Nina found herself once again in front of the Sirius Software building, only this time, she wore her new black turtleneck, sleek black blazer, pencil skirt, black pantyhose and pumps.
She pressed her hand into the hand-print lock and the door hissed open.
With a sigh of relief she entered the lobby, her heels making a loud clicking sound on the smooth polished black stone floor.
The echoes and reverberations served to liven up the empty lobby, a far cry from the oppressive and eerie silence she had felt during her previous visits.
She got off the elevator and found Aaron's office door open and Aaron himself, leaning casually against the door frame, with his arms folded. She was again struck by how tall and imposing he was in his black leather business suit.
His eyes slowly scanned her new outfit as she approached. He didn't smile, but his icy blue eyes softened slightly as he took in her appearance.
"Good morning Ms. Avanthika. I see you have decided to follow my instructions. I must say this look suits you." he said.
Nina found herself blushing at his compliment, yet feeling furious and objectified at his scrutiny.
She shook her head to suppress her conflicted feelings. "Thank you sir. What are your instructions for today?" she asked neutrally.
Aaron beckoned her into his office where handed her a phone and tablet computer with a stylus.
"Use the phone to communicate with me when we are separated and the tablet to take notes" he instructed.
Maintaining a cool and professional expression, Nina put the phone in her purse and switched on the tablet computer.
She launched the note-taking app and stood ready with the stylus.
"We have a presentation for overseas business partners at 12:30 across town. I believe that that is the only appointment we have outside the office today. I need you to pull any information you can find on the partners and give me detailed profiles on their backgrounds and preferences two hours before the presentation" Aaron instructed Nina.
"Yes sir" said Nina crisply, and returned to her desk to begin research.The office door closed with its signature boom as she left the office making her jump a little.
She had a little over an hour to complete his task and resolved to do it well.
As she worked, her thoughts drifted back to Aaron.
While still extremely Stoic and intimidating, her brief encounter with him, now that she had swallowed her pride and conformed to his dress code, was not as threatening or hostile as when she wore her baggy hoodie and yoga pants or her over-sized blazer and ankle length skirt.
She grudgingly acknowledged that her new fitted black blazer and skirt made her feel more put together, and less intimidated by him.
A small part of her was secretly grateful to Aaron for forcing her to adopt his dress code, even as the rest of her subconscious screamed in outrage and berated her for succumbing to Aaron's patriarchal demands like a filthy sellout.
----
At 10:37, a few minutes after she had sent Aaron the information she had found on the partners, the CEO's office door hissed open, and Aaron strode out, with a backpack slung across one shoulder.
"Come along Ms. Avanthika, we have a presentation to get to. I need you to observe and take notes" he commanded as he passed her.
Nina quickly powered off her computer, snatched up her purse, and fell into step behind him, tottering a little in her heels.
The elevator doors hissed open, and they stepped into the confined space.
Nina shivered a little as she felt Aaron's powerful presence next to her.
She shrank away from him, pressing into the wall of the elevator, her emotions a conflicted mess as she recalled his previous treatment of her and not wishing to incur his wrath, while at the same time harboring a perverse attraction to that very power of his.
The doors hissed open, and they stepped out into the basement level of Sirius software.
Nina gasped in awe at the basement lobby of Sirius Software. It was brightly lit, and contained shelves and lockers for personal effects.
The mystery of where Sirius Software's other employees entered the building finally revealed itself.
At the far end, was another heavily reinforced door.
It hissed open as Aaron pressed his hand into the lock, and they stepped into a cavernous, brightly lit parking garage.
Various cars and motorcycles were parked in spots marked by yellow lines. To the left of the parking garage, was another massive door with an ominous yellow radioactive hazard symbol.
Nina suppressed a shiver. The ominous symbol and the implications behind it, that Sirius Software had its own nuclear reactors, made Aaron and Sirius software seem even more intimidating.
Just who was this young man that he was able to commission such a stronghold yet be so secretive and reclusive?
Aaron led Nina to a spot marked CEO RESERVED. A long, wide, and black, low slung car was sitting in the parking area, looking more like a black space-ship than a car.
It seemed to be composed of almost entirely flat surfaces, save for the row of six massive exhaust pipes sticking out of the rear like fighter-jet engine nozzles.
Aaron pressed a control on a key fob. The car chirped, and its doors swung open in a vertical scissor-like fashion.
Aaron got into the driver's side, and with some trepidation, Nina got in on the passenger side.
She looked around the interior of the car as she closed the door and settled into the plush black leather seat. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.
The dashboard was a fixed-function LCD unit, and all the controls were mounted on the steering wheel. The car smelled of leather with a slight sterilized tang of ozone.
"Seatbelt" commanded Aaron, making Nina jump. She quickly reached behind her and fastened her seatbelt.
Aaron started the car, the engine let out a loud and powerful rumble as he slowly pulled out of the parking spot and onto the entryway of the basement garage.
The garage doors slid open, and a thrill of foreboding ran down Nina's spine.
She quickly gripped her seatbelt and the door handle.
With a powerful roar, the car shot forward at a blistering pace.
In a flash, they were out of the garage and streaking down the access road.
Nina shut her eyes as Aaron expertly turned onto the highway weaving seamlessly through the late morning traffic.
With deep, calming breaths, Nina regained her composure.
"What kind of car is this?" she asked.
"This is an Albrecht Automotive Streikkämpfer. It's a supercar that is inspired by the 1990s." said Aaron nonchalantly as he drove.
"The 90s? How is this thing so fast?" asked Nina as Aaron effortlessly overtook semi-trucks, SUVs and other cars as if they were standing still.
"I believe I said it was inspired by, not from the 90s. It's perfectly capable of hitting 350 km/h." said Aaron coldly.
Nina swallowed nervously. She wasn't a car person, but she knew that 350 km/h was ridiculously fast.
She held onto the door handle for dear life as the Streikkämpfer sped down the highway.