* * *
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Zara didn’t waste time. Her first order of business when she arrived at the club was to make Faroz pretend to stand in line.
“Jay was here.” She pointed to a spot beside the door. “And Elias was on the other side. They had the metal detector between them, and two guys inside at a table going through purses and bags. Every hour they would switch, and four different guys would take the door.”
Faroz appeared less than impressed. “And I’m standing here . . . why?”
“I want to do a full walk-through as if you were someone trying to sneak in a phone from the line right through the security check.”
Faroz sighed. “I’m no actor. I’ll do the walk, but I won’t talk the talk.”
They inspected every inch of the building, searching for mail slots or places where a person could sneak in a phone. When they’d exhausted every option, they went to the restroom where the picture had been taken.
“Don’t even think of asking me to lie on the floor and pretend to be Bob Smith,” Faroz growled. “It’s filthier than the swamp I had to hide in for three days in Vietnam.” He held out his hand. “I’ll take the pictures. You lie on the floor.”
Zara lay down in Bob’s approximate position while Faroz took pictures from various angles.
“Nope.” He studied the pictures on the phone. “Whoever took the pictures was taller than me.”
“How tall?” She glanced up, past Faroz’s head, and spotted a camera in the corner of the room and gestured for him to look up. “That tall?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Something like that.”
With the manager’s assistance, they got the unit down. She recognized the brand right away. “This is the same camera my aunties had.” She looked over at the manager. “Is this the only one?”
“I’ve got them all over the bar and outside, too. I can watch the whole venue through my phone. We’re a national chain with a hundred fifty clubs throughout the U.S. and I’m pretty sure they all use the same cameras. Never heard of any problems with them.”
“Well, you’ve got a problem now.” She handed the camera back to him. “A hacker took control of the camera and posted pictures of what was going on in this restroom online. You could be at risk of a lawsuit, and you may wish to pursue action against the manufacturers of the camera or the hackers when we find them.” She handed him her card. “If you’re interested in joining our class action, just give me a call. And please send my details to your head office if they want more information.”
Almost giddy with excitement, she threw her arms around Faroz as soon as they were outside and gave him a hug. “Do you think you can find the hacker and find out who posted those pictures online?”
“I’ve got a contact in the FBI. Pretty sure he’ll be able to help me out.”
“You know what this means, Faroz?”
“No, but I’m sure you’re gonna tell me.” He gently loosened her grip and stepped away, putting a few feet between them.
“It means J-Tech wasn’t negligent. It means I could have another client for my class action against the manufacturer of the cameras. It means justice for Bob.” She clapped her hands together. “It couldn’t be more perfect. Jay will never know there was a lawsuit pending against his company. Now I just have to figure out how to make things right when I see him at the wedding tomorrow.”
“What does that mean, ‘make things right’？” Faroz lifted an inquisitive brow.
“It means . . .” She twisted her hands together, considering. She’d been so focused on getting rid of the lawsuit, she hadn’t thought through exactly how she would fix things with Jay. “I want things to go back to the way they were.”
“That’s the problem with the past.” Faroz shrugged. “You can’t go back. You have to move forward.”
“I don’t know how to do that. I liked what we had and then he ruined it by telling me he loved me. I thought if I apologized, we could pick up where we left off.”
“Except now all the shit that’s gone down between you is still out there.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “It can never be the same, but it can be something new. You just have to be brave enough to embrace it.”
* * *
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As far as baraats went—and Jay had attended dozens of them over the years—Avi’s groom’s procession put all others to shame. Tarun had hired a cable car to transport him to his ceremony. Rishi had arrived in a horse-drawn carriage. But Avi drove up to the wedding venue in a 2016 McLaren 650S Spider.