FF: Web of Lies - COMPLETED on p80 - Page 29

Wooowww! This is a really good ff so far, i love what Asad did for her by giving her his shirt, that was sooo sweet! I hope you update soon i can't wait to read on and i have a weird feeling that Malak has something up his sleeve, but whatever be the matter i know it will make this ff all the more brilliant! I hope you update soon and if possible please can you pm me, thank you sooo much! x

Hey you've disappeared ! Update pl?

Just love this..
i started reading today and went through all the parts...pls update soon

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next morning, Zoya enters the K-7 Enterprises offices. Surita looks up from her papers and gives her a polite smile.

"Good morning, Zoya."

Her gaze moves past Zoya and she cranes her neck, a hopeful expression on her pretty face. She sits up straight in her seat to watch the still-open door.

"Good morning, Surita," Zoya mutters, despite not having Surita's attention.

Surita is still staring at the door. Her eyes light up and her smile widens to blindingly bright. Zoya doesn't bother to look back at the focus of Surita's interest. She grits her teeth and walks by the receptionist.

"Good morning, Mr. Khan." Surita's voice is so light and lilting, she's practically singing her greeting to Asad.

Asad murmurs a polite response. Zoya ignores them and goes to Malak's office. He's focused on his computer when she knocks on his open door frame. Malak looks up and gives her a wide grin.

"Zoya! How are you?" He comes around his desk to hug her.

She returns his hug. "I'm good."

Malak holds her at arm's length. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Zoya laughs a little. "As I said every time you called me yesterday, I'm fine."

"That's because I was worried about you." Malak takes her chin in his hand and tilts her head, catching the sunlight on her cheek. He studies it carefully before tilting her head in the other direction.

"What are you doing?" Asad demands in a harsh voice.

Zoya turns to look at him, dislodging Malak's hand. Asad stands in the office doorway, gripping the door frame so tightly his knuckles turn white. He stares at Malak with undisguised loathing. Malak crosses his arms and leans back against his desk, his features tightening.

"Checking for bruises." Malak's voice is coated with equal dislike.

"What?" Zoya gasps as she whirls to stare at him.

"Asad was so angry yesterday," he says calmly. "I wanted to make sure he didn't hurt you any worse than he already had."

"Is that why you called her every hour last night?" Asad steps into the office and shuts the door behind him.

Malak's smile is vicious. "So says the guy who called her every five minutes when she escaped his clutches."

"Escaped? Ms. Farooqui comes and goes freely." Asad strides forward until he is within hitting distance of Malak. "All I ask is that she keeps her cell phone on at all times. Why did you turn off her phone?"

"Because you were bothering her." Malak speaks slowly, as if Asad is a dim-witted child. "If she had wanted to talk to you, she would have answered one of your many, many annoying calls, wouldn't she?"

Asad's hands curl into fists and his face flushes with angry color. Malak straightens away from his desk in aggressive response. Asad reaches for Malak but Zoya jumps between them. She puts both hands flat against Asad's chest and leans into him.

"Stop it!" She gives him a fierce glare. "I work here. Isn't it enough for you to humiliate me at your office? Do you have to do it here, too?"

"I apologized for that." Asad speaks through clenched teeth. "And remember how much I did to make sure you weren't embarrassed or uncomfortable in front of my staff?"

Some of the indignation eases from Zoya's stance. She relaxes but keeps her hands on his chest. "You need to understand Malak's position. He's only being a good friend. He saw I was hurt and needed space. As my friend, he supported me when I needed it. Don't be angry with him for that."

A satisfied smile stretches across Malak's face. Asad glares at him, causing Malak's grin to darken into a victorious smirk. Zoya, who has her back to Malak, doesn't see it. Asad growls audibly as he narrows his eyes and locks his jaw. His hands curl into fists again. Zoya leans into him.

"Don't you dare!" she says, boldly pressing closer and eliminating the space between them. "I won't allow you to start a fight."

Their bodies are within millimeters of each other, so close that only their breath passes between them. Asad looks from Zoya's fingers digging into his chest to the fierce determination in her eyes. They both freeze, lost in each other. Malak gives a disgusted snort, breaking their connection. Asad wrenches his attention away from Zoya, his eyes still a bit unfocused. He watches the vicious amusement drain from Malak's face, sees his cheeks flush with angry color.

Asad's mouth turns up in savage victory. He deliberately leans in so his cheek brushes Zoya's temple. She turns her head to look at Malak and suddenly she and Asad are cheek to cheek. Malak hisses in his breath and steps back. Zoya takes advantage of the increased space to pull away from Asad.

"Stop it, both of you," she snaps. "You're like two little boys fighting over the same toy." She glares from one to the other. "This is a professional office. I'd like to get some work done, if you two don't mind."

"The professionalism of this office is what I want to discuss," Asad snaps back. "Where is that security guard?"

Malak's lip curls into a sneer. "We don't have a security guard."

"You said you'd hire a guard to protect your staff," Asad snarls.

"No, you said I would hire a guard, along with some other bull about how you'd improve security." Malak, now relaxed again, leans back against his desk. "How's that going?"

"I said I'd have those ready by the end of the week." Asad's voice is now controlled and he uncurls his fists. "Regardless, nothing will do more to protect your team than a guard."

"Why Asad? As far as I've seen, the only thing my team needs protection from is you." Malak's voice is light and taunting. "Will an armed guard keep you away from Zoya?"

"Malak!" Zoya gasps, her voice high and scolding.

She jumps between them again and turns to Asad. She holds out her hands, ready to stop him. However, Asad is calm now, his slight smile cold and confident.

"No," he agrees easily. "Nothing will keep me away from Ms. Farooqui, not a security guard, not all the electronics in the world and most certainly not you."

Malak straightens away from his desk. A knock stops his angry reply. Kesavan opens the door and leans in.

"Hello." His smile is bright and cheery. "Is this a private meeting?"

"No," Asad says coolly. "I was simply asking Malak for an update on the security for this office."

"Security?" Kesavan comes in. "What about security? Why wasn't I informed of this?"

Malak shifts around Asad and Zoya to meet Kesavan. "Asad suggested we hire a security guard. I told him it wasn't necessary."

"I agree." Kesavan turns to Asad. "If we have any trouble, my assistant, Tej, is a former wrestler. He'll handle it for us. Not that we have any trouble. It's a very quiet, peaceful area. And the ladies are well protected. Surita's boyfriend drops her off and picks her up just as you do with Zoya."

Malak hisses in his breath at the word 'boyfriend'. Zoya stiffens and glances at Asad out of the corner of her eye. His face remains expressionless but he crosses his arms and shifts closer to her.

"Even so, this office is so remote that it needs additional security," Asad argues. "I'll provide equipment but a guard is the best deterrent."

"What equipment?" Kesavan demands.

"Surveillance cameras, remote locks, and secondary backup power for starters," Asad explains. "I do that for all my office buildings but I wasn't expecting this office to rent out so soon. The locks will be installed by the end of the week. I'll also push to have the cameras as soon as possible, too."

"I don't think we need all those added expenses." Kesavan frowns. "We're still a start-up company."

"I'll provide the electronic equipment," Asad assures smoothly. "It's standard for all my office spaces. You only need to provide a guard."

Kesavan and Malak exchange an unreadable glance. The air between them is electric with unspoken communication. Finally Kesavan turns back to Asad.

"Very well." Kesavan smiles warmly. "For now, I'll ask Tej to walk around the building every hour. That should suffice until we find a qualified guard."

"I can give you referrals," Asad offers.

"That's very kind of you, Asad," Kesavan says easily. "Please give the information to Surita and we'll get right on it!" He turns to Zoya. "Are you ready to strike your sites today?"

She nods eagerly. "Yes. My sites are lined up and ready. I'll hit them all this morning."

"All of them?" Kesavan's eyes widen. "You have ten clients."

"Yes, but I sorted them into like codes based upon their operating systems," she explains. "I created OS-specific scripts to mitigate code variances. It allows me to perform simultaneous hits."

Kesavan and Asad stare at Zoya with matching amazed and dumfounded expressions, their mouths slightly open and their eyes glazed.

Zoya blushes. "Sorry about the geek-speak. To put it simply, computers communicate differently based on their operating system, be it Windows, Linux, Macintosh or any other base. Different software uses different scripts, just like different languages use different alphabets. Does that make sense?"

Kesavan and Asad continue to stare at her, still dazed, needing a few more seconds to process. Malak grins.

"Didn't I tell you Zero Strike is the best in the business?" he says proudly.

"Amazing," Kesavan agrees. "Absolutely amazing."

Malak puts his arm around Zoya and hugs her to his side. She smiles and glows under their warm praise. She looks to Asad. He frowns but nods, bewildered but amazed.

"Well then, off to work you go," Kesavan says to Zoya. "We won't keep you anymore."

He ushers Zoya to the door. She smiles back to Malak and nearly walks into Tej standing in the doorway. Asad takes her elbow to prevent the collision.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you." Zoya flashes a quick grin as she apologizes to Tej.

He doesn't return her smile. He looks from her to Asad and dismisses them with a flick of his eyelids.

"I secured the servers, Mr. Nair," he says.

"Excellent." Kesavan gestures him into the office. "Come join us. We need to discuss office security."

Tej steps into the office and shuts the door in Zoya and Asad's faces. They hear the lock click shut and exchange glances.

"Charming, isn't he?" Zoya murmured.

"It least he's quiet," Dev snaps from his cubicle. "Can you please shut up? I'm trying to work here."

Asad turns to him, his jaw locked tight. Zoya grabs his arm to keep him from going over to Dev.

"I'll see you at eleven," she says. She tugs hard to lead Asad to the front door. "I have a ton of work to do. Now I really do have to hit all those sites today."

Asad's jaw remains tight but he allows her to pull him forward. "Lock the door behind me."

She shakes her head. "Allah, miya, what's wrong with you? This is an office. We can't lock the door."

"Of course we can. We don't have walk-in clients." Surita says, her voice sticky sweet as she smiles up at Asad. "It's so nice of Mr. Khan to worry about your safety."

Asad raises his eyebrows and gives Zoya a sideways glance. She continues to push him out the door.

"Make sure Tej walks the perimeter," Asad pauses in the doorway. "If he doesn't, tell Malak I'll hire someone to do it."

"I will, Mr. Khan," Surita trills, her eyes soft and warm as she continues to smile at Asad.

Zoya stops pushing Asad to stare at her. "I believe he was talking to me."

Surita's smile disappears. Color flushes her cheeks but Dev speaks up before she can.

"Would you please take it outside?" he demands. "The only thing worse than listening to girls gossip is listening to them fight. He's not the only overbearing pretty-boy out there."

Surita gasps, her face blushing bright red. Asad's eyes darken threateningly. Zoya grabs his upper arms and stands on tip-toe to hiss in his ear.

"Do not embarrass me." Her mouth is so close her breath ruffles his hair. "This is my office. Let me deal with Dev."

Asad looks from her determined expression to Dev's half-angry, half-smug glare. Zoya leans into Asad, her eyes softening and anxious.

"Please," she adds.

Asad locks his jaw but nods. He takes her hands and removes them from his arms, squeezing them briefly before stepping into the hallway. Zoya shuts the door behind him. She's about to turn away but pauses then sighs and locks the door. She avoids Surita raised eyebrows as she walks to her desk.

"Are you going to work now?" Dev sneers at her.

Zoya arches her brows. "One of us should. Speaking of which, is there anything I can do to help you with your workload?" She pointedly inspects his work surface. Motherboards, cables and circuits litter his desktop but he has only one file on his desk. He picks up his lone file and throws it in a drawer.

"No. I'm current on my projects." Dev switches off his monitor.

"Clearly."

"Trying to steal my work?" he accuses her.

"No." Zoya taps her heavy pile of folders against her desk to straighten them. "I have more than enough of my own."

***

Later that morning, Zoya gathers her customer files and goes to Malak's office. He's looking out the window, deep in thought. Zoya knocks on the door frame.

"Malak, I've finished my sites," she says.

He turns to look at her. Zoya is shocked to see a sheen of sweat coat his skin. His face is pale and his breathing labored.

"Malak, what's wrong?" she ask anxiously, dropping her files on the sideboard to rush to him.

He shakes his head. "I'm fine, Zoya," he says but his voice is raspy. "I think something I ate disagreed with me."

"Don't worry, Malak. I know what to do." she assures him. "My Jijuji suffers from upset stomach whenever he's stressed. I'll make you his magic tonic."

She turns to leave but Malak catches her hand.

"No, Zoya, it's okay." He rubs his right side as though trying to massage away the pain. "I...I can't keep anything down right now."

Zoya reaches out to him. "What can I do, Malak? Should I call a doctor?"

"No!" Malak snarls. She jerks back and he softens his tone. "Zoya, I've only been in India for a few days. I don't feel comfortable with doctors here."

"What else?" she inquires, anxiety making her voice husky. "I can ask Tej to bring you medicine or to drive you home."

A spasm crosses Malak's face. He shuts his eyes tight and sweat beads trickle down his temple. "Please, Zoya, just let me rest," he gasps.

Zoya grabs tissues from the box on his desk. She kneels at his side and blots away the perspiration. Malak leans closer, relaxing under her ministrations.

"What are you doing, Ms. Farooqui?" Asad appears in the doorway, his jaw set into a hard line.

Zoya looks up at Asad but immediately returns her attention to Malak.

"Malak's not feeling well," she explains. "Something he ate didn't agree with him. Should we take him back to his hotel?"

Malak waves her away. "I'll be fine. Don't worry, the pain will pass soon."

"Will you come back to our house?" she pleads. "Phupee and I can take care of you."

Asad stiffens but Zoya ignores him. Malak shakes his head.

"Really, Zoya, all I need is some peace and quiet," he assures her. "I'll be fine."

Asad takes her elbow and helps her to her feet. "Ms. Farooqui, he says he wants to be alone. Please respect his wishes."

Zoya looks back to Malak. He nods weakly so she allows Asad to guide her out of his office. She stands indecisively in front of Malak's closed door.

"I don't want to leave him, Mr. Khan. He needs me."

Asad is unaffected. "He needs to be more careful about what he eats and drinks. Doesn't he know to give his body time to adjust to the local conditions? Everyone is responsible for their own good health."

Zoya bristles. "Not all of us enjoy a diet of tree bark and liquid protein. Some of us think food is a pleasure and should be enjoyed."

He raises his eyebrows. "Tree bark and liquid protein?"

She makes a face. "I tasted that horrible so-called cereal you eat for breakfast every day. No wonder you're always so grumpy in the mornings."

"If I'm grumpy, it's because you're driving me crazy, not because of my healthy diet."

She puts her hands on her hips. "Oh, really?"

He crosses his arms. "Yes, really."

Zoya is about to shoot back a reply but stops herself. She glances over her shoulder at Dev's desk. A wrinkle appears between her brows.

"Wait a minute. This is the point where Dev complains about the noise we're making." She looks around and raises her voice. "Surita, where's Dev?"

Surita, who has her chin cupped in her hand as she stares dreamily at Asad, suddenly straightens. She flushes bright pink under Zoya's steady stare.

"Umm, he's in Mr. Nair's office." Surita starts shuffling the diagrams on her desk.

"Where's Tej?" Asad asks. "Is he walking around the building?"

"No, he's in the meeting with Mr. Nair and Dev."

Zoya continues to stare at Surita. Surita ducks her head and busily sorts papers. The wrinkle between Zoya's brows deepens then suddenly smoothes out. She looks away from Surita to stare at Dev's desk. She strides over to his cubicle.

"What are you doing?" Asad comes up behind her.

Zoya studies Dev's workstation and nods in satisfaction. She sits down at her own desk. "Give me five minutes. I need to finish one thing."

Asad watches as her fingers fly over her mouse and keyboard. A few moments later she shuts off her computer and picks up her shoulder bag.

"I'm ready."

He nods and follows her out. He turns back to Surita. "Don't forget to lock the door, Ms. Patel."

Surita gives him a blindingly bright smile. "I won't, Mr. Khan."

He waits to hear the lock click before walking to Zoya. She is already in front of the open lift, biting her lower lip and staring straight ahead, her brows again wrinkled in deep thought. She rubs her right side as though trying to massage away pain. Asad hurries to her.

"Why are you rubbing your side?" he demands. "Does it hurt?"

She enters the elevator. "Mr. Khan, what causes it to hurt right here?"

Asad's eyes widen. "That's your kidney. How did you hurt your kidney?"

"It's not me, it's Malak. He said he ate something that didn't agree with him but he rubbed his right side, not his abdomen."

Asad shrugs, his concern melting away like an ice cube left out in the Indian heat. "He could have an infection or maybe he's suffering from Appendicitis."

The doors open to the lobby floor. Asad strides out of the elevator but Zoya remains in the lift, her eyes widening.

"What!" She repeatedly presses the button for the third floor. "His appendix could burst. I have to take care of him."

Asad catches her arm and guides her out of the elevator. "Ms. Farooqui, he's a grown adult. He said he wanted to take care of it himself. Respect his wishes."

She tugs on her arm. "Mr. Khan, he's living in a hotel. What if he needs something?"

"He's staying at a four-star hotel that caters to non-resident Indians." Asad leads her across the parking area. "They'll get him anything he needs."

"He's only been in India a few days. He doesn't even know where the closest hospital is."

"Mr. Nair lives in India," Asad reminds her. "If Malak needs help, his partner will take care of him."

Zoya looks uncertain as she allows Asad to tuck her into his SUV.

"Are you sure he'll be okay? Should I call him?" She pulls out her cell phone. "I'll call him to make sure he's okay."

Asad rubs his forehead. "Ms. Farooqui, why do you do this to yourself? Why are you so concerned about everyone else? Don't you have enough to worry about with doing your job here and the project in my office?"

"My job is going fine, Mr. Khan." She tucks her phone away. "I successfully hit all of my sites this morning. And my file storage and retrieval system is back on track. It really helped that you and everyone pitched in yesterday. The file structure wasn't compromised and we've gotten the folders into order. We only need to validate the contents of each folder..."

She continues to describe her project as Asad drives them to his office. He concentrates on navigating the city traffic, allowing her to talk freely. He doesn't stop her until they pull into his parking structure.

"We're here," he announces.

She looks around, surprised. "Already?"

He leads her to the elevators. "It's amazing how the time flies by when you're busy computerizing the whole world."

She grins at him. "Not the whole world, Mr. Khan, just your business. Trust me, that's enough of a challenge."

They part when they get off the lift. Asad goes into his office while Zoya hurries into the board room. She crosses to the computer station and boots up. Her fingers fly lightly over the keyboard and she brings up a remote view of the desktop from her computer in Malak's office. The screen changes as she watches. Someone is at her workstation.

The person accesses the internet and enters her cloud site information in the address bar. Her login screen appears. The person keys in her user ID and password.

"Keystroke recorder," she murmurs, watching as her private cloud site opens.

The person navigates around the page, trying to find information but the site is empty. Zoya smiles to herself.

"There is nothing for you to find, Dev. I moved all my files off the first day, when I saw you watching me." Her eyes narrow as the mouse pointer jerks erratically across the web page. "That makes you angry, doesn't it? Not that it matters. There's no way I'd let you steal my codes."

"Who are you talking to?" Asad asks from the doorway.

She turns to see him walk into the room. He has a bottle of water in one hand and a Diet Coke can in the other.

"No one." She nods to her computer. "I installed recording software on my computer at work to monitor any activity when I'm away from my workstation."

Asad glares at the screen. "Why are you working on Malak's projects in my office? You said my project was your first priority, remember?"

"Yes, it is but I figured out what was wrong with Dev's desk."

"Dev's desk?" Asad shifts his glare to her. "First you're worried about Malak's health, then you put his projects before mine and now you're thinking about the cleanliness of his office?"

"I'm not worried about the cleanliness. I finally figured out that nothing on Dev's desk changes."

"What does that mean?" Asad slams the drinks down on the conference table. Luckily, the liquids are still sealed this time.

"People normally shift things around if they use them, like Surita did with the papers on her desk," Zoya explains. "Dev has all these computer supplies on his workstation but they're in the same place every day. That means he doesn't use them. So I wondered what he's really doing and guess what I found out."

"I don't care what you found, Ms. Farooqui," Asad snaps. "You are here in my office, drinking my soda and trying my patience. I should be your focus."

Zoya's eyes widen and her mouth drops open at his harsh tone. Asad rubs his forehead.

"I mean my project," he corrects himself. "My project should be your focus, not Malak's work."

"Yes, Mr. Khan, you are my priority," she assures him. "I just wanted to check on what was going on at work."

"This is your work, too," Asad snaps. "This project is your idea. My entire staff spent yesterday afternoon working on it. The least you can do is give it the same importance we do."

"I am giving it importance," she protests. "I only took a minute to check in at Malak's office---"

"No," Asad interrupts her. "I don't want to hear about Malak. It's bad enough you spend half your day taking care of him. I don't want you to spend the rest of your time focused on him, too."

"I didn't take care of him. He was sick and you dragged me out of there like he had the plague," she accuses.

Asad crosses his arms. "I did no such thing. I waited for you to finish whatever you were doing and spoke very politely to your coworkers."

Zoya gets out of her chair. "By coworkers, do you mean Surita? You could ignore her completely and she'd still make cow eyes at you."

He snorts. "So Surita's cow eyes are bad but Malak's wounded puppy dog expression is okay?"

"What puppy dog expression?"

"Don't tell me you didn't see his expression when you were kneeling at his side," Asad snaps. "Maybe he wasn't even really hurt. He just wanted your sympathy."

"Malak would not do such a thing!"

"Of course not," Asad growls mockingly. "Malak is an angel sent from above. He can do no wrong."

"Mr. Khan, why are you acting like this?" She frowns at him. "Why are you saying such terrible things about my friend?"

"Because he's playing you, Ms. Farooqui, and you're not seeing it." Asad runs his hands through his hair. "He knows how much you want to help people and he's pretending to be in pain to gain your sympathy."

"Why would he need my sympathy?" she demands, crossing her arms. "He already has my full support and friendship. He knows I'll help him in any way I can. That's what friends do for each other!"

Asad turns his back on her. "I can't reason with you, Ms. Farooqui."

Zoya turns her back on him. "And I can't understand you, Mr. Khan."

"Fine." Asad stalks back to his office.

"Fine," Zoya turns around and yells at his retreating back.

She watches through the glass walls as Asad throws himself into his chair. He bends over his laptop and begins typing away furiously. Zoya shakes her head.

"What just happened?" she asks out loud.

Her voice rings in the empty space. She looks around at the neatly stacked boxes and organized piles of folders. Her gaze lands on the unopened soda can.

"And since when did Mr. Khan start stocking Diet Coke in his private refrigerator?" she asks the soda.

The can remains as icy and as silent as the man who left it for her. She looks back over at Asad. He's still focused on his computer, pounding away at the keyboard. Then she stares at her own blank computer screen. Dev has already logged off her workstation.

"Men," she mutters. "Allah miya, what's wrong with them? They're all so annoying. Why can't they be logical and straightforward like computers? At least then I'd understand them."

She pops open the soda and settled back into her chair. Reaching for a file, she rubs her forehead and begins working on the only thing in her life that's logical and straightforward.

Chapter 8: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/90220617

I'm sorry I've been so erratic about posting updates. The personal issues I thought were resolved are proving to be more time-consuming than I thought. I'll do my best to post regularly in the future.

Again, I want to thank everyone who has posted feedback. I love to read your comments and try to answer all your questions when I write chapters. Your comments are invaluable!

Thank you again,

Paly

Res

U are one hell of a writer..really amazing...Asad needs to get his blinders off...now...really I mean..he has such a one track mind...but amazing update

Paly.. finally!! btw r u a techie gal??

So finally we know that there is a problem in her office space. lets see how long it takes for our nancy drew to actually see the mystery.

Love geeky Zoya. As for Malak I really don't like him, even if he's not a completely bad guy (probably don't like him because he's coming between Asya :P).

Love your story. The update is worth the wait :)