Sometimes It Is Rocket Science

by Thorpe, Kara

  “And you said I was the featherbrain,” she teased, face raised and eyes shining brilliantly, “I love you, too.”

  An hour later, sated and limp, Robert considered his backseat research nearly complete. He scarcely had time to catch his breath before Georgiana cheerfully informed him that they needed to test the shocks. And then maybe the seat springs again. Just to be thorough.

  Chapter Thirty-Two:

  “And you’ll be fine here with Dan? You don’t want me to stay home?” Georgiana asked for the third time since her brother had stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  Tab lobbed an orange segment at his sister. “Go to work. Dan’s going to help me with my calculus assignment, and then I’m going to finish my literature assignment.”

  “I pulled out two of my old astronomy texts. We’ll go over the basics, too,” Dan promised.

  “Okay. Be good.” She kissed the top of Tab’s head before turning and kissing Dan’s forehead. “You, too.”

  Robert handed Georgiana her briefcase and her purse. He fixed cool, serious eyes on Tab and Dan. “All of us have taken measures to ruin Prask’s life. By now he has to know something is wrong. He’s already proven that he doesn’t care who he hurts. Neither of you are to leave the house until Prask is in police custody. I’ve heightened NORA’s security sensitivity. Try to keep Quinn away from the south fence.”

  Once he had assurances that his instructions would be followed, Robert ushered Georgiana to the garage with a hand on the small of her back. Georgiana automatically headed for the Aston-Martin. Robert paused by the Maybach.

  “I’m driving,” she said. “Allan and New York spoiled you. You’re not up to rush hour standards yet.”

  Robert set his briefcase behind the passenger seat. He ran a hand along the roof. “Top down?”

  “On the way home,” Georgiana promised. “I hate walking in to the building looking like I rode in on a tornado.”

  “Given how you drive, it’s a fair comparison.”

  Georgiana grinned at him. “Just get in. I promise to go easy on you.”

  As soon as she pulled her door shut, he leaned across the center console to steal a kiss. “I can take whatever you dish out, doll.”

  She shoved at his shoulders, cheeks pink and lips swollen. Laughter sparkled in her eyes. She curled her fingers around the steering wheel to keep from yanking him across the console for another kiss or twenty. It was ridiculous to want him so fiercely after the previous night. She needed to revisit her pheromone-laced aftershave theory.

  “You know I’ll have to test that assertion, right?”

  “That’s what I’m counting on.” Robert adjusted the stereo volume so that they could hold a conversation over the music. “When Allan returns from his trip, we will have to discuss commute options with him. It is impractical for him to follow you to the office and then return home to collect me.”

  Georgiana looked away from the road long enough to frown at him. “Once Prask is no longer an issue, why do I need an Allan-shaped shadow?”

  “The fact that you actually asked that question is, quite frankly, frightening. You had a bodyguard when you were at MIT. What happened to him?”

  “He is the head of security at our Little Rock office. Dad gave him the job as soon as I moved back to Houston. Neither of us saw the need when I spent most of my time at home with him or at the office with dozens of guards.”

  Robert sighed, propped an elbow on the center console and cradled his chin in his hand. “You are a beautiful, brilliant, wealthy woman, Georgiana.”

  “Flattering as that is, don’t change the subject.”

  “I’m not. Those are just three reasons someone would want to harm or abduct you. When you factor in CA’s work on a few controversial projects, and disgruntled former employees, the list of potential threats grows. Plus, once we are married, you will be a target for anyone looking to get at me.”

  “You forgot to include the bevy of jilted lovers you left behind. You’re a catch, Bobby, losing you could cause someone to lose a few marbles.” When Robert’s lips didn’t so much as twitch, she settled a hand on his arm. “Okay. So, I not only gain a husband and father-in-law, I gain an Allan. Still not a bad deal.”

  “Allan can drive us to work in the town car. He will drop you off and your building and then pick you up whenever you are ready to leave.”

  Georgiana grimaced. “The town car? Really?” She shuddered. “I always feel like I’m going to a funeral when I ride in it. Not my favorite way to start my morning.”

  “Do you have a better solution?”

  “You and I carpool, and Allan can follow in whichever vehicle Dan lets him appropriate. Allan can drive Dan when he comes to the office.” She patted his arm soothingly when he stiffened in protest. “I enjoy driving, Bobby. Even crazy Houston driving. And I like the freedom that comes with having my own vehicle. You can ride with me to work and take the tunnels to your office.”

  “The tunnels are not entirely secure, Gigi.”

  “Allan can hold your hand if you get scared.”

  He straightened, laced his fingers with hers. “The only hand I care to hold is yours.” He lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles. “I admit that it is a good compromise, Gigi. I look forward to our morning commute.”

  “We keep different schedules, so I’m not going to count on riding home together every day.” She flicked on her blinker and quickly crossed two lanes. The truck behind her blasted his horn. She ignored Robert’s swift intake of breath and changed lanes again. “I would like for us to have dinner as a family at least three nights a week. Tab needs the stability.”

  “I think we all could use the stability,” Robert observed. “It is a practice I would like to continue after Tab leaves for college.”

  “He wants to go to Stanford,” she said. For the rest of the drive to the office, she recounted the conversation they’d had the previous afternoon. Robert offered to help her locate a good, discrete therapist for Tab. He carefully suggested that she consider finding someone for herself. She agreed to remain open to the possibility.

  Georgiana parked in the spot beside the one bearing her father’s name. Robert’s lips thinned, but he did not comment on her choice of parking spaces. She walked him through the lobby to the entrance to the tunnels. It felt like every employee milling around the lobby was watching them.

  “I’ll see you at lunch. Oliver makes the most amazing chicken salad sandwiches. We can have a picnic in your office,” she said. She set her briefcase on the floor so her hands were free to straighten the collar of his striped oxford shirt. She used a tissue to wipe at a spot on his chin. “Nice jeans. Casual Friday looks good on you.”

  Robert raked his eyes from the toes of her eggplant leather pumps to the shoulders of her steel gray blazer. “I was under the impression that CA had adopted a similar policy.”

  “I have a meeting with the board this morning. We’re going to make our final decision regarding Hayes.”

  “I believe red is the traditional power color,” he said, running a finger across the buttons of her plum dress shirt.

  “And purple is the color of royalty.” She twisted her fingers together, averted her gaze. After a moment of silence, she lifted her head. “I want it. The company. I’ve been thinking about how Prask tried to take it from me, how I could have lost it. It’s mine, and it’s time I act like it.”

  Robert met her enthusiasm with an arched eyebrow. “You don’t want it so that you can pass it on to your brother once he is finished with school?”

  “No. I want it because it’s Collier Analytics, and that’s the legacy my father left. He trusted me to raise Tab and to take care of the company. He loved this place, and as much as it frustrates the hell out of me, I love it, too.”

  “Good.” Robert pressed his lips against hers. He came away with traces of tinted gloss on the corners of his mouth. When Georgiana dabbed at the spots, he nipped the pad of her thumb. “I will be here for whate
ver you need, even if it’s just a way to relieve stress. Especially if it’s a way to relieve stress.”

  “Thanks.” She gestured toward the door. “You should go before Cedric starts to worry.”

  With swift, nimble fingers, Robert popped open the first closed button on Georgiana’s shirt to reveal pale skin and a hint of cleavage. He kissed her before she could berate him. “It is casual Friday, Gigi,” he murmured against her lips.

  He paused with his hand on the door. “Georgiana,” he called. She stopped, pivoted. “You should start by parking in the proper spot.”

  Yvonne was waiting for Georgiana upstairs. The younger woman’s lips were curled in a sympathetic smile. She curled an arm around Georgiana for a brief hug. Georgiana patted Yvonne’s arm before slipping out of the embrace.

  “I need twenty minutes with Pat Mayhan before my meeting with the board. I also need a quick word with Phillip Winters. His cell number is in my list of contacts.” Georgiana breezed by her assistant to enter her office. Thanks to the sensors in the doorway, the lights flicked on as soon as she stepped over the threshold. She set her briefcase on the desk. “Make sure all the videoconference equipment is set up in the small conference room on the second floor. I like the lighting in there better. The wireless signal’s stronger, too.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “That reminds me: tell Andy in IT that I want a plan for upgrading the building’s wireless in my inbox by COB tomorrow.” Georgiana removed her laptop from her briefcase but did not boot it up. “I’m having lunch with Robert Norwood; please instruct Oliver to pack up two box lunches with chicken salad sandwiches on pretzel bread. I’ll pick them up at twelve-thirty.”

  Yvonne glanced up from where she was scribbling notes on a small legal pad. Her eyes were wide but she was smiling. Georgiana’s zeal was contagious. “Is there anything else?”

  “Yes. Have maintenance move my parking nameplate onto my father’s old space. I want his nameplate hung on the wall across from my desk.”

  Yvonne nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

  Georgiana fingered the tissue in her trouser pocket. “I need to set up a test downstairs. I’ll be right back.”

  “Geesh,” Yvonne murmured as she walked back to her desk. “Whatever Mr. Norwood put in your coffee this morning should be regulated by the FDA.”

  “This is all me, Yvonne. Well, me and three cups of Pep. We’ve been running on autopilot for far too long; it’s time to get back to work.” Georgiana chuckled as she headed for the elevator. “ERIC’s set up to dispense Pep if you need it.”

  Georgiana took over an empty station in the R&D lab. CA’s chemical analysis equipment was not top of the line, but it was more than adequate for her needs. Twenty minutes later, she had vials of dissolved tissue set up in the mass spectrometer and high-performance liquid chromatographer. She recruited one of the junior lab technicians to monitor the machines and text her the tests results when they were ready for review.

  Georgiana’s morning was filled with meetings. Her discussion with the head of her legal department eased her nerves before her meeting with the board, as did the motivational text from Robert. The news that Hayes, thanks in part to Georgiana’s report, was being questioned in connection with Prask’s SEC’s violations, made it easier to pass her motion to have him removed from the board. Not every talking point on her hastily scrawled list was addressed, but she signed off from the meeting hopeful.

  As Robert immediately wanted a recap of her board meeting, which was followed by a debate on what her next move should be, she did not have a chance to review the test results until she was halfway through their lunch. She frowned as she scrolled through the analyses. “Nothing out of the ordinary, though I would have expected to see SD-alcohol 40 and not witch hazel.”

  “Are you still working on the BHO?” Robert asked, attempting to steal the pickle spear off her plate.

  “No.” She slapped his wrist. The pickle fell back to the plate. “It’s the chemical composition of aftershave.”

  “Aftershave? While I don’t doubt you could conquer whatever market you choose to enter, the cosmetics industry is cutthroat. And I am rather fond of your throat.”

  Georgiana closed the reports and slid her phone into her pocket. She used her plastic utensils to cut the pickle spear in half and then offered half to Robert. “So, was I right about Oliver’s chicken salad? I wasn’t a fan of the grapes and the apples at first, but it grew on me.”

  “I like the bread. Does he use it for all of his sandwiches?” Robert waggled his finger at her. “You cannot distract me so easily, Gigi.”

  A slow, sly smile spread across her face. “Are you sure about that?” She rolled her chair around the corner of the small table. Holding Robert’s amused gaze, she slid her foot out of her pump and carefully dipped her toes under the hem of his pant leg. His ankle was warm, the hair rough, against her toes.

  “I see I should have allocated more time for this lunch meeting,” he drawled, eyes darkening to obsidian. He reached for her. She arched toward him, glad that she’d worn her favorite lilac bra. His hand bypassed the buttons of her blouse and snuck into the pocket of her trousers; it emerged with her phone.

  “I have a program that will allow me to unlock any device with a numeric passcode. It takes longer than I’d like, but I am working on that. Still, I think we’ll pass on that particular breach of trust.” He set the phone on the table. “Why were you analyzing aftershave? More to the point, whose aftershave were you testing?”

  “Yours.” She stuffed her foot back in her shoe. “I was analyzing your aftershave for pheromones.”

  Robert grinned. “There are no synthetic pheromones in my aftershave, Gigi.”

  “Obviously.”

  “Why would you think that there were?”

  She lifted her glass of iced tea, watched the bobbing ice cubes. Given the temperature of the tea and the length of time she’d been in the office, more cubes should have melted unless they’d been kept at a temperature lower than most freezers. That would explain why the cookies he’d pulled from the office mini fridge had been coated with a fine layer of frost.

  “Gigi,” he prompted, hand on her knee.

  She blinked, glanced up from the glass. “I was looking for an explanation for why you were having such an effect on me.”

  “Oh?” Robert’s hand slid up her thigh. He settled his other hand on her hip. “Please expound on this effect. Perhaps we can find an alternate explanation.”

  Her glass hit the table with a clink and the rattle of ice cubes. Emboldened by the ardor and love in Robert’s dark eyes, she placed a palm in the center of his chest and shoved him back in his chair. She shrugged out of her blazer, settled one knee on either side of his hip. The chair’s frame squeaked under their combined weight. The position made her slightly taller. She lowered her face so that her lips were millimeters above his. His tongue darted out to flick her bottom lip.

  “Oh, Bobby, I think this is more of a show than a tell.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three:

  Georgiana didn’t consider herself a particularly impatient person, but waiting to hear from Allan or Robert was driving her up the wall. She’d sorted her emails by department and priority, gotten a report from Tab’s teachers, and started in on the pile of work Yvonne had cheerfully dropped stacked on her desk. She’d even read the assistant human resource manager’s suggestions for a dress code update. Twice.

  “Yvonne,” she called, letting the memo flutter down on to her desk. “Do we seriously have a problem with excessive piercings?”

  “Just that guy in security. The cute one with the dark hair and the dragon tattoo.”

  “Do you think it’s a distraction that ‘hinders the productivity of the company as a whole’?”

  “No.” Yvonne stepped into Georgiana’s office and sank onto an upholstered chair. “But I’ll tell you what is a distraction: that nasty woman down on the first floor who insists on wearing navy blue underwear with whi
te pants or a regular bra under a wrap shirt. No one wants to see her granny panties or her pasty flab. Especially not on a Monday morning.”

  Georgiana pushed the memo toward her assistant. “Maybe I should request that you be invited to join the dress code committee.”

  “As long as you understand that I cannot be held responsible for what I say if that crazy lady in legal brings up appropriate nail polish colors again.”

  Georgiana glanced at her unpolished nails. “I created a glow-in-the-dark polish for my fourth grade science fair project.”

  “Perhaps you should sit in on the dress code committee meetings,” Yvonne countered.

  Georgiana’s cell screen lit up and displayed Claire Prask’s name seconds before her desk phone rang. She reached for her cell while Yvonne dove for the desk phone. She spun her chair around so that she and Yvonne didn’t have to yell to be heard over each other. The acoustics in the office were dismal. She and her father had discussed replacing the insulation in the walls, and she’d investigated ceiling tiles that were supposed to…

  “Georgie, what is this I hear about you being the luckiest girl in our graduating class?” Claire laughed. The poor international connection did little to disguise the amusement in Claire’s light, airy tone.

  “Claire! I’ve been trying to call you all morning,” Georgiana said.

  “And I called during your lunch break but you were… occupied.”

  Georgiana’s cheeks flamed. She forced herself to keep from giggling like a schoolgirl. “Yeah, I was. Listen, Claire, I need to ask you something important. Do you own any shares of your father’s company? Are you named in any of his holdings?”

  Claire laughed again, though this time the sound lacked its earlier joviality. “Of course not. Dear old Dad paid for my FIT tuition, but I repaid him, with interest, afterwards. Pissed him off something royal. We don’t talk much. Mom’s lawyers did a fantastic job cleaning him out, and I sided with her during the divorce. You know how he can hold a grudge. Why do you ask?”