by Grady, D. R.
She was leaning toward the man.
Mmm, he was yummy. Any man who could compare to chocolate cheesecake was an incredible man indeed. Tia certainly had never met one like Aleksi before. Well, her Granddad was a great man. So was her daddy, but she’d never dated a man who was so impressively comparative.
Amazing, sweet, tasted good, breathtakingly handsome, smart, funny, compassionate, responsible – Aleksi’s list of qualifications were extraordinary. The only thing wrong with him was he was a prince. Mostly because being a prince was not something easily remedied with training; like if he wasn’t housebroken yet, and she had to teach him to leave the toilet seat down.
How did a woman teach a man not to be a prince? Was that even possible?
She was pretty certain it was out of her realm of experience. It might even be out of General Emma’s, and that meant it bordered on the impossible.
Tia sighed again and massaged her forehead again. The minions pounding from the inside had obviously welcomed others back from a coffee break because the tapping and pain had doubled.
Giving up, she rose from the computer and staggered into her office. She was sure she’d placed a bottle of pain medicine in her desk. But which drawer? Staring at her desk like an idiot didn’t give her the answer she needed so she started methodically yanking open drawers.
Of course, she found the bottle in the last drawer she searched.
Now, something to ease the pills down. A liquid. Her eyes played over her desk but not so much as a bottle of water or half filled mug of coffee showed. Darn.
Frowning, Tia’s eyes lit on the small refrigerator in the corner. Hadn’t Maria mentioned they kept drinks in there for the lab personnel? She tugged the door open and met with a vast array of drinks. Wow, thanks Maria.
She helped herself to an iced tea, as there were several bottles of them. This would do. The caffeine might help keep her awake while she tackled the growing stack of plates and help ease her headache.
How many pills should she take? Squinting at the bottle, she thought the directions said to take two. She shook three out of the bottle and stared at them for a moment, shrugged and tossed them back with a gulp of the tea.
There, that should take care of matters. Wonderful.
Eyeing the stack of plates, she thought maybe it looked like about the same number that had been there when she left. To be sure, she counted the stack. Still fifteen to go.
Tia rubbed at her head again, and then got back to work. If she didn’t hurry, they’d all reproduce and she’d have to contend with thirty plates instead of the fifteen.
After picking up each plate she made a note as to what she saw on the agar. They’d have to run each colony through an identifier, but Tia wasn’t a Ph.D. in microbiology for nothing. She knew her bacterium.
And none of the colonies growing on the plates before her made sense. These colonies weren’t normally found in drinking water. It was almost as if they’d been added there. This made no sense.
Why would someone add bacteria to the water people drank? Especially in a hospital.
An act of terrorism? Maybe.
But Tia doubted it. These colonies, in high quantities might make the young and old very sick, but would only cause discomfort to healthy individuals. And from what she could gather about the people of Rurikstan, most of the people were healthy.
Making a mental note to hold a meeting with the lab staff in the morning, she plowed through the remainder of the plates. Hoping they’d find these results as odd as she. Tia also made a note to bring in the water authority personnel again. See if their recent data compared to what she currently logged.
Maybe they were seeing the same weird results. That might indicate these colonies were normal for Rurikstan’s water. Or they could be as flabbergasted as she.
Please let it be the former.
Tia didn’t know who she directed that plea too, but she sent it nonetheless. Because she really didn’t want to deal with the fact that the more results they logged the more questions were raised.
From a scientist’s viewpoint, this equation was a problem. From a human standpoint, it was head-banging-in-frustration worthy.
And since she already had a headache....
***
“You look happy,” Tia said in an aside to Helena when she breezed in the next morning.
“I am,” Helena responded. There was no denying the glow that emanated from her.
“Good for you.”
Helena frowned. “You on the other hand, got stuck here all night, didn’t you?”
Tia shrugged. “That’s my job. But it wasn’t all night. I got about four hours sleep.”
“What is that American saying? All work with no play makes Tia a dull girl?” Helena’s accent and intonation reminded her strongly of Aleksi’s. He spoke more formally, but it still made her miss him, which was silly.
“Tia’s a dull girl whether she plays or not,” Tia answered wryly.
“I don't believe that.” Helena looked skeptical.
“Well, it’s the truth.”
“Did you at least eat supper?”
“Aleksi arranged for Crumley to make us the evening meal. Emerson wheeled it in for us.”
One delicate eyebrow rose. “Ah, Emerson. So everyone knows you and the prince ate supper together. In your office I presume?”
Tia reflected that it wasn’t fair how gorgeous Helena looked this morning. “We did eat supper in my office. Then Aleksi left to take a phone call, we split his dessert, and he had to go do whatever princes do. While I stayed and logged yesterday’s results.”
“No hanky panky?” Helena still sounded like she didn’t quite believe a word that came out of Tia’s mouth.
Tia scowled at her. “Do I look like the type to resort to hanky panky? Especially with a prince?” No way was she admitting to her extracurricular activities with Aleksi last night. No way. Suppressing a shudder so as not to tip off Helena seemed appropriate.
Helena, blast or bless her, Tia couldn’t decided which, didn’t hesitate. “Yes.” Her answer was unequivocal and firm.
Wow. Maybe she was on to something here. Maybe she could have Aleksi. Then she thought of Aleksi’s mother. Maybe not. She really wanted to see him though.
With an arched brow of her own, although there was no way Tia’s disbelief matched Helena’s in beauty, but one had to use what one had. To prove her case she said, “I hate the color pink, I have terrible accidents when wearing high heels, and I’m allergic to makeup. What part of that spells princess material?”
Helena didn’t look at her, but she was listening because she stated, while opening her email, “You’re nearly six feet tall, with a supermodel’s body. You don’t need makeup because you’re so beautiful you could grace magazine covers without it. Know too, that there are hypoallergenic brands now that are good. There’s nothing in the princess code that says you have to wear pink or high heels.” Then Helena glanced at her from the corner of her eye, and raised a finger when Tia opened her mouth. “And if it bothers you about walking in high heels, we have an expert right here in the lab.”
As one, she and Tia both turned to stare at Maria. Who scampered around the lab, in high heels, as though they were sneakers. “Should we hate her?” Tia wondered.
“No. Not yet. I’ve been telling myself there’s something wrong with her for the last two years.”
“And?”
Helena shook her head. “I haven’t discovered it yet. But I will.”
“How can she help me learn to walk in high heels?”
“Sweetie, I’m pretty sure Maria could show you how to run in high heels. With scissors.”
***
“What did you find last night?” Jorge asked after everyone arrived, imbibed some coffee, and collected their thoughts. That’s when they all liked to converge for a quick lab meeting.
With everyone grouped around the main bench in the lab, Tia spread out the reports she had generated in the early morni
ng hours and passed a copy to each of them. “You tell me,” she said as she watched their faces.
All three of them frowned, before flipping through the entire report then returning to the first page. Confusion etched their features and Tia’s heart sank. These bacterium were not common to these wells then. Or at least not during the past month.
That meant... she wished she knew.
“What are these bacterium doing in a drinking well? We see these in certain tests we run in the hospital...” Maria raised bemused eyes to Tia, who bit her lip and shook her head.
“I was hoping they’re common to these wells.”
“The one thing these bugs have in common is they’re all dangerous in large quantities,” Helena said, as she slowly flipped through the report. “And we see them in our hospital testing.”
Tia nodded. “Yes I also noticed that.”
“Staph, strep, E-coli, salmonella, all of them are common, but bad in the quantities found in well twenty-six.” Helena stared at the sheet, frowning.
“Since well twenty-six is the hospital well, and unfortunately, these bugs are found in the hospital, how did this contamination happen?” Tia ventured.
Jorge started. “The biohazard room.”
All eyes turned to stare at him.
He stared back. “The main infectious waste room is in the basement, very close to the well mouth. Maybe we should start there.”
Tia closed her eyes as unwelcome thoughts stormed through her brain. “That’s the best plan we have so far.”
“Do you want me to call Graham?” Maria asked as she gnawed on her lip.
“Yes, you’d better. He’ll want to be in on this. But I’m thinking maybe we need to all go over there and take a look.”
“I’d feel better if I could see the entire area,” Helena said. “I rarely enter that section of the hospital.”
“Me, either,” Maria added. “I really hope we discover what is causing the problem.”
“Some of the other wells are also showing some odd bacterium for a well, though, so we shouldn’t assume,” Tia said grimly.
They all stared at each other, and Tia hated the despair that seemed to grip them. Maria finally yanked out her mom attitude. “Let’s get well twenty-six figured out. Then we’ll tackle the others,” she decreed.
That sounded good to Tia. “Okay. That’s excellent advice.”
Jorge and Helena looked relieved at not having to offer a suggestion. Tia was glad Maria was used to making decisions. It helped. Because she certainly didn’t have anything to add.
It made sense to figure out the problem in the most contaminated well, first. Then they’d worry about the discrepancies in the others.
Too bad her headache hadn’t quite gone away.
Too bad her hormones were clamoring to see Aleksi this morning.
Too bad she was going to the hospital and would totally miss him.
Too bad she’d end up in a stinky waste room at the bottom of the hospital, so she was likely to end up reeking.
Good thing her wonderful shower worked.
Good thing her hormones worked, and she had that new femme fatale side.
She wondered if Aleksi understood what was happening?
She, Tia Morrison, was finally a bad nerd rising.
Chapter 16
Aleksi peered into the lab. Empty. He frowned and entered the space, wondering if he should call out. He glanced into Tia’s office, but no one sat at the desk or table. No one lounged on the couch.
Memories from the night before assaulted him and he wanted to kiss her again. That’s why he had come visiting this morning. Only, he did not imagine an empty lab. He expected to find the place bustling and that he would require an excuse to coax Tia out of the lab and into a more secluded spot.
Somewhere he could kiss her in private. In peace.
Maybe they had gone sampling.
That would take an hour. Or so. Too bad Tia hadn’t sent her crew out to take the samples so he would have her to himself for an hour. Then he could kiss her senseless, except it was him who turned senseless since she seemed to keep a few of her faculties.
Scowling, he left the lab and traipsed back to his office. To find Emerson and daughter ensconced in his chair. “Good morning,” he said dryly.
“What should a parent think when at age three, one’s daughter is already smarter than one?” Emerson mused in lieu of a greeting.
Aleksi plopped into the chair on the other side of his desk, propped an ankle on his opposite knee, and grinned. “Emerson, that was a given before you had kids.”
Emerson shot him a droll look and expertly removed a glass paperweight from his daughter’s hand. “I’m sure that’s not true,” Emerson denied and plucked a pen out of her hand next.
“Daddy,” Nadia scolded, and wriggled to be let down, obviously growing tired of her father ruining her fun.
He let her go and Aleksi wasn’t surprised when she scooted across the room to crawl into his lap. She kissed him and then with a wriggle, settled into the space created by his leg. She grinned at her father, who rolled his eyes.
Emerson turned to him. “Would you like a daughter?”
“Yes,” Aleksi said and wrapped his arms around the exuberant little girl who giggled.
“She’s cheap today.”
“Excellent,” Aleksi crowed and lifted her above his head, which made her shriek.
“Don’t you two ever work?” Maks asked from the doorway.
Aleksi noticed he was alone. “No. Where are your children?”
“With Sara. She said to send Nadia there as well. She already has Matthieu.”
“Nadia wanted to see Aleksi this morning, and nothing we said changed her mind,” Emerson announced, staring at his daughter and shaking his head.
“She must have your deplorable taste,” Maks decided as he settled into the chair beside Aleksi. Both of his friends turned to stare at Aleksi and shook their heads. Maks ran a teasing hand down Nadia’s cheek. She giggled and accepted his kiss.
“It’s not my fault,” Emerson said and glared at Maks.
“It is. It has to be. Karis has more sense than to fall for that,” Maks commented and pointed to Aleksi, who thought about ignoring them.
“You know, I could have both of you thrown into the dungeons.” Aleksi soared Nadia over his head and she shrieked with delight again.
His friends ignored him. As usual.
Maks turned to him. “Did I hear that Helena is dating my brother?”
Aleksi almost dropped Nadia. “What?”
Emerson winced. “Like Aleksi knows anything that goes on in this principality. And, yes, Karis mentioned their relationship last night.”
“Helena and Vladimir?” Aleksi shook his head. That was odd. “I thought Vlad was out of the country.”
Maks shrugged. “Apparently not.”
“He’s here,” Emerson said with patience and a longsuffering sigh.
Aleksi turned to this fount of knowledge. “How do you know?”
“We had supper with him last night.” Emerson swiped at a speck of what had to be dust on Aleksi’s desk. Ah, so that’s who kept his desk dusted. Emerson would have enough sense not to move things, but still managed to keep the family heirloom looking like a family heirloom.
Aleksi was reluctant to use a desk as old as this one, but if Emerson was keeping after it, then all was well.
“So, how’d old Vlady look?” Maks voice was neutral and impartial, but Aleksi knew there were some problems within the family.
“He looks the same. Seems... friendlier.” Emerson cocked his head and shook his head at Nadia who had probably picked her nose or something. That’s all he needed, a Nadia boogey on his pants.
Of course, Tia had nieces and nephews, so she probably would understand.
“Friendlier?” Maks voice was laced with a lot of disbelief.
“Friendlier?” Aleksi echoed. The term friendly and Vladimir had never been used in the same sen
tence. Ever.
“Yeah. He seems to have changed. I don’t know.” Emerson stared at his daughter, but didn’t offer any more advice.
“I guess he could have changed, but I can’t imagine old Vlady being a sensitive guy.”
“He asked about you and the kids.”
Maks’ eyebrow rocketed up. “And what did you tell him?” His voice sounded dangerous.
Emerson shrugged. Not in the least bit intimidated. Of course, the three of them knew too much about each other to be intimidated, repulsed, or upset with the others. “I told him you were all well, and suggested he contact you personally.”
“What’s he doing with Helena?” Aleksi couldn’t help asking. He hated to see her hurt by Vladimir. And if any man would hurt her, it was Maks’ brother.
“Apparently they’re already well established. She contacted him when she went traveling six months or so ago. He was receptive and they’ve kept in contact.”
“You think she lured him back home? Goodness knows we haven’t managed.” Maks’ voice held a trace of bitterness.
“I don’t know. Like I said, he seemed like a different guy.”
“How?” Aleksi still couldn’t believe the man he’d known five years ago had changed from a surly, arrogant, lethal man into a sensitive, nice guy.
“Like he’s made peace with himself. He seems comfortable in his own skin.”
Aleksi nodded. Vladimir had developed a chip on his shoulder in their teens and they’d all learned to avoid him. It was hard to imagine him as a nice guy now. That image seemed wrong.
His spine stiffened when he remembered that with Vladimir home, he might have some competition for Tia’s hand. Despite his surliness, Vladimir was apparently considered quite attractive by most women. He had never hurt for female companionship during their growing up years.
Aleksi doubted that had changed since Vladimir reached manhood. At barely a year younger than them, he was definitely an adult and probably looking to finally settle down. Aleksi nearly growled, but remembered Nadia still sat on his lap. He’d scare her. Not a good idea. She might not have full control of her bladder yet.