Chapter 14: Chapter 14: A Little Defiance Is Good for a Moron’s Soul

Miraculously, Octavia didn’t react to the sound of Mr. Kentworth’s voice. A familiar, cold dread flooded her veins, but her muscles took the realization of his presence in stride.

She grimaced and made a rather expressive face by scrunching up her face.

Mr. Raemon Kentworth stepped past Octavia to stand in the gap between her and Ms. Bhandari. His next words were addressed to Ms. Bhandari.

“My apologies, Indira,” he said with a civil but grim expression on his face, “for not being able to receive you at the office.”

Ms. Bhandari waved his words away. “No, don’t blame yourself. I did say I would arrive at three, and then unexpectedly arrived much earlier. It’s entirely my fault.”

She paused, and then with a slightly wry glance at Octavia added, “Fortunately, your assistant was kind enough to keep me company.”

Mr. Raemon Kentworth hardly let his gaze waver to where his assistant sat, staring silently into her cup. “She always seems to go above and beyond my expectations,” Raemon said coldly.

He then said to Ms. Bhandari, “Allow me to walk you back to the office. We can go over the details there.”

“I’m already here, why don’t we just talk here?” Ms. Bhandari gestured for Raemon to take one of the empty seats at their table.

He hesitated before eventually pulling out the chair and folding his imposing frame into it. In spite of his intimidating size, he did so with a certain grace.

“I think you know why I invited you to see what Icarus Tech has to offer,” Mr. Kentworth began.

Ms. Bhandari nodded placidly. “I do. Though you hardly needed to invite me all the way here. I know very well how successful your company is.”

“Then you must see why we would be the best option for receiving your newly developed microprocessor chip,” Raemon continued.

“What chip?” Octavia blurted out. She ignored the daggers Mr. Kentworth shot at her through his eyes and looked directly to Ms. Bhandari.

“At Curie, we have developed a new microprocessor from our patented material compound. It’s thirty-five percent more efficient than the leading microprocessors on the market today,” she answered.

“And the exact kind of technology that could take Icarus Tech to the next level,” Raemon interjected.

“Not to mention, having Curie components in every Icarus product across the globe would greatly expand the reach of your company and quadruple your profits.”

Ms. Bhandari nodded as if to acknowledge Raemon’s words but said nothing.

“I think it would be in both of our best interests to become partners,” Raemon continued, a determined glint in his eyes.

“Our technologies combined would make both of our companies the leading supplier of technology for most of the developed world.”

“I’m well aware of that, Raemon. But…I’m actually not all that interested in money.”

Mr. Kentworth’s face displayed no emotion, but Octavia’s eyebrows took a leap up her round, brown face.

Indira continued. “I would be just as happy supplying Curie’s technology to a company smaller than yours and dominating only a fraction of the world, if it came to that.”

Her expression was cool, and her words matched her face in their complacency.

“What matters most to me is integrity. I would never hand off anything of Curie to just anyone. If I were to partner with you, Raemon, I’d want to know what kind of a person you were.

“Whether you would have the good sense to protect the livelihood of Curie at all costs rather than jeopardize the work and well-being of my employees to make a profit.”

Ms. Bhandari paused and directed a pointed gaze at Raemon. “Is that the kind of person you are, Mr. Kentworth?”

Octavia found herself tuning out of the monologue her boss began in his attempt to assure Ms. Bhandari of the purity of his intentions.

She propped her chin up on one hand lazily and swirled the cocoa in her cup.

There was a good chance she would be getting fired the minute Ms. Bhandari left, but she felt oddly calm about it. She had just met the greatest mind of the modern world AND had tea with her.

As far as Octavia was concerned, she could die in peace. Fuck Mr. Kentworth. What could he do to ruin the perfection of the day?

“What do you think, Octavia?”

Ms. Bhandari’s calm voice yanked Octavia out of her daydreams. She realized both Indira and Raemon were looking at her—one with an expression of curiosity, the other with restrained anger.

“…About…what?” Octavia asked.

Ms. Bhandari pointed a hand at Raemon. “About your boss. What do you think about him? If you were me, would you go into business with him?”

Once again, Octavia experienced the sensation of all the life leaving her body. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two faces that were riveted on her, and a cold panic rose up in her chest.

~Oh god, oh god, oh god!~ Her thoughts whirled frantically. ~Lie, Octavia. You have to lie!~

She cleared her throat and pasted what she hoped was a convincing smile on her face. Then her eyes involuntarily rested on Raemon’s face.

She could very well see the flames thrashing wildly in the depths of his eyes. She did not need to observe the twitching of the muscle at his jaw to gauge just how pissed off her boss was.

She opened her mouth to say something flattering, only to have the words rise up in her throat and get stuck somewhere along the way.

Additionally, another set of words she knew better than to let out were fighting their way past the flattering ones.

The seconds ticked by with Octavia sitting there, her mouth open as if she would speak, but no sound emerged past her lips.

“Well?” Ms. Bhandari prompted.

Just before a drop of saliva managed to slide its way past her gaping jaw, Octavia burst out, “HELL NO. No way! Not a chance! NEVER.”

There was no going back now. She had weeks of pent-up frustrations to let out, and they wouldn’t be restrained.

“This guy,” Octavia continued, pointing at her boss, “is most likely the worst kind of human being to EVER be created. He’s arrogant, he’s rude, he’s insulting.

“He puts these unrealistic expectations on everyone because he thinks he deserves perfection in every instance. And why shouldn’t he, right? He’s perfect.”

Octavia clenched her fists. “Why shouldn’t everyone live up to his expectations of perfection?

“But it’s a whole lot easier to be perfect if you have an entire company of people falling over themselves to do whatever you want, not to mention a fortune that equals the GDP of a small country.”

An exhausted sigh escaped her lungs, and she rolled her eyes.

“Spare yourself the agony of dealing with someone who might make you rethink the immorality of exterminating the human race, Ms. Bhandari. Should you go into business with this guy? ABSOLUTELY NOT!”

After the last words tumbled out of her mouth, Octavia pinched her lips together and unfurled her hands, then slowly glanced in her boss’s direction.

His expression had barely changed, but if his eyes were fiery before, they were radioactive now.

~Yup,~ Octavia thought. ~Definitely fired.~

Suddenly Mr. Kentworth stood. He turned to Indira.

“If you’ll excuse me and my assistant, Indira,” he said curtly. He then turned back to Octavia and gripped her by the arm.

“Hey, wait—!” Octavia barely had time to protest before he’d pulled her out of her seat and begun leading her out of the café.

He led them both through the entrance, ignoring the bow of the seating hostess, and only stopped when they were outside in front of the crystal-door entrance to the Purple Lotus.

There he released his hold on Octavia’s arm and faced her head-on, standing inches away from her.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he hissed.

Octavia picked at the sleeve of her sweater where his grip had been.

“You ruined my sweater,” she whined.

“I’m tempted to ruin a lot more than that!” he continued. “I don’t know what kind of stunt you think you’re pulling—”

Octavia interrupted, “She asked me, okay? I answered. I told you I can’t help but be honest when I’m put on the spot,” Octavia said.

She shrugged helplessly. “Besides, what else would I say? You know very well I don’t like you.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t care if you hate me with every fiber of your being. I will not tolerate that kind of display!”

Octavia shrugged. “You should have stopped me, then. Should’ve changed the subject. Something.” She slid her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

“Anyway, what’s done is done. And honestly, I don’t think she would have gone into business with you anyway, regardless of what I said.”

Mr. Raemon Kentworth gritted his teeth and took a step toward his seemingly nonchalant assistant, reaching out to once more trap her in the unyielding grip of his arms.

“Raemon,” Indira’s voice stopped him just as his fingers brushed against Octavia’s arm. He turned and saw the woman walking out the entrance toward them.

“I’ll do it, Kentworth. You have a deal,” she said.

Her words took both of them by surprise.

“I’ll admit,” Ms. Bhandari continued, “I wasn’t keen on the idea of going into business with you for the exact reasons I gave. However…”

She trailed off and then gave Octavia a reassuring smile. “Your assistant helped convince me.”

“Me?” Octavia asked.

Ms. Bhandari nodded.

“I don’t yet know what kind of man you are, Raemon, but any person in your position brave enough to have such an honest and critical employee working for them is obviously someone worth knowing.”

She then extended a hand toward Raemon. “And working with.”

Mr. Kentworth seemed unsure as if he was still processing what Indira had said. In a second, he came to his senses and returned Indira’s handshake.

“I’m…I’m glad to hear that,” he said.

“I’ll have my people get in touch with you, and then we can start discussing the particulars of the arrangement.

“I must warn you, I’ll have very strict terms,” Indira said, drawing a pair of sunglasses out of her front pocket and putting them on.

Raemon nodded once, his expression once again grim. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. But I’m sure once you see what we have to offer, you won’t have cause for complaint.”

Ms. Bhandari smiled pleasantly. “We’ll see.” She then turned to Octavia. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Octavia. I wish you success in your future career, and I hope to see you again soon.”

“Of course! Yes! And…thank you so much!” Octavia spluttered. “For…um…I guess, being you.”

Ms. Bhandari laughed at this and then left them with a small wave.

Once she was gone, Octavia looked up to her boss’s face, waiting for him to speak. When he didn’t, she voiced her own thoughts.

“So-o-o…am I fired or what?” she said.

Mr. Kentworth tore his eyes from the distance that he had been staring solemnly into and directed a chilly gaze at his assistant.

She couldn’t interpret his expression, though she knew he was far from pleased.

He abruptly looked away, turned, and then started walking off.

“Is that a ‘no,’ then?” Octavia called after him. He still did not respond.

Octavia sighed and kicked at a small pebble on the pavement.

“Damn it,” she said.