Chapter 59_ Sorry Face

Kane had just entered the restaurant when he was supposed to be sick. “Kane? Didn't you tell me that he was sick?” Al- Hakim asked, looking at Arya.

“I….I don't know. That's what he told me.” Arya blurted out and mused to herself, ‘I don't know what makes me feel worse; lying or turning my own lie on Kane.’

“Arya, Mr. Al- Hakim, what a pleasure to find you here.” Kane said, bringing out a chair for himself.

“Yes, It's a pleasure for us as well. How is your cold?” Arya said with a forced smile, and batting her lashes at Kane, hoping he would understand, and cover up for her.

“My Cold?" Kane repeated, and Arya bobbed her head, as she winked at Kane frantically.

“Yes, your Cold. I was so sorry to hear you were sick this morning.” Arya continued her act flawlessly, and Kane nodded.

“Right ... .To be honest, I wish I could feel better.” Kane said, joining his tigress in the act, and Al- Hakim turned to Kane.

"But shouldn't you be at home or the hospital if you are sick?” He said, and Kane smiled at him.

"Mr. Al- Hakim, you shouldn't worry about that.” Kane said, as he leaned towards the man and whispers something in his ear.

“Oh, I see.” Al- Hakim said, patting Kane on the shoulder and nodded in sympathy.

The waiter soon came, and served them food, and drinks before going away from their table. “I am sorry for you, Kane. But it was very considerate of you to join us despite the circumstances.” Al- Hakim said, and Kane nodded.

"You don't even have to say it, It's a pleasure to have dinner with you and talk about cars.” Kane replied, as he took a sip of the mineral water on the table.

‘I don't know what Kane told him, but it worked well. We make a pretty good team.’ Arya mused as she looked at Kane, and mouthed a “Thank you" to him silently.

Kane winked, and blew a kiss through the air in a subtle way, making a smile graced her features.

“I was thinking that we should take a trip together to the Nicholas group of companies and let's see their trace track.” Al- Hakim suggested, and Arya frowned.

"But they're our direct competitor!" Arya said, and the man shrugged.

“I don't see the problem. Miss Linton — their new office manager personally invited me. I don't think she will mind If I bring a few friends with me.” He said, and Arya berated him in her mind.

‘Sure, friends. I bet he calls friends Nicholas' group of company employees as well, when we are not around. Al- Hakim manages business like an old fox.’ Arya thought and noticed Kane spacing out. What was he thinking about? She mused.

“They have quite an interesting vehicle at Nicholas group of companies. Have you seen it, Kane?” Al- Hakim said,

“No, unfortunately, not…..” Kane drawled, as if dealing with Al- Hakim was causing him to exercise a good control of patience when it comes to the man. Why would he be interested in his rival's cars when he hadn't explored all the cars in Maranello Enterprises?

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As they arrived at the race track of Nicholas' group of companies, Arya couldn't help but spotted a car that she knew pretty well. ‘That’s the son of a bitch that cut me off this morning. So, they were trying to sabotage our deal, huh?’ Arya thought as she fixed her gaze on the yellow sports car that had tried to slow her down that morning.

The door opened and a stiletto heel hit the asphalt as a beautiful woman with brown hair and sexy curves walked towards them. “Mr. Al- Hakim, I see you have some…people with you.” She said, and glanced at Kane with an haughty look.

"Evelyn?” Kane called out, stunned to see the woman he had had a fling with a couple of times.

Who’s she? Another one of Kane’s mistresses? Arya mused silently, and said, “Love your car, Evelyn. What happened to the right mirror?”

“Oh, I wasn't aware that you know each other.” Al- Hakim said, looking at Kane.

"What can I say, Mr. Al- Hakim? It's a small word in general, and the world of racing cars is even smaller.” Kane responded, and Evelyn nodded her head.

"True. But still, I wasn't expecting the son of Franko Maranello to pay a visit.” Evelyn said, not even bothering to look at Arya, her gaze fixed on Kane.

“The son of Franko Maranello? The king of the racetrack? I had no idea that I had dinner with sports car royalty. You should have told me, Mr. Maranello.” Al- Hakim commented, feeling glad that he had been nice to Kane even when he didn't know who he was. It wouldn't benefit him If he offended the Maranello's.

“I am trying to keep a low profile on this business trip to avoid unnecessary pressure on my Italian colleagues. And I would like to carve my own path, without leveraging my father’s name.” Kane said, and Al- Hakim nodded in approval.

“That's the way of Industrious men, proving themselves with facts, not words. I like that.” Al- Hakim said and turned to Evelyn, "I brought my new friends for the test drive. Who better than a competitor can notice every minor flow and off-beat detail?”

"I think It's a splendid idea. Our car doesn't fear any exam.” Evelyn said, as she grabbed the tarp that covered one of the cars lined up in the parking lot and unveiled the concept of the car. The car was a sleek bugatti veyron with the primary body black, with vibrant orange accents on the wheels, side mirrors, and parts of the bumper.

They all got into the car, with Evelyn taking the seat behind the wheel, and Kane sitting in the passenger seat while Mr. Al- Hakim and Arya sat in the backseat of the car as Evelyn drove off.

As Arya observed, she realized Evelyn was a smooth driver, and even paying attention. It was really hard to find anything wrong with the car. ‘They are doing a great job on this car. Closing this contract will be harder than I thought.’ Arya mused silently with a sigh.

When Evelyn exited the curve, the car started vibrating really hard. The rattling noise got so loud that Evelyn was forced to stop. Everyone got out of the car as they checked around the car to see what was wrong. “Is everything okay?" Al- Hakim asked,

“I am sure It is, Mr. Al- Hakim, but safety always comes first. I'm afraid we will have to interrupt the test drive. I'm very sorry.” Evelyn remarked, and Al- Hakim nodded at her.

"There is nothing to be sorry about. Without problems there is no innovation and concept cars should be all about innovation.” He said, and Evelyn beamed.

“I'm very happy to hear you say that, Mr. Al- Hakim. We are really pushing the boundaries of engineering with this car, with grade 5 titanium alloy in all our hydraulic suspension assembly and a very innovative suspension system with an AI tension regulator that will blow your mind on the next test, I promise.” Evelyn said, and Kane was taken aback by her words.

“It sounds very impressive already, don't you think Mr. Maranello?” Al- Hakim said, turning to Kane.

"Well, If it's a system that learns the driver's style and regulates the suspension rigidity accordingly….. I think I have to praise their engineers, because I would have done the same thing.” Kane replied.

As Kane and Al- Hakim were talking about suspension systems, Evelyn walked to Arya's side and whispered, “You decided to play dirty, b*tch? Well, I can play dirty too. I will destroy you.” She said, and Arya blinked at her. Wasn't she that crossed her this morning?

“Really? I would have loved to play a dirty trick on your sorry face to get even for this morning.” Arya retorted, nodding at the yellow sports car, "But unfortunately, you are so incompetent that you don't need my help to f*ck your little pepper grinder up.”

"How… How dare you…you." Evelyn stammered, shaking with anger as she glared at Arya.

“It will be a Joy to slap your fat *ss when we get the sales.” Arya said, and laughed as if Evelyn had said something hilarious to her as she walked away from her.