Page 17 of Power

“What? No! I mean…Not really.”Just made out with lots of tongue and humped. Oh yeah, and finger-fucking.

“Not really? Yeah, your ass is coming to the bar with me. I need details, now! I’ll stop by in an hour to pick you up.”

I didn’t want to go, but I supposed I could use some girl talk and alcohol right now. Drinking alone at home just sounded sad.

I gave in. “Okay, fine. You won again at wearing me down.”

“I always do, babe! See you soon!” she said before hanging up.

•••

“Oh my God!” Nat sat at the bar, wide-eyed with disbelief at my soap opera of a situation. I had spared her all the illegal details. It was safer for her if she were truly oblivious to Shyam’s criminal dealings. I also hadn’t shared my thoughts about leaving Sethi Tech, because she’d have pressed me for a reason for wanting to.

“I have to say that I’m impressed,” she continued.

“Impressed?” I asked, confused.

“Of all the men out there, you land Shyam Sethi! He has a reputation for being a hard ass. You cracked his shell!” She pounded on the table with her fist.

“I didn’t ‘land’ him. I don’t even know what we are. One minute, he can’t keep his hands off me, and the next minute, he seems cold and distant.” I sighed.

I finished off my second old fashioned, the liquid warming my belly on its way down. Nat motioned for the bartender to refill our drinks. I really wasn’t a drinker, but I had been sulking at home all week and needed to numb some of my worry. It worked—all that liquor and no dinner had quickly gone to my head and made me willing to unload the drama I had been keeping secret.

“Your boss obviously likes you, if he made out with you on your first day.” Nat nudged my arm with her elbow before taking a large swig of her beer.

Hearing her say that made me feel cheap, like I was just a piece of ass that Shyam had hired to mess around with on the side. I knew he had said he needed my help to track Tarun, but I couldn’t share that part with Nat. Still, I didn’t want anyone thinking I was fucking, or technically not-fucking, the boss for a job.

Sensing my irritation, she grabbed my hand. “Babe, that’s not what I meant. You’re fucking smart and you deserve this chance in your career. He would have been a damn fool not to hire you. I just meant that it sounds like he feels the same way about you as you do about him. I saw how he looked at you at the club. There’s something there.”

I sighed loudly. “I just wish we could have an honest discussion about what we are. I get too nervous to ask. And he’s not much of a talker, either.”

“That’s because he’s too busy sticking his tongue down your throat,” she teased.

I pretended to be appalled and pulled my hand away from hers to smack her arm. “Nat!” That part was kind of true, though. And it sure was a nice tongue to have down one’s throat.

We both giggled, too tipsy to care about how loud we were.

“But seriously, Mel. Being a woman in tech is enough of a struggle. Play the game and use this to your advantage. He hired you because of your brains. It’s so hard for girls like us to make it in this industry. Don’t let this fling you have with him ruin your career. I don’t know him personally, but men with power like him have a way of using women to get what they want. You have a great opportunity at Sethi Tech, and I’d hate to see it thrown away because he got bored and found another girl. Be careful. Only get involved if you’re sure he feels the same way as you and he’s willing to commit to being in a relationship.”

Working for Shyamwasa big opportunity in my career. I could pretty much have any job I wanted with Sethi Tech on my resumé. I couldn’t let my attraction to him get in the way of what I had worked so hard for.

As for the criminal activities he was asking me to be a part of, I would need something worth a lot more than a great salary and benefits to do what he was asking of me. If the police were in his pocket, the likelihood of getting caught was low. However, I was more concerned with my moral standing.

Nat was right. This industry was a game, and I had to play it smart to make it big. I could put this job on my resumé andsettle into an executive position at another tech giant on the West Coast, closer to home. I could financially support Mom so she could retire. I was willing to forego my morals if it meant I could take care of my mom for the rest of her life. The opportunity was staring right at me from a silver platter, and all I had to do was take it.

The bartender interrupted us with a new pair of drinks before I could respond to Nat.

“We didn’t order these,” I protested. My voice came out unsteady. It sounded different to my ears. The alcohol was definitely getting to me.

“They’re on us.” I froze and turned my head just enough to see two guys approaching us from behind.

“I’m Rob,” said the tall one with perfectly styled blond hair as he perched on the stool next to Nat.

“And I’m Josh,” said the shorter guy with sandy-brown hair.

“I’m Natalie, and this is Amelia,” she said as she placed her hand into Rob’s for a handshake that lasted longer than it should have. She was into this guy. I could tell from the way she batted her eyelashes and tucked her hair behind her ear after Rob released her hand.

I shook Josh’s hand out of politeness. His grasp was cold and foreign to my skin. I quickly pulled my hand back.

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