“Are you stalking me now?” Aria was startled when she heard a voice and turned around. Ellen was standing a few steps away with a furious expression on her face. “No! I am…,” Aria stammered in shock.
“This is getting ridiculous, Aria. I am calling the cops now,” Ellen pulled out her cell phone and started dialing.
“Wait! No. I am not stalking you at all,” Aria tried explaining and moved towards Ellen.
“Don’t come near me!” Ellen snapped. Aria could see the fear in her eyes. Was she afraid of her? Or was someone threatening Ellen to just look like she was being threatened? Aria wondered.
“Hello?” Ellen said on the phone. Aria couldn’t believe it! She actually called the police. In a split second, she reached for Ellen’s phone, who stumbled backward. “Oh, God! I am sorry!” said Aria instantly. “I just want to explain myself. Ellen, please! I was not stalking you at all!” she tried to explain in desperation. Clark grabbed Aria’s arm and gently pulled her away. “We need to leave, Aria.”
“But…,” Aria protested. “She needs to know.” Aria looked back. People had started gathering and looking at her.
Clark glared at her and offered a quick apology to Ellen, “I am sorry for the confusion. We are leaving. I am really sorry.”
“But I didn’t do anything wrong!” Aria continued to protest, but Clark urgently led her out of the store and into the car. He stayed quiet throughout the ride home until he stopped the car outside her house. “What have you been doing, Aria?”
“Nothing!” Aria replied.
“Don’t lie to me. Who was that woman? You really are stalking her, aren’t you? Why?” asked Clark. Aria took a deep breath, “I am not stalking anyo…”
“Don’t lie!” Clark snapped. “I saw her profile on your laptop. Is this about Coons? Are you still looking into it?”
“Clark! You don’t understand!” Aria started, but was interrupted by Clark, “Aria! You were lying to me!”
“Clark! Coons was innocent. He was being threatened,” she tried to explain as Clark shook his head. Aria was furious. He didn’t believe her. In desperation, she shouted, “I got proof!”
That got Clark’s attention, and he stared at Aria. “What do you mean?” Aria quickly explained what she found. “Why didn’t you go to the police?” asked Clark. “I… because… someone hacked my computer. Everything was deleted. Tanya and I tried…”
“You told Tanya?” interrupted Clark. Aria sighed, “I don’t know what happened between the two of you. I know guys are not each other’s fans, but can you please listen to me?”
Clark held up both his hands in surrender, “Sorry! Continue.” Aria explained what happened next, and Clark stayed quiet. He seemed deep in thought.
“Don’t you think that it’s a bit odd that the minute you told Tanya, your account was hacked?” he wondered out loud after a few seconds.
“What! No. She was the one who encouraged me to go back to the office and look at the rest of the emails. Why would she get my account hacked!?” Aria looked at Clark, flabbergasted. Clark shrugged. “It feels too much of a coincidence to me.”
“She is my friend! I trust her completely,” Aria replied angrily. “She would never do…”
“Are you sure?” Clark raised his eyebrow.
“Don’t you dare… don’t you dare try to blame my friend!” Aria snapped.
“Aria! I am just pointing it out to you. You thought Coons would never steal from the company, and then you found out that he actually was… yes, I know he was being threatened,” he added quickly when he saw Aria open her mouth in protest. “You said it yourself that someone was watching you, and they might have been monitoring your system. If that was the case, why didn’t something happen to your computer the minute you found those screenshots? They hacked into your system after you told Tanya. Think about it.”
Aria stared at Clark. She was angry at him. “Just leave me alone,” she said. She got out of the car and slammed the door shut. She walked straight to her front door without looking back. She leaned against the door after she went inside and closed it. Her mind was whirling. She tried to take a few deep breaths to calm herself down, but it didn’t seem to work. She washed her face with cold water and ran her head under the tap, hoping the cool water might calm her down. Unfortunately, it didn’t.
Her thoughts kept going over what Clark said. It is not true, she told herself sternly. Tanya would never do such a thing. Clark and Tanya don’t like each other, and he is just trying to mess with her head. But why would he do that? She wondered. Now that she thought about it. It did look suspicious that her system was attacked after she told her friend. She spent a few hours looking for other emails that day after she found the first screenshot. How come nothing happened then? They could have easily stopped her then. Why would they let her find two emails? Was Clark right? Was Tanya a part of it?
“Uggh!!” she bellowed in frustration. She shook her head. She couldn’t believe that she had started doubting her best friend. Tanya can never do such a thing!
“What the hell is happening!” she said loudly. She had no idea how her life unraveled so drastically in the past few months. She felt like the more she was trying to find the answers, the more confused she got. At this point, she even doubted her friend.
She walked into her kitchen and took out a few beers from the fridge. She gulped down the beer can in one go and moved to the next one and the third one. Her head started feeling dizzy. She grabbed the last two cans from the fridge and moved towards her couch. She wanted to stop her buzzing thoughts. She switched on her TV and increased the volume. She chugged down the next two cans. Soon enough, her head started spinning, and her eyes felt heavy. She rested her head on the pillow and let the darkness engulf her.
Aria woke up with a major hangover. Her ears were ringing, and her vision was blurry. She blinked a few times to clear her eyes. It was morning, and she was still lying on the couch. The buzzing in her ears continued. There were empty beer cans on the table and a few on the carpet. She tried to get up, but she didn’t seem to have the strength even to sit up on the couch.
Slowly, the ringing subsided, and she could hear her phone vibrating somewhere. There was also a commotion outside. People talking, urgent footstep sand she suddenly realized that someone was knocking on her front door. Her mind slowly processed what was happening in her surroundings, but her body was taking its time catching up.
She finally sat up on the couch and noticed her phone lying on the floor. She picked it up and saw there were 30 missed calls from Tanya and a few from Clark. There were a lot of unread messages too. The knocking grew louder and more urgent.
“Aria Raymond?”
Someone called out her name. The voice was unfamiliar.
“Open up. It’s the police.”
Aria was confused for a few seconds until she remembered what happened last night with Ellen. “Oh God! She actually made a complaint.”
She quickly got up, which was a bad decision as her head started spinning. She grabbed the arm of the couch to steady herself.
“Comin…,” her throat was dry. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Coming!”
She slowly moved towards the door and opened it. Two police officers were standing with an impatient look.
“Sorry. I was sleeping. Can I help you?” Aria blinked and squinted. The morning light was too much for her eyes.
“Ms. Raymond. There has been a complaint made against you,” informed the female officer.
Aria sighed. “Look. It was a misunderstanding!”
“Do you know Ellen Coons?” asked the male officer.
Aria nodded. Before she could say anything, the officer asked, “Were you following her?”
“No. That’s what I am trying to say. I wasn’t…”
The female officer stepped forward and looked at her notepad, “Ms Raymond. According to Mrs. Coons, you also harassed her in front of her house,” she raised her eyebrow.“ What!” Ari
a was furious. “I never harassed her! I just wanted to talk with her.”
“Is it true that she asked you to leave?”
“Yes. But…” Aria tried to explain.
“Yet, you stayed and kept on badgering her?”
“It was urgent. I…look…I honestly didn’t mean to…”The female cop interrupted her, “You went to her house three times.” she looked at Aria. “Then, you followed her to the supermarket.”
“No! No! She was mistaken. I never followed her there. I didn’t even know that she was there!” Aria replied. There was silence.
“I am not stalking her!” said Aria in desperation.
“I think you should come with us to the station to sort this out,” said the male cop.
“What! Are you arresting me?!” snapped Aria.
“Ms Raymond. Please calm down. No one is arresting you. Mrs. Coons filed a formal complaint against you. Her security camera shows you visited her house three times, once even waiting nearby for her to arrive home. Then, the scene at the supermarket…”
Aria sighed in frustration, “It was just a misunderstanding…”
“Which is why you should come to the station and get all of this sorted,” suggested the female cop. “Otherwise, there may be an investigation.”
“Fine!” said Aria. “But I want you to call detective Sanjay. I will only talk if he is there.”
The cops exchanged a confused look, but replied, “We will see what we can do.”
Her head was still spinning. “I need to freshen up. Is it okay if I meet you there in an hour?”
“Fine. But make sure that you are there in an hour,” the female cop replied with a hint of warning in her tone.
Aria sighed as she watched the cops turned and headed towards their car. Before she shut her door, she thought she saw Clark looking at her from his window across the street. She blinked and looked again. There was no one there. Aria shrugged and thought it was probably the aftereffects of her hangover.
An hour later, she reached the precinct. She felt like a human after taking a shower and having breakfast. Just when she was about to tell the receptionist her name, someone called her name, and she turned around.
“Detective Sanjay!” relief washed over her.
He walked towards her and nodded at the receptionist, “I will take it from here.”
“Ellen… Coons’ wife made a complaint about me. I honestly wasn’t stalking her!” blurted out Aria.
“I know. Just relax. We can talk in here,” Detective Sanjay led Aria in a room and closed the door.
“Those cops…” Aria started, but he held up his hand.
“Yeah. I heard what happened. They didn’t know who you were. When you asked them to call me up, I told them that I would handle this situation. So, you don’t have to worry about them.”
Aria sighed with relief. Detective Sanjay looked at her for a while and sat down next to her.
“Listen, Aria. I understand what you are trying to do. I know it must be frustrating for you, but you can’t go around harassing people…”
“I wasn’t harassing anyone!” Aria frowned.
Detective Sanjay pressed his lips together. He stayed silent for a minute. “I know you weren’t harassing her. But, that’s what she felt, and that’s how it all looked. I looked at the security tape of her home and the supermarket. You even tried grabbing her phone…” his voice trailed off.
Aria closed her eyes tightly. All of this seemed like an endless nightmare. She wanted to wake up from it. Run away from her life. The life that she hardly even recognized anymore. How the hell she got here. Someone accusing her of harassing! She thought.
“I know how it sounds. I just… I am just looking for answers. Everything… even your investigation reached a dead end!”
Sanjay gave her a sympathetic look. “I can imagine. It happens in situations like these. But you can’t let it get to you. I would suggest getting a few therapy sessions. We usually recommend them for people who have gone through a trauma. You might be experiencing PTSD. It is normal.”
“I am not. I am fine, honestly!” Aria responded instantly. “She knows something. I know someone has threatened her too…”
“Aria!” Detective Sanjay stopped her. “We have talked to her. We even looked into her after Coons was murdered. If she was hiding anything, we would have found out. She was devastated and was very cooperative too. She would have told us if there was anything.”
“But…” Aria started.
Detective Sanjay interrupted her again, “Look. If it helps, I will talk to Ellen again. I spoke to her before you arrived here. The good news is that she is willing to drop her complaint. She understands that you want to find out who did this, and she knows you cared about your boss.”
Aria felt relieved. At least one problem was over. She thought to herself.
“Okay.” She glanced at the detective. “But you promise you will talk to her again?”
Detective Sanjay reassured her. “You must also promise that you will stay away from her. If you pester her again, she will file a report against you for stalking her. You understand?”
“Yes.” She whispered.
“Do consider going to therapy sessions. It will be good for you,” Detective Sanjay advised. He pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to her. “This is usually the therapist we recommend. You can go to him or anyone you prefer.”
She took the card and forced a smile. “Thank you.” Aria got up, “I have to go to work now.”
“Don’t hesitate to contact me, okay? If you want to talk about anything, let me know.”
Aria nodded and slowly walked out of the building.
“Where have you been?” Tanya demanded the minute she noticed Aria.
Aria stormed past her and entered her office. She wasn’t in the mood for confrontations. Unfortunately, there was already someone sitting on her desk. Whitney Fox looked up from a file when Aria walked in. “Nice of you to finally arrive to work,” said Whitney as she leaned back in her chair.
Aria stiffened and dragged her feet towards the desk. Whitney nodded her head to the chair, and Aria sat down opposite her. She wanted to ask what she was doing in her office, sitting in her chair. However, she figured it would be best to keep her mouth shut and wait for Whitney to say something.
Whitney leaned forward and placed her hands on the table, “You missed work yesterday, and you have missed half the day today. Without informing anyone,” her eyes bored into her. Aria felt Whitney’s intense gaze but refused to look away.
“I wasn’t feeling well,” answered Aria. Whitney looked at her for a few more seconds and picked up a file.
“I am taking you off Cooper’s account,” stated Whitney, holding the file up.
“What! For missing a day of work?” Aria tried to keep her cool.
Whitney stood up, “You haven’t been able to keep up with this responsibility that comes with this position. It seems like you have started feeling the pressure.”
Aria stayed quiet. She was tired of explaining herself to everyone. That’s all she had been doing for the past few months. However, her job was the one thing that was keeping her sane. She had something to hold on to. She was furious, but she didn’t want this to be taken away from her.
“I am really sorry. It has been tough for me after what happened. I know I have lacked behind. But I assure you this will not happen again. Please! Please give me another chance. I won’t mess up. I haven’t messed up any accounts, you know it,” Aria argued. “I have worked hard on Cooper’s account.”
“You did. There is no denying it,” Whitney answered. “That’s why you are here. Unfortunately, you have not been able to keep up.”
Aria interrupted her, “I assure you. I have things under control.”
“Yeah?” Whitney’s mouth twitched. “So, are you prepared for today’s meeting?”
“Today’s meeting?” Aria was confused at first. Then her face went rigid. She had forgotten
entirely about her monthly meeting with Cooper and his team. Whitney could see it clearly on her face.
“I rest my case,” Whitney stood up. Aria remained seated. She couldn’t believe she forgot. Maybe Detective Sanjay is right, she thought. She should go to a therapist. Aria looked up. Whitney was still standing there, examining her face.
“I tell you what. You can still work on Cooper’s account, but you won’t be leading it anymore,” said Whitney.
Aria bit her lip, “Who will lead the account then?”
“Wayne.”
Aria repressed her anger and nodded. Whitney moved towards the door, reached for the door handle and stopped. “We have found a replacement for Coons, just so you know. He can start next month. So you won’t have to deal with all this responsibility much longer. I suggest you take a few weeks off once he joins.”
With that, she left. Aria lowered her head and buried her hands in her hair.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on her door. It was Tanya. Aria was still sitting in the same position. “You okay?”
Aria nodded her head. She didn’t know what to say. Tanya gently placed her hand on Aria’s shoulder, but Aria jumped to her feet. Tanya was taken aback. “What’s wrong?”
Aria’s head buzzed with what Clark had said about Tanya. She tried to read her friend’s face, but all she could see was confusion.
“Aria?” said Tanya. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Aria shook her head, “Nothing,” she curtly replied, “Do you want something?”
Tanya raised her eyebrow, and held up her hands, “Nothing. I was asked to tell you that the meeting is starting in ten minutes. You are supposed to attend it and take notes.”
Aria scoffed, “I bet you are enjoying this.” Tanya glared at her and stormed out of the office. Aria took a deep breath. Great! She thought. Just what I need right now. Wayne is taking over my most important account, and I am stuck taking notes in front of everyone.
Arbitrage Page 11
