In Bad Faith

Chapter 18

2 weeks later

"I need it today," I told the woman, and I meant it. The networking event was only two days away. This suit couldn't wait a day longer.

"I am so sorry, miss. We don't have anyone available to bring the suit to your office today-" she started explaining, but I cut her short, frustrated. "Leona, I ordered this suit weeks ago." I snapped, as I scribbled some small drawings on an empty sheet of paper.

"We can bring it tomorrow? We thought that would be a good day since the event was planned for the day after.." she said softly, and I rubbed the side of my face. I was exhausted. The preparations for this event had been draining me. And right now, I felt like a bridezilla, who didn't have her dress for the wedding yet, that would take place two days later.

"Well, bad thinking. We've got many other things to do tomorrow, trying on a suit isn't one of them," I told her, now trying to get a little less angry. Don't get me wrong, my blood was still boiling, but I didn't want to make this girl feel totally horrible.

Leona did not come up with a solution, and she wasn't helpful at all. Instead, she was completely quiet on the other side of the line. So that meant that I had to do things myself. A deep sigh fell from my lips, after which I stood up from my office chair. "I'll be there in twenty minutes. Make sure the suit is ready at the reception," I told her, after which I hung up the phone. I didn't have time for this, at all, but I had to make sure everything was perfect. Tomorrow would be a day filled with the last and most important preparations.

—

Not even five minutes later, I was standing in the middle of a classic New York traffic jam. And since I was already pretty tight on schedule, this wasn't really something I wanted to spend my time on. It made me even more angry and frustrated, but I decided to try and not let it get the best of me.

Since I didn't seem to have a choice but to stand still between many cars, I decided that this would be the right time to call my supervisor. I hadn't had the time to really update Floyd this week. He knew I'd been busy with this job, and I told him about the event coming up. But it felt a bit empty, not giving him any updates about what had been happening here the past few days. Because a lot seemed to have happened.

So that's what I did. I dialed his number, and he immediately picked up his phone. "Nadya," he greeted me, a bit cautiously, not saying my actual name. It was protocol to never just call each other. Every phone call or meeting was always planned, so he probably was a little skeptical about this. Especially since I called him during working hours. It could be someone who suspected me of something, forcing me to call him. Or it could be someone who hacked my number. We've seen many things around already, so we preferred safe over sorry.

"Floyd, it's all good. I'm stuck in lovely New York traffic, and thought I'd call you." I quickly explained, and his audible sigh told me that he seemed to lose tension a little. I needed the same. I just felt that my whole body was tensed up by all the pressure I was under at the moment. Maybe that was the reason I wasn't too nice to Leona just now.

"Ah, Nadezeya, I'm happy to hear from you," Floyd told me, and by the way his voice sounded, I could tell he was smiling. "One moment," he told me quickly, followed by some muffled sounds. I heard him say something along the lines of 'it's Katava', as he excused himself from something social. He was probably eating lunch with colleagues since it was around half past twelve. That reminded me of the fact that I hadn't gotten around to eating lunch myself today. My stomach started protesting just thinking about it.

As I heard him walk into a more quiet area, I put him on the speaker system of my car. And I was glad it had one, because this car was literally horrible. The old Volvo had the ugliest green color I'd ever seen, and I missed the way my own cabriolet at home drove. But this car was a bit more discrete, and it brought me from A to B most of the times. "So? Are you still alive?" Floyd asked me jokingly. The last thing I told him was how crazy busy I was, and this had been through an email. "Barely. I'm now picking up Zaveri's suit for the event because it wasn't going to be there on time," I told him.

The past week had been chaotic, but in a good way. Misha hadn't been in his office as much as usual, but every time he was around, things were good. He wasn't ignoring me anymore, which made me realize we were on a good track. Maybe things were even better than they should be. The tension between us was obviously rising every day, but I knew it was getting to me as much as it was getting to his head.

I gave Floyd a brief summary about what had happened the past days, which existed mostly out of me running around to complete all my tasks, while trying to also still gain inside information about Misha and his company since that was the reason I was sent here in the first place. But that part was difficult. Misha seemed to trust me a little more now, but he was good at hiding. He handled all the information he had with a lot of discretion. I wasn't used to having to take things slow, but for this mission, there was no other option. Which was also the exact thing Floyd had said to me the last time we called. I should take my time. Building trust and bonding with Misha was the most important now. And in order to do so, I had to do my job with passion and motivation. Misha noticed my hard work, and I could tell he was happy about me taking care of everything on this level.

"You really seem to have broken the ice with Misha," Floyd said after I finished rambling about this week. And it was true. He wasn't hostile towards me anymore. Things were cool. Or sometimes not so cool at all. "So is this going to become some kind of cute office romance?" he asked me, jokingly, but I could tell that he actually wanted to know about this. It felt personal. And usually, I didn't have a hard time telling about these things at all. I had to use my best charm to lure guys into hotel rooms and write a report about it afterward. This was supposed to be nothing, because nothing had really happened between me and Misha.

But the staring, the smiles, and every other moment we shared. It was all very intense. And those were details Floyd was not going to receive. Instead, I laughed a little as I accelerated the moment I got out of the traffic jam. "I don't know. I'm trying to provoke things a little, which is, kind of working..," I softly sighed. I totally gave in to every single moment of tension we shared. I desired it during the times it was not there. And I knew it was unhealthy. I started to realize it wasn't just Nadya Fisher wanting to impress her boss. It was Nadezeya Katava, longing for anything he could give her. And I hated it. It shouldn't be there. I knew I was strong enough to hold these feelings off me. I was a professional, there had been more difficult things I had been through. But god did Misha Zaveri give me a damn difficult time..

"It's working? What do you mean?" Floyd asked me, with a certain type of sound in his voice that I could not seem to place. "I mean, there's this.. tension between us every now and then. I can tell it does something to him," I decided to tell him. And to myself.

As the navigation led me through the busy streets, I already saw the logo of the suit company Misha always orders his clothes at. "That is perfect, Nad. Try to provoke things a little more. I don't think it can do a lot of harm," he told me, as I parked my car in front of the building. "I will," I answered, already slightly distracted.

"Hey, I've got to hang. I will send in the report tonight, okay?" I told him, as I cut the engine, and got my bag from the passenger seat. "Yeah, sure. No rush, I know you're busy, and your life there is what's important," he assured me, and I smiled. Floyd was a good person. I could totally tell why my dad had always been so very fond of the man. "Thanks, Floyd. See you," I smiled before I hung up the phone and got out of the car.