“I’m not having trouble staying awake, for God’s sake. I’m just not quite up to a marathon.”
“Well, everything around here is a marathon. That’s why I’m suggesting you not attempt to enter the competition. Ease in. See what you remember and where the holes are. Then we can take it from there.”
“Excellent,” Temple interrupted. “Now, I’ve got a meeting in the conference room. I trust you two can continue this tête-à-tête elsewhere?” She glanced at Michelle as she stood, eyebrows lifted. She gave her a more pointed glare as she shuffled toward the door.
Great. Now Temple didn’t think Michelle could play nice. Then again, Michelle wasn’t at all sure she was capable herself.
She followed Temple out of the office as Zeke backed into the hallway also. Temple walked away, and Michelle pasted on a smile. “You want to start tomorrow?”
“Now’s fine. Show me what you’re working on.” He swept a hand in the direction of the wing of the bunker where most of the medical personnel worked. At least he was a gentleman.
He followed her while she tried to imagine how she was going to live through this ordeal. She was backed up with projects that needed attention. Meanwhile, the bunker was quickly filling with newly reanimated staff whose skills were ten years behind. Next week, there would be four more joining the group.
The bunker was getting crowded, and tensions were high because no one was supposed to leave the bunker without permission.
The only way anyone could leave the bunker was if they chose to take a new name and relocate to start a new life. So far, no one had opted to leave. As more of them awoke, Michelle had little doubt some of them would quickly decide they didn’t want any part of this chaos.
When Michelle rounded the doorway leading to the main lab, she found several coworkers already buried in work.
“For some reason, the lab looks smaller than it did the last time I was here,” Zeke murmured.
“Well, I wasn’t here ten years ago, but Tushar, Trish, and Emily have all confirmed there have been few changes to anything. With the exception of the additional attached housing units, this section of the bunker hasn’t undergone much of an overhaul.”
“Oh, trust me. I would remember. I was just here a month ago in my mind.”
“Right.” She nodded as she led him to a workstation. She was aware of how each of the reanimated scientists perceived the passage of time, but it was still eerie. As far as the original team was concerned, they’d been in a sort of coma with no awareness that a decade had gone by.
Zeke picked up a notebook she’d been using before she went to see Temple. “How can you even read this?” he asked, scowling.
She inhaled slowly, forcing herself not to slap him. If he said one more condescending thing, she wasn’t sure she could hold back. “I don’t need to. Everything important is in the computer. I just keep a notebook next to me to jot something down quickly if I need to.”
“The computer…” He glanced at the laptop open on the desk area.
The room was bustling with six other people working and talking over each other. Sometimes Michelle felt like she worked for a major newspaper always on the cusp of an important story instead of in a government bunker.
Project DEEP was the thankfully short abbreviation for Disease & Epidemic Eradication & Prevention. Not a soul used that term. Half of them couldn’t even remember it.
“Yeah, I’ve also come to realize your team didn’t rely as heavily on computers ten years ago.”
“We used computers, of course, but I’ve never trusted them enough to rely on them not eating my data or losing it somehow in the ether,” he grumbled.
“They’ve improved a lot in the last decade. We back up everything multiple times into a cloud and onto external hard drives. It’s all safe.”
He lifted a brow. “I’m clear on how the computer works. We backed up everything even in the dark ages a decade ago, but if I can’t hold it in my hands, it doesn’t feel safe.”
Was he going to argue with her like this constantly? She was losing her patience, and they hadn’t even started yet. Great. This was going to be so much fun. “You might like to take a refresher course on computers to get up to speed. Kate, Grayson, and Colton were going to sit down with our tech guy and brush up.” The three people she was referring to had been reanimated at the same time as Zeke. They were coworkers of Zeke’s.
Zeke ignored her offer. Perhaps he didn’t play nice with others even a decade ago. “I’ll just stick to paper for now.”
“Okay. Suit yourself.”
“What’s most urgent?” he asked, taking a seat in the rolling chair as he lifted the printout of a spreadsheet to scrutinize. He didn’t look her in the eye. It was annoying as hell and somewhat rude or condescending. She wasn’t sure which.
If this guy even so much as insinuated that she wasn’t as good as him because she was a woman, she truly would kill him with her bare hands. She wasn’t sure why she got that particular vibe, but it stuck. “Myasthenia Gravis,” she said.
He nodded slowly, peering into the microscope in front of him and then glancing around at the samples on the desk. “It makes me kind of sick to my stomach to realize how little advancement has been made in the last ten years in some areas of research,” he told the microscope.
She chose to pretend he wasn’t criticizing her in particular or even the Project DEEP team. He’s just making an observation. Don’t take it personally.
“Why is this disease at the forefront right now?” he asked the desk.
She wanted to grab his chin and force him to make eye contact with her. Instead, she took a deep breath and answered his question. They were going to be working closely. She needed to find a way to stifle this animosity. “There has been an unusual surge in occurrences in the last few years. No one knows the causes, and we’re still no closer to a cure.”
“I see.”
“I’ll give you some time to look over the data.” she stated, hoping to get away from him so she could breathe again. It was too bad he was so foul. If his brow weren’t knitted together and he actually smiled and relaxed his shoulders, women would do a double-take when they walked by.
At a glance, he was attractive. Six feet tall. Green eyes she’d only glimpsed. Broad shoulders. Brown wavy hair. He could even be sexy. But instead, he was a bit of an ass.
“Let me know if you need anything. Or ask anyone in the room. We’re all friendly.” Except you.
Keeping his head tipped down, he lifted his gaze alone to meet hers. It was the first time he made eye contact with her. “I have a PhD in immunology from Harvard. I think I’ll be fine.”
“Good for you,” she returned. “I have a matching PhD from Emory that is ten years newer than yours.” Without another word, she turned around and left the room, praying she could make it to someplace private before she stomped her feet in frustration.
If you’d like to continue reading Reviving Zeke, here is the purchase link: Reviving Zeke (Project DEEP, Book Four)
Author’s Note
Thank you for enjoying the third book in the Project DEEP series. If you’d like to continue reading the series, I’m including a link for the fourth book in the series.
Reviving Zeke (Project DEEP, Book Four)
If you’d like to try one of my Mixed Martial Arts series, I’d suggest Come. It’s free on all venues.
Come (The Fight Club, Book 1)
If you’re interested in trying out one of my paranormal stories, I have recently released a new series called Arcadian Bears. This series is a spin-off from my most popular series, Wolf Masters.
Grizzly Mountain (Arcadian Bears, Book 1)
Also by Becca Jameson
Project DEEP:
Reviving Emily
Reviving Trish
Reviving Dade
Reviving Zeke
* * *
SEALs in Paradise:
Hot SEAL, Red Wine
* * *
Cl
ub Zodiac:
Training Sasha
Obeying Rowen
Collaring Brooke
* * *
Arcadian Bears:
Grizzly Mountain
Grizzly Beginning
Grizzly Secret
Grizzly Promise
Grizzly Survival
Grizzly Perfection
* * *
Sleeper SEALs:
Saving Zola
* * *
Spring Training:
Catching Zia
Catching Lily
Catching Ava
* * *
The Underground series:
Force
Clinch
Guard
Submit
Thrust
Torque
Saving Sofia (Kindle World)
* * *
Wolf Masters series:
Kara’s Wolves
Lindsey’s Wolves
Jessica’s Wolves
Alyssa’s Wolves
Tessa’s Wolf
Rebecca’s Wolves
Melinda’s Wolves
Laurie’s Wolves
Amanda’s Wolves
Sharon’s Wolves
* * *
Claiming Her series:
The Rules
The Game
The Prize
* * *
Emergence series:
Bound to be Taken
Bound to be Tamed
Bound to be Tested
Bound to be Tempted
* * *
The Fight Club series:
Come
Perv
Need
Hers
Want
Lust
* * *
Wolf Gatherings series:
Tarnished
Dominated
Completed
Redeemed
Abandoned
Betrayed
* * *
Durham Wolves series:
Rescue in the Smokies
Fire in the Smokies
Freedom in the Smokies
* * *
Stand Alone Books:
Blind with Love
Guarding the Truth
Out of the Smoke
Abducting His Mate
Three’s a Cruise
Wolf Trinity
Frostbitten
A Princess for Cale/A Princess for Cain
About the Author
Becca Jameson is the best-selling author of over 70 books. She is most well-known for her Wolf Masters series and her Fight Club series. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, two grown kids, and the various pets that wander through. She is loving this journey and has dabbled in a variety of genres, including paranormal, sports romance, military, and BDSM.
A total night owl, Becca writes late at night, sequestering herself in her office with a glass of red wine and a bar of dark chocolate, her fingers flying across the keyboard as her characters weave their own stories.
During the day--which never starts before ten in the morning!--she can be found jogging, floating in the pool, or reading in her favorite hammock chair!
…where Alphas dominate…
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Contact Becca:
www.beccajameson.com
[email protected]
Reviving Dade Page 20