Chapter 218 - We met in the Imperial...

Shreya walked through the portico and oddly enough, passers-by were actually staring at her differently. She did not understand what was going on for a while… not because everyone was staring at her.

People always stared at her when she came to the office. And today she was wearing an outrageously red sweatshirt with her jean shirt. So, she knew she would be turning head.

But unlike the normal… their eyes were filled with fear rather than disdain. Every one respectfully bowed and greeted her before walking past her.

Her face frowned in confusion for a few minutes before she remembered the newspaper article.

Even though she had already come to the office in the past two days… she had been late. The first day, her flight was late and yesterday, she had an early morning meeting in the Imperial.

Speaking of Imperial, she should remember to go back and order the manager there to ease some of the rules there about the secrecy of her identity.

The Imperial was her baby. She had been the core of it from the development to now. So, she did not want to hide her identity and her capacity at least within those walls.

So, each and every staff member knows exactly who she was and what she was capable of. But there was a rule above all else… and that was that her identity should never be discussed outside those walls if anyone ever wanted to work there. And even within those walls, everyone will know who she was but no one would acknowledge it in front of the public. And she would be addressed to as only The President… her designation… not her name.

These rules are what kept her identity safe for so long… but now it did not matter.

Shreya's lips were especially wide when she crossed the front desk. That receptionist had always been especially unpleasant whenever she came in… she would always have a slightly disgusted look on her face whenever Shreya crossed. So, Shreya was very much delighted to see her fallen face.

Shreya even stuck her tongue out when their eyes met. The receptionist paled instantly while Shreya chuckled and went towards the elevator. The receptionist's cheeks blushed behind her. She really wished she could find a hole and bury herself right about now. And she wouldn't be the only one with that feeling in this whole building.

Time flew by as she drowned in paper works. But her focus was disrupted by a phone call.

She attended the call absentmindedly, "Hello…"

"Uhm… ah!" the other end stayed quiet.

"Who is this? Can you speak up?" Shreya said once again into the phone.

"Ma'am…" A meek voice called out from the other end.

"Yes, who is this?" Shreya asked impatiently. After all, she had way too much work and not enough time to complete them.

"I'm Anne… You know… we met in the Imperial…" Anne replied very nervously.

Anne was sweating buckets on the other end of the phone. This building was more intimidating than the Imperial. At least in the Imperial, she had a uniform to blend in. The only decent thing she had in her closet was a plain navy blue jean and a formal shirt which she was wearing right now. But everyone around her was in formal office attire.

On top of it, she did not know whether Shreya had been serious yesterday or just said it in the passing. Because no matter how much she said, the receptionist wouldn't let her in saying she was not informed of her presence… and that she should have an appointment. Thankfully, nobody kicked her out… yet.

She did not have any means to contact Shreya… so she had to call Ed… her manager in the Imperial. Thankfully, he did pass her Shreya's personal number.

After hesitating for half an hour, Anne picked up the courage to actually dial the number with her shaky fingers. Her heart drummed felt as if it's going to fall out of her ribs when it rang.

Shreya paused for a second before placing the little girl she saw in the Imperial to be the owner of the voice. Then she also remembered Anne to actually report to her today.

"I have come in the morning… but at the reception, people won't let me in saying I do not have an appointment. I did not know how to contact you, so I had to ask Ed for this number… I did not know if you were serious about the job here… I just assumed you were and came here. If you are not, I can go…" Anne blabbered nervously. In her panicked state, she was barely conscious of what she was saying.

Shreya came back to her senses and sprinted from the desk, "Sorry, Anne. I am so sorry. I was so busy that I forgot all about asking you to come here… I forgot to inform them that you will be coming. Just give me 5 minutes okay… I will be down. Just stay near the reception… I will be there.." Shreya said hurriedly and jumped into the elevators and pushed the buttons to the lobby impatiently. She chided herself for forgetting something so important. She could only imagine how scared Anne must have been.

As soon as the elevator stopped with a ding, Shreya sprinted so fast that she actually skidded a few feet before she could stop.

"Sorry. I have been so busy from the morning that I completely forgot about you coming over today. Now come on. Let's get you settled in…" Shreya said without really giving Anne any time to talk. Shreya just grasped on Anne's hands and dragged them towards the elevator.

Anne just followed her in a daze. She felt as if she had been in a train wreck or something. There she was wondering whether she would still have a job or not for brazenly getting Shreya's number without her permission and here she was apologizing to her… an absolute nobody. A complete stranger who she knew for only one day.

Anne could not figure out whether she was an unusual one or Shreya. After all, Shreya was the President of the Sri corp.

After her initial mistake at the Imperial, she went back and read everything that was available on Shreya. She did not want to commit the same kind of mistake again. After seeing the picture of Shreya on the front page just a few days ago, she really felt like smacking herself to oblivion because of her ignorance and carelessness.

Anne did not recover until she actually reached Shreya's office. Anne looked around curiously despite herself. It may be because of the confidence Shreya had given her by personally escorting her up, but she, at last, felt like she actually had a job here in the Sri corp. At last, it did not feel like her delusion.

"Anne, you can sit and look around you know…" Shreya said smiling. Anne instantly paled seeing as she had forgotten Shreya's presence. She obediently sat down with her head hung down.

Shreya's lips twitched. This innocence was what attracted Shreya towards her. In her world, this kind of innocence was precious.

"Anne, you're going to have to wait for a while okay? I'm really sorry but I have some really urgent work that I have to complete. Once I am done with that, I will brief you on what you must be doing. I have asked someone to prepare an office for you. Even that will be arranged by the time I am done with my work here. Half an hour maximum," Shreya said sitting back in her chair and flipped the file she had just closed.

Anne got up from her chair saying, "It's okay, ma'am. You can do your work. I will wait outside." But before she could take two steps out, Shreya's voice stopped her on her track.

"It's okay. Just stay here. Look around… There are some books there you might like… you are English lit, right? I still have some classics in there my dad used to read me when I was a kid. Check it out." Shreya replied and stopped talking at last focusing on the work in hand all over again.

Anne hesitated for a while. She was afraid she might end up disturbing Shreya or worse, even break something here. But after being explicitly asked to stay, she did not feel right to leave either.

So, as Shreya suggested, Anne took a book from the shelf and started reading… time flew by without her realizing. She forgot where she was and what she was doing once she started reading. This was the whole reason why she took English Lit in the first place. She loved reading. But sadly, she did not have enough confidence to actually write anything.

There was absolute silence in the office except for the flipping sound of both of them. Anne turned her pages in quick succession since her reading speed was extraordinary. While Shreya flipped pages slower in comparison since she has to be thorough… she cannot let anything slip by in the cracks.