Page 12 of Control

“Yeah, join us!” I purred, teasing him.

He shook his head at me and took his seat before picking up his cup.

The tea party was in full swing as we all ate our fake food and drank our fake tea.

“Smile, boys.” We all looked up at Amelia, who had her phone aimed at us, snapping pictures.

“Remind me to get you later for this,” I growled at her.

“Oh, I’m so scared,” she mocked me and continued taking pictures.

We looked totally ridiculous. Two lethal men sitting in wee chairs, playing tea party with a couple of kids. And I wouldn’t have traded a minute of it for anything in the world.

Chapter VI

Jai

“You’re going to get wrinkles if you keep squinting like that,” I said as I strolled into Amelia’s office and dropped into the seat across from her.

Her office had changed since she had become CTO. Her taste in masculine furniture was inherent, so her space was filled with modern black chairs and glass tables with silver frames, just like the penthouse she shared with my brother. White rugs, walls, and couch pillows lightened up the space. Her style was even more dominating than Shyam’s, which further served to suggest who the real boss of Sethi Tech was.

My brother was still CEO, but Amelia ran the company. I had filled the role of CTO from the inception of the business, but when I left to rule over our drug empire, she stepped in and turned everything around. Instead of using it as a front for criminal activities, she turned the company into an honest business. Amelia used her skills of developing tracking software to help build programs for the government to locate missing women and children. Under her leadership, the company had won numerous tech awards and she had even been featured inForbesmagazine. At thirty, she had accomplished more than most men in the field did by fifty.

A mess of red hair that she had probably been fingering all day, she looked up from her monitor with a scowl exaggerating the lines on her face to mock me.

I chuckled. “You need glasses.”

“What? No, I don’t!” she said, her tone defensive as she leaned back in her chair.

“If you were any closer to your monitor, you’d hit your head on the screen.”

She stuck her tongue out at me.

“You’re gonna need them eventually.” The amount of screen time programmers logged put a real strain on our eyes. A few years back, I had sacrificed stubbornness and got a pair exclusively for working on my computer.

“My eyes are fine. Don’t you have some drugs to deal?” she shot back, keeping her voice low since her door was still open.

“I have glasses. It definitely doesn’t mean I’m getting old.” I was in my motherfucking prime.

She stared at me flatly, as if I were full of shit. “You’re older than me. Youshouldbe wearing glasses,” she replied with a satisfied smile on her face—proud that she’d told me off.

“Whatever. Your eyes.” I shrugged. “And for the record, I’m only thirty-six.” I wasn’t old, but I would let the topic go. I was here for another reason. After a beat, I continued, “So, tell me more about that ballet teacher you hired.”

Amelia popped upright in her seat and snapped her laptop shut. Her eyes grew three sizes too big with excitement. “I knew you liked her!” she shouted.

Eyeing her office door, I prayed my brother wouldn’t hear the commotion and get involved. “Keep it down, will you? I have a reputation to protect. And…no. I don’tlikeher. I just think she’s cute.” I didn’t want to marry the girl or anything—just wanted to have a good time together.

“What was up with you guys the other day?” she demanded.

“What do you mean?” I asked, doing my best to remain indifferent. Though, I wasn’t fooling her one bit.

“You guys kept staring at each other. And then she couldn’t leave fast enough. What did you do to her?” Her tone was accusatory, and I didn’t care for it.

“I didn’tdoanything. Why does everyone think I’m the big bad wolf or something?”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Maybe because youarethe big bad wolf? I know all about your reputation with girls.” She crossed her arms over her chest as if she were my mother scolding me.

“Thosegirlsare consenting adults. They’re not doing anything that they don’t want to be doing, so I’m going to let that comment slide because you’re my sister.” I didn’t need to explain myself to her or anyone, for that matter. I only hooked up with women who were legal, and they could always say no. I wasn’t into forcing anyone for pleasure.

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