cries out. "Stop them! They're ruining my filing system. I spent weeks setting it up."

"Where is it?" Prasad calls out. "Did you find it?"

"Prasad, what's going on here?" Asad demands.

"We can't find it, Mr. Khan." Prasad's normally neat hair sticks up on end, as though he's been running his fingers through it. His tie is askew and his face is moist with perspiration.

"Find what?"

"The file you asked me to re-check for today's presentation. We've looked everywhere, Mr. Khan."

"What?" Asad's face flushes with fury. He turns on Zoya. "This is your amazing system? Where's my presentation? Do you have any idea how important that file is?"

"Mr. Khan, please calm down," Zoya pleads. "Just give me a moment. I'll find it."

"How?" Asad demands. "How will you find it? Why did you lose it in the first place?"

"We don't even know it's truly lost," Zoya tries to soothe him. "I just need some more information--"

Asad cuts her off. "Are you saying my staff is lying to me?" Asad waves his hand to encompass Prasad and the secretaries, who all freeze in place. "Do you think they're doing this as a joke? No, you're the only one who thinks it funny to interfere in people's lives and their work!"

"Just give me a moment, Mr. Khan--" Zoya's voice cracks.

"I need it now," Asad screams. "This presentation is for a huge contract on very prime real estate. I have to have my bid in by 1:00. Where did you put that file?"

Prasad and the secretaries stand statue still, eyes widening as Asad's temper escalates. Zoya sees them staring and her eyes fill with tears of humiliation.

Her voice shakes. "I can't find the file now. Your staff destroyed my filing system."

"Don't you dare blame my staff for your incompetence," Asad snarls. "That file was my top priority. That's why I wanted my active files in my office. And that's why I wanted Prasad to bring them in and not you. I knew you'd screw it up just like you always do!"

The tears spill out of Zoya's eyes. "Please, Mr. Khan. I can still get the presentation files. They'll be on the server. I'll retrieve it. I just need some information about the account."

"You want me to give you another chance to destroy my business?" Asad screams. "Are you trying to ruin me?"

"Of course not, Mr. Khan. I'm trying to help you." Zoya shakes like a leaf caught in a windstorm. Her sobs are so heavy that she begins to hiccup. "I can fix this."

"You can't fix this. All you do is cause problems, not fix them!" Asad is so angry his words tumble over each other. "Why do I let you do this? You always end up ruining what you're trying to fix. Remember when you tried to set up a home security system and ended up breaking my cell phone and nearly my neck? Or how about when you baked my CD into a cake? How about that?"

"CDs! That's it." Zoya swipes her cheeks. "Mr. Khan, I made CD backups of all your current files. They're in your briefcase. Please, just look. They're in there. Prasad can print off the presentation. I won't even touch them."

Asad slams his briefcase onto his desk so hard that a paperweight shudders and falls over.

"It better be there," he mutters. "When will I learn that you can't do anything right? Why did I let you do this? You're always--"

He breaks off suddenly and his face drains of color. He lifts out a file folder. The office is so still it's like no one is breathing. Asad swallows then swallows again. "I...I... put the file in my briefcase for...for safekeeping."

He stares at the file as though he's holding a ticking bomb, his expression caught between horror and dread. A muscle ticks furiously in his locked jaw as he turns to Zoya.

But Zoya is already gone.

Author's Notes: As always, all mistakes are mine and made accidentally. This story is not intended to hurt anyone's feelings, culture or beliefs. HUGE thanks go out to my wonderful beta readers!

I hope you're enjoying my story. Thank you for reading.

Paly

oohh i thk yeh sb Malak ke wajah se huwa h? yeah yeah poor zoya

Great update! Loved it! Please continue sooon! :)))

one of the unique n interesting FFs. Please update daily 😛

so like Asad..always jumping the gun...but nice update

This is super rocking update...asad is being a jerk as always...but i m eagerly waiting for next update...plz plz plz update asap...u are seriously a superb writer...thanks so very much for pm...i don't mind pms at all instead i appreciate u for the pm...