Deal with a Devil Pt. 01

Rekha

She checked her reflection in the mirror as she made sure her long black hair, which was braided looked just right. Slowly, she reached behind her waist and took her braided hair around to her abdomen, checking again to make sure every strand was perfectly in place.

She knew that this day could not go wrong even slightly as she straightened her traditional wear in front of the mirror.

Rekha hailed from a family of immigrants who had come from India with nothing but their talent for cooking and a knack for business. Starting out with nothing, her parents had opened a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant and had steadily grown their business into a respectable and profitable chain of restaurants in the city. But, she felt that their journey to success over the years had cost them the charm that made them successful in the first place, by neglecting the unique touch they used to provide to their customers- the feeling of being transported to a different culture as they dined.

When her father offered her a position that would let her take over the marketing duties of the business, she had readily accepted the offer and had moved back home after six long years shortly after she had turned twenty-three. However, her father had wanted her to have a guiding hand as she learned the ropes in the business and his good friend John Dodsworth, who had been contemplating retirement recently, had offered to take Rekha under his wing and help her until she could find her footing.

Back in her room, Rekha applied the final touches to her traditional attire and practiced smiling at the mirror, admiring how the light bounced off her well oiled hair, while she made some final adjustments to her sari before she walked out of her office to meet John, in his office. If the plan she was introducing today worked, she was confident that word would spread fast around town and increase footfall marginally. But first, her father had wanted her to meet John and she found herself standing in front of his office, knocking softly on his door.

John

John already had one foot out the door, ready to hang up his skates, as thoughts of gaining a controlling share in the Iyer corporation faded, as the final brass ring was not available to him even by dint of hard work, given his foreign status.

This all changed with the prospect of working with Rekha, which sparked a new ambitious arc in his plans. He hadn't seen her since she was 17 but even then she was absolutely gorgeous, though she never got much credit for her native smarts and stunning beauty. He had always teased her for hiding her light under a bushel, a diamond in the rough. A confident knock on his office door.

"Come in.", he said firmly, eager to drink her in once again, no longer a girl but an accomplished young woman. Once more into the breach.

He couldn't quite reconcile the awkward Rekha with this poised young head of marketing in her traditional best, a veritable poster girl for the restaurant chain. She was marketing gold. Luckily he was a consummate performer so as he offered a seat, he didn't flinch though he was absolutely gobsmacked at her poise and self-confidence. Nonetheless, she showed appropriate deference to her superiors.

"Rekha, it's been ages! Such a pleasure seeing you again. And here's you, our new head of marketing, a move we should have made long ago. I've always been a big fan. So how have you been?"

Rekha

Rekha was relieved to meet John, because she knew that coming into the company directly after college was sure to ruffle a few feathers in the ranks. She knew fully well that she had just hopped over someone who was expecting to be promoted into her position and hence, she was grateful to see John, who she had known for a long time growing up.

Her family was indebted to him for getting them out of a tough spot a few years ago with timely financial assistance. As the years went by, he had moved into their business inch by inch and ended up owning a good percentage of the company through his shrewd strategic maneuvers. Eventually, when his stake in the business became his primary source of income, he had turned his attention completely towards the company and made himself a crucial cog in the wheel, which made him indispensable.

She walked in gracefully and took her seat across his desk when he offered it to her and studied his face briefly.

"I guess the past few years have been stressful in the business. He didn't have as many patches of grey hair or so many wrinkles around his eyes the last time I saw him.", she thought to herself.

Composing herself quickly, she listened before responding to his questions, "Thank you, Mr.Dodsworth. The pleasure is all mine. And I have been doing pretty well. How about you?", she asked him as her eyes continued to slowly shift between his gaze, which she found oddly intimidating, and the floor.

John

As an angel investor, he was well aware of the profitability of the Iyer clan. There was no-one better positioned to lead the new management team he'd been proposing. The Brahmin family head, Chairman of the Board was old school. John always had an eye for beauty and talent, as he was a value investor. He quintupled his profits betting against the US housing market bubble and was able to redirect his funds to the corporation, whilst steadily increasing his share and stealthily building his proxy votes. He was a razor thin margin away from a board majority, and Rekha held the key. He saw Rekha appraise him, as his six feet tall body relaxed on his leather chair, blue eyes piercing the woman sitting across him, the king of all he surveyed, and planned to possess, utterly.

"I am good and allow me to say, you are looking absolutely gorgeous. Where have you been all my professional life? Your beloved father has always underestimated you. I've always harboured the futile hope that you'd one day return to the fold. And here you are, the prodigal daughter."

He smiled genuinely.

"I have great plans for you."

He extended his large meaty hand, eclipsing hers, he was physically quite imposing, given his corn-fed Iowa farmer boy upbringing. He loved how her classic sari hugged her obvious curves, gorgeous, sensual and most absolutely proper, as befitting a woman of her class and stature.

Rekha

She gingerly extended her petite right hand to grasp his and felt the rough texture of his palm and noted how calloused they were.

"I hope to make a mark here too! And I look forward to learning everything that you can teach me and guide me through when we begin.", she said as she smiled slightly with her lips together, like she always did.

She did not know how close John was to acquiring a majority portion of the company since she had not been brought up to speed and sat there, thinking of the next topic she should talk to him about, given that the greetings were done with.

"Mr. Dodsworth, the reason I decided to dress up this way today is because I thought that our staff must be given a specific dress code to improve the atmosphere in our restaurants around the city. My research and the data predict a marginal but significant increase in footfall if we switch to being a themed restaurant and wanted to get your opinion on the issue.", she told him as she adjusted her sari slightly, covering her breasts better but exposing more of her soft navel that had an ever so slight amount of extra fat that she constantly battled with.

John

He felt that they were sizing each other up on many levels. And when beauty called, he was constantly scheming. At the mention of 'teach', he flinched slightly, going to an altogether different place at the speed of thought, were resilience and obeisance rules.

Her coruscating eyes, sensuous smile, native intelligence, eagerness to learn and to be carefully mentored, triggered competing feelings of affection and lust without mercy.

These thoughts were only barely kept in check. As he consciously controlled his breathing, he knew that she had no idea that the power of her youth and intelligence ruled out all other requirements. She was literally breathtaking and he wanted her something fierce and rapacious. But like the spider, he would weave his silky web, hoping to catch the skeins of her flowing hair, and burnished skin, she seemed wholly edible, be still his beating heart.

The touch of her petite hand in his rough but impeccably manicured hands electrified him.

He was sure his nostrils flared in Minotaur-class arousal, but he carefully repressed these raw feral urgings. His emotions roiled just below the smooth sheen of his executive demeanour. A true master of the universe, always on the make.

"I like the modern approach you bring to this admittedly hide bound organization. That's exactly the kind of new thinking we need around here. Keep that up and I'll appoint you VP of marketing if you make your numbers. We need not be afraid of failing. Did you bring any concept designs? What's your rollout plan, soft release or overnight reset? What does your market research tell us? Did you wargame this with your staff?"

He wanted to see if she came prepared for this rapid fire inquisition. Despite his command of the facts and years of business acumen, he still couldn't keep his eyes from following the promising swell of her breasts and the sly reveal of her belly button. He shifted uneasily, not wishing her to notice his instant arousal. He was in charge in here. But he also wanted her to know, he was not made of stone.

Rekha

As she heard his tone change to one of command and authority when he started talking about her plans, she immediately panicked and felt her skin tingle. Not wanting to look anything less than a talented strategist, she immediately reached for a piece of paper on the desk and grabbed a pen that lay nearby, with her slightly shaky hands.

But, she quickly realized that she was not in a position to answer most of his questions and filled in as much relevant data as she could on the blank piece of paper in front of her.

"I specifically had this outfit I am wearing, tailored to be an example of what I want the women working for us to wear.", she said, her composed speech pattern speeding up in her nervousness as she began explaining the plan to him.

She continued, "And I thought we could begin trials at our worst performing restaurants to see how it works. And if it does, my next plan is to redesign the seating layouts and the art we use within our branches."

She looked up at him finally as her speech evened out to normal once again with her big, guilty eyes and said, "Sorry that I don't have the detailed data with me. Can we please not mention this to my dad? He would only think I am incompetent again if he got word that there was the slightest hint of mistake on my end."

As she spoke in a pleading tone with guilt in her yes, her face broke out into the best fake-genuine smile that she could muster for the first time that day.

John

He noticed the subtle effect on her as he took charge and fleshed out her well-laid but lightweight plans. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, even more perhaps.

She flinched slightly but jumped back into the ring, he liked that, when cornered she fought her way back out. He was going to make her earn her place, show her talent, stick to her guns. He didn't want a doormat, he needed someone who would get things done, and pronto, with minimum ceremony and maximum results. He was after all, a shrewd businessman, unencumbered by byzantine family ties, dutiful entanglements, social expectation, he was a change agent. And so would Rekha be, under his tutelage; more than she would ever know.

"Rekha, you know I'm going to be harder on you than anyone in our entire organization. The less enlightened and permanently stupid amongst us will think you've been given this position out of nepotism. But you've earned it, and you need to seize the brass ring. This is a zero sum game, a Darwinian one in fact. If you win, someone will lose and you will move up the ranks. It's the law of the jungle, natural selection. And I make the calls. Now you want me to protect you from your father's inevitable wrath at your potential failure? Why would I place myself in such an indelicate, no-win position?"

I smiled, but I was serious.

"Where's the catch?"

This was business, no need to mince words, direct and to the point was my cultural style.

Rekha

Her smile slowly turned into a frown as she listened to him speak and her mind worked quickly and she decided to use a card she knew she could use to her advantage every now and then, "But Uncle Johnny, you have seen how critical my father gets even to the smallest of mistakes. You saw it all before I left for college. I didn't think he would even consider me for this position and he will surely just ask me to step down and start trying to marry me off to one of the sons of his partners. I really need this project to work if I am to make a name for myself.", she pleaded with him again, the look of guilt back on her eyes. But, she knew this had little chance of working on a man who was so experienced and hoped her trick would work.

"And when I gradually rise through the ranks, I would obviously keep this in my mind and owe you a favor or two, down the line.", she gave him a half smile again before she continued, "This won't become a habit, I promise. I was too nervous and forgot to get you the data, that is all.", she tried reassuring him, placing her hand on top of his, squeezing it gently.

He had proven within a few short minutes that he was intelligent and he had also managed to impress her with his authoritative and commanding demeanor. And that was when she realized that there was probably a lot of knowledge that she could pick his brains for.

John

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Your father's passion is what makes him great as he single handedly built this organization against impossible odds. In this large beast of an organization, to be feared is to be admired."

He saw in her face that this was not the news that she expected to hear, despite deploying her feminine wiles. He wasn't altogether immune but he was also no pushover.

The very opposite in fact. The harder you pushed the harder he pushed back. He prided himself in his preparation and a preternatural ability to both distill the problems and aggressively implementing solutions in a timely manner. No slackers in his organization, eat or be eaten. Simple as that.

Once she put her hand on his, he softened visibly and hardened invisibly. All innocent, until it wasn't, until proven guilty, with sweet malice aforethought.

"Having said that, I've always thought you've been shabbily treated. I suspect that your father thinks he knows best but right now this is strictly a business decision. I've got your back and will run interference. You're going to need to earn my protection. I'm sure we can work something out. Remember, this is just business, nothing personal."

He looked at her eyes, a window to her ambition, excited, ready to commit and he drank her in, like a man who had come upon an impossible oasis.

"I am quite impressed by the uniform, are you sure it won't fall askance of the puritans in our ranks? I think there's a poorly performing subsidiary near 7th cross Road, close to the Orion mall. What do you think of that as a test location? Will you be able to handle that yourself? Realize I'm taking a calculated and thoughtful risk, you will not let me down."

He was very stern but moved. Rekha was going to shake up this organization in the best way.

"We'll be partners in crime."

Taking her hand in his, he made a show of kissing the back of it, deploying some old school charm. The taste of her skin lingered on his lips and he wanted more but heaven could wait, for a while yet.

Rekha

When she saw that her words did not have the intended effect on him, her frown almost returned to her face. But as her hand touched his, she could feel something change in the air between them and she was sure that he felt it too, for at least a fraction of a moment. From that point, she decided to stick to her natural response to men who had an air of authority about them. As she began going into her shell slightly, she felt her timid nature come back strongly and she started averting her yes and started looking down at the floor or anywhere else, avoiding eye contact with the man in front of her.

He had shaken her confidence and her carefully constructed persona without breaking a sweat and her insecurities had slowly begun resurfacing as he spoke about how she had been treated as a teenager in her household. As she absent mindedly nodded her head to his words, she mustered up as much of her confidence as she could and looked up into his eyes, only to note that he was already looking into hers from across his desk like a predator stalking its prey.

When he questioned her about the outfit, she was relieved and started speaking again, albeit in a much softer tone this time, "That is a great idea, Mr. Dodsworth. Orion Mall is also one of the locations I had in mind. I might need a team of two people to handle logistics but I think I will be fine. And I am not going to let you down, at all.", she said her voice sounding drained after his expertly done questioning that had felt like an interrogation at times.

And at that moment she felt her petite hand being lifted effortlessly lifted off his desk only for his lips to approach the back of her hand. As she felt his lips on her skin, it felt like the spot burned, considering the state of mind she found herself in. He had stripped down every false wall she had put up to deal with him and had subtly moved in for a bite when she was at her most vulnerable.

She couldn't help but inhale sharply. Though she had tried to disguise it, she was not sure if he had noticed the effect his simple act had had on her.

John

He noticed her submissive power, how her need to be guided placed a reciprocal responsibility upon him to discharge his mentorship with wisdom, respect and devotion. Topping from the bottom. When coupled with that look of defiance in her eyes, daring him to take charge, he was almost shaking with lust, but once again he mastered himself, but oh just so very barely. Rekha was a power unto herself. All the more since she didn't actually know her own strength. He was after all a value investor, buy low, sell high.

He was experienced enough to know this dance. This was tightrope walk, with no net, and as a member of the fearless Flying Wallenda clan, the stakes could not be higher. One false move with the chairman's daughter and he'd be out in the wink of an eye. Once he secured a controlling interest, the tables would be turned and his long game validated.

As Rekha moved to leave, he subtly asserted his animal power, rising above her, as she looked up at him, he was tightly coiled, an apex predator, born for this. He gently held her arm, crouching down, enjoying her proximity, he could take her now, and they both knew that. Postponing gratification, such an edging dance they shared, he spoke softly with no hint of menace, just a promise.

"You'll get anything you want, as long as you're prepared to work hard for it. Now go out there and make me proud and don't bother me with any updates or key performance indicators or some death by powerpoint bullshit. Get me results, because we're coming up in a month to our quarterly reports and I want an outlier. Your marketing savvy will be the outlier, for all to see. Are you up to the task? Show me that you are. I'm all eyes and ears. Go forth and conquer."

He smiled, Rekha was stunning but she was also a woman on a mission to please and conquer. He knew she was motivated. So was he. He would protect her from the ignorance of the clan and allow her to shine, her own manifest destiny. His own ultimate, patient, accession to the throne.