AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chloe
My finger rubbed the edge of the book. It was one of the books that Ric had given me. It was the sweetest thing when he handed me the bag of books. I don’t think Ric knew what kind of books they were and I don’t think they were a hint for something else. He genuinely seemed like a guy that cared about me. Every time I was around him, my feelings were overwhelmed with confusion. I had always enjoyed talking to him before, but he wasn’t supposed to show up at my door. He asked me to lie to my best friend. Should I even trust him because of that? Even when she was across the world, I wasn’t comfortable with it. I sighed.
The door to the restricted section of the lab opened up and Dr. Mahma walked out. His face was awash with frustration. “What’s up, doc?” I asked. I smirked as I thought the line was rather funny.
His eyes narrowed as he contemplated what he wanted to say to me. I knew everything behind those doors was classified, so he wouldn’t actually tell me anything.
“No matter what I do, I cannot get this tech to work.”
“What kind of tech is it? I have a friend who’s pretty techy,” I said offhand as I shoved some papers over the book. I didn’t think it mattered much. Hiring was tight here.
He paused. “I don’t think I can hire anyone without clearance.”
I shrugged. “Just trying to help. I know my friend was trying to invent some stuff with many things I don’t even recognize. Sometimes you need another eye.”
He paused as his eyes narrowed. “This is top secret stuff.”
I made a face and stopped myself before I made a snide remark. Probably shouldn’t offer Ric’s services without his permission, anyway. “I was just trying to help. Don’t mind me. What else do you need me to do?” I asked before he walked away to barricade himself in his office for a few more hours.
He paused. “Can you go make me some coffee?”
I nodded. “Yes, I can do that,” I said. I got up and walked to the break room. One of the other scientists was there. “Hey there,” I said.
He turned toward me. He smiled as he looked up and down my body. My cheeks grew warm as his eyes traced the curves of my body. “Hey. You’re Chloe, right?” His tag said Dr. Ash Briggs. He was very pleasant to look at and I didn’t mind that he was looking at me with desire in his eyes. He was as tall as me. His eyes were a rich brown with flecks of yellow, his skin was tan, and he was slightly overweight. When he reached forward, I could see a tattoo of a DNA helix on his wrist.
I nodded. “Yes, Chloe. You’re from in the lab on level two? What are you guys working on?”
“Ah, well, a compound they found at one of the . . . wrecks.They think it could be a toxic gas, especially if it hits certain things in our environment.”
“What wreck?”
He shrugged. “You know, the ones that were in the media. A few years ago.”
“That makes little sense, though. Wouldn’t it be in our environment already? Why would it be toxic? Or are you saying that it could be a man-made chemical?”
His eyes narrowed and winked. “Yeah, definitely.”
“Gonna protect the country with your work, right?” I said as I inserted the cup under the coffee machine.
“You work with Dr. Mahma?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s a pretty sweet gig. He disappears for hours and I can read books.”
“What books?”
My face grew warm again. Would this guy shame me for reading romance books? “Sci-fi.”
“Ah, this must be your favorite job then,” he said. His hand bumped into mine as I reached for the sugar container. My heart raced slightly. This was exciting.
I giggled. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, you know what we do here?”
I shrugged. “I just get the coffee and print shit off.”
“What are you doing tonight?”
I stopped and turned. Was he asking me out? “Uh, I don’t know?”
