Love and the Laws of Motion

by Amanda Weaver

  “This isn’t fair,” Gemma fumed. “You shouldn’t have to change schools because of him.”

  Livie took a deep breath and looked at both of her sisters. Leaving them would be the hardest part of all. “It’s not just about Langley. It’s about me, too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know I had other choices for graduate school.”

  “Yeah,” Jess said. “MIT accepted you, right?”

  “And McArthur.”

  “But you picked Adams because of Finch,” Gemma pointed out.

  “That’s true.” She swallowed hard. Admitting it to herself had been hard enough. Admitting it to her sisters? Brutal. “But I also picked it because I was scared. Because I didn’t want to leave.”

  Jess and Gemma both looked back at her in silence. Then Gemma’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, babe, why would you do that to yourself?”

  “I didn’t realize I was.” She didn’t want to tell her sisters that it was Nick’s accusations that sparked her revelation. They hated him enough already. “We lost Mom so quickly. And our whole family changed overnight.”

  Gemma swiped at her nose and Jess sniffed loudly.

  “But once we were past the worst, and we were still standing, Dad and the three of us, I didn’t want it to change any more. I was afraid of it changing again.”

  Jess reached for her hand, squeezing hard. “Livie, you’re too smart to hold yourself back this way.”

  “I know. I know that now. Janet gave me the reason I was looking for to stay. But she’s...well, she’s gone now. And I need to do what’s best for me.”

  Jess and Gemma exchanged a glance. It hung there, unspoken in the quiet kitchen. Livie missed them so much already, and she hadn’t even left yet.

  Then Gemma set a hand on her shoulder. “Then that means you have to go, babe.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Nick ended up staying three more days in San Jose. He wanted to leave the instant his feelings had flattened him like a bulldozer, but as much as he hated it, he’d committed to getting the stupid site up, and bailing on Luke would have been a dick move. The minute they launched their first successful test, though, he packed up and left, leaving Luke to clean up the rest of the little details.

  In the cab at JFK, he gave the driver the Romanos’ address first, forgetting for a second that he didn’t live there anymore. He had to retrieve the address of his new place from his email.

  Once he arrived, he dumped his backpack and surveyed it. He didn’t know shit about interior design, but the place looked amazing—transformed. The furniture was all neutral and plush, with colorful rugs and throw pillows to keep it from looking too sterile. Unlike that hard leather couch in his old place—the one Poppy was in love with—this one looked actually comfortable to sit on. He still couldn’t tell if it was taupe or sand, but he liked it.

  The thing he liked best was that it undeniably looked like his place, even though he’d had no idea what his home would look like. He couldn’t figure out what that looked like, but somehow those Romanos had. There was a time perceptiveness like that would have had him frantically searching for an exit, desperate to put some distance between him and anybody who might get close enough to really know him. But he was done with running.

  Only one thing gave him pause. When he opened the door to what would be his office, expecting it to be empty, all his computer equipment was already there and set up. He’d left it all at the Romanos’. And apparently, they’d brought it back, severing his last tie with them. It was a punch to the gut, another reminder that he might have broken things beyond repair, on many fronts.

  Well, the beautifully decorated apartment gave him exactly the opening he needed. He’d been trying to call Livie for three days to no avail. Either she was ignoring his calls or she’d blocked him.

  But if he couldn’t reach one Romano sister, he’d try another, and now he had a perfect excuse.

  Gemma didn’t pick up right away, and for a second, he was afraid she might have blocked him, too, but right before it rolled to voice mail, she spoke.

  “What the hell do you want?”

  “The apartment looks great, Gemma. Thank you.”

  She snorted in disgust. “How’s California?”

  “Over. I’m back. That’s why I called. I’m looking for Livie, but I think she blocked my number.”

  Gemma’s voice was steely with fury. “Oh, that’s just great. You ditch my sister and fly away to California without a second thought and think you can sail back in and pick right back up where you left off. Meanwhile Livie’s been here handling all this shit on her own—”

  “Handling what shit? What’s happened?”

  “Nothing that has anything to do with you.”

  “Gemma, come on. Is she okay?”

  “The professor she was building her career around is never coming back, her entire PhD is hanging in the balance, and some jackass who’s got it out for her is stealing the grant money she busted her ass off to get. But it’s nothing you need to worry about. Her family has her back.”

  “Are you talking about Langley? He’s stealing the grant money?”

  She huffed, muttering, “Not that she can prove it.”

  “Look, is she there? Let me talk to her. Please.”

  “No!” she snapped, with an awful finality. “Don’t come near her. She’s doing okay. Better than I thought she’d be after you ditched her.” Nick was tempted to point out that Livie had actually been the one to do the breaking up, but he was pretty sure Gemma would bite his head off if he did. “The last thing Livie needs is you messing with her head again. Not when she’s got so many other problems to deal with.”

  “Gemma, I’m sorry. You have to believe me. I never meant to hurt her.”

  “Well, you did.”

  “I know I made a mistake, but...” Somehow he didn’t expect that he’d be making this confession to Luke and then to Gemma before he ever said it to Livie, but life was funny that way. “I love her. I’ll do whatever it takes to convince her of that.”

  Gemma was silent for so long he was afraid she’d ended the call. “You love her.”

  “Yeah. I didn’t realize that until I was gone, until we were over. I know, I know, I’m an idiot.”

  “I’m not arguing with you on that one.”

  “I want to make it up to her. I will, I promise.”

  She sighed, the anger draining out of her voice. “I’m not sure you’re going to get that chance, Nick. She’s leaving.”

  “What? Where is she going?”

  “She hasn’t made up her mind yet, but it’s all over for her at Adams. It’s time for her to start over somewhere else.”

  The wheels started turning in his mind. He needed to do something to prove to Livie how much he cared. He’d just figured out what that was. And he was going to relish doing it.

  “Fuck that. If she wants to leave, fine. But no puffed up, loafer-wearing asshole is going to force her out. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

  “What are you talking about, Nick?”

  “I’m fixing this. I’m in. All in. With you, too. I’m gonna win you over, Gem. You watch.”

  “But—”

  “Look, you tell her I’m coming for her as soon as I figure this out.”

  Gemma sighed again. “I have no idea what you’re planning, Evil Genius, but good luck, I guess. Don’t do anything stupid.”

  “Oh, Gem, doing something stupid is about all that’s going to work.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  “Thanks for coming to help, Michiko.”

  Michiko, crouched on the floor in front of Janet’s bookshelves, flashed a bright smile over her shoulder. “Any time, Livie. I’m happy to help out a friend.”

  She hefted another stack of books into the box beside her.

/>   Another revelation from the past few days—Michiko was her friend. She had a friend who wasn’t related to her by blood. At least this revelation was a good one.

  All this time, she’d been happy to hide in the safe cocoon of her family, convinced that was all she needed or wanted. It turned out, family wasn’t always enough, and there were other people out there willing to give you a hand, if you let them. Like Michiko. Like Teresa.

  The semester was ending in a couple of weeks, and Livie had things to do before it was done. The first was packing up Janet’s office for Andy. He had his hands full with his mother. The last thing he needed was to have to come in and deal with the chaos of her books and papers.

  The second was sorting through her research files, which she was doing now, while Michiko tackled the bookshelves.

  And when she was done here, she had one more stop to make—at the dean’s office.

  Michiko sat back on her heels holding a book on particle physics in one hand and a book on planetary geology in the other. “Is there, like, a system to this I should be preserving?”

  “Chaos. Janet’s shelving system was always ‘chaos.’” She missed her with an ache that felt physical. But Janet wasn’t coming back. She’d finally faced it. The best she could do for Janet now was to preserve her legacy.

  After she’d dumped another armful of books into the box and taped it shut, Michiko stood, dusting off her hands. “Okay, I’m dragging this last load of books down to Anita’s office then I’ll be back to start on the file cabinets.”

  “Thanks, Michiko.”

  Livie turned her attention back to the computer screen, clicking through Janet’s research files, saving to her flash drive anything she’d need to carry on the research. There was a lot to wade through. Janet had been working on her theory for nearly a decade.

  “What are you doing in here?”

  Livie looked up to find Peter Hockman’s bulky form filling up the doorway. A few months ago, Livie might have flushed and started babbling, apologizing for existing, even though she had every right to be here. But that was a few months ago. Now she barely spared a glance for Peter as she turned back to her work.

  “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m packing up Janet’s office.”

  “You’re on her office computer?”

  “Peter, your powers of observation are staggering. Has anyone ever told you that?” She had no idea where all this snark had suddenly come from, but she wasn’t complaining. It felt great to say exactly what she was thinking for once, instead of having the words finally come to her half an hour later. Maybe it was because she knew she was leaving. She’d already lost everything here. Nothing that happened, nothing that anyone could say or do, mattered anymore. She was free.

  Peter’s eyes went wide as she leaned down to swap out the flash drive for a new empty one. “Are you downloading her files?”

  “Will your brilliance never end?” Baiting Peter Hockman was a blast. Why hadn’t she ever done this before? Oh, right. Fear. Well, she was all done with fear.

  “You shouldn’t be doing that. Professor Langley should be the only one accessing her files. You know, as the department head.”

  “Acting department head. Janet isn’t dead yet, no matter how hard Langley wishes she were.”

  “He’s not going to like you in here pawing through her stuff.”

  “Then he can take it up with Janet’s husband, since he gave me her office keys, her passwords, and his blessing to take whatever the hell I want.”

  “He did?”

  “He did.” She took a moment to lean back in the chair and grin smugly at Peter. Being a cocky asshole was fun. No wonder Nick was so good at it.

  “What do you need all that for anyway? It’s not like you can keep working on her research without her.”

  “You’re right,” she conceded. “I can’t keep working on her research here.”

  “Then what are you going to do with it?”

  She locked eyes with Peter, because she really didn’t want to miss Peter’s reaction when she dropped her bombshell on him. “I’m taking Janet’s research with me to McArthur, and I’m going to work on it there.”

  Livie reveled in the shock spreading across his face.

  “What?”

  “I’ll go slow and use small words, so you can follow me. I’m transferring to McArthur. And I’m taking Janet’s research with me. They can’t wait to have me. They’ve offered me the full and unflagging support of the entire department. So you and Langley can take your interstellar medium bullshit and shove it up your asses where it belongs.”

  Oh that felt amazing. She should have tried being a bitch years ago.

  “Y-you can’t do that!” Peter sputtered.

  Livie looked around herself with exaggerated surprise. “Really? Because it’s already done. I’m starting in January.”

  “What about Adams?”

  “Adams, and Langley, can kiss my ass.”

  “You can’t take her work, though! Langley was going to—”

  He cut himself off abruptly and Livie sat back, staring at him as it clicked in her mind. Oh, why was she so slow to pick up on other peoples’ shitty motivations? But she was getting better, thanks to Nick. Her days of naively believing in people who didn’t deserve it were over.

  “Langley was going to publish her research himself, wasn’t he?”

  Peter swallowed hard. His skin had gone pasty. Well, pastier. Peter looked like a raw potato under the best of circumstances.

  Livie scoffed, turning back to the computer screen and copying a few more files. “Like that intellectual featherweight could even dream of completing her research. Well, he’s not getting the chance to try, because it’s going with me.”

  Peter found his voice again. “I’m sure there are university regulations about Finch’s work.”

  “I checked those university regulations, and actually, with her approval, I can take whatever I want. Which I have, through her husband, who now has power of attorney over all her affairs. Husband. Keys. Passwords. Blessing. Remember? Keep up, Peter.”

  Peter lifted his hands and dropped them again helplessly. “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”

  “You can’t believe I’m not sticking around here to watch Langley torpedo my career? That’s very unimaginative of you.”

  “Well, Peter is pretty slow, you know.”

  Peter spun around to face Michiko, who’d slipped up behind him at some point.

  “Figures you’d be in on this, too, Satsuma.”

  She sneered up at him. “Move aside, Hock-a-Loogey. We’ve got work to do.”

  “Langley’s not going to be happy when he hears about this.”

  “Probably not,” Livie replied. “Why don’t you be a good boy and run and tell him?”

  Michiko snorted in laughter. “That’s all he’s good for anyway.”

  “Langley’s in Paris,” Peter muttered angrily.

  Livie looked at Michiko and raised her eyebrows. “Paris, huh? That sounds like a pretty fancy trip.”

  Michiko tapped her chin. “And wasn’t he skiing in Switzerland two weeks ago?”

  Livie clicked on a few more files. “Guess he’s doing pretty well for himself these days, what with the new laptop, and the fancy painting in his office. He seems to be really good at stretching that professor’s salary.”

  Peter’s cheeks went ruddy as he realized that he’d inadvertently said too much again. He really was colossally stupid. It was criminal he’d ever been admitted to the program.

  “I’m telling him about all of this as soon as he gets back.”

  “I’m sure you will, Peter. Now do you mind? We’re busy.”

  Michiko peered around the door frame, watching Peter stomp off down the hall, before she collapsed into giggles. “Oh my God, that was so awe
some. His face!”

  “You should have seen him when I told him I was transferring to McArthur.”

  “I bet it was epic!” Michiko crowed. Then she sobered. “This sucks. I mean, I’m really happy for you, Livie. You’re going to do amazing things at McArthur. But I’m going to miss you.”

  And Livie realized she was going to miss Michiko, too. Scrambling out of her chair, she rounded the desk and pulled Michiko into a hug. She’d wasted so much time, missed so many opportunities, because she held herself back, never looking up, never connecting to the people around her. When she got to McArthur, she wasn’t making the same mistake. “I’m going to miss you, too.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  The adrenaline rush from facing down Peter Hockman had all but evaporated by the time she reached the dean’s office that afternoon. But her courage hadn’t, and that was all she needed.

  She didn’t harbor any naive belief that talking to the dean was going to help. Sometimes the good guys won, but not always. Sometimes the bad guys had more power and knew how to rig the game. She understood that now. Langley was a tenured professor, and even though she thought he was a slimy kiss-up, lots of other powerful people at Adams had been fooled by him. He’d already shown he was willing to tank her academic career as punishment when she wouldn’t work for him. She didn’t doubt he’d make up any number of lies to discredit her and anything she had to say about him.

  So, yeah, she might not be able to stop Langley, but there was no way she’d go quietly.

  The outer office was empty when she came in, aside from the dean’s secretary, sitting behind a desk. She was a slight woman in her fifties with a salt-and-pepper pixie haircut. She looked up as Livie came in. “Can I help you with something?”

  Livie shut the door behind her. “Yes, I have an appointment with Dean Haverman at 3:30. Olivia Romano.”

  She checked the schedule on her computer monitor. “Here you are. Have a seat, Miss Romano. He had to take an unexpected meeting and it’s running a little late.”

  But before Livie could take a seat in one of the chairs the secretary motioned to, the door behind her—the one that presumably led to the dean’s office—opened.