by Elise Faber
“I get that.” He nodded. “But I don’t think we’d be learning much.”
“Probably not. And . . . I guess it reminds me too much of what is wrong with the world.” She made a face. “I mean, we should know, because otherwise how are we going to help fix things? It’s just . . .”
He brushed his fingers over her cheek. “Probably not the best place for a date.”
“Yes.” Her lips tipped up at the corner. “That.”
“Then we’ll go do something else.”
She smiled up at him. “So, how do we get out of here?”
“Same way you do with all these tourist traps.” He brushed a finger down her nose. “Through the gift shop.”
Laughing, she leaned close, weaving her arm through his. “Then lead on, oh master of all things travel-related.”
He snagged her audio device, carrying both as they made their way through the cells, the cafeteria, the workrooms, the isolation room, weaving their path through the other patrons, pausing to take in a few signs with historical information, but for the most part, making their way to the exit as quickly as possible.
Which, unerringly, meant they ended up in the gift shop.
“Of course,” she said as they stepped into the bright room, filled with racks of T-shirts and magnets and shot glasses and postcards. One entire wall had candy. Another held books. Heidi stopped by a set of dish towels and held them up. “Just what I always wanted.”
“Come on, Trouble,” he said, tugging them from her hands and putting them down on the stack. “Let’s see if we can catch this ferry before it leaves.”
A mock pout. “You owe me more shopping time at a future date.”
He towed her toward the door, down the path toward the dock. “I’ll remind you of our earlier conversation, in which you expounded on all things that are terrible about shopping.”
“Yes, shopping in general,” she said. “But not about the only type of acceptable shopping.”
“What’s that?” he asked as they boarded the ferry.
“Books.” She smiled. “And there happens to be some amazing bookstores in San Francisco.”
“Well,” he said with tacit agreement as they both climbed the stairs. “Since my date idea was a bust, I think it makes sense to try yours. Should we hit up some of those bookstores instead?”
Her lips parted, surprise flitting in her eyes. “You’re serious?”
Thumb tracing that plump bottom lip, he couldn’t resist pulling her close, the scent of her shampoo tangling with that of the sea air. He couldn’t get over how she seemed to fit perfectly against him, as though her body had been made for his, as though she had been made for him. “I’m serious,” he said, unable to bite back a smile.
Joy lit up her face, and she did a little happy dance, one that had the positive benefit of brushing all those luscious curves against his body and one that made him lose his battle with control.
He dipped his head and kissed her.
And this time, there wasn’t any guard around to make them stop.
At least until they arrived back in the city proper.
And then they got kicked off the ferry.
But seeing Heidi with swollen lips, her hair doubly messed from his fingers and the wind, her cheeks pink, and her eyes warm, and he decided a permanent ban from that ferry line was totally worth being able to kiss her.
Bar none.
Sixteen
Heidi
She kept glancing over at Brad, expecting to see boredom creep into his face, but every time she stopped browsing to check in, his expression wasn’t annoyed or impatient.
Instead, he almost seemed to be studying her, watching and filing away each movement.
He’d disappeared when she’d become engrossed in the historical romance section then had reemerged some quantity of time later—she really wasn’t good at keeping track of the movement of the Earth around the sun when there were books in front of her—his hands holding a few novels.
And then she’d expected the impatience to start and so had quickly shifted her bundle, trying to hurry in her selections, even though there . . . were . . . just . . . so . . . many . . . choices!
But instead of telling her to make a pick, he’d just snagged the books she’d tucked under one arm and told her to, “Explore.”
She’d fallen in love—just a little bit—with that one word.
Explore.
God, the man was a menace.
Now, she was running her pointer finger over the spine of one more book—this one being one she already owned, only she had the UK version at home and was trying to decide if she liked the US version enough to have two copies.
She started to push it back into place.
No. Her bookshelves were already overflowing as it was. She couldn’t justify the second copy, especially with the stack that Brad was already carrying for her.
“Okay,” she said, turning to him. “Your torture is over. Hand me my stack so we can go check out.”
Except, as the last word slipped off her tongue, her cell phone rang.
“Sorry,” she told him, reaching into her purse. “That ringtone is the lab.”
“Go ahead and answer it.” He nodded toward the exit. “I’ll buy these and meet you out there.”
She took a step, stopped, her cell in her hand. “I’ll pay you—”
“Go,” he urged as her phone rang again. “We’ll figure it out later.”
“Thanks,” she said, hustling out onto the street and answering the call. Her weekend lab assistant, Maggie, was on the other end.
“We have a problem . . .” she began.
And that was the moment Heidi realized her day with Brad was over.
Because problem was an understatement. A mere problem would have meant that she might have been able to handle it over the phone, or at worst, email in written instructions to follow. A problem might have meant that she needed to check on the lab tomorrow, just to make sure all was fixed.
This . . . this was a disaster.
This had her immediately barking instructions. It also had Brad—who’d come out of the bookstore with two giant bags—take one look at her face and instantly begin directing her to his car.
“Tell me where to go,” he said when they’d gotten in and she’d paused in her orders.
She rattled off the address.
Ten seconds to put it into his cell, a quick lift in her direction so she could confirm the location was correct, and then a minute later they were on the road, winding through city streets jammed with pedestrians and Saturday traffic and eventually making their way to the freeway and hightailing it south.
“No,” she exclaimed. “Don’t shut it down.” They’d lose everything. She spared a look at Brad’s cell, perched in a cradle connected to the air vent. “We’ll be there in ten minutes. Just keep the computers up and running, I’ll adjust the machinery when we get there.” Maggie said a few more things—mostly listing what she’d do to keep the computers working, but Heidi didn’t hang up or get short. She knew that Maggie was panicked, especially since she hadn’t been able to reach Stef, who was on call for the lab this weekend for just this type of issue.
Maggie was a new grad. She was smart as a whip and funny, but she was also a bit anxious and a definite perfectionist.
This had thrown her for an absolute loop.
Not to mention, if she hadn’t caught the miscalibration, the entire experiment would have been ruined—six months of research would have amounted to absolutely nothing.
“Deep breaths,” she said when Maggie had paused for air. “Everything will be fine.”
She hoped, but that was beside the point.
“I-I hope so, Heidi.”
“It was a good catch,” she told her, “and we’ll figure out the rest. Now, I’m going to hang up and call Stef again.”
“O-okay.”
A moment later she was dialing her lead assistant, the call ringing and ringing and ringing until
—
“Hello?”
“Stef,” she said. “It’s Heidi. Why the hell haven’t you picked up your phone? The computer’s malfunctioned, and the readings are writing over one another, and—”
“I’m in the hospital.”
“What?”
“Fred”—her ninety-pound golden retriever—“pulled me over this morning. I didn’t think I’d done more than twist my ankle and got a few bruises, but then my foot swelled up like a balloon, and I couldn’t walk on it.” She released a shaking breath. “I think I’m going to need to have surgery.”
“Shit,” Heidi whispered.
“I know.”
“I’ll get the lab sorted and come straight over.”
Stef inhaled sharply, her normal no-nonsense tone returning. “Absolutely not, this is supposed to be your weekend off. Damage control and then call in Matteo. He can cover the lab for the rest of the time.”
Since she had planned on calling Matteo to take over, she didn’t argue with Stef, just asked her a few questions about her injury and what hospital she was at. Because she sure as hell wasn’t going to allow her assistant to go through that alone. Stef was good people, and she didn’t have anyone in the area since she’d broken up with her boyfriend and he’d taken their friends.
Assholes.
Somewhere in the swirling in the back of her head, she made a mental note to make sure she, Cora, Kelsey, and Kate all brought the full-frontal attack into folding Stef into their friend group.
She needed some peeps—and ones that wouldn’t disappear just because a boyfriend was a total twat-waffle.
“What room are you in?”
“Five-oh-four,” Stef said. “And here I live until at least tomorrow. They don’t think the surgeon will be able to see me until then.”
“Oh no,” Heidi murmured as she jotted the hospital name and the room number on a scrap of paper from her purse. Last thing she needed to do was forget one or the other with everything else going on. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. But don’t worry, I’m comfortable and have plenty of bad cable TV to keep me company.”
“What about a phone charger? Or a change of clothes? Or snacks? Or a book?” she asked, mind jumping between her friend being in the hospital and the lab.
“It’s one night,” Stef said. “Trust me, I’ve roughed it in worse places.”
“Hang in there,” she said as they approached the gate for the lab.
“Keep me posted on the equipment.”
Hell no, she wouldn’t, or at least not any more than what was necessary so Stef wouldn’t worry and jeopardize her recovery. “I’ll call you as soon as I can,” she promised then hung up, stashing her cell and pulling out her badge. “I’m afraid they won’t let you in without the proper clearance,” she told Brad. “You’ll have to drop me out here, and I’ll grab an Über home.”
“I can wait,” he began.
She touched his cheek. “I have no idea how long I’ll be.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Well, I do,” she murmured. “I won’t be able to concentrate in there if you’re out here just twiddling your thumbs. Go home. I’ll call tonight if it’s not too late. Tomorrow, if it is.” Dropping her hand, she pulled her purse onto her shoulder. “You can just park over there,” she said, pointing to the row of visitor spots before the gate.
He pulled to a stop and looked at her. “You sure you don’t want me to wait?” A small smile. “I’ve got plenty of books to keep me busy.”
She nodded. “Thank you for offering. That’s sweet. But I’m sure.” Pausing with her hand on the handle of the door, she made a face and said, “But I am sorry my work ruined our date.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he told her. “Now I’ve got plenty of ammunition to tease you back.”
“I think we’re equal, and that’s it.”
He laughed. “Maybe you’re right.
Hand still resting on the pull, she hesitated. “I don’t want to go.”
“I know, baby,” he murmured, pressing a quick kiss to her mouth that had her pulse skyrocketing and her lips tingling before he pulled back. “But your work is important. Our stuff will hold.”
She released a trembling breath, her heart squeezing tight, a mental billboard flashing Unicorn. Unicorn. Unicorn! across her mind. “Thank you,” she whispered.
A sexy smile. “Get out of here before I kiss that look off your face. You’ve got work to do.”
Heart full, she nodded, pulled the lever, and got out. She walked quickly to the gate and showed her pass. When they opened it for her, she glanced back, saw that Brad was still waiting for her, and waved.
He waved back then gestured at her to hurry up.
Laughing, she turned her back on the gate, on the visitor’s parking lot, on Brad, and hustled into the lab, thinking that she’d definitely found the Unicorn.
She just wasn’t sure how long he’d stick around.
Later that night, many hours later, after things in the lab had stabilized and she’d managed to save their six months of work, she stumbled into the parking lot, bleary-eyed and exhausted, Maggie staggering alongside her.
Luckily, she didn’t have to wait for a pickup, as Maggie had offered to get her home, and so they made their way over to her assistant’s tiny hybrid.
A few minutes later, they were on the freeway, heading for Heidi’s place.
“Thanks again for driving me home,” she said, staring out at the dark sky, at the bright flashes of white and red lights surrounding them.
“Thanks again for not firing me,” Maggie said lightly.
“That calculation wasn’t your fault, and you know it.” Heidi shook her head. “I honestly cannot think of what happened. All the numbers and settings were correct when I left yesterday, and we were the only ones in there.”
A beat. “Except, we weren’t the only ones in there.”
Heidi frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well, when I came in this afternoon to run the checks, I saw the cleaning crew leaving.” She glanced over then back at the road. “I didn’t think anything of it at first, and then after I noticed the readings, I was in too much of a panic to make sure the experiment didn’t fail that I’d forgotten.”
“And now you remembered.”
A nervous look toward Heidi. “Yeah. I’m sorry, I didn’t remember sooner.”
“I’m not irritated with you,” she said, digging around her purse and grabbing her cell. There were all sorts of notifications on the screen, but nothing from Stef, who’d texted a few hours before saying they were taking her into surgery after all. “I’m just pissed that the protocol wasn’t followed, especially considering everything that could have been jeopardized.” She forced her tone to stay even. “In fact, I think you probably deserve a raise for managing to get all of those half-life calculations on the backup hard drive before the data was erased.”
“I—well—”
Heidi patted her arm. “You did good,” she said. “I promise I’d tell you otherwise.”
“Not so good,” she muttered. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have had to call in the boss on her day off.”
“Meh. Won’t be the first, nor the last. Now,” she added, changing the subject before Maggie could go too far down the rabbit hole of feeling sorry for herself and/or feeling guilty for needing to call in backup. “Tell me all about what it’s like to be twenty-two and living in the city. What do all the cool kids do for fun?”
She laughed. “What makes you think I’m remotely a cool kid?”
“Because you’re twenty-two,” Heidi pointed out.
“Trust me,” Maggie said dryly. “That’s not nearly enough.” But she did share a funny story about a bar called Bobby’s she’d gone to with girlfriends the previous weekend, and how the front room was super fun with cool décor and fun music, but that the back room was filled with outdated tunes . . . and people.
“I just was looking for the bathroom, and I swear, it
was like the middle-aged club had unleashed a party back there. There was dancing and drinking, and the noise was intense. I swear, they were having more fun than we were in that front room.”
“How old were these middle-aged people?” she asked, well-familiar with Bobby’s and definitely knowing that she and her friends were relegated to the back room.
Far away from the cool kids out front.
“God,” Maggie said, turning into Heidi’s complex. “They must have been like . . . thirty-five, some even forty.”
Heidi choked on a laugh.
She was thirty-three, nearing thirty-four.
Apparently, that was almost middle-aged.
Heaven help her.
“Thanks again,” she said when Maggie stopped in front of her condo. “I’m so glad I didn’t have to wait for an Über.”
Maggie smiled, nodded. “Thanks for being so cool about the lab.”
With a quick goodbye, she closed the door and headed up to the front door of her place. Oh, she’d been cool with Maggie—one, because it wasn’t her assistant’s fault, and two, because even if it had been, people made mistakes.
But the cleaning staff going into her lab wasn’t a mistake.
Or it wasn’t a mistake any longer.
She’d had to have a conversation with occupational health about not allowing the general cleaning company into the room three times already since she began at the company less than a year ago.
This would mark a fourth.
And the fourth broken promise, and one that had nearly jeopardized everything.
So no, she wouldn’t be the cool boss. Not any longer. In fact, she and several people were going to have a very stern conversation, and then if that didn’t work, she was installing a fucking dead bolt herself, with a lock and key only she and her team had copies of.
In fact, she was looking up said locks and keys, just to be preemptively prepared, when her phone buzzed with a text from Stef.
Why the hell did you send tall, dark, and handsome to look after me? Just saying, if he was my man, I’d have him under lock and key.