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 he 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 massive, 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.
"Seat-belt" commanded Aaron, making Nina jump.
She quickly reached behind her and fastened her seat-belt.
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 seat-belt 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.
----
Nina sat at the far end of a long conference table, watching as Aaron presented his new game to the seated business partners.
The partners were Urik Gorbachev from Rostov Software systems, a Russian software company, Zhao Zedong from Xi Ho Enterprises, a large Chinese software conglomerate, and Kazuya Honda from SEGA Japan.
Each of them also had an attractive female personal assistant.
Urik had Tatiana Zazlav, a statuesque blond, blue-eyed Russian woman in an ivory white blazer and pencil skirt complimented by a black silk blouse and black pantyhose.
Zhao's PA was Yiyi Ling, a demure and petite Chinese girl with straight black hair wearing a shimmering black qipao dress.
Kazuya's personal assistant was Tomoe Tachibana, an equally petite Japanese girl who looked almost like a school girl in her black blazer, crisp white blouse, black pleated skirt and black pantyhose.
Admiration, envy and contempt coursed through Nina as she observed the efficiency of the other PA's, their alluring appearances, and their almost servile obedience to their respective bosses.
Another unsettling element for Nina was the game Aaron was presenting. It was a 3D RPG remake of Master of Arcadia.
The first extremely controversial 2D Visual Novel that catapulted Sirius Software's success.
Nina vividly remembered the release of the violent and sexist game during her 10th grade.
Master of Arcadia was a massive hit among the boys in her class, and was extremely distressing to her and her female classmates.
She had quickly rallied the girls and allies in her class to protest the game on campus, convincing the principal and school board to ban discussions of the game and any student caught playing or possessing the game was suspended.
It made her the enemy of almost every boy in her class, but fortunately, the school's strong anti-bullying and anti-harassment polices protected her from any negative consequences.
The 3D graphics engine of the RPG remake, changed the 2D sprite turn based combat into slick, stunningly detailed, and viciously violent 3D boss fights.
Nina felt waves of anger and revulsion course through her as the strong, muscular male main player character, sliced and mowed down hordes of enemies filling the presentation screen with blood and entrails, while beautiful, alluring female NPCs submissively bowed in defeat.
"Do you really like this sort of game?" she asked Tatiana who was closest to her.
"Yes, it is quite impressive. And the player character is very strong and hot" she said with an exotic sounding Russian accent, a blush creeping into her skin.
"But don't you think the women in the game are portrayed unrealistically?" asked Nina, unable to believe that anyone could find the stylized, muscular, misogynistic male player character 'hot'.
"American girls! What? Don't like sexy game girls, yes?" scoffed Tatiana causing the other personal assistants to giggle and Nina to flush in embarrassment and fury.
"That concludes the presentation of Sirius Software's newest game. Master of Arcadia - The RPG, ladies and gentlemen" said Aaron as the conference room screen turned off, and the lights came on again.
"Now let's talk strategy" he said taking a seat next to Nina.
With a massive effort, Nina held her tongue and regained her composure.