Chapter 2 — The First Meeting
1729 Words
Chapter 2 — The First Meeting
The rain had stopped by morning, but the city still looked drenched in silver.
From the forty-second floor of AstraVex Technologies, the world below appeared tiny and distant—exactly how Mihir Raichand preferred it.
Distance meant control.
Control meant safety.
Mihir adjusted the cuff of his black suit while reading the encrypted report displayed on his tablet. Rajiv Malhotra had confessed everything during interrogation.
Data leaks.
Illegal crypto transfers.
Connections to the Serpentine Network.
But one thing bothered Mihir more than all of it combined.
Nyx.
The hacker who had breached his systems like they were children’s puzzles.
The woman who somehow predicted his poisoning attempt before it happened.
And now…
The woman who refused to meet him.
Mihir’s jaw tightened.
He hated unpredictability.
His phone vibrated.
UNKNOWN NUMBER.
He answered immediately. “Speak.”
“You’re being followed.”
A female voice.
Calm.
Sharp.
Nyx.
Mihir stood instantly and walked toward the glass windows overlooking the streets below.
“Where?”
“Black SUV. Two cars behind your building exit.”
Mihir’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“How do you know?”
“I know everything connected to Serpentine.”
Something about her voice irritated him.
Too confident.
Too calm.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” Mihir said coldly.
“And you’ve been trying to trace me.”
Silence.
Then, unexpectedly, he almost smiled.
Almost.
“Meet me,” he demanded.
“No.”
“That wasn’t a request.”
“Good for you, Mr. CEO.”
The line disconnected.
Mihir stared at the phone for several seconds.
No one spoke to him like that.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Just sarcasm and audacity.
Strangely…
He wanted to hear it again.
—
Across the city, Maya Verma sat cross-legged on her chair, surrounded by glowing monitors and empty coffee mugs.
Naina walked in carrying grocery bags.
“You’re smiling.”
Maya immediately stopped smiling.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m absolutely not.”
Naina dumped the bags on the kitchen counter dramatically. “The scary CEO is flirting with you, isn’t he?”
Maya nearly choked on her coffee.
“He threatened me.”
“That’s rich-people flirting.”
Maya rolled her eyes and typed rapidly across her keyboard.
On one screen appeared live security feeds from AstraVex.
On another, encrypted Serpentine communications.
And on the third…
A photo of Mihir Raichand from a business magazine interview.
Dark hair.
Sharp jawline.
Cold eyes.
Annoyingly handsome.
Maya stared at the image for a second too long before minimizing it immediately.
Naina gasped loudly.
“Oh my God, you think he’s hot.”
“I think he looks emotionally constipated.”
“That means yes.”
Maya threw a sanitizer packet at her.
Naina laughed uncontrollably.
Before Maya could threaten murder, one of her monitors flashed red.
Her expression changed instantly.
Serpentine activity detected.
Maya leaned forward.
Encrypted messages flooded the screen.
TARGET: RAICHAND
PHASE TWO APPROVED
Her stomach tightened.
“They’re moving again,” she muttered.
Naina’s smile disappeared. “What now?”
Maya stood immediately.
“Now I do something incredibly stupid.”
—
Three hours later, Mihir arrived at the underground parking level of AstraVex.
Two security guards followed him at a distance.
He hated bodyguards close to him.
Too near.
Too contaminating.
His footsteps echoed sharply against the concrete floor.
Then the lights flickered once.
Mihir froze.
A voice echoed softly through the parking garage.
“Your security team is terrible.”
Mihir turned instantly.
And saw her.
Black hoodie.
Dark hair falling messily around her face.
Fingerless gloves.
Sharp eyes hidden partly behind clear glasses.
She stood casually beside a motorcycle like she belonged to the shadows themselves.
For a moment, neither moved.
Maya blinked once.
Oh.
Oh no.
Why was he even more handsome in real life?
That should be illegal.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Perfectly tailored black suit.
Cold expression.
And eyes so intensely dark they looked dangerous.
Maya’s brain betrayed her instantly.
Handsome.
Very handsome.
Unfortunately handsome.
Mihir stared at her silently.
This was Nyx?
The legendary hacker feared across international cybercrime networks?
She looked younger than he expected.
Smaller too.
But her eyes…
Sharp. Intelligent. Untouchable.
Beautiful.
The word appeared in his mind unexpectedly.
Beautiful.
Mihir immediately became annoyed with himself.
Maya crossed her arms. “You keep staring.”
“You’re late.”
“You’re welcome for saving your life.”
The security guards stepped forward cautiously.
Maya noticed instantly and frowned.
“If they come closer, I’m leaving.”
Mihir raised one hand slightly.
The guards stopped.
Maya relaxed only a little.
Interesting.
Mihir studied her carefully.
“No cameras?” he asked.
“I disabled them.”
“Of course you did.”
A tiny smirk appeared on Maya’s lips.
Mihir noticed it immediately.
Dangerous smile.
The kind that looked rare.
“You wanted to meet,” Maya said. “Talk.”
Mihir walked closer.
Maya instinctively stepped back.
Not fear.
Distance.
Calculated distance.
Mihir noticed that too.
“You don’t like people near you,” he observed quietly.
Maya narrowed her eyes. “You either.”
Silence settled between them.
A strange silence.
Not awkward.
Careful.
Like two people testing invisible boundaries.
Mihir spoke first. “Serpentine wants something from AstraVex.”
“They already have something,” Maya corrected.
“What?”
“You.”
Mihir’s gaze sharpened.
Maya pulled a small device from her pocket and tossed it toward him.
Mihir caught it carefully.
USB drive.
“I copied files from Rajiv’s encrypted database,” Maya explained. “Someone inside AstraVex approved human surveillance testing.”
Mihir’s expression darkened dangerously.
“What kind of testing?”
“Behavior prediction software.”
Mihir went still.
AstraVex had developed AI monitoring systems for cybersecurity.
But this…
This sounded illegal.
Maya continued softly. “Serpentine wants control of your neural-pattern algorithm.”
Mihir’s jaw tightened instantly.
Only five people in the world even knew that project existed.
“How do you know about that?”
Maya tilted her head slightly. “Because I hacked it.”
For the first time in years, Mihir almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because she said it with absolute confidence.
Like rules simply didn’t apply to her.
“You’re reckless,” he said.
“You’re arrogant.”
“You broke into my servers.”
“You got poisoned.”
“That happened once.”
“That happened yesterday.”
Mihir stared at her.
Maya stared back.
Then unexpectedly—
Mihir noticed a tiny sanitizer bottle clipped to her hoodie pocket.
His eyes paused there.
Maya noticed immediately and sighed dramatically.
“Yes, I sanitize everything.”
“You carry portable sanitizer.”
“You clean your keyboard every seven minutes.”
Mihir’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You were watching me.”
“You’re easy to monitor.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“That’s not my problem.”
Another silence.
But this time…
It felt lighter.
Maya hated that.
Because she almost enjoyed talking to him.
Which was deeply concerning.
Suddenly footsteps echoed from the far side of the garage.
Maya’s expression changed instantly.
“Move.”
Before Mihir could react, Maya grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind a concrete pillar.
The contact lasted less than two seconds.
But both froze.
Mihir’s entire body went rigid at the sudden touch.
Maya immediately released him.
“Sorry,” she said quickly.
Mihir’s breathing became uneven for one dangerous second before he controlled it again.
Maya noticed.
Noticed the panic.
The discomfort.
The instinctive tension.
Germophobia.
Severe.
And suddenly something inside her softened slightly.
Voices echoed nearby.
Two men walked through the parking area pretending to talk casually.
Maya watched them carefully.
“They’re Serpentine watchers,” she whispered.
“How can you tell?”
“One’s wearing an earpiece. The other scanned exits twice.”
Mihir looked impressed despite himself.
The men disappeared after several seconds.
Maya stepped back cautiously.
“You need better security.”
“And you need better social skills.”
She blinked.
Then laughed unexpectedly.
A real laugh.
Soft.
Brief.
But genuine.
Mihir stared at her again.
Beautiful.
Even more when she smiled.
Maya noticed him staring and immediately cleared her throat.
“Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Looking at me like you’re analyzing stock markets.”
“I analyze threats.”
“Wow. Romantic.”
“I wasn’t being romantic.”
“Good. That would’ve been terrifying.”
Mihir almost smiled again.
This woman was impossible.
And yet…
For the first time in months, talking to someone didn’t exhaust him.
Maya checked her watch.
“I have to go.”
“You’re leaving already?”
The question escaped before Mihir could stop it.
Maya looked mildly surprised by it too.
“Yes. Some of us have jobs.”
“You hacked a billion-dollar corporation from your apartment.”
“Exactly. Busy schedule.”
Mihir stepped forward slightly. “Work with me.”
Maya blinked.
“No.”
“I’ll pay you.”
“I already steal from rich criminals occasionally. I’m comfortable financially.”
Mihir folded his arms. “You’re refusing because you don’t trust me.”
Maya looked directly into his eyes.
“Correct.”
The honesty hit harder than expected.
Mihir nodded once slowly.
“Fair.”
Maya hesitated for a second before speaking again.
“You’re not what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“A robotic billionaire who yells at employees and bathes in sanitizer.”
“I do yell at employees.”
“I noticed.”
“And I don’t bathe in sanitizer.”
Maya looked unconvinced.
Mihir sighed very slightly. “Only during flu season.”
She laughed again.
God.
That laugh was dangerous.
Maya stepped toward her motorcycle and put on her helmet.
Before starting the engine, she looked back once.
“Mihir.”
It was the first time she said his name.
Something strange tightened in his chest.
“Hmm?”
“Try not to almost die again.”
Then she drove away into the dark parking exit.
Mihir stood motionless long after the sound disappeared.
One of his guards approached carefully. “Sir… should we follow her?”
Mihir’s eyes remained fixed on the empty exit.
“No.”
“Sir?”
A faint smirk touched Mihir’s face.
“She’d know.”
- Writer
