In Bad Faith

Chapter 75

I took a deep breath, after which I pressed the right button on the small device tugged behind the elastic band of my high-waisted skirt. Today was the day. And even though Misha knew I was wearing a wire, I still felt nervous. I knew these would be the most challenging days yet, but the thought that it would soon be over kept me going. And I couldn't let my nerves distract me. Everything came down to the next week. Not only the rest of my life, but also that of the child growing in my stomach.

I let the loose shirt fall over the edge of my skirt again, and checked myself in the rearview mirror of my car one last time. More to check my make-up than anything else. I was certain the outfit I chose today covered not only the device under the edge of my skirt, but also the tiny microphone taped to my chest. I made sure no one would be able to notice a single thing.

After I wiped a spec of mascara from the skin just under my eye, I got out of my car and made my way to the office, mentally preparing myself to be Nadya Fisher. Misha and I had to pretend to be nothing more than CEO and assistant again, and knowing us, that was going to be difficult. And yes, I was allowed to turn the recording off for stuff like toilet and lunch breaks, so we would be able to find moments to speak. But those short moments would be nothing compared to the play we were going to have to put up for the majority of the day.

After I entered the building and made my way through the hallway leading toward the elevator, I saw Macy Porter approaching me from the other end. Please don't say anything. Things had been very awkward between us ever since she found out about Misha and me, but she had been keeping her promise for as far as I knew. I hadn't gotten any questions or weird stares, so I assumed we were good. The only thing I was worried about, was whether she would still keep her mouth shut after we'd be presumed dead.

"Hey, Nadya," she spoke when she passed me, gesturing for me to stop in my path. Great. We hadn't spoken about the incident since it happened, not even when we greeted each other in the halls like this, yet still, I got nervous. I knew that my colleagues would be able to replay this conversation, so if she would bring it up, I was done for. "Good morning," I said, as I looked at her a bit questioningly.

"I'm coming over to your office at around ten to bring Mr. Zaveri some paperwork," she then told me, which made my confusion grow even wider. Why exactly did she feel the need to stop me just to tell me this? I decided not to ask. "Eh, okay," I just answered as I forced a smile upon my face.

"Just so you guys know," she followed in a feigned friendly tone and thereby clarified what she meant. Oh, god. If I weren't wearing a wire right now, I would've loved to get back at her, but all I could do now was awkwardly smile and act like there was no meaning behind these words.

"Thanks, Macy," I told her using all my strength to sound as friendly as I could, after which I immediately continued my way to the elevator again. I couldn't have this right now. I was sure that my team would never find out what she truly meant by that, but having to just take it without getting to fight back was hard enough. Because I strongly wondered if this really had been a warning and not just a sneaky comment, since she probably didn't like me anymore.

I took the elevator up to my office, and when I walked through the hall and approached the ajar door, my mind drifted off to yesterday evening again. Floyd asked me a lot of questions after Misha left, but I managed to talk my way out of it by saying he never did this before. He believed me, but I noticed he sure was on edge by it. Now he was certainly going to come over every night.

"Good morning, Mr. Zaveri," I spoke as I walked into the office and saw Misha already sitting behind his desk. It felt weird. This was just the way it was before everything went down between us. Now I had felt his skin beneath my fingers, and his lips against mine. We had done and said the most intimate things together, and now I had to pretend like he was nothing to me but a suspect, which was even harder after everything that happened last night.