Chapter 212 - To chat...

Back in the conference room, Shreya went over the bank data for one last time before turning towards Pritham.

"Where is the copy I asked you to make?" Shreya asked extending her palms out.

Pritham handed over a pen drive that was similar to the one her father had hidden behind the painting.

"But Shreya, be careful with that. Even though I had encrypted it… with the right person and right equipment, it will be a piece of cake to get into them and even though this will get out eventually… getting it out now will be very disadvantageous for us…" Pritham warned before placing the drive on her palms.

Shreya nodded and said, "Relax, Pritham. I know what I am doing. I have already thought of a way to use it to our advantage. I am not going to go around - flaunting it carelessly."

"You need anything else?" Pritham asked seeing as Shreya did not ask him to leave just yet.

"Yes… You know that time you told me Malini reached out to you… After you hacked into Abimanyu's company?" Shreya asked.

"Yes…" Pritham answered with a confused frown not understanding where Shreya was going with this.

"I need that mail id…" Shreya said bluntly.

"Why?" Pritham asked while his hands had already reached for his phones to retrieve it. "It is Malini's…"

"I know… That is why I need it. I need to meet with her as soon as possible…" Shreya replied. She typed down the mail at the same time.

"Why?" Pritham asked startled, "Do you have a death wish or something? First, you want to meet with Naren and now you want to meet with Malini. Did you forget who her father is?"

"I know who her father is Pritham… but more than that I know who she is too… so you don't have to worry. Now go on. That is all I need from you…" Shreya dismissed.

Shreya did not mean to actually hide her plan from anyone. But there were risks in this plan… risks she was not sure others would agree with. And even if they do end up agreeing, she was not she would be able to actually succeed in it. And until she did succeed, she did not see the point in getting everyone riled up over it and stressing them out.

Just as Pritham left, her system dinged.

It was a reply from Malini. She had started a chat instead of mail.

Malini: Hey, Shreya. What's up?

Shreya: I need to meet you. Face to face… As soon as possible.

Malini: When and where?

Shreya: You are free now? I can be at the café near our university in half an hour!

Malini: See you then.

Shreya got up from her place with the pen drive securely stuffed into her jean pockets. She was not that surprised that Malini had agreed so readily… Shreya had already expected as much.

Both of them knew each other enough to know that Shreya wouldn't have asked her out if it was not of absolute importance.

"Come on. Let's go… I have a meeting…" Shreya called out to Srinivas as soon as she walked past the doors of her office. And even this did not surprise Shreya… Srinivas waiting-up on her. And she had a feeling she had to get used to it by force or voluntarily… and she would rather voluntarily get used to it.

Srinivas quietly followed taking out the car keys.

"You talked to Zee?" Shreya asked pushing the button to the car park.

"Yup… managed to piss her off without saying anything actually," Srinivas replied twitching his lips slightly.

"Your talented I see… So, your plan to make her come to you… is it working?" Shreya asked curiously.

"So far. I didn't pull her to talk…" Srinivas answered. But you can see the slight gloating in his tone.

"Best of luck…" Shreya said smiling. She really wished things could work between the two. Zeenath had no other family other than her… so, when it came to Zeenath, Shreya really wished she could find someone special to accompany her for life. And Srinivas was perfect.

They both got into the car and Srinivas switched on the engine.

"Where to?" He asked driving out of the Imperial.

"There is a café… two blocks from my university. I am meeting someone there in half-hour." Shreya replied and closed her eyes to give them some rest. She did not have much of it in the past two days straight. And her head was starting to ache.

"Who are you meeting?" Srinivas asked next. Normally, he wouldn't have asked. But after the past two weeks, he had a better understanding of Shreya, and also since, her safety is his responsibility, he felt he needed to know.

"Malini… Abimanyu's daughter." Shreya replied without dodging the question. She was not really trying to hide it in the first place.

"For what?" Srinivas asked surprised. At lunch, Zack had given him a crash course on what was going on with her parents' investigation. So, he knew who Abimanyu was and what he had done to Shreya. So he was confused why Shreya was meeting up with his daughter… that too right after getting a breakthrough in putting Malini's father behind bars.

"To chat…"

Srinivas thought for a moment before something struck him. He suddenly remembered Shreya asking Pritham to make a copy of the evidence they had. Shreya wouldn't need them for her personal use since she can access them at her office whenever she needed to look them over. But Srinivas doubted she would be needing even that… as far as he saw Shreya, she seemed to have extraordinary memory whenever it suited her. So, he was pretty sure she probably had everything in there memorized by now. So that meant that the copy was for someone else's eyes and she was going to see Malini in such a hurry… So he asked out of the hunch, "You are going to give the copy of the evidence to her, aren't you?"

"Not bad. You guessed it right at the first go… Yes, I asked Pritham to make a copy because I wanted to give it to Malini." Shreya praised generously agreed to his assertion without batting an eye.

Even though he had a hunch, he did not expect himself to be right. So, Srinivas was actually taken aback for a moment there.

"Why? For what purpose?" Srinivas asked. Despite himself, his voice was actually slightly raised out of concern. It was not that he was doubting Shreya's ability or judgment but given the circ.u.mstances, it was really hard not to doubt.

"I know Malini. We studied together for 5 years. She is not her father Srinivas. They are not the same people just because they are related. They are two different people…" Shreya explained without really giving him a direct answer. It was not because she did not want to share. It was just that Shreya did not know how much of her plan will work out.

Even though it was a calculated decision she had made after analyzing all the facts… there were still some uncertainties and risks involved. And Shreya did not like to speculate things until they actually work out.

And on top of it, she did know how to explain her relationship with Malini.

"As long as you know what you are doing…" Srinivas at last relented. This was the Shreya he had always know. Decisive and confident to a fault.

He had always admired this side of hers. Even though she was so young, the maturity she had was mind-blowing on so many levels. And he had absolute faith in her strategy and decisions. He had seen them work on more than one occasion to the point where it almost seems like a miracle.

"I do know what I am doing Srinivas… At least I hope so." Shreya replied.

Neither of them spoke after that. The traffic was hell this time of the day. Normally, they could have reached the café in 10 minutes from Sri corp. But because of traffic, it took them almost triple that time. The car came to a smooth stop in front of the café.

Srinivas got down from his seat and opened the doors for Shreya while his eyes roamed around cautiously as always.

"You wait here… I will go by myself. Make sure she is not followed by anyone when she enters the café." Shreya said and got out of the car.

Srinivas nodded and waited. A few minutes later, a Bently pulled over, and a young woman alights the car and followed Shreya into the café.

Srinivas's eyes stayed on the road behind him. He made a round around the road before coming to a stop at the café all over again. Since he was not rest-assured, he actually went and sat at the table right the entrance of the café from where he could see every nook and cranny of the café.