Chapter Nine - The Race

A/N: A shout-out to cmileyfreaky who understood the Harry Potter reference, though it wasn't a contest or anything, lol.

 

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Akash smiled slightly to himself, while packing away for work. He had been chosen to head the UK Deal, with Khushi. He was happy, for the deal was worth millions, and it would really boost his bar up the graph. He would have a better chance at that promotion, after the deal.

 

However, there was one problem... Khushi.

 

The world of business was a cut-throat race and you had two options. Win, or die trying. Akash was no newly-wed into this race, he knew one wrong step, and Khushi would tango him right out of the business. All of Gupta Corporation knew that the big job after the UK deal had two contenders, the first being Akash and the second being Khushi. Should Akash win the deal, he would be joint CEO. Something, which he knew that Khushi would not let happen. Akash knew he was a threat to Khushi, and he knew that Khushi knew that too. This was a war, and Khushi Kumari Gupta was one hell of an opponent. Nobody liked gambling with stakes this high, least of all Akash.

 

Something had to be done, but what?

 

* * *

 

Anjali stepped into the room, where the next customer was waiting for her. He would be the first this morning. Sometimes Anjali wondered how people could be up for sex early in the morning. But it was not her business to wonder about people and their strangeness. The stranger the people were, the better money she got.

 

The customer was standing with his back to her. She quickly proceeded to step out of the clothes, when the customer turned his face towards her. She smiled when she saw his face.

 

Shyam Manohar Jha promptly turned a bright scarlet.

 

“I..”

 

She waited for him to elaborate.

 

“I... was wondering if we could...”

 

“Talk?” she replied with a smirk. “Sorry, but for those things, you pay a shrink, not a whore”

 

At that, Anjali heard the door swish open, and turned back in surprise. “Now what?” she asked a visibly frightened Lavanya, who walked in quickly. “Devyani is away... she asked me to ask you to handle everything...” Lavanya replied, dragging the half naked Anjali out of the door - Shyam clearly forgotten. Lavanya quickly entered the door next to the room Anjali had just been in, and dragged Anjali in. “What should I do?” Lavanya asked her, as Anjali gazed up at the horrific sight.

 

Nirmala, the new girl, had hung herself from the ceiling. Below her rotating dead body, sat a woman, fully naked – with tears streaming down her face.

 

* * *

 

Devyani looked up at the dead body rotating from the ceiling. With her eyes, she gestured Anjali to take Lavanya and the crying woman out. Anjali was quick to comply, soothing the naked woman into walking to the next empty room, motioning Lavanya to follow behind.

 

Devyani kept staring at the young girl. What a waste of beauty, this girl could have gone far in the field. This would be the fourth suicide this month, funny how these girls had no spine, not being able to deal with life. But this dead body would have to be fixed, or questions would be raised and the business would crumble. Devyani reached for her phone and murmured softly into it, her voice soft and her instructions clear.

 

Moments later, the guards entered and minutes later, the body was out of the room. It would wind up in the sea somewhere, or maybe buried. She did not know, she did not care to ask.

 

The way Devyani saw it, Nirmala was officially out of the race.

 

* * *

 

Anjali tiredly walked back to her room. This would be the fourth suicide of the room, and somehow or the other, the same woman always happened to be a customer. It was a curious case... she had spoken to Nirmala ten minutes ago about her job. Nirmala had not seemed suicidal. Anjali knew a suicidal whore when she saw one. Something was missing, a key point. But what?

 

Anjali entered her room, tired – wanting to sleep her aching head away. She tiredly closed her eyes, stopping right outside the door, before swishing the door open and stopping short. She stared, unable to believe what

 

“Hello” Shyam Jha said.

 

 

 

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