In Bad Faith

Chapter 1

"Your dad would be so proud of you," the voice of my supervisor sounded soft and gentle through the speakers of my phone.

He was right, my dad would be proud if he could see me right now. And Floyd knew these were the exact words I needed to hear before exciting the Uber and entering the tall, glass building that seemed bigger every second the car came closer. And as soon as the dark gray Opel slowly came to a halt, a small sigh fell from my lips. "Thank you, Floyd," I said, as my gaze met the driver's in the rearview mirror. He nodded as if I didn't understand we reached the destination, and I picked up my purse from the seat next to me. "Thanks," was the first and last word I murmured to the driver before I got out of the car. And the second my feet hit the floor, I was reminded that I was in New York now. And even though I have lived and worked in many different places and cities already, nothing could compare to what New York had in store. It always seemed like everyone was in a rush, all the time, and the first few days all the different types of sounds that never seemed to stop drove me crazy.

"And I am proud too, Nad. I really am," I had almost forgotten I was still on the phone with Floyd, because I was too busy avoiding commuters on their way to work. But his words made me smile. "Okay, it is eight forty-seven. It's time for you to get into that building because I do not want you to be late for your first day of work," Floyd told me, and even without seeing him I just knew he was wearing a grin on his face.

After both saying our goodbyes, I slid my phone into the small black purse I was wearing around my shoulder, before hurrying inside the gigantic building. I had been in this building before. Not only through pictures, studying this mission, but also for the job interview less than a week ago. However, I never expected everything to go this quickly.

"Nadya Fisher. It is my first day of work," was the thing I told the blonde lady behind the big desk close to the main entrance. "Welcome, Nadya. One second please," she told me with a friendly smile, and after she quickly looked at me, she started typing something on her computer. She put the phone to her ear, as I took a small step back to give the lady some privacy. While I overheard her elaborately talking about her weekend, I decided to take that time to have a look around. Everything about this big office building just screamed money; from the white, marble tiles to the dark, leather sofas. It also turned out that Monday mornings here are way busier than Wednesday afternoons. When I got here for the job interview, this same lobby wasn't nearly as crowded as it was right now.

"Nadya! It is great seeing you again," I looked at where the voice came from and saw a very cheerful Macy Porter walking towards me, with a big smile on her face. She looked the exact same as the first time I met her. Her dark brown hair was neatly put up in a bun, and the black dress she was wearing couldn't be a lot different from the one she was wearing during the job interview.

"Miss Porter," I copied her smile and shook her hand as she approached me. Macy was also the one who interviewed me for this new job. It turned out my brand new boss, Misha Zaveri, had gone out for a vacation. And even though this probably made the job interview a bit easier, it made everything more difficult this very second. But I wasn't the nervous type of girl. I've had to adapt to new situations and people all the time.

—

The sound of two pairs of heels echoed through the silent halls on the fourth floor.  Unlike all the other floors Macy just showed me, there weren't as many office spaces here. She told me this is the executive floor, a floor that could only be reached with a special code.  A code Macy had just given me, because this would also be the floor where my office is situated.  The four numbers were already burned into my brain.  My memory was my strongest weapon if I were to believe my dad. 

"... I know it is a lot to take in," I heard the enthusiastic lady say with a deep sigh as soon as we stood in front of the large wooden door.  Those words marked the end of a flood of information I hadn't even remembered a quarter of.  Maybe my memory was only selectively good, after all.  I looked up at her and smiled a little smile.  "I'll manage," I told my brand-new colleague reassuringly. "It's not an easy job, Miss Fisher.  I have seen a lot of girls, eh, women, come and go,"  she told me, and it kind of sounded like a warning. If only Macy knew that I had already been preparing for this job for months. "But just know that you can always call me if you need something, or if you have any questions," Macy ended the tour, which had been far too elaborate.  Of course, it was useful to know where to find the toilets and copy machine, but a detailed description of the relationship between Donna from marketing and Aaron from finance wasn't something I felt like I had to know on the first day of work.

My gaze fell onto the small sign next to the door we were standing in front of. - Misha Zaveri, CEO -, it read, and before I could even answer Macy's kind words, she already knocked twice on the cherry wood.

I let my eyes wander through the large office that we stood in. It looked elegant but warm at the same time, and the big windows gave away the most beautiful view of the lively city with all the cars and tall buildings.

And lastly, I looked at him. The guy that I had seen in pictures so many times, and the sole reason I was here. Misha Zaveri. He was everything I had expected, and maybe even more.  He was gorgeous. Like, the kind of gorgeous where it seemed almost impossible to look away from. His looks were all my female colleague Ashley could talk about the last days before I left for New York. Misha was still very young for what he was doing. The CEO of a company like this shouldn't be only twenty-seven years old, which was the exact reason I got sent to this place. Nothing about him nor his company could be trusted, and there was a lot more to it than Misha Zaveri was showing to the world.

The moment our eyes met, a tiny, nervous butterfly flew around in my stomach. And I hated it. I had been on many missions, and even though this was certainly my biggest and most impactful yet, it shouldn't be the hardest. Less than a month ago, I was sitting at a table with America's most dangerous human trafficker. This guy can't hurt me.

"I don't have time, Macy." Mr. Zaveri muttered, and at the same time he looked at the papers in front of him again. 

"I am sorry to interrupt, Mr. Zaveri, but this is Miss Fisher, your new assistant," Macy voiced.

Zaveri's eyes went dark as he started to eye Macy. "I wasn't informed about this," he told her, without even bothering to talk directly to me or to even look me in the eye. In any other situation, I would've made a point by making a smart comment or laughing sarcastically, but not right now. Not as Nadya Fisher. "Who hired her?" he asked, and I could visibly notice Macy tense up. She hired me.

"I-," she started stammering. "Ian was supposed to tell you. I thought he sent you an email with her résumé?" she nervously spoke, and in the meantime I just stood there, watching the conversation take place.

I saw Misha getting more annoyed every second that passed by, as he rubbed his fingertips against the side of his face. "He did not. I will read through the documents first. She can go home now," he said curtly, and it took me more strength than ever to keep up my new, humble persona. Right now, I just wanted to strangle this guy because of how disrespectful he was being.

"Eh, okay," Macy said softly, and as soon as Misha Zaveri averted his gaze back to his work, Macy looked at me apologetically, but I didn't budge. Not just yet. "I can wait," I told him, my voice sounding clear and confident. Misha looked up at me, and for the first time he really looked at me. And I couldn't tell if that was either a good or a bad thing. But what I could tell, was that his eyes gave away exactly nothing. He was good at hiding his emotions. I opened my purse and took out the folder that contained all the information he might need to accept me as his new assistant.

Next to me, Macy started to uncomfortably move around. "Eh, miss Fisher doesn't mean it like that. She just w-" Macy started, but I shook my head as I brought the folder to Mr. Zaveri and put it on his large desk. "No, it's exactly what I meant. I'll wait, right there," I told him with a small smile, and as I turned around to point at the large sofa just outside his office, I saw the brown-haired lady worriedly looking at Misha. I realized that this stunt I was pulling could possibly destroy everything me and my team had worked months for. But I wasn't just going to let him send me away.

Before either me or Mr. Zaveri could say anything else, Macy softly ushered me out of his office. "Miss Fisher, I have known Mr. Zaveri for years now, and this is not really the right way to approach him," she softly spoke as soon as the door fell closed. I took place on the exact same chair I promised Misha Zaveri I would take place, and looked up at Macy.

"It is fine, Macy. I will just wait here," I smiled, not really answering what she just told me.