Chapter 2: The Villain
They say there are two types of people in this world – the good, and the bad. Ugly wasn’t an option, apparently! But there’s no in-between. You’re either a good person or a bad one, and that’s the way it works. But no, it’s all wrong. I may be neither of those things, or both, so screw that; let me remain this way for as long as I can…
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I stepped out of the helicopter and onto the metal platform, straightening out my leather jacket and squinting against the bright sunlight that was directly hitting my face. Noticing my reaction, Nisha quickly pulled my sunglasses out of the large purse that hung off her shoulder, and handed them to me.
“Thanks, babe.” I smiled at her – or was it more of a smirk? – whilst putting on the designer shades.
She slipped her hand into mine and winked, responding in a joking tone, “Don't call me ‘babe’, Aayush. People might start thinking you’re my boyfriend.”
I sighed. She was ruining our act! “Well, my ditzy assistant, that’s something you should be proud of,” I stated, subtly reminding her of our ‘undercover’ roles in case someone was watching us.
“For your information, my over-intelligent boss, I wish to remain open on the dating market,” she proclaimed, letting go of my hand and putting on her own sunglasses, “This is my first mission out of the office and I’ve heard villain boys are hot.” I couldn't help but laugh at that one.
“I don't really care about your hookup plans right now, Nisha…” At this, she playfully punched my arm, and I sighed once again. “Don’t. We have a mission to concentrate on. Just stay out here and wait for my signal.”
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Glancing at the sophisticated architecture of the hallway, I began my confident walk into the main reception area. I nodded my approval of the place – it was well-made; a sign of wealth and power. But how – for the lack of a better word – bad these people were, I would not know until I met them. I stepped slowly towards the desk, and the guy seated behind it winked at me to acknowledge my presence. That alone was enough to give me second thoughts about coming here.
“How can I help you, Sir?” he asked, before winking once more.
“I have a meeting with your boss,” I replied simply. Outsiders did not have to know any more than was absolutely necessary – such mistakes could easily cause problems in our, and my, plan.
“Can you tell me your name, please?” the guy requested rudely, almost as if he was suspicious of me.
“I can, but I won’t. Just inform the owner of this company that the man they’ve been waiting for has arrived.”
“Yes, Sir…” He was obviously awed by my presence all of a sudden – the owner must have informed the staff that I was coming. I simply took a guess.
He began typing something on his computer, and a few seconds later, began giving me directions to the boss’ secretary’s office. I glared at him – there I was, the dangerous yet famous “J”, and these people were sending me to their secretaries? It was simply insulting.
I headed towards the office nevertheless, and knocked on the door. “Come in!” a cheerful female voice said. I pushed open the door uncertainly and stepped into the office. The room looked fairly modern, with its black carpeting, whitewashed walls, and all sorts of strangely shaped bright coloured furniture. Behind a blood-red plastic desk stood a woman in a too-tight black dress – which was the second creepy thing about the place. She looked like she was in her mid-forties, yet she stood there in an office that could easily have belonged to a young businessman, wearing a dress that would’ve looked a lot more appropriate on a girl half her age. This was definitely not going to be straightforward, but then how many things in my life really were?
“Hello, Mr J. I am Mrs Lara Malhotra. I’m Ms Rai’s secretary.” She paused, but did not let me speak. I assumed this ‘Ms Rai’ would be the person I was there to meet, as she continued, “I understand that an important person like yourself would be feeling insulted at being sent here. You see, Ms Rai is in serious danger at the moment, and everyone that wishes to meet her has to see me first.”
“Right. I get it. But what’s this ‘serious danger’ you speak of? People like us are always in danger,” I said simply. Mrs Malhotra, however, was clearly not listening – she was staring at me with that same look that every being of the feminine species did. I may have looked more like a scholar than a villain, but I still had that kind of an effect on people. Hey, my villain getup was pretty attractive… I’d totally go for me if I was not me. (What?) I just hoped she wouldn’t do something that would haunt me for the rest of my life. I had enough nice memories stored in my mind already.
“Sorry.” She shook her head out of the daze, looking embarrassed.
“With all due respect, Mrs Malhotra,” I said, trying to stop myself from laughing, “If you’re going to stare, don’t be so obvious about it.”
She blushed, somewhat out of character for someone her age. “Oh, shut up, you! I know who you are. Go meet Liana now; you’re no threat to her.” She pointed to a door within her office, and I stepped cautiously towards it. Liana Rai – why did I recognize that name?
I stood in front of the door, awkwardly eyeing it. “You don’t need to knock. She knows you’re here,” Mrs Malhotra stated, and that cleared my confusion. I walked into the elaborate, rich office, and there she stood with a smile on her face, in all the same gorgeousness…and all her stunning familiarity.
I could never forget her.
YOU ARE READING
J.
Teen Fiction"To catch a villain, one has to think like a villain. And when you can't do that, you become the villain yourself..." They say there are two types of people in the world - the good, and the bad. There's no in-between; you're either one or the other...
