Page 11 of Power

“Oh, okay,” I replied. At least my new computer would be faster than my laptop.

The elevator came to a smooth stop and the doors opened. “This is us,” Jessica announced as she exited with me in tow.

Chapter X

Amelia

After hours of paperwork and training modules on one of the HR computers, I was ready to set up my own computer.

Jessica led me to the elevators again. This time, she pressed the button for thirty-eight as I entered behind her.The top floor?I had assumed I’d be working on one of the lower levels. Surely, the top level was reserved for important people like board members, not a new programmer. If I was going to be working on the top floor, then that meant I’d run into…

My heart was racing as the elevator halted and the doors opened to reveal a tall and tanned figure with gorgeous black hair. He had been looking down at his phone before he heard the elevator ding, announcing itself.Jai.

I let out a sigh of relief. I’d had little interaction with this Sethi brother, but I couldn’t have been more glad to see him. I wasn’t ready to face his sibling just yet.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Sethi,” Jessica greeted him in a most professional manner.

“Hey, Jessica,” he replied casually, flashing her a bright smile. Jai was handsome, just like his brother. They looked so similar, with beautifully golden skin and dark features, except Jai had dark-brown eyes—like coffee. His boyish charm led me to believe that he was the younger brother. Shyam always looked serious and pensive, just like an oldest child. Jai was more jovial, which made me feel more at ease standing in front of him. It also helped that he was dressed more casually than any of the other people in the building—in a pair of jeans and a fitted white t-shirt that clung to his muscular torso.

He eyed me as Jessica made the introductions. “Mr. Sethi, may I introduce to you Amelia Becker, formerly of IP Innovations? Ms. Becker, this is Mr. Sethi.” She redirected her attention to Jai. “I was just showing Ms. Becker to her new workspace.”

Jai hesitated as he considered what Jessica had just said. His eyebrow raised after a couple of seconds as he seemed to reach his conclusion. His lips spread into a sly smile.

“Of course. Hello, Amelia.” He offered me his hand. “I hope Jessica hasn’t been boring you with all that HR red tape.” His voice carried a similar Indian-mixed-with-British accent to Shyam’s, but it was less pronounced. I could also hear a little more of an American accent come through, unlike when Shyam spoke.

“Not at all,” I answered quickly, noticing Jessica shift uncomfortably next to me. HR wasn’t exactly exciting, but that wasn’t her fault.

“Well, come on. I’ll show you the fun part of the tour,” he said as he motioned for me to follow him. “I’ll take it from here, Jessica.”

“She is in thirty-eight F,” Jessica offered and stayed behind as Jai showed me the way.

The entire building was impeccably designed, but the thirty-eighth floor was beyond magnificent. There was a large fountain in the entrance way, right in front of the elevators. The fountain flowed into a large infinity pond filled with water plants and koi fish leisurely swimming around. It was an extravagant sight, but it fit with the modern style of the building.

Sensing my astonishment, Jai joked, “I know. Not a bad place to go to work, huh?”

“Not at all. This place is beautiful,” I replied in awe.

“We hired the city’s best architect to be able to structure a koi pond on the top floor. Trust me, it was no easy feat.”

We continued along the perimeter of the pond, passing a set of large glass doors that opened to a large room with a shiny conference table and several leather office chairs inside.

Jai pointed to the doors. “On the right is one of our conference rooms. We have two on this floor. The other is on the opposite side.”

The conference room seemed much bigger and more lavish than the conference room at IP Innovations, from what I could see through the glass windows. I blushed, remembering the old conference room and what Shyam had done to me in there.

“Now,thisis my favorite part.” Jai made a sharp right and led me down a shorter hallway. We entered what looked like an industrial kitchen. There were cooking stations set at several kitchen islands, each with its own chef working efficiently over the flames.

“You can order almost any meal you’d like to eat from one of our chefs, and they will prepare everything for you in-house.” Jai wandered over to one of the chefs and patted him on the back as he worked diligently.

“Wow! This is so impressive! I pretty much just ate at the food trucks next to my old job every day for lunch.” Even though I loved tacos, it wasn’t as good as having a private chef at work.

“Hey, now, food trucks aren’t half-bad. I like that new taco truck that moved in there a few weeks ago,” Jai said as he walked to one of the deluxe espresso machines and drew himself a shot in a small cup. “Want one?” he offered.

I declined. “I don’t take you as a food truck aficionado,” I teased.

“Hey, don’t judge. They are life savers at two in the morning when you’re wasted and starving.”

I giggled at his response. I couldn’t imagine a rich and powerful Sethi brother coming down with the munchies.

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