As this flashed through my mind, it must have shown in my eyes too. And Anjali, like a predator, tasted blood.
In a cold hard tone she said, "The entire data manipulation. Who did it Das?"
I could feel myself being pushed inexorably towards the edge, the walls closing in around me, but was not going to give up without a fight. I wasn't ready to surrender, not yet. Pride swelled within - pride in my work, in the meticulous steps I'd taken to cover my tracks. Surely she suspected, but did she truly have any hard evidence?
I forced a nonchalant smile and said, "I didn't do it if that's what you mean. And I'm really too low on the totem pole to know who was behind it."
Her eyes narrowed, lips curling into a sardonic sneer. "Really?" she said sarcastically. "Then how is it the workbook edit history shows you having done most of the work on it in the past two months"
Keeping my expression impassive, I responded, "I do most of the data work for the team since I work fast and do good work."
Anjali pressed on, "But the team usually go to the area managers for such help. Why will they come to you?"
I shook my head, letting out a dismissive chuckle. "Them? They don't know the first thing about data science or Excel or databases. Even for their own work, they come to me"
The words left my mouth before I realized it. And I instantly regretted having spoken. I felt the noose cinch tighter as Anjali's lips curved into a victorious smile - one that never reached her eyes, which remained opaque and indecipherable.
"So, you did do it," she stated flatly, her gaze boring into me. "When they brought you their plan, you just couldn't resist the challenge. And you didn't even care about the consequences for me."
Wincing at how perilously close she'd hewed to the truth, I mustered one last defiant defense. "I never said I did it."
"Do you know something Das?", she said sweetly, startling me with the change in her tone, "A lot of that data work I assigned you was to test your skills. And you know what I found? You're the only one on the team with the ability and the balls to pull it off."
Despite the air conditioning, I felt a bead of sweat snake down my temple. Anjali saw it too as her hand darted out to catch the droplet on her finger.
"Look at this," she taunted. "The cool, strong, silent guy finally sweating. "Tell me. Does the team know? Do they know that their loyal teammate who they trust so much is actually a traitor?"
The word lanced through me like a barb, igniting an indignant flare. Through gritted teeth, I shook my head. "I am not a traitor!"
But Anjali was already advancing, her lithe form suddenly near enough for me to feel the warmth radiating from her body. Then she put her arm around my neck and whispered into my ear, "You know what I am going to do? I am going to tell the IT department to confiscate your laptop and give me access. I am sure that an arrogant bastard like you will still have all the working files. Then I will take it all as proof to the management and say that not just the area managers but the whole team was involved in this and get you all fired. And I'll definitely tell the team that it was all because of you."
The ground tilted violently beneath my feet as all pretense of leverage evaporated.
"Anjali, I am terribly sorry. I did not know it would go so far" I managed to say, having run out of options.
"Yes, you did. Now do you feel what I felt like as a result of your skills?", she whispered. She was now very close. I could feel the softness of her breasts against my chest. My mind was stretched to breaking point swinging between arousal and dread.
"But I am willing to give you a chance. If you will do as I say" she said now giving me kisses down my neck. "Do we have a deal?".
"I will", I said now completely overpowered by her words, scent and touch.
"Good. Now let's seal the deal", she said just before passionately kissing me on the mouth. I kissed her back just as passionately as all of my pent-up tension exploded into that one kiss. Without thinking my arms went around her and easily lifted her off the couch on to me. At that moment, she seemed weightless.
For what felt like an eternity, we were lost in each other, with my one hand melding her body to mine and the other hand exploring the curves and valleys of her lithe form. It was a cataclysmic release, every fiber of my being surrendering to the primal hunger that detonated through my veins.
But even in those moments of unbridled passion, I could hear an almost inaudible whisper of dissonance from the deepest quarantined remoteness of my consciousness. A whisper voicing an unwelcome thought – That I was being soundly outmaneuvered, overwhelmed and overpowered.
Finally, she broke the kiss to gasp, "You are crushing me"
I came down from the haze to find her face still touching mine. Her eyes were smoky and unfocused from the kiss. Then I realized that my left hand was melding her body to mine while my right was under her dress tightly holding her thigh. I reluctantly let go. Both of us registered where we were and moved apart.
Then she started to get up. I stood up hurriedly apologizing. "Anjali, I am sorry. I didn't know what I was doing. Please don't…"
She stopped me before I could speak further. "I am not leaving you idiot," she said still breathless. "I am going to the loo. You messed me up in just one kiss. Be right back"
Then she turned back and said sharply, "Don't even think of leaving. We are not done yet"
The thought had crossed my mind but that sentence dashed it. My mind was befuddled and I just couldn't get my brain to work. Matters weren't helped by the fact that I had a raging hard-on. I would just have to wait and see this through.
Anjali came back composed and in her steely mode. As she slid in she said, "My back is starting to bruise. Next time please be careful"
"There's going to be a next time?" I asked evenly.
The comment startled her. Then she gave her crooked smile and said mockingly, "Pulled ourselves back together, have we?"
Saying this, she picked up her drink, moved right up to me and handed me my drink.
"Now where were we before the kiss?" she said and my heart started beating faster. "Oh yes, you making life very difficult for me. Now you are going to tell me everything. Whatever you did." Her eyes bored into mine as she said this. "And if you lie or hide anything, I will know"
The smell of peppermint, alcohol and her perfume came together to create an intoxicating mix. I tried to move back but my back was already to the wall. "Anjali, I can't talk like this.", I said. "I can't think."
"Good.", she said. "I don't want you thinking. When you think, you lie and hide and don't answer my questions."
"Okay," I said with a resigned sigh. "I did what they asked. When you joined the team, the area managers approached me. They needed me to conceal certain sales figures for this quarter, but in an untraceable way. And it had to be done so that the real figures could be reinstated next quarter without arousing suspicion."
Anjali's eyes narrowed. "Go on. How did you accomplish this in Excel?"
I paused, running a hand through my hair as I carefully reconstructed the intricate data manipulation. "I created a macro-enabled Excel workbook that would allow temporarily suppressing certain revenue streams. The macro used VBA code to identify and extract the relevant figures based on predetermined account criteria."
"Those extracted values were then encrypted using a custom algorithm and appended to an innocuous column within the workbook's data model," I continued. "On the surface, everything appeared normal - the summarized totals matched the raw data pulls. But in reality, that obscured column contained the salted, indecipherable values that were unaccounted for."
"And that's the workbook that is used to track all sales figures for the region?", she asked, her eyes widening.
"Yes," I said, averting my eyes. "To any auditing eyes, the workbook appears perfectly normal," I stated. "Summary totals, visualizations, even the raw data itself looks legitimate and aligned.
"But it's not all done in Excel," I continued. "There are several complex macros created in the workbooks that connect to and pull data from the CRM, ERP systems, and other databases."
As I spoke those words, a flicker of surprise crossed Anjali's features. In that moment I realized that she may have figured out some of it but had not managed to unravel the major part of it. She had found some of the macros and links in excel but did not even know about the external sources where the data was coming from. And that must have thrown her off because she could not figure out how the numbers were changing even without her changing anything in the workbook. She was smart but was yet to outsmart me.
"You don't know yet exactly what I did. You don't know" I said as some strength flowed into me at the thought.
A look of fury passed over her face as I said that. I thought she was going to hit me but didn't have space to duck or dodge. But then she relaxed and her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, silently prompting me to continue my confession. I sighed, pressing onward.
"The process starts with a seamless data extraction routine," I continued, my words gaining confidence. "Using advanced SQL queries and API calls, I ingested raw sales data from multiple source systems into a centralized staging area within the workbook's data model."
I described how I had employed Python scripts to scrub and transform the data, removing any identifying markers that could trace it back to specific accounts or revenue streams. Variables were anonymized, normalized, and shuffled into statistically-similar proxy datasets designed to deflect scrutiny.
"Once the data was sanitized, I deployed a multi-stage algorithm to systematically isolate and suppress the revenue figures they wanted to conceal," I elaborated. "VBA routines compared each entry against predetermined filter criteria, tagging the relevant transactions."
I felt a rush of vindication seeing Anjali's mask slip ever so slightly, her eyes widening in grudging respect. A fleeting exaltation in having so utterly outmaneuvered her, if only briefly. While part of me wilted under the scorching guilt of her knowing, another part basked in this virtuosic performance.
She listened intently as I walked her through the subsequent encryption protocols - how I had leveraged public-key cryptography to encode the tagged values using rotating keysets. The ciphertext was then salted and dispersed across several innocuous worksheets using nested array formulas and embedded chart objects.
"Of course, the actual data was always intended to be reintegrated seamlessly next quarter," I concluded. "All it would take is reactivating the macro routines with a new keyset. The suppressed values would be decrypted and automatically repopulated within the revenue streams - leaving no trace beyond simple data reconciliation between targets and actuals."
Anjali had heard enough. She said, "Let's get out of here. You will show me"
"No", I said. "I am not going with you. You haven't figured out the major part of it. That is why you need me to show you. You can't prove anything"
Anjali was taken aback. Her face was white with fury but she spoke calmly, "Fine. Leave. I know enough to take this to top management. I will set up a team from business intelligence and IT to figure this out. You think you are smart? Let's see you outsmart both these teams combined."
That hit me hard. There were some pretty good guys in the BI team. They could definitely do it. And it would reach the upper levels of the company. My career here was done. On the other hand, if I 'cooperated' with Anjali, she would finish me.
"So", she continued, "You can either cooperate with me or sit in a nice conference room with these guys and tell them"
"You wouldn't do that" I said horrified.
"Yes, I will", she said coldly, "You have only seen a small part of what I am capable of".
"Okay, let's go" I said, out of options, "I will give you everything. Do what you want after that"
She nodded. We paid and walked out. I kept my distance from her. I was mentally screwed. I could not handle any more strong emotions. I had also decided to resign and did not give a fuck anymore.