SidNaaz: Worst Betrayal Ever?

Face Off With Sajida

Feeling better?" Samar asked the next morning. Dryly, he added, "Mary said she was talking about Sajida and it made you ill."

Shehnaaz's face was pale but composed as she closed his office door and handed him the sheet of paper she'd just rolled out of her typewriter.

He unfolded it and scanned the four simple lines. "You're resigning for personal reasons"what the hell does that mean? What personal reasons?"

"Irfan Siddiqui is a distant relative of mine. I didn't know until yesterday that Sajida is Sid's mother."

Shock jerked him erect in his chair. He stared at her in angry confusion, then he said, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you asked why I was resigning."

He watched her silently, the rigidity slowly fading from his features. "So you're related to his mother's second husband," he said finally. "So what?"

Shehnaaz hadn't expected an argument. Exhausted, she sank into a chair. "Samar, when is it going to occur to you that as Irfan Siddiqui's relative, I could be spying on you for him?"

Samar's eyes turned sharp and piercing. "Are you, Shehnaaz?"

"No."

"Has Siddiqui asked you to?"

"Yes."

"And you agreed?" he snapped.

Shehnaaz didn't know it was possible to feel this miserable. "I thought about it, but on my way to be interviewed here, I decided I couldn't do it. I never expected to be hired, and I wouldn't have been..." Briefly, she told him how she had met Sidharth that evening. "And the next day you interviewed me and offered me a job."

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "I wanted to be near Sidharth. I knew that he worked in this building, so I accepted your offer. But I have never relayed one bit of information to Irfan."

"I can't believe this," Samar said shortly, rubbing his fingers over his forehead as if he was getting a splitting headache. The moments ticked away in silence. Shehnaaz was too desolate to notice or to care. She simply sat there, waiting for him to pronounce sentence on her. "It doesn't matter," he said finally. "You aren't quitting. I won't let you."

Shehnaaz gaped at him. "What are you talking about? Don't you care that I could be telling Irfan everything I know?"

"You aren't."

"How can you be sure?" she challenged.

"Common sense. If you were going to spy on us, you wouldn't walk in here to resign and tell me you're related to Siddiqui. Besides, you're in love with Sidharth, and I think he's in love with you."

"I don't think he is," Shehnaaz said with quiet dignity. "And even if he is, the minute he discovers who I am related to, he won't want anything to do with me. He'll insist on knowing why I happened to apply for a job at SFK Corp, and he'll never believe it was coincidence, even if I was willing to lie to him, which I'm not... "

"Shehnaaz, a woman can confess almost anything to a man if she chooses the right time to do it. Wait until Sidharth comes back, and then""

When Shehnaaz refused with a firm shake of her head, he threatened, "If you resign without notice like this, I won't give you a good reference."

"I don't expect one."

Samar watched her leave his office. For several minutes he was very still, his brows drawn together in a thoughtful frown. Then he slowly reached out and picked up the telephone.

Mr. Khan." The secretary bent down beside Sidharth, her voice lowered to avoid disturbing the seven other major Global industrialists seated around the conference table discussing an international trade agreement. "I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but there's a Mr. Samar Malik on the phone for you..."