Page 58 of Empowered

“What? When?” His brother had always been by his side, so why not now?

He clasped his hands in front of his chest, elbows resting on the arms of the chair. “It was a recent change. I’m in the process of reorganizing the company.”

“Are you two fighting or something?” It wasn’t unheard of, these brothers bickering, but for Jai to leave the company was serious.

“No, nothing like that. The split was amicable. He’s pursuingotherendeavors.”

“Like…?” I asked with my hands on my hips waiting for an explanation. His brief answers were pissing me off.

He paused for a moment before answering. “The family business needed a new leader.”

This made no sense. Shyam oversaw their cartel empire. “What happened to the—um—old leader?”

He shifted to rest his ankle on his knee, as if this were just a casual conversation. “He decided it was time to retire.”

My eyebrow hitched with skepticism. The family business was his life. He did everything he could to preserve it. Whatever his reason was, though, it was no longer any of my business. I chose to not press any further for information.

“So, Jai no longer works for Sethi Tech and you want someone from my company to fill his role?” Tough chance that I was going to give up anybody from my team to work for another company.

“I have someone in particular in mind.” The glint in his hazel eyes shined brighter as his stare focused on me.

I stared blankly back at him, waiting for him to name a colleague that he was interested in. He didn’t say anything, just sat there staring at me with his intense gaze, void of any humor.

Suddenly, it clicked. I gaped at him. “Wait. You mean me?” I raised my voice in surprise and pointed to my chest.

He stared back at me, confirming my assumptions.

He had to be crazy to show up here as if nothing ever happened, assuming I’d just drop everything to do whatever he asked of me, like the last time he asked me to work for him. “I already have a job!”

“I realize that. This would be a promotion from your current position,” he said, his eyes trained on me.

“Let me guess, I’d be working underyouas CTO?” I shot back, unaware of the innuendo I had laid out for him.

He took it and ran. “Only if you wanted to workunderthe CEO.”

I lost it. “This isn’t fair. You can’t just show up here with your suggestive comments and charming smile and get me to do whatever you want. This ismylife now, and you don’t get to just snap your finger and get me to uproot everything I’ve worked so hard for just to suit your whims.” I broke down in tears.

He stood up, moving to round the desk, but I stopped him before he could touch me. “No. Don’t.” I stood holding myself for comfort, but it wasn’t the same. Five minutes with him and my soul already craved him for peace. I had spent the past year trying to rid myself of my need for him, and I couldn’t go back just because he had shown up here playing games with me.

He watched me, looking defeated. “Am I too late?” he asked quietly.

I closed my eyes, already pained by what I was about to say. “Yes.”

His shoulders fell as if I had just told him today was his last day of life.

Hesitantly, he pulled out a hotel keycard from his pocket. “Meet me tonight, at my hotel room.”

I didn’t move from my spot. If I took him up on his invitation, I wouldn’t be able to resist his hold over me in the privacy of a hotel room. At least I was at work, with lots of people just outside of my door. I was strong but not strong enough to shield my heart from him in private.

He placed the card on my desk when I didn’t take it from him. “I was hoping it wasn’t too late, but I’d still like to explain everything to you. I’ll be in town until tomorrow morning.” He left the office without giving me a second glance.

My hands balled up into fists as I pressed them into my stomach. I was going to throw up. I looked over to the key on my desk, teasing me with the hotel name and room number in large black print, obnoxiously reminding me how weak I was because I wanted to use it.

I quickly chucked the damn thing into the wastebin next to my desk. The letters on the card still shone brightly, like little neon lights amidst the rubbish of papers in the container. I dug it out of the bin and twiddled it in my fingers, feeling its weight rest heavily on me in more ways than one.

Pocketing the card, I grabbed my phone and my bag and headed out of the office. I needed air.

I bolted down the street, walking several blocks away so I could be away from anyone I might run into from work who happened to be heading out for lunch. Small talk wasn’t on my agenda right now. I needed to have a “big” talk.

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