The Science of Loving (40 page)

“Hey guys. Is the lab burning down without me?”

“Naw, Bob hid all the matches, but the grapevines on fire.” Les's eyes widen. “Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! You look like you just finished a guest appearance on Jerry Springer.”

“Hey Angie.” Bob hugged her awkwardly, as if she were made of glass, and I felt like an even bigger ass.

“Hey Daddy. Miss me already?”

“Always, baby girl.”

“So it’s true?” Les asked, motioning imperiously at my head. “Come on, you know the drill.” Sheesh, I bent to let her finger my scalp.

“Depends… What have you heard?” I grinned down at her.

“That some bald Neanderthal clubbed Angie stupid then dragged her back to his cave to dust his stalactites.”

Angie blushed. “Naw, I’m just here for the grotto… Oh my God, you guys, you have got to check out the bathroom.”

She grabbed Les’s hand excitedly as the rest of us followed at a more dignified pace. After the show, we settled comfortably in the living room and Les started giving the low down from what apparently, was a very active gossip mill.

“Well, so far I’ve heard: That you’re in intensive care, that you’re a federal witness and Mat’s really a trained killer hired to protect you. That you’d been robbed, raped, carjacked. That Bob stumbled on an underage male prostitution ring, and their pimp beat you up as a warning.”

Les glanced at Jack reddening. I think she just realized that also involved his wife. “Sorry… Oh, and my favorite: Your attacker was one of Mat’s jealous ex-boyfriends—I may have started that one.” She added with a wink.

“Nice.” Danny grinned. Shit, I knew those two would hit it off. “I guess you haven’t heard anything from the police yet.”

“It just happened last night.”

“Well if this was CSI,” Danny complained, “they’d already have DNA results and a person of interest.”

“Right, cause that’s not a fictional TV show or anything,” Angie said.

“Well, how long does that stuff take?”

“For DNA typing? It depends on the number of samples that have to be analyzed. The actual process takes about 40 to 50 hours.”

“And, that’s not considering any backlog or administrative delays,” Les added.

“Why does it take so long?”

“Because it’s not just a matter of running a single test,” Angie said, “It’s a process: To begin with you have to extract a sample. And then you can’t just stick it into a genetic analyzer. You have determine if there’s even any DNA present. If there is, you have to figure out how much, because you’re going to have to replicate it until the concentration is high enough for testing, then tag the parts you’re interested in. And you have to do it multiple times on both the unknown, and a control sample to keep your statistical uncertainty within an acceptable level.”

“Damn, that’s hot,” I said.

“If you think that’s hot, you should see her fist a pipette.” Les joked.

The bed jostled. “Angie… wakey, wakey.” Kisses trailed down my face as minty breath warmed my skin. I groaned rolling over. I ached. What was with the James kids always waking me up.
Oh my God, I’m living with a man! Not dating, I have a live-in boyfriend.

I grinned. “Morning handsome.”

“Same back at ya, beautiful. Gotta get up now.”

I captured his neck, trying to drag him down on top of me. “Or, you could come back to bed.”

“No can do, lover. We have to go into the office and do business stuff.”

“Okay, see ya when you get home.” I rolled back over, stuffing my head under a pillow.

“Oh, I don’t think so, sweetness. You’re coming with me.”

“You realize it’s highly unprofessional bringing your girlfriend to work.”

“Good thing I’m the boss. Now get up, I don’t want to be late.”

“How can you be late? You’re the boss.”

“Morning meeting with a client and Mel will spit in my coffee if I’m late.”

“What makes you think I won’t spit in your coffee?”

“I’ll swap spit with you anytime baby.”

I covered my mouth when Mat swooped in for a kiss. “Must brush teeth first.”

“Hurry up.” Mat smooched my forehead before leaving me to get ready.

Thirty minutes later, I was doing my best not to spill coffee down the front of my grey sweater set as Mat zipped into his parking spot. “So tell me about this client.”

“He owns a winery in Temecula. Right now it’s strictly an agricultural and industrial operation, but he wants to transform it into an event destination by adding a bed and breakfast, restaurant, tasting rooms, and event hall.”

“Wow that sounds really cool.”

“Yeah, I think I could create something really stunning.” Mat stopped me with a look before coming around to get my door.

“You just wanted to ogle my legs.” I accused, my pencil skirt riding up as I stepped out of the car.

“And your point is?” he said, slinging both our briefcases over his shoulder as he placed his other hand possessively on my back. Was it wrong this show of dominance made me want to jump his bones?

Mat greeted his receptionist on the way to the coffee pot, letting her know I'd be working out of his office. Tom was filling his cup when we entered the break room. “I can just as easily work in here so I’m not in your way.”

“How do you expect us to have hot office sex if you’re not in my office?” I glanced at Tom. Mat grinned, watching my cheeks bloom. He enjoyed embarrassing me. Ass.

“Good morning Angie.” Tom put an arm around my shoulders. “Call me when you’re ready to dump this adolescent and go out with a grownup.”

I ducked my head smiling self-consciously. “Thanks Tom, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Mat pulled me away from him. “Tom… Tom… How many times do I have to tell you, mature and responsible is boring. Women want the excitement of impetuous youth.”

“We do?” I asked, looking up into his eyes.

“Yeah baby, you do.” He squeezed me before looking back at Tom. “So quit trying to talk sense to my woman. I don’t need her finding out how much of a jackass I really am.”

“I’m sure she already knows. Speaking of jackasses, I had a long talk with Max the other night.”

“So spill.”

Tom glanced at me. Taking the hint, I reached for my laptop bag. “Why don’t I go get set up in your office.”

Mat’s arm tightened around me. “She knows what’s going on.”

“Alrighty then.” Tom nodded. “Remember a while back, Max hit that deer with his car? Well, that night he was being wined and dined by a rep for one of the developers we’d rejected. He thinks he must’ve had too much to drink because he blacked out and didn’t remember going home. When he crawled out of bed the next day, severely hung-over, he found his car wrecked in his garage with a note to call Avery.”

“That doesn’t sound like Max. He usually drinks pretty much everyone under the table.”

“I know; it doesn’t make sense.” Tom agreed. “So Avery informed him he was involved in a hit and run, killing a motorcyclist, and he’s been blackmailing him ever since.”

“Holy Shit.”

“So what’s he going to do about it?”

“I have no idea. I’m, and by that, I mean we… are staying as far away from this as we can. We don’t know anything, we haven’t heard anything.”

“Christ.”

“Mat?” Mel called from the doorway. “Your clients are here.”

“Thanks Mel, can you set them up in the small conference room and get them some coffee, please?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.” Mat took my hand. “C’mon sweetheart, I want you in my office.”

His office was incomparable to my closet sized domain with its broken furniture and dingy windows. Bathed in sunlight from a bank of windows running the length of the back wall, it looked more like an art studio. An impressive executive desk held pride of place on the left as you entered. And on the right, a sofa and coffee table were situated against a short wall that concealed a hi-tech workspace with a fancy computer with three flat screen monitors, a drafting table, a workbench and shelves cluttered with models.

“Wow, this is nice.”

“You take the big desk. I only use it to check my email. Now, I have to go to my meeting. Don’t be afraid to ask Mel for anything you need.” He nipped my lower lip then kissed me sweetly, murmuring, “Plan on testing the sturdiness of that desk when I get back.”

Delete… Delete… I sorted through my email trying not to think of all the ways a sturdy desk might be tested… Delete… A note from Les:

“Drag your horny ass outta bed Rambo… attached is the latest raws waiting to be analyzed. So get your massive intellect in gear and let me know what stains you want next… Your faithful Minion.”

I opened the attachment, losing myself in columns of stained bars and graphs, happily sinking into the dancing patterns as twining secrets whispered at the edge of my consciousness. This was my favorite part, sifting through the data in search of clues. It was an exercise of pure intellect where I became so focused that a kind of euphoria set in, a peaceful clarity where nothing else existed.

“Hey, would you like a cup of coffee?” I flinched, ripped from my meditations—
God dammit! I’d almost had it. I was almost there.
When Mel’s smile faltered, I realized I was glaring at her. Shit, she was just trying to be nice. Unlike my minions, she didn't know interrupting my cogitations could release the Hyde to my Dr. Jeckle.

Taking a cleansing breath, I plastered on a smile, forcing down my irritation. “Sorry, my mind was elsewhere. Sure, coffee would be great.”

“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important,” she said uneasily on the way to the break room. “Oh, FYI, Mat turns into a troll when he’s creating. He’s libel to bite your head off if you bother him.”

“Good to know.”

We got our coffee, and Mel set a box of cookies on the table. “With all the bad news, we really didn’t have a chance to talk yesterday.” Mel began. “I’ve been working here for three years and never once has Mat brought a girl around.”

“I’m only here because he’s afraid to leave me alone. They haven’t caught the guy who jumped me the other night.”

“Uh huh.” Why didn’t anyone believe me? “So that’s why he moved you into his place?”

“Everyone’s going a little nuts over this. I’ve even been barred me from my lab in case this wasn’t some random crime.”

“There you are.” Mat kissed me as he snagged a cookie from the box. “I figured you’d be all engrossed in science madness.”

“I was; Mel’s lucky to be alive.” I laughed. “I hear you get the same way when you’re designing.”

“Oh Angie I’m sorry… I didn’t realize.” Guilt darkened my cheeks at Mel’s stricken expression.

“That’s all right. Most of the time I’m pretty harmless.”

“Unless someone messes with her ride. Then she beats the crap out of them.” Mat grinned at Mel. “Good thing her car’s been impounded.”

“Why? Do you bare my first love, my faithful steed, evil intent?” I sniffed, wiping away an imaginary tear. “You don’t need feel threatened by all that hot steely muscle, or how it eagerly vibrates when I rev its engine or the way its smooth leather perfectly cups my behind. You’re still third in my affections.”

“I rate as high as third?”

“Of course, right behind your bathroom.”

“Isn’t that the truth.” Mel grinned. “Sorry boss, but the girl’s got standards.”

He rose to his feet, holding out his hand. “I think we should discuss how I can better measure up in private—
over my desk
.” He was using ‘The Voice,’ and challenging me with his eyes.

“So, how’d the meeting go?” I asked uneasily, walking ahead of him.

“They loved me,” Mat said.

“Of course they did.”

After shutting the office door, he very deliberately locked it. Anxiety goaded my heart as he began methodically clearing off the top of his desk, shutting my laptop, carefully setting it aside.

“Come over here, sweetness.” The words coiled in my belly, tugging at things low in my body as sweet fear fluttered in my chest, freezing me in place. He regarded me darkly. “Is there a problem, Angelina?” Oh shit, I force my feet to move. “Answer me, sweetness.”

Licking my lips, I looked up at him. “No, no problem.”

“Come over here, sweetness.”
Honey, I'll take a backseat to your car, or better yet, take you in the backseat of your car, but rating me below the bathroom? Hell no
—she was rooted in place with the cutest deer-in-the-headlights expression on her face “Is there a problem, Angelina?” She jerked into motion. “Answer me, sweetness.” Her eyes widen—
that’s right sweetness, scary Mat’s come out to play.