Absolute Zero (37 page)

“Maybe. Even if I
had
a date, what difference is it to you? I’m a single woman, if I want to go on a date. I could. Who cares?”

“
I
care.”
You’re MINE
, he thought. “Stop being so flippant, ya brat. Now, are you going to be at home at five or what?”

“I don’t know. It depends. Are you going to send me a cryogenic freezer? If that’s it, I’ll be home,” she answered.

“It’s not…aagh, girl, I gave you the funding for the equipment…”

“Not
all
of the funding, just the replacements. I guess the sex just didn’t warrant the full amount, huh?” she asked, only half-teasing.

“I swear, if I were there right now? I would put you over my knee. Where do you come up with this?” he practically grated out before he let out a rather noisy breath. “I don’t want to talk about work. I want to talk about us,” he softened his voice measurably.

“What ‘us’? Is there an ‘us’?”

“Aye. You, me and your little pink friend,” he stated.

“First of all, that thing is
not
little and second, it is
not
my friend,” she answered in a cool tone. Weeds had started growing up through the freshly turned soil, she noticed as she continued to stare at the small garden. Suddenly she had a plan for the day.

“We’ll see about that. Five o’clock, remember. Do you have a laptop?” he asked, seemingly out of the blue.

“Yes?”

“And there’s wireless in the house. Do you have Skype?”

“Yes?”  She pulled the phone away from her ear to give it a strange look before placing it to her ear once again. “Why?” she asked.

“You’ll see. I have to go, love. I’ll call you at five,” he said then hung up, causing her to look at the phone for a few moments before finally settling it back on the counter in utter confusion.

She should probably be anywhere else but at the house tonight, she thought as she opened the sliding door to the backyard. In the back of her mind, though, she knew she would be waiting at five o’clock for whatever mysterious thing he had cooked up.

*****

“Let them in, love,” he stated through the phone as the doorbell rang a few minutes after five.

“Who is it?”

“Just open the door, Annie. Geez…”

She wandered over to the door, peeking out through the peephole and settling back from her tiptoes for a moment before clicking the lock.

“Hello!” A young woman in a white shirt and black pants greeted her. She was holding a box at her chest.

“Hello?”

“Let her in,” Anne could hear in her ear. She stepped back after pulling the screen door open.

“What is this?” she asked in confusion as the woman walked directly into the kitchen, pulled out a white linen from her box and laid it on the kitchen table.

“I’m taking you on a date,” he answered. The woman continued to set the table, pulling out china, utensils, a wine glass…

“Go get your laptop,” he stated as she continued to watch the woman. She was pulling out small votive candles, lighting them and placing them on the table.

“Are you getting your laptop? Or are you just standing there, staring at her?”

“Umm. I…hold on,” she stated absently. Tiny flutters erupted in her stomach as her feet finally decided to move. A knock sounded behind her, causing her to turn and see a huge spray of color in the doorway. A pair of legs was visible beneath it.

“Oh, right. Get that too,” she could hear through the phone.

“Ms. Bennett?” a male voice sounded from behind the…not tulips this time, but roses. Dozens of them. They were the same mix of color as the tulips though, yellow at the stem and morphing into orange and finally red at the tips.

“They’re beautiful,” she breathed out as she reached for the vase with suddenly shaky hands.

“I know, right? I had no idea they even
had
roses like that,” she heard in her ear as she cradled the phone between her head and shoulder.

“Good evening,” the man said before turning and walking down the steps.

“All right. Put those down. Go grab your laptop,” he commanded.

She turned to see the woman place a metal topped plate on the table, grab a bottle of wine from the depths of the box and pull out a wine opener.

“Annie?”

“Yeah, yeah…Ok,” she looked around, finally placing the vase on the table behind the couch before walking over and grabbing her laptop from the coffee table.

“Got it?”

“Yes.”

The woman appeared in the living room with the box. “Enjoy your evening,” she stated with a warm smile before continuing to the front door.

“Ah…thanks?” Anne watched as the door closed behind her.             

“Ian, this is…what are you…?”

“Annie, darlin’, please set that laptop on the table. I want to see that beautiful face,” he stated softly, causing the small flutters to increase yet again.

Her feet padded to the table, placing the laptop on the linen clad surface before opening the screen.

She immediately opened her Skype icon, there was only one contact shown on the left side of the screen. Beth. That was it. Now there would be two…

*****

“Good?”

“Excellent,” she stated before wiping the side of her mouth with the linen napkin from her lap. “What do you have there?”

“Stovies with Lamb. There’s this pub in town, best food you’ll ever eat. I’ll take you there sometime,” he stated before placing a forkful of something brown in his mouth. She could barely see the plate on her screen. Besides, her eyes seemed to want to affix to his face. It was only a week, and yet it felt like a lifetime ago since she saw him last.

“Sure, I’ll just pop in when I’m in the neighborhood,” she smiled before scooping another gravy covered mushroom from her plate.

“Great. Just wear something a bit more appropriate,” he said, taking in her athletic pullover.

“Well, you didn’t tell me this was going to be a
date
. I was expecting another brown package. Maybe a butt-plug this time or something equally romantic…” she quipped before placing the fork in her mouth.

“Oh, Annie…” he breathed out. “Say butt-plug again.” He was resting his chin on his hand, watching her intently. Even through a computer screen, he could still make her warm all over.

“No.”

“Come on, I’m getting all kinds of ideas over here,” he grinned.

“Fine. You’re a butt-plug. I even put it in a sentence for you. Is this Connelly’s?” she changed the subject.

He squinted his eyes and shook his head slightly. “Ah…yes. They
do
make the best chicken marsala, I believe. Do you like the wine?”

“Yes, look, I practically guzzled the first glass,” she held up her wine glass in front of the screen.

“Pour another one,” he stated then shrugged casually.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?”

“Absolutely.”

*****

“No.”

“Yes, take it upstairs,” he demanded through the screen. She sat back in her chair, pushing the now empty plate to the side.

“I’ll make a concession. I will attempt to use that ‘thing’ but I am not doing it in front of this computer!” she stated with widened eyes.

“Fine,” he stated after a few breaths, “Just take your phone.”

“I’m not even sure about
that
.”

“What? It’s just us, Annie,” he stated in a low rasp.

“Yeah, you, me and the NSA,” she answered back before biting her bottom lip nervously.

“The…oh come on, they’ve probably heard worse.”

“How do
you
know? We haven’t done anything yet. Maybe I’ll start yelling Swahili again or something equally embarrassing.”

“Maybe you need to get upstairs right now so we can find out. Please?” He looked so…cute at that moment. Or was that the three glasses of wine?

She pushed away from the table. “Ok, let’s go,” she stated resolutely before clicking the box to end the call. The screen immediately switched to her desktop and to be honest, she already missed the sight of him.

Strange.

*****

“Stop laughing,” he stated through his own laughter.

“I can’t help it! It…tickles,” she stated before a quick intake of breath.

“Try a different angle.”

“Hold on. Ohhh…mmmm…geez,” she breathed out.

“Good?”

Her mouth opened but nothing came out as pressure intensified.

“Annie, darlin’, say something…”

“Ahhh…” she bit her lip.

She could hear his breath intensify through the phone lying on the pillow next to her.

“What are you doing?” she gasped out.

“What do you
think
I’m doing? Keep going, love, I’m so close,” he stated on a sharp breath, causing her walls to clench immediately. A small, tingling spasm hit her core, causing her hand to move faster as panting breaths filled the room.

“Oh Annie,” she could hear next to her as the pressure increased to the point where her entire body jolted. She cried out as tremors shot through every limb, the sound of his voice next to hers intensifying her body’s reaction. Every nerve ending prickled and pulsed as her body convulsed. Her thighs immediately clenched together to try and contain whatever sensations were racking her body. It was unreal.

Not as good as the real thing…

But damn close.

She let out the longest sigh before another gasp erupted from her throat. Apparently this thing wasn’t quite done with her, she realized.

Moments of silence passed between them as her breathing regulated. She placed her new best friend on the night stand and waited for him to speak.

His tone was so low, she almost missed it.

“God, I wish I was there right now,” he stated in his soft brogue. His words and tone enveloped her in warmth.

Me too
. She thought as she wrapped her arms tightly around her torso.

She practiced her words carefully in her head Monday morning as she walked from the conference room to Rand’s office.

I’m sorry. I just don’t feel like this is the direction we should go…

Rand? I’m really sorry, but I just think that this seems…deceptive…

No. Too harsh.

Rand, maybe we could come up with something innovative that he would actually approve of. Let’s get the team together and discuss some possibilities…

That sounded pretty good.

One look at his drawn features and her resolve seemed to dim somewhat.

“Have a seat, Anne,” he indicated the chair in front of the desk. “Close the door, first,” he stated as she stepped further into the room.

She complied before walking on nervous legs toward his desk.

“Are you…OK?” she asked after a brief moment.

He let out a long breath. “No. Is it that obvious?” he offered up a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

She wasn’t quite sure how to respond, so she kept her mouth shut.

“Shay talked to you,” he said in a quiet tone.

Anne nodded automatically.

“She thinks I’m having an affair,” he stated before a soft laugh erupted and a shake of his head followed.

“Umm…” she was about to tell him it was none of her business before his words halted her.

“I’m not having an affair,” he stated quietly, his eyes focusing on the wall of windows next to his desk.

“If I tell you something…can you promise me you won’t tell anyone?” his gaze wandered back to hers.

She nodded quickly.

“The only reason I’m telling you this…well number one, I don’t want you to think I’m a philandering asshole. Second, it has nothing to do with my personal life and everything to do with this place,” he started. “It’s a big responsibility, running a business like this. I care about everyone that works here, always have. I don’t want to see them struggle. We have a good team here. We really are solid, in spite of what Ian thinks,” he stated as he sat back in his chair and regarded her closely.

“His visit last week?” Rand waiting for her responding nod. “Well, he came here to talk to me face to face, said he didn’t want to do it over the phone and I appreciate that…” his eyes wandered back to the windows.

“He’s thinking of selling this place,” he said without looking at her.

“What?” she blurted before clamping her lips shut. She could actually
feel
the blood drain from her face.

“I know I shouldn’t be telling you this. He specifically told me
not
to tell anyone. He doesn’t want the employees to…freak out…my words, not his,” he added quickly. “It’s just…well, I know Shay talked to you and I wanted you to know the reason why I’ve been so…different lately. I just…don’t know what to do right now. He puts me in an awful position. In a way, I wish he would just say he’s going to sell it instead of leaving me hanging like this. Making me think we might have a chance. He can be a total bastard sometimes…” he breathed out.

Anne sat in stunned silence. He didn’t mention this to her at all. Of course, they were too busy panting, gasping…yelling out crazy stuff…her cheeks immediately began to warm. She looked down at the hands clenched in her lap.

“So, anyway, I would really appreciate if you would keep this to yourself. I know my employees. They’ll lose their ever-loving minds if they knew and I can’t have that. I need everyone focused right now. Especially you.”

Her head snapped up to meet his gaze.

Right. Her speech…

“Have you given any thought to continuing with your project? I found the funding. Some of it would come from Em and Ryan’s clinical trial budgets, Carol’s project just basically started from ground up again so I can push hers back to next Fiscal. Most of the money is there, the question is: what do you want to do?” he asked.

Her mouth opened but all that came out was a puff of air. “Ahh…” Her mind was a complete blank.

“I’m sorry. I feel like I’m putting you on the spot. If you need more time, take it. Honestly Anne, it doesn’t matter what the answer is, either way we’ll think of something, huh?”

She watched him warily, noticing that he didn’t believe his own assertion based on his facial expression.

He looked worried. Plain and simple.

“Well, umm…” she gave her head a small shake, trying to remember the words she rehearsed in her head to no avail.

“Looks like I could give you another two weeks to think about it. Do you know who Lach Garrick is?”

She shook her head at his sudden change in subject.

Rand continued on, “He’s asking for you to consult on a project. Obviously I wanted to talk to you first.”

‘“Who’s Lach Garrick?” she asked, thinking and coming up with no one in the facility by that name.

“One of the Lab Managers…in Scotland,” he said. His tone was almost apologetic.

Her pulse sped up. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying…do you have a passport?” he looked almost sheepish as he asked.

He didn’t.
Did he?
Would he do that?
Thoughts of Ian raced through her mind. Knowing him? He would do that. He would go there.

“Yes I do, but…”

“Good. I have an email I’ll forward to you. All the documents are there, he pretty much sent me all the background for you to look over,” Rand stated, causing her pulse to calm somewhat. It almost sounded legit, or at least it must have seemed that way to Rand. She still wasn’t sure…

“Is this…normal?” she asked.

“What? To send people to different facilities?”

She nodded in response.

“Oh god, yes. Ron was over there quite a bit. It was actually annoying because I needed him here.  I’m not surprised they asked for you. Read the Abstract and you’ll probably figure out why they want you to consult. Personally, I’m Ok with it. They want you for two weeks, though. Can you do that?” he asked.

“I’ll give them one week,” she stated decisively. “While I’m gone, you can order the equipment, if you want. I need to get back to work on that project,” she stated forcefully.

His face broke into a brilliant smile that she was much more familiar with.

*****

He was obviously pissed off.

So was she.

Emails, text messages and his attempts at instant messaging all resulted in zero response from her for the next two days. He even had the nerve to have her paged through the intercom to take his calls. She never picked up. His texts started off rather nice, his words were somewhat sweet, sometimes suggestive, but they quickly morphed into forceful insistence at her refusal to respond. Currently, any correspondence contained all caps again, somehow trying to confirm his frustration with her.

Good.

Even though her discussions with Lachlan Garrick pretty much proved that the request was most assuredly legit, she still couldn’t shake the feeling that Ian was behind it.

His own assistant had even contacted her to make travel arrangements. Mrs. Craigh, or Skye, as she insisted Anne call her, had emailed her an itinerary the day before and followed up with a phone call to confirm. She seemed friendly enough; in fact, she made it a point to insist they have lunch while she visited.

She ignored the bleating of her cell phone as she stuffed a few more items into her luggage. Wandering over to the chest of drawers, she grabbed her passport from the top drawer and opened it to the two pages that had stamps on them.

Colombia, South America. The date was four years ago, almost to the day.

The day she came back to America as a completely different person.

She fingered the folded note and pictures stuffed between the back pages before closing the small book and stuffing it into her purse.

*****

Her eyes scanned the rather large group of mostly men, all dressed in suits; all holding signs with various names written on them.

The baggage area at the Edinburgh Airport was bustling with a few families, but mostly what appeared to be business people quickly walking in every direction, interrupting her search.

“Ms. Bennett?” An older man, almost as short as her wandered up, his eyes lighting with recognition although she knew for certain she had never met him.

“Yes?” She eyed up the gray haired man with bushy eyebrows and a grandfatherly face.

“I’m Paden, I’ll be driving you today. Let’s get your luggage, eh?”

“How do you know…?”

“Oh! I had a good description of you, let’s get your luggage,” he stated quickly as he scanned the carousels before motioning for her to follow. Her jaw opened to call after him before she realized who the description undoubtedly came from. She shook her head and let out a perturbed breath before wandering after him.

*****

“…and I’m staying…?” she prompted.

“Oh! You’ll see. It’s lovely, really. What do you think of Scotland? This is your first time here?”

Her eyes scanned the passing scenery, trying to acclimate herself to the fact that he was driving on the wrong side of the road. Of course, they would say the same thing if they were in America, but still…it was so
strange
. Rolling green hills with tiny white dots peppered throughout seemed to make up the majority of what she was viewing. The white dots were sheep. Millions of them. Well, maybe not
millions
, but there certainly were quite a few…

Paden jabbered on about his country, it’s history, pointing out sites every once in a while during what she found to be a pleasant yet somewhat short drive. Before she realized it, he was turning into a gated driveway about an hour later. 

“What is this place? Is this an Inn?” She scanned the front of the property for a sign but found nothing. The gate opened without any prompting from him and he drove through. She was surrounded by thick trees on both sides of the narrow paved road as he drove along at a leisurely pace. Apprehension began to stir within her body.

“Paden?”

“Aye?”

“Where are we?”

“Perth, love. Or actually it’s Perthshire, but on a map, it would be listed as Perth,” he rambled on. “It’s a rather lovely town. There’s a nice river that runs through it. You should probably make a point to go visit it. The restaurants are quite nice too…”

They rounded a bend and a large structure filled her vision. It was definitely old. Not huge, but definitely not small either. The grounds were lush and green, providing a contrast to the old gray stone of the home. A turret jutted off the main structure and ivy trails ran up along one side of the home. It was beautiful.

“Here we are,” he stated as he stopped the car in front of the impressive staircase leading to the double doors to the home. “You go on up, I’ll get yer bags,” he stated.

“What is this…place? Is it an Inn?” she asked again, cautiously.

“Sure, sure. Off with ya now, go ring the bell, eh?” he seemed to brush her off.

Stepping from the back seat of the vehicle, she scanned the front of the structure as she walked up the steps slowly. It could definitely be an Inn. It certainly was large and charming enough…

One of the heavy wooden doors opened before she even had a chance to look for the bell. An older, rotund woman appeared; her cheeks ruddy and her clear blue eyes sparkling at her. She was actually shorter than Anne, causing her to look down.

“Halo tha an t-ainm agam Nelina. Anne?” she asked as she motioned her inside with her wrist.

“Uhh, hi?” she answered in complete confusion.

“Cuir fàilte air
,” the woman answered back causing Anne’s eyes to widen and her shoulders to shrug.

“Tha gu math, tapadh leibh!” she stated in a louder voice to something beyond Anne’s shoulder. She turned to find Paden dropping her luggage and draping the garment bag over the large leather trunk just inside the door way.

He was shaking his head for some reason and a small smile played on his lips as he regarded the woman behind Anne.

“Tha fios agam gum bheil fios agad gum bheil fios agam,” he stated back with a scolding look on his face before he turned his attention to Anne once again.

“Ms. Bennett? A pleasure. This is Nelina. Apparently she speaks no English, but she’s a right nice lady. Nelina? Dè tha thu a' dèanamh?”

She gave him a quick shrug in answer and a smile.

Anne turned from one to the other before he gave a slight wave and closed the door.

“Thig,” the older woman stated as she wandered over and grabbed the luggage before placing the garment bag over her shoulder.

“No! Oh please, let me get that!” Anne stated as she watched the woman walk toward a rather impressive staircase. It took up much of the front room. The dark wood gleamed from prisms of light beaming in from the windows beyond it.

“Thig,” she stated again after looking over her shoulder at Anne.

“I don’t know what ‘thig’ is. What is that? You don’t speak English? I thought everyone in Scotland spoke English…?” Her mouth clamped shut as she watched the woman jerk her head in the direction of the stairs she was starting to climb.  She was much stronger than Anne had originally thought. She barely struggled to lift the heavy bag up the steps.