Seducing the Stargazer

by Kim Carmichael

  In an act of defiance, he leaned back and slowly lifted his coffee.

  “Garner Hemmingway Knox!” Dana’s unexpected screech jolted through him, causing him to dump his hot beverage all over his shirt, pants, and his desk.

  “Mrs. Benton!” Hot liquid soaked through his clothes searing him and he jumped out of his chair and glared at his agent. “What on Earth are you doing?”

  “Trying to save your career!” She charged toward his desk. “I can’t believe you did this. Why didn’t you call? This was not in our plans for Personal Space!”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” He brushed the whipped cream off and only created a bigger mess as it smeared. “Mrs. Benton! Wynn!”

  “You are a toddler in PhD clothing.” Dana dropped her bag, proceeded to tear off her jacket and shoved it into his crotch. “There, all better!”

  “Stay away from there!” He shooed her away, but used the jacket to wipe his clothes down.

  “I believe that has gotten us into enough trouble,” she said. “Apparently a run of good sex makes you a space cadet who knows nothing about what’s going on.” She picked up her bag.

  “What is going on?” He threw the jacket aside and stared her down.

  Jim ran into the office. “In the last hour we’ve had three investors back out, one threaten to sue us, and the media hounding Personal Space, demanding to know what kind of scam we are pulling.” He pounded his fist on the desk. “Did you know something? Is this why you and Dr. Carlsbad wouldn’t sign off the flight plan? Everyone is calling foul.”

  “Garner, what’s wrong?” In a t-shirt with the dwarf planet Pluto on it and a pair of his sweat pants, Wynn entered breathless with Mrs. Benton behind her.

  He held out his arms and without hesitation, she held on to the waistband of his oversized pants and ran to him.

  “She did this!” Dana growled. “It was her old company. We’ve been the victim of corporate espionage!”

  “Excuse me?” Wynn let go of him, crossed her arms and faced Dana, causing the huge pants to fall down around her ankles, leaving her in the short t-shirt and his favorite pair of black lace, barely-there panties. “Public relations or not, you better watch what you say before you say it.”

  Dana pointed right in Wynn’s face. “I should be saying the same thing to you.”

  Wynn lunged for the woman. Somehow Garner managed to catch her and pull her back.

  Dana screamed.

  “Everyone stop!” Garner yelled.

  In an instant the room silenced.

  “Someone tell me and Wynn what’s happening, or you’re going to be out two astronomers.” He glanced at Dana, then turned his attention to Jim. “And you will be out another investor.”

  Dana and Jim glanced at each other, then Jim stepped forward. “This morning, Dr. Michael MacFarland went on the news stating that Personal Space is doomed for their next launch, that our fuel consumption is out of control, and they have come to NJL to seek an alternate flight path.”

  “What?” Wynn gasped.

  After digesting the words, Garner shook his head. They couldn’t lose the investors, not after everything they went through to keep them. The company was at the verge of launching. Once they had the probe up in the air, they would have proved themselves. “That is simply conjecture. No one even spoke to NJL. Honestly, we have been out, we haven’t even looked at the flight plan, we have been working on some research.”

  “I looked at the flight plan,” Wynn whispered. “I noticed something.”

  “What did you notice that you decided to keep secret?” Garner asked. They never discussed the flight plan or anything wrong with it. He bent down and pulled up her pants.

  She took hold of the waistband and looked up at him. “The fuel consumption. I thought there had to be another way, and I emailed my friend, Adam, and asked for his advice.”

  His entire body heated and he stared beyond her, taking in her words. “So rather than consult the person you work for, or the many, many engineers at your disposal, you went outside the company?”

  “Work with.” Even in this moment, she fought him.

  Dana put her hand to her head. “She leaked it. We have to fix this.”

  Shaking his head, Jim paced around the room.

  “No.” Wynn grabbed his arm. “I didn’t leak anything. Adam must have asked for help.”

  He pulled his arm away from her. The woman decided to collaborate with someone else. She lied—she didn’t believe in him after all.

  “I thought there could be a different flight plan, something that could save money. The fuel usage was off the chart.” Her voice broke.

  “We chose this time for a reason,” Jim interjected. “We only needed your blessing that we weren’t going to collide with another asteroid.”

  Wynn wrapped her arms around herself.

  “You were specifically told not to go rogue. If you had a question or concern, you should’ve come right to me. Did you not think I could handle the intricacies of planning a launch?” After everything, she had no faith in the company, and zero faith in him. He looked up at the ceiling. “We’ll use this misstep to our advantage somehow.” Not only did he have money riding on Personal Space, but at the end of the day he refused to allow Wynn to take the company down.

  “This Dr. MacFarland has been known to have run-ins with you. Why would you go outside our circle?” Dana looked down at her phone then threw it across the room. “We’re trending now as the company who will never get it up!”

  Wynn backed away from him. “I went to a specialist.” Her eyes glistened with tears. “Because I didn’t want to create a scene.”

  “Well, that’s exactly what you created, and now it will cost you everything.” Dana spat at her, looked around the room, then ran right into Mrs. Benton’s arms and burst into tears.

  “You had the best of the best all around you,” Garner said. His body took on a strange numbness as he stood there in the midst of some of the worst chaos since the big bang. “People who are paid big dollars to make these decisions. Your prejudice against private sector space and belief that I’m only a media darling ended up betraying everyone.”

  Well, there was something he could do that none of her brainy colleagues could accomplish. He could own the media, he could fix his company, and he would use everything at his disposal. “Dana, get the media over to the observatory at the West Coast Institute of Technology campus for an emergency press conference. Jim, round up our engineers, we need to show a united front.”

  “Garner.” Wynn’s voice cracked. “What happens next?”

  At last, he set his eyes on her. No matter what he accomplished or tried to show her, she would never have come to him. Everything became clear. This was the exact reason he walked away from her five years ago. “Go get dressed. We have some repair work to do.” He glanced down at the desk drawer that held her ring, then pushed past everyone to go clean up and plan his strategy. Unfortunately, he couldn’t fire her. He still needed her for one final performance.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The huge SUV drove through her old college campus, but rather than a warm sensation of coming home, nostalgia and smiles, Wynn was quite certain her heart was at the moment boring an escape route right through her chest with a dull spoon.

  Since walking away from his office, Garner had not spoken a word to her. In fact, the only person who dared speak to her was Mrs. Benton, and even she was more subdued than normal.

  With Garner, Dana and Jim surrounding her in the SUV, Wynn could feel the walls of the vehicle closing in on her. Though she tried to speak with him multiple times, she was only met with his back when he turned away, or with a closed door to the office.

  Rather than try again, she stared out the window. The last time she stepped foot on these grounds, Garner walked away from her and broke her heart.

  She pressed her hand to the glass and swore she could see him like it happene
d yesterday.

  Diploma still clutched in her hand and sweltering in the doctorate burgundy and black gown and hood, she had walked away from her parents, shielded her eyes and searched out Garner. Since the night they made love, he hadn’t spoken to her. Though normally one to confront issues directly, she gave him the last two days alone while he defended his dissertation. Instead of having the man she loved with her the whole time, she carried around a boulder with the weight of a neutron star in her stomach.

  While she saw him during the ceremony, the whole pomp and circumstance was so chaotic, she decided to wait until they could be alone for a moment. They had never really planned what would happen after graduation, but she assumed they would be together—they were always together.

  Finally, off in the distance, she spotted him. Garner was never hard to miss, tall, lean, powerful, brilliant. “I’ll be right back.” She nodded to her parents, and with the star in hand, took off toward him. Oh, she had plans for the favor he was going to get tonight.

  Alone, he walked down the length of one of the buildings. No doubt he was searching for her in return, and not caring what she sounded or looked like, she sped up. “Garner!”

  He seemed to slow, but didn’t stop, didn’t turn.

  Her throat dried out. All she needed was to see his face, see him flash her that incredible smile, have him hold his arms out. Maybe he was nervous, after all, they hadn’t been together since they made love, but they had the rest of their lives.

  “Garner, wait for me!”

  This time he stopped.

  Her breath caught, waiting.

  No smile.

  No warm embrace to greet her.

  He continued on without ever glancing back or saying a word.

  No doubt he heard her.

  Obviously, he was done. All those hours, those plans, even making love to her had been nothing but a joke. He wanted her until he earned his degree, nothing more. She stood there until he disappeared around the corner, one tear streaming down her cheek. “Garner?”

  “Dab the corner of your eye and don’t smear your makeup.” Dana thrust a tissue at her.

  Wynn blinked. She didn’t realize she was crying until she touched her face to find it wet, then took the offering from the publicist who hated her. “Garner.” In no world would she get out of this car until he spoke to her. She wouldn’t be abandoned on the same campus twice.

  After a day of avoiding her, he finally met her gaze. “We’re asking you to defer all questions to me. You need not speak at this event, only stand by my side.”

  “If I don’t speak, doesn’t it look like we’re hiding something?” Again, she was relegated to human accessory.

  “I’m the media expert. Remember, I wrote my dissertation in it. Please abide by my wishes while we do damage control. There are millions of dollars at stake. People’s jobs are depending on the next few minutes.”

  Somehow it felt as if everything in her life depended on the next few minutes. “Can we go somewhere and talk after?” She had to make him understand she never went to Adam to create a problem; in fact, quite the opposite. Dare she tell him that at the end of everything, she came to care for the company? She wanted to see them launch Maverick, wanted them to do some good for the space community.

  “What do you want to know?” Garner’s blank expression chilled her.

  Where was the man who took her to Mars? The man who made love to her every night? The man who discovered their asteroid, well, two asteroids? She shook her head.

  The car wound its way around the observatory and stopped. Already, the media had gathered. Her eyes heated with tears wanting to fall. Too many images flooded her mind. All those nights they spent looking through the telescope, and the one night that mattered most way back when.

  “Put on your sunglasses,” again, Dana barked at her. “Try not to make any more disasters.”

  Jim opened the door and stepped out first, followed by Dana.

  Knowing Garner would be the last one out of the car, she slid toward the door. While she longed to take his hand, she resisted, but she had to know one thing. Though she wanted the answer to her eternal question of what happened next, there seemed no point in asking. However, there was something she needed to know. “Why did you leave me that day? You didn’t even stop, you just left, and I never heard from you again. Why?”

  “Why didn’t you come to me when you suspected something was awry with the flight plan?” He glared at her. “Was I not scientist enough for you?”

  Not understanding, she shrugged. “What happens next?” She couldn’t keep from asking. Maybe she needed to hold on to some hope.

  “I do what I do best and go be a talking head. That’s what my PhD is in, after all.” Garner motioned for her to go next.

  Not wanting to create any more issues, she put on her sunglasses and got out of the car.

  She stepped out into what she would call a whirlwind, a slew of flashes, sad starbursts that didn’t highlight a glorious moment in space history.

  The hum of the media murmuring in low tones vibrated through her as Garner took her upper arm and led her over to the podium.

  She focused out on the large grassy area where everyone gathered—the same place of their graduation ceremony. Once upon a time the same place where she and Garner laid in the sunshine after three nights in a row at the telescope, and he said they needed a dose of Vitamin D. She glanced up at him. Did he remember any of this or did his fame overshadow their history?

  While he adjusted the microphone and the noise around them dulled, she tried to keep herself together. At the end of the day, they were five years older, they were a couple now, a real one, and they had their research. They should be able to survive this. Right?

  “Greetings, Earthlings,” Garner’s deep voice boomed. “I have one thing to say.” He placed both hands on the side of the podium and leaned in.

  Though they were in the middle of an outdoor public space, it was absolutely and utterly silent.

  Garner paused and looked over the crowd before continuing. “Make no mistake, Personal Space will be launching next month.”

  “Even at the cost to your investors?” A male holding up a camera raised his arm. “This morning we told there could be an alternate flight plan that would save a considerable amount of money.”

  “Time on Maverick has been sold for three years. Therefore, we will not be delaying the launch any further.” Garner spoke clearly and calmly.

  Several people in the audience raised their hands.

  Garner pointed at one of the women Wynn recognized from the local news.

  The woman shoved her way forward. “This question is for Dr. Carlsbad. Dr. MacFarland, your old boss at NJL, was the one who criticized Personal Space’s flight plan this morning, calling it costly and a waste of money. It has been rumored that the two of you did not see to eye-to-eye.”

  Stuck between doing what Garner demanded and not talking, and the woman asking her a direct question, she crossed her arms and wished some sort of black hole would come and swallow her up.

  “Dr. Carlsbad, do you care to comment on the fact that Dr. MacFarland has come out publicly and called you a renegade? In fact, he said, and I quote, ‘the fact Dr. Winchester Carlsbad came to NJL versus consulting with the team of engineers at Personal Space casts doubt on the company’s entire space program as a whole,’” the woman shouted.

  She froze. No, didn’t anyone understand, that wasn’t what she meant? Maybe she wanted to be relevant, more than a decoration. She saw an error and didn’t want to make a big deal until she knew for sure. It never occurred to her Adam would say anything. What should she say? That she loved Garner since the day she met him right here on this campus? That the day she looked at the flight plan, she thought he was meeting someone else? That ever since the day she came back into his life with news of impending doom, she felt uncertain of herself because she wanted him? She didn’t say anything,
just turned to him.

  Garner gave her a slight shake of his head, telling her to stay put.

  “Is it or is it not true that you have come out before speaking against private space exploration?” The accusations continued to fly Wynn’s way. “Do you care to comment?”

  Heat consumed her. She had to defend herself, defend Personal Space, and defend Garner, so she pulled her own trigger and rushed to the microphone. “Yes, I have spoken out against private-sector space exploration. Even now I don’t believe in space for profit. I believe that space belongs to every being, and it’s the responsibility of mankind to collaborate, which is why I went to NJL when I suspected there could be a problem.”

  “Is there a problem with the launch?” a man yelled.

  In the glare of the sun, she couldn’t see who asked the question.

  “Some say this is simply a publicity stunt to keep Personal Space relevant,” someone else called out.

  “Why the rush to get Maverick in the air? Can you even get something in the air?” the previous woman asked. “Does this have to do with that asteroid?”

  “Yes!” Garner pushed her aside.

  The crowd let out a collective gasp.

  “There is news with the asteroid. It’s of great interest, and we want to get the probe in the air and begin intensive study,” he said.

  At the way Garner blurted their news, Wynn went numb.

  Mumbles went off through the crowd.

  “What kind of news?”

  “Is it dangerous?

  “Is there something we should know?”

  Wynn barely heard who asked the questions. She backed up and let Garner take the mic, willing him to let it lie, leave it on a cliffhanger. They needed to do their research work together and get something published. It wasn’t time for them to let anything out about the asteroid.

  “The asteroid Dr. Carlsbad discovered is actually two. The asteroid was split at some point and the two pieces are being kept together by gravitational forces.” While he didn’t exactly say the probe was related to the asteroid, he managed to redirect the news conference.