Absolute Zero (36 page)

Her concentration was pretty much shot all of Tuesday. For some unfathomable reason, she was more than eager to get home and see what was waiting for her. She actually walked out of the office with the rest of her coworkers for the first time since she had started, nodding politely and waving when waved to before settling her body in the driver’s seat.

Sure enough, a small brown package sat innocently enough on her front porch, she noticed as she drove up and parked a few minutes later.

She walked quickly, stooping to pick it up, turning it in her hands. It wasn’t very large and certainly wasn’t very heavy.  The name of on the small white label meant nothing to her: APS International. She gave it a shake before eyeing it again.

He’d better call
SOON
, she thought as she settled it against her hip and fished for her keys.

She wouldn’t admit it to him, but the suspense was killing her.

*****

“What is it?”

“Open it and find out,” he laughed gently.

“Is it a low speed centrifuge?” she asked jokingly.

“Hardly. Do you have clothes on?” he asked.

“What?!”

“Well, I was just wondering,” he stated innocently enough.

“Why would you ask me that?”

“Did you open your present?” he asked instead of answering.

“No. Hold on.”

He could hear rustling through the phone as he lay in bed. He purposely placed the phone a few inches from his ear on the pillow as he waited.

“What the…?! I…What?
IAN!
” he could hear her yell. He bit his lip to try and contain the laugh that wanted so badly to burst forth.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“
Do I like it
? Are you
crazy
? What is this…thing? There’s
no way
. What the hell is this thing sticking out on top?” she asked. He truly wished he could see her face.

“It’s for you. To use when we’re on the phone at night. I researched. This thing is guaranteed to make you…”

“Shhh. No. Uh, uh there’s…just…no,” she stammered out. “I’d rather have a low speed centrifuge,” she practically pouted through the phone.

“Well, there
is
a low speed on that thing, I believe,” he answered calmly.

“You’re…you…words escape me,” she finally uttered.

“Aye, all right. Pop some batteries in that thing and let’s get going, eh?”

A long moment of silence had him slightly worried.

“I can’t do this,” she finally said.

“Think of it as a scientific necessity,” he stated and continued after a snort sounded in his ear. “I’m serious, love.  I need you to use that so I don’t hurt you the next time I see you.”

“You won’t hurt me the next time you see me. Because we won’t be doing that again,” she stated.

It was
his
turn to snort.

“I’m serious! I think this separation is a
good
thing,” she started. “I think we’re both rational, intelligent people. I just happen to think we lose our heads when we’re around each other. That’s all. Maybe it doesn’t bother you that I work for your company, but it bothers
me
. Besides, in another month? You won’t even remember me,” she stated before realizing the ridiculousness of her words.

“Do you really think I wouldn’t remember you in a month? Annie, if I never saw you again, I would still remember you for the rest of my life,” his voice was so soft and soothing, the tone so earnest, she felt her resolve weaken instantly. He was either one hell of an actor or he truly
did
feel something for her. Her eyes darted around the room, trying desperately to think of an argument but all she could do was sit silently for a few moments.

“Annie?”

“I still can’t use this monster. I think it’s too big,” she finally stated.

“It’s not too big. I measured. It’s the same size.”

His words caused nervous laughter to burst from her mouth. “You really
did
research this.”

“Aye. Where are you right now?”

“At home.”

“No shite, love. What room?” he asked.

“Kitchen.”

“All right. This is what I want you to do. Go upstairs, take all your clothes off,
ALL
of them,” he emphasized, “Get on your bed; put the phone on speaker…”

“No. I haven’t even eaten dinner yet,” she stated before a grimace scrunched her facial features when she realized how dumb that sounded.

“Oh! Sorry. Do you have a ‘no orgasm before dinner’ rule?” he laughed out.             

“Something like that,” she mumbled as she absently turned the pink silicon toy in her hands, studying it from various angles.

“I hate this time difference,” he breathed out. “I’d stay up later but I’ve got a meeting at six am tomorrow. Can’t ya just work with me, here?”

“I need to think about this,” she answered instead.

“Aaaaannie…” he whined.

“Iaaaaan,” she mocked. “I’m serious. This is just very…weird, OK? Let me think about it. You should get some sleep. It’s eleven your time, you know.”

“Thanks. I had no idea,” he answered with sarcasm before a long drawn out breath could be heard on her end. “Fine,” he finally said.

“Good,” she stated, relieved.

“Tomorrow,” he stated forcefully.

“We’ll see. In the meantime, I need to find a good hiding place for this thing. Could you imagine if Irene found it?” she almost laughed at the absurdity of that possibility.

“That would be something, eh?” He let out a long sigh. “Good night, sweet. Don’t you
DARE
use that thing when I get off the phone, promise?”

“I think I can hold myself back,” she answered sarcastically.

“Good lass. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Good night, Ian,” she pulled the phone from her ear and settled it on the table next to her.

She probably had the strangest expression on her face as she stared at his ‘present’, but she was alone, so who really cared?

A buzz ripped the silence in the kitchen causing her to jolt. Her cell lit up and a message showed on the screen.

I mean it. DO NOT use that without me.

*****

She had an awful lot to think about.

The next two days were filled with equipment purchases and delivery schedules and yet in the back of her mind, Rand’s request loomed large. 

She dodged Ian’s texts and nightly calls, responding only once that she was still thinking about it. Apparently he wasn’t used to being told no, or having to wait for anything. At this point, all correspondence came in as CAPS to emphasize his frustration with her. It was comical in a way, but it was also confusing as hell.

Rand was basically asking her to deceive the person they worked for. The same person she slept with, unbeknownst to Rand, of course. The same person that sent her sexy, suggestive texts. What a lovely mess she was in.

She didn’t want to disappoint Rand, and to be honest, the stress and strain of the last few days were really beginning to show on him. He was in and out of the office, he looked as if he hadn’t slept and it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that she received a visit from Shay late Friday night as she sat outside, contemplating the stars above as Pink Floyd played softly in the background.

“Hey.”

“Aggghh!” She jerked upright in the chair, her heart pounding wildly. Shay stood at the top of the stairs on the deck as Anne tried to get her heart rate and her breathing under control.

“I’m sorry!” she stated as she walked closer. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” she stood a few feet from Anne, and from the light shining from the kitchen beyond the sliding doors, Anne could see the glistening of tears on her cheeks.

“Shay? Are you OK?” Anne asked cautiously.

She flopped into the chair next to Anne. “No,” she replied sullenly. It was so not like her. Something was seriously wrong.

“Do you want a glass of wine?” Anne asked softly, noting the half-empty bottle situated between the chairs.

“Sure,” she stated before it appeared she was going to sit up.

“Stay there. I’ll be right back,” Anne immediately pushed from her chair and wandered into the kitchen to retrieve a glass, her mind racing as to the purpose of the visit. She would find out soon enough, she was sure.

*****

“So, he’s been acting strange lately. I mean, sometimes he’s distant, sometimes he snaps at me when I get on his nerves, but tonight…” she trailed off, taking another sip of wine before cradling the glass in her hands and staring at the liquid inside.

“I think he’s having an affair,” she stated softly.

“No. Shay…”

“I do. I really think so,” she interrupted Anne. “He takes care of all the bills, pretty much all the mail. I think I’m going to start checking stuff. I make it too easy for him.”

“Maybe he’s stressed out about work? Did you ask him? I mean, McClellan was here last week and of course,
that
put everyone on edge. Hell, he even stressed
me
out and I don’t even run the facility.”
He’s
still
stressing me out - over a sex toy…
She would keep that to herself.

“Maybe. I don’t know. I just want to know where he goes. He’s left the house at night three times this week. Said he had dinner meetings. He does this, but not three times in one
week
. What should I do? Should I confront him? What if he says yes? Do I leave him? I never even finished college,” she stated as fresh tears began to fall.

“Ask him.” Anne stated as Shay gave a rather loud sniff. “Personally? I think it’s stress. You should see the way he lights up when he talks about you. It’s true!” she stated in a louder tone when Shay sent her a disbelieving look.

“Just ask him, Shay. It’s better to get it out there. Don’t let it fester. You’ll end up turning yourself into someone you
don’t
want to be.”

“Maybe,” she stated simply after a few moments of silence.

“Good. Now, sit back and look at this sky. Isn’t it crazy, how vast it is? When I need to think, I always do this. It helps me put things into perspective,” Anne stated as she tilted her head back and scanned the sky. “We’re this tiny planet in the middle of a solar system that’s only a small part of a galaxy amongst other galaxies. It just goes on forever,” she stated in a half-whisper.

“I always think that I’m this insignificant thing living on a tiny planet revolving around a big ball of gas. What if the earth just sort of left its orbit, or…what if the sun just decided to up and burn out one day? That’s important shit. This stuff? Not so much.” She shrugged.

“That’s…depressing,” Shay stated as her own eyes fastened on a rather large star above. “And…slightly nerdy,” she added causing a soft laugh to come from Anne.

“What is this music? It’s god-awful,” Shay commented before her head turned toward Anne.

“Bite your tongue, woman. This is Pink Floyd,
The Wall
? One of the most iconic albums of all time. Quite possibly the most inspirational collection of songs and lyrics and…stop snorting at me. Who do
you
like?” Her own eyes shifted toward the woman seated next to her.

“I don’t know. Maybe Nelly?”

“Nelly,” she stated with her own snort. “It’s getting’ hot in heeeere, so take off all yer clothes,” she mocked.

“Yeah. That’s a good one…”

“Totally inspirational. You’re right,” Anne added with a smile as her eyes fastened on the stars above once again.

*****

Tonight. Be home at Five.

I have something for you.

Oh brother
. She immediately started tapping on her phone screen early the next morning.

No thanks. Your gifts are weird.

The soft shrill of the phone filled the kitchen. An international number, of course.

“What?” she stated in a clipped voice.

“Well, that’s a fine greeting,” he laughed softly. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Something,” she answered cryptically.

“Something? What is
something
? It better
not
be a date. It’s not a date is it?”

“Yes, that’s it. It’s a date,” she lied. A small smile spread on her face as she wandered toward the sliding glass doors and looked out.

“
Dammit
, Anne,” she could hear growled through the phone.

“Relax. Don’t get yer knickers in a twist, isn’t that what you folks say?” she answered. Her tomato plants were growing quite nicely, she thought as she absently stared at them through the glass.

“Don’t…” he let out a frustrated breath, “Annie, you’re making a joke with me, right?” he asked a bit more congenially.