Chapter 40: The Terrible Inconvenience of Being Pursued by Your Billionaire Boss’s Sworn Enemy

As soon as Raemon walked into the dinner party crowd at the Parthenon, Lila appeared out of nowhere and snatched his arm, latching herself firmly by his side.

Octavia stood behind him and watched disinterestedly.

To her credit, Lila had not lied. She looked stunning in the silvery, aqua-blue, sequined gown with halter neck and fitted waist.

A thin silver chain held the material up, circling around Lila’s graceful neck. The material drooped at her breasts with a plunging neckline, letting a little of her plump breasts and chest show.

Then the material hugged her tiny waist and hips and faded into an asymmetrical hem fluttering around her shins.

Silver high heels with a single thin band at the toes and another around her ankles made her inches taller.

Oh, and in case anyone’s wondering, her hair was styled and teased to look carefree and windblown but somehow still perfectly poised.

Her golden locks hung around her high cheekbones and brushed against her porcelain-like shoulders and well-defined collarbone.

The crowd all turned at the sight of Raemon. As Lila and he made their way through the people, Lila leading him with her arm nestled tightly under his, they all seemed to appreciate a well-matched couple.

Him in his dark suit and tie, broad shoulders emphasizing his dark jacket, and Lila in her incandescent outfit, her entire body leaning on him.

The two of them looked like an advertisement for the ultimate form of human attractiveness.

Octavia was content to watch them walk away. Her boss had said she’d have to attend, so she was there. No way was she going to tag along with him and Lila.

No, Octavia was going to do the only thing worth doing at parties. She was going to eat. Hopefully, there would be something edible this time.

“There’s a familiar face!” a pleasant voice behind her said.

Octavia was already smiling when she whirled around to face the speaker.

“Ms. Bhandari!” she said. “I had no idea you would be here.”

“Same here,” Indira said, giving Octavia a warm smile. She was dressed in a soft blue dress that brought out the sparkle in her eyes.

“I’m not usually one for this kind of gathering. I much prefer to stay inside with a good book and a cup of tea, you know. But when I found out who the guest of honor was, I had to be here,” Indira said.

“I’m sure Mr. Kentworth will be surprised to see you,” Octavia said. “He’s a little…busy, at the moment, however.”

Indira gave Octavia a knowing smile. “Yes. No doubt it will be quite some time and take quite some effort on his part before he can…shall we say…untangle himself?”

Octavia fought to keep from bursting into laughter. “That’s sounds just about right!” she said with an energetic grin.

Indira placed a gentle hand on Octavia’s shoulder. “You know, I’m really glad I ran into you here. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask,” Indira said.

She motioned to an empty seating area away from the crowd of dinner guests. “Join me there?” Indira said.

“Sure,” Octavia answered. She followed her out of the crowd.

A net of dazzling lights was hung overhead around the garden, and a jazz band was playing at the center of the garden space.

People stood in clusters with glasses of drinks in their hands, whispering among themselves while pointing toward Raemon and Lila.

As much as Indira belonged to the distinguished, wealthy people at that party, Octavia couldn’t see her as one of the women in shimmery gowns dolefully talking about the finicky constitution of their purebred Pomeranian.

“How do you like your current job?” Indira asked once they were settled in the little seating area.

They were away from the conversations of the other guests and only the faint sounds of the jazz band reached them where they were.

“Um…I like it,” Octavia said. “It’s cool.”

“That’s good to hear,” Indira said. “I suppose things are a little different now than they were when we last spoke?”

“Much different,” Octavia said.

“How so?”

“Well…I can actually be in the same room as him now and not want to stab him in the eye.”

Indira laughed. “That’s fortunate. How did you two manage to work out your differences?”

Octavia smirked. “Sure. ‘Differences.’ Let’s call it that.” She paused in thought. “I guess I just helped Mr. Kentworth realize that he should treat his assistant better.”

The twinkle in Indira’s eyes brightened. “And how exactly did you do that?”

“I’m not at liberty to say,” Octavia said loftily, “but I will say that whatever I did, it was enough to make him stop and rethink his life’s choices.”

“One day you’ll tell me the whole thing, I hope,” Indira said.

“Who knows? Maybe,” Octavia answered with a grin.

Indira shook her head and smiled, then said, “Whatever it was, I’m glad it happened. It makes what I’m about to suggest so much easier.”

Octavia was silent. A thrill of excited anticipation sparked within her once Indira mentioned the question she had to ask. What could it be?

She was sure anything Indira asked of her she would do. But she desperately hoped it wasn’t something trivial, like a request to dog-sit her pet Pomeranian.

“How would you like to work for me?” Indira said, getting right to the point. Another thing to love about her, Octavia felt.

She would have complimented Indira’s straightforwardness, but she was too busy taking in what Indira had just said.

“Work?” Octavia said. “For you? That sounds…amazing.”

“Great. We’re off to a good start,” Indira said with a smile. “Unfortunately, you’d still be working at Icarus Tech.”

Octavia’s grin fell. “Oh.”

“Now don’t get discouraged. You would still be at Icarus Tech, but you wouldn’t be Raemon’s assistant. This would be more than filling schematics.” Indira leaned forward, her eyes alight.

“As you know, integrating Curie Technology into Icarus’s products is going to take some serious adjustments. I need someone I can trust, someone who is good at innovating on the fly.

“Of course, it would really help if it were someone familiar with Icarus technology who was able to learn new things on the job.”

Octavia frowned. “Ms. Bhandari, I’m…speechless…and also kind of stoked, but…my area of expertise is really in software.”

“And that’s what you’d be working with,” Indira said. “Your job would be to facilitate a smooth transition between Curie products and Icarus products on the software side of things.

“You’d report to me, not Raemon. But given that you’d play such a crucial role in the Curie-Icarus endeavor, you’d probably be working a lot with him.”

Octavia contemplated her words. “Hmm. I don’t know. Working for him hasn’t exactly been a picnic.”

Indira shrugged. “I can’t guarantee that working with him would be. But at least he wouldn’t be able to order you around.”

Octavia looked up from her feet to Indira, a pained expression on her features. “Is that why you’re offering this? Out of”—she nearly choked on the words—“pity?”

Indira’s mouth twitched in a half smile. “Really? You think that’s what I’d do?” She sighed. “I suppose it looks that way—but no, Octavia. I know what you’re capable of, and I have faith in you.

“I’d feel a lot more comfortable having you on our side as the go-between for my company and Raemon’s. I really think you could do a great job with this.”

Her faith in her idol restored, Octavia gave Indira a sheepish smile.

“You really want me to work for you?” she asked.

“I never say things I don’t mean,” Indira said.

“I…I don’t know what to say.” Octavia breathed. “I want to say yes, I really do. It’s just…”

“Raemon?” Indira said, finishing Octavia’s sentence.

Octavia sighed. “Something tells me he wouldn’t be a huge fan of his assistant becoming his…colleague.”

Indira nodded knowingly, then stood. “I think he’d get over it. And if he didn’t, there are always plenty more things you could do at Curie. Take as much time as you need to think about it.”

Octavia stood as well. She grinned at Indira. “Thanks. And thank you for the offer, I really do want to accept it. I’m pretty sure I will, honestly.”

“Good to know,” Indira said. “Well, I’ve pretty much had it with this little soirée. An Agatha Christie novel and pot of chai tea awaits me in the comfort of my home.”

“You have a home here?” Octavia asked. Indira nodded. Octavia then asked, “Is it named something pretentious like the ‘Parthenon’?”

Indira laughed. “Thankfully, no. It doesn’t have a name. It’s just a house. Well, a very large house, but a house nonetheless.”

Indira said her goodbyes and made her way back into the crowd.