Chapter 60_ A Mole?

Back at the hotel, instead of Kane and Arya returning to their room, They decided to hit the hotel’s gym to blow off some steam. Kane was on a bench, half naked, working on his chest, while Arya was doing pull ups right next to him. “Kane, What did you tell Al- Hakim about being sick? You seemed like two army buddies after you whispered in his ear.” Arya asked curiously, making Kane chuckled at her question.

“I told him I had a bad diarrhea attack, but I was too embarrassed to tell you.” He said, and Arya burst in laughter.

“Pffffff….. Hahaha.” She laughed so hard that she stopped exercising. “You are completely crazy, you know?”

“Hey, If it works, It isn't madness, it's genius.” Kane said, and Arya nodded.

“Well, at least that went well. But can you tell me what happened during the test drive? Who's that woman? One of your lovers then?” Arya asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"I wish I knew. Evelyn was someone I met in a club, and we hit things off. Later, A friend of mine introduced her as his girlfriend, and he was very serious about her but I knew Evelyn didn't really love him, and was just a whore so I set her up. I had her kissing me while my friend walked in on us at that moment, he broke things up with her, and well, also got angry with me and you know, we lost each other.” Kane explained, and Arya blinked at him.

"You risked your friendship for her?” She asked, almost popping her eyes at Kane.

Kane shrugged, "It's better than letting her ruin him, right?”

Arya shook her head at him, not having a response to that but when she recalled Kane’s surprised look when Evelyn was talking about the suspension and all that, she said, “You looked surprised when Evelyn talked about their plans."

"Remember the innovative suspension system that Evelyn was describing with such pride? It felt a little too similar to the new variable suspension system we are currently building for our concept car.” Kane said, and Arya exclaimed.

"What?”

"Yes, we sent the preliminary drawings to the Emilia- Romagna office three months ago” Kane said, and Arya shook her head in disbelief.

"What are you saying? Are we dealing with an industrial spy?” Arya said, and Kane nodded.

"I'm afraid that might be the case."

Arya sighed, and got to her bag and took out some stacks of papers, and Kane frowned. “What are you doing?” He asked,

"I have got here the documentation with all the specs and details and I’m going to read it on the exercise bike to hopefully find a clue.” Arya remarked, making Kane scowl at her.

“But It's almost midnight! Don't you think you should relax a bit?”

Arya shrugged, and hopped on the exercise bike with the documents as she said, “I have got twenty minutes to kill anyway, I don't mind working a little more.”

“I'm worried for you, Tigress. You will end up burned out if you keep pushing this way.”

"Don't worry, I’m fine.” Arya persisted, and Kane knew she wouldn't listen except he was gonna use force on her which he couldn't afford to do. Standing up from where he was as sweat glistened on his body, he said to Arya.

“I'm going to shower. Meet me in the room in ten minutes." Kane said, and Arya nodded as she watched him walk away while she buried her head on the files.


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As they laid on the bed, freshly showered, Arya resting her head on Kane’s chest, she said, “So, how do we plan to check the technical documentation and the final drawings to verify the mole theory? Don't you think we should inform your father?”

Kane shook his head, "Nah. My father doesn't want to hear about problems from his manager, he wants to hear about the solutions. I'm certain he will fire everyone if he learns of this. First, we need to figure out what's going on and figure out how to fix it. That's what managers do.”

Stroking her back with his hands, Kane continued, “You should interrogate the managers in a subtle way tomorrow, and the head manager, I heard he has a soft spot for beautiful women, so you should be able to get anything you want from him.”

Arya pulled away from his chest, and looked at him, "And wouldn't it make you jealous?"

“Are you kidding me? I burst with jealousy only thinking about it. But we have a mission, this is too important for the workers and the company.” Kane said, and Arya nodded.

“I will talk to the managers in the company and gauge their reactions. Any of them could be the mole, including the head manager.” Arya said, and Kane patted her head as he lured her to sleep.

The next morning, Arya went to the office very early as her hunting for the mole had begun, and Lewis was the first one in her crosshair. “Good Morning, Lewis."

“Buongiorno, Principessa. Is there anything I can do for you?" Lewis asked,

"Actually, yes. I know that you have managed the prototyping of a new suspension system for the concept car and I was wondering if you could show me the papers to see how things are coming along.” Arya commented, and Lewis raised his brows at her.

“You want to see the technical documentation? But that's not really related to finance.” He said,

"I know, but I like to be thorough in my work. Can you help me or not?”

“Sure, I can help you review the documents if you want but first you need to get them from Marco.” Lewis said.

"Can't you access them?” Arya asked, her eyes looking for any subtle movements or reactions.

“Who? Me? No, I play the fife to enchant the clients. I don't have the credentials to access R & D stuff.”

"I see… Thank you very much." Arya said, and walked away from Lewis, searching for her next victim and that's when she found Martina in the relaxation zone, making herself an espresso.

“Hey, Arya, what's up?” Martina asked when Arya stood in front of her.

“Hi, Martina. Oh, you know, the usual things…. I'm trying to pull together all the loose strings of the project. Can you help me with something? The suspension docs? Arya asked, and Martina shook her head.

“I doubt it. It's an R & D product, it has nothing to do with marketing.” Martina responded.

"I just need some technical drawings to —-”

"Why don't you ask paper-girl? I am sure Victoria will be glad to help you. Accountants love to rummage through folders.” Martina said, as she cut off Arya's words. Martina gets back to her coffee, and scrolls pictures on her phone.

“Well…. Okay, Thanks.” Arya remarked as she went ahead to look for Victoria and she found her sitting at her desk. To Martina’s credit, she was rummaging through files.

“Hi, Victoria. I was wondering if you had access to technical files.” Arya said,

"What? Why? Martina asked,

"Well, I wanted to check some specifications on the new suspension system and —-”

Shaking her head, Victoria interrupted Arya, "Oh, no, no, no. I have access to files just if there is some accounting issue. In any other circumstances, we ask Marco.” She said, and Arya nodded.

‘I guess Marco is my only option.’ Arya mused as she walked to the direction of his office, and saw him coming in. “Hey, Marco, how are you doing? Would you like to have a work dinner with me tonight?”

“Of course, it will be my pleasure. But to what do I owe the honor?” He asked,

“I would like to discuss the new concept car and take a look at the whole technical documentation and drawings.” Arya said, and Marco frowned.

"Wait a minute. I know you're here to supervise our work, but all the technical specs and designs are my responsibility. I handle them.” He said, his tone a little too serious.

"But —-"

“I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I won't make it tonight.” Marco said, and walked away as he closed the door of his office to Arya's face, leaving her blinking at the door.

‘Could he be the mole?’ Arya mused