Rich Brat: Sweet Revenge Of A Lazy Princess

Solemn air prevailed in the room. There was pin-drop silence. Shreya sat on the head of the table as always. But her usual easy-going face was absent today. Instead today, her face seemed tense and extremely stressed. There was a palpable tension in the air that was almost suffocating.

Everyone around just sat there giving her the time to think and digest. The whole gang was present. Akash, Harshad, Pritham, Adam, and Zeenath sat around her. Anand and John were out of the country for business. They have all said and given their own opinions and suggestions and it was now time for Shreya to decide. But there was frustration in every one of them.

Even Pritham who always had a happy-go-lucky attitude looked very infuriated.

They had been trying to get evidence on the heads of the syndicate for 5 months now with no luck. They had many people working for the syndicate got arrested over the period but none of them was able to give anything useful in interrogation.

They have infiltrated at all levels but still, none of them were able to point out their leaders. The three – Abimanyu, Naren and Abishek- so far seem to have absolute anonymity. They couldn't trace the money trail either. There were simply way too many layers of transfers. Pritham is still working on it but it was a long shot. If Shreya hadn't extracted the names from Minister Rakesh personally herself, she would be having doubts if they even got the right people in the first place.

But she was sure the intel was good. It was just the levels of security was insane. No two levels of authority seem to interact within the organization for anything more than passing down orders. The chain of command and protocols are very strict and any deviation is punished with death.

Thus they were met with the dead-ends when it came to collecting evidence. They have evidence of a crime but they just couldn't link it to anyone significant in the system to use it as leverage.

"Shreya, the security they put over the finances is practically insane. I had tracked it through multiple high-security offshore accounts. The money just keeps bouncing around so many times that its almost impossible to track it down. They are not keeping the money in one account for more than a day!! It's not like they are afraid of it being tracked, it's almost like they are paranoid." Pritham complained frustrated.

Everyone around gave him a look and he shut up immediately. Silence prevailed all over again. All this time, Shreya did not even move a muscle. Only her eyes looked alert.

But then the whole atmosphere was hampered when someone pushed the conference doors open and Charan walked in. But his steps faltered and stopped seeing the atmosphere. The atmosphere was just way too gloomy. He had never seen everyone gather like this and the room to actually have this kinda stillness. With just Akash and Pritham around, the room will be bustling with life. But this time around there were actually about half a dozen people around and there was a complete absence of sound.

"Did I come in a bad time??" He asked hesitantly as his eyes landed on Shreya at last. She seemed ragged and on the edge. Her eyes… they looked completely emotionless. She looked as cold as ice. If he thought her business face was scary, her this face was sending chills down his spines.

Pritham was about to go up to Charan to greet him when Shreya suddenly spoke.

"You go to my office Charan. I will be right there with you…" She said in a very aloof tone. Her voice was devoid of any emotional attachment whatsoever.

This voice made Charan very uncomfortable on his feet. This was a Shreya he had never seen before. She was not the one he came to know over time.

"I can go if you are busy. I just swang by since I was in the area!!" Charan said looking at her uncertainly.

"Just wait for me in the office Charan… Please…" When she reached the last part, at last, some semblance of emotion seeped into her voice and when he looked into her eyes, they looked desperate.

So Charan just nodded his head and went back quietly.

Shreya then looked around and said, "We will follow Zeenath's suggestion. We will infiltrate from Naren's end (One of the villains). Obviously, he is the one with way too many vulnerabilities."

Naren was the youngest among the three. He was an impulsive, c.o.c.ky bastard who was all bark and no bite. He did not have a brain to use. And on top of it, he was a flirt. So it will give them the way in. If not for the power of his father, he would have been a useless nobody.

"But Zeenath won't be the one going undercover. Send someone else…" Shreya continued after a short pause.

"What?? Why??" Zeenath instantly asked jumping from her seat. She looked pissed.

"We have been seen together in way too many occasions Zee. One background check, one good lead… your cover will be blown. Its just way too risky…" Shreya said sternly staring Zeenath down.

Zeenath and Shreya were schoolmates. Zeenath was one of the scholarship kid and she was the only one who wouldn't get bullied. She was what you call street smart. She knew exactly what, when and where to speak. That highly attracted Shreya. So she approached her and after one hour in a coffee shop, they were inseparable until college. During college, they were separated due to circ.u.mstances and never met. That was until Shreya found her and brought her under the wing.

"I can handle it Shreya. Trust me. You know that to fool that fool, you need someone who can think quick on their feet and you know that I am the best at what I do. So let me do it. After all, that was what you had brought me in for right??" Zeenath argued without giving up.

"You could get killed in there Zee!!" Shreya, at last, said raising her voice which just pissed Zeenath off greatly.

"You think I don't know that!! You think I am a kid..?? Even as a kid, I knew exactly what that felt like so don't go all Captain America on me now. I have looked after myself all my life and I know perfectly well how to take care of myself. You don't have to babysit each and every one of us. You are not our nanny Shreya. We are all a.d.u.l.ts and we knew what we were getting into. So just stop it okay… I will approach Naren and I don't need your permission!!" Zeenath said sternly and walked away without giving Shreya a chance to say anything more.

Shreya felt like breaking something right about then. So instead she just took a bunch of files from under the drawer flung it across the table and walked away saying, "Get these to her. It will help." She then stormed out of the room.

The room was once again filled with silence.

The files had landed in front of Pritham. He reached out and curiously flipped through them. It was a detailed background on Naren. It was as deep as it could possibly be and personal. Even Pritham couldn't have gathered so much.

"How the hell did she know his drinking preferences??" Pritham wondered out loud.

"Well, that's the kinda things you come to know when you date an asshole!!" A voice spoke from behind him startling him.

"Oh, Zeenath. Stop scaring me like that!! I have a delicate heart!! And what are you still doing here?? I thought you went away pissed off!!" Pritham riled up questions.

But before Zeenath could answer any of it, Pritham's brows frowned. He felt like he was missing something that's when his brain decided to work again.

"Wait… What?? Shreya dated this asshole??" He asked shocked.

"Teenage is a tough age for wild spirits like Shreya!!" Zeenath said and just snatched the files off of Pritham and walked out of the conference room once for all leaving behind a room full of shocked men.