RAYA POV
I was sitting in my office, smiling to myself as I rewatched the footage of a conversation between Elara and Kael.
“So all this while, we have been making things so complicated, not knowing that Elara was the key to unlocking Kael all along.
What a remarkable twist.
Imagine fate bringing Elara to us, making us hire her to do this job without us even knowing she was exactly what we needed.
This will work out very well for me,” I thought to myself as I smiled.
Then all of a sudden, my phone vibrated.
It was the CEO, George, calling.
I picked up immediately, barely getting through my greeting before he cut me off entirely.
“I need to see you in my office right now,” he said before hanging up.
“What could he possibly want at this hour of the night?
It is already late.
Why is he calling me this late?” I thought to myself.
I decided to go and find out.
The moment I entered his office, he hurled a cup directly at me, and I dodged just in time.
“What the hell have you been doing all this while, Raya?
I expected results by now, but you have given me nothing.
What is going on?
What is slowing everything down?”
“You have never been someone who lets things drag.
Why is this case different?
Why can’t you just handle this properly?”
“How is extracting a location from one person that difficult?
You even hired someone specifically to get through to him, and still nothing is coming out of it.
I need results, not conversation.
I do not want any more excuses, Raya!” he shouted at me as I stood there, trying to stay composed.
“You have to calm down.
You have to calm down.
This is not something we can rush, remember.”
“We did not tell Elara about our real plans, so we cannot push too fast or she will get suspicious.
We have to take it slow with her so she does not catch on.
She is doing her best, and she is the only key that can unlock Kael,” I said to him, hoping he would settle.
But he did not.
He just kept going.
“Do you even know what is happening right now?
My brother is going to come back very soon, and I cannot allow him to return and take this CEO position from me.
My father needs results.”
“He needs to see that I am improving.
He needs to see that I have the potential to remain as CEO.
I need to impress my father, and I cannot let my brother come back and undo everything.”
“Do you even know what that means?
If he comes back and I have not been able to do this one thing, if I am not able to impress him and show him that I am capable, even more capable than my brother,” he said, his voice rising with every word.
I just looked at him as he continued.
“I need results, Raya.
I need you to give me results, and I need them fast.
I am giving you one week.
Just one more week.
You have to get the location from him.
All the information we need, in one week.”
I looked at him, stunned.
“Just one week?
I don’t think that is possible.
You know I cannot force Elara to do anything.
And you know how stubborn she can be.
And she is the only key that can unlock Kael.
We cannot force him to give us information directly.
We have to work carefully through Elara.
That is the only solution,” I said, trying to reason with him.
But he would not hear any of it.
“My brother will soon be back, and do you think I have all the time in the world to just wait while you carefully manage someone’s feelings?”
“Can’t you threaten her?
Is there nothing you can use to make her move faster?
I am not happy with how we are handling this.
You are not someone who handles things this delicately.
I know you, and I know what you are capable of.”
“That is exactly why I left this in your hands.
And I need you to give me results, as soon as possible,” he said to me as I stood there, quietly working through the problem in my head.
I did not know how to proceed, because Elara was not someone I could simply pressure.
She did not even know the full plan, so I could not rush her without risking that she would figure out she was being used.
I tried to reason with George, but he would not hear it.
All he cared about was impressing his father and holding onto his position as CEO.
“Why do you always have to put everything on me?” I thought as I bowed my head to him.
“No problem.
I will try to get the information as soon as possible.
I will speak with Elara,” I said to him.
“You better, and you better do it fast, as quickly as possible, because I cannot afford to lose this position.
And if anything goes wrong, I am holding you responsible for it, Raya,” he repeated.
“You will be held responsible for anything that goes wrong,” he said to me as I simply nodded.
“Why does all of this have to come to a head right now?
Why is his brother returning so soon?
His brother’s return is the reason behind all of this panic,” I thought as I walked out.
I walked out of his office and went back to my own, slumping into my chair.
“What do I do?
How do I go about this, and how do I get Elara to step up her pace?
She is not someone who listens easily.
She is not that kind of naive or easily pressured girl.
I have to take a different approach,” I thought to myself as I leaned back in my seat.
Then an idea came to me, and I was quite pleased with it.
I smiled quietly, deciding I would put my plan into motion the next morning.
It was the most practical solution I could think of to make Elara move faster.
I packed up my things and got in early the following day, earlier than I had in a long time.
When I arrived, I saw Elara walking out of her office, and I stepped directly into her path.
“I didn’t know you came in this early,” she said to me as I just looked at her and smiled.
“I just decided to check in early today,” I said to her.
“Besides, what is happening?
You haven’t given me any information concerning Kael.
Haven’t you been able to get anything out of him?
This is taking far too long,” I said to her.
She just looked at me and scoffed.
“Do you think it is easy?
Do you think I can just get information from Kael just like that?
No.
I need to earn his trust, and I need to take my time.
And after all, this is not what we discussed.
This is not part of our agreement, and you promised that you would not monitor us by placing CCTV cameras inside the lab room where Kael and I work.
You are invading my privacy, and that is not acceptable. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
You are not supposed to do that.
We did not discuss anything about placing cameras there.
You gave me your word.
And now you are expecting me to give you results this fast?
No, that is not going to work.
I have to take my time with him, and I have to do it carefully.
And please, if you want this job done as soon as possible, I need my privacy back.
Remove the CCTV cameras if you want results.
The only way this gets done is if you cooperate with me and honor what you promised from the very start,” she said to me.
I glared at her.
“So you are making demands now?
Elara, do you really have that kind of confidence?
I am your boss here, not the other way around.
You do not give me orders.
At least speak to me with some respect.
The reason I placed cameras there is so I would know what you are discussing when he gives you information,” I said to her.
She could only look at me and shake her head.
“If you want me to extract information from Kael as soon as possible, you have to disconnect all the CCTV cameras and give us our privacy.
I need to talk to him carefully without any pressure.
You cannot keep rushing me.
We agreed not to rush this.”
I looked at her and shook my head.
“We play by my rules, Elara.
And when I say something, you of all people should know that I mean it.
I am giving you 48 hours.
Just 48 hours to get us the location.
You have to get it done in 48 hours, or you will not like what comes next.”
She looked at me and scoffed.
“What will you do?
There is nothing you can do to me, because you know that I am the only key to unlock Kael.
I am the only person who can talk to him and have him actually listen.
I am the only way for you to get what you need.
So what exactly are you going to do?”
I just looked at her and let out a short laugh.
“Wow.
Elara, you really do have a level of confidence that is something else.
I like your boldness, but sometimes your confidence can be your greatest liability.
You should be more careful about who you direct it at.
I am not someone you should be boastful and reckless in front of.
I am giving you 48 hours, and I mean it.”
“Yes, Elara, I mean every word.
See what happens within those 48 hours if you do not give me the information and the location I need.
I will eliminate Kael altogether.
I will just kill him.
Because if he is not able to give us what we need, he is useless to us.”
“I will kill him and use his remains for an experiment that will bring us far more.
I think that will motivate you, seeing as you two have gotten so close.
I am very sure you would not want that for Kael.”
“But if you do not give me the information I need before those 48 hours are up, trust me, Elara, you know I am a woman of my word.
Anything I say I will do, I do.
So if you don’t deliver before the time runs out, Kael will be out of the picture.
I will kill him, and I will do it right in front of you, so you can feel every bit of it.”
“You will carry that guilt for the rest of your life, knowing that you are responsible for his death, all because you took too long with information you could have handed over.”