“You got it. I plan to talk you into next week. Lock up when you leave.”
“Is this how you wanted it?” Olin asks me later that morning.
I look at the test tubes lined up in a wooden holder. “Yes, that’s good. Do you remember how to mix the compounds?”
“Yeah.”
I’ve been struggling to keep my mind on my work all morning. It’s been a productive few hours, though. Olin is a good lab assistant. He listens well and picks up on things the first time I tell him.
“Hey, you know that blond who works in the garden?” I ask. “Daisy?”
“I’ve seen her around.”
“She was staring at you during the meeting yesterday.”
His fair cheeks flush. “I’m sure it was someone else.”
“No, it was you. You should try talking to her.”
“I don’t know how old she is. I’m twenty-one. It’d be creepy for me to talk to a seventeen-year-old.”
“Want me to find out?”
“No. Please don’t.”
A knock at the door cuts our conversation short. My body hums with awareness, knowing it’s Marcus. When I open the door, he’s standing there with a bouquet of plumeria and wild orchids.
“Hi,” I say softly as he passes me the flowers. “Thanks.”
“Hi.”
“Olin, I’m taking a break,” I say, gently setting the flowers on an empty counter. “You should take one, too.”
“Nah, I’m good.” He gives a small wave. “Hey, Marcus.”
“Hey, Olin.”
Once we’re going up the wide, gradually sloping walkway to leave the Sub, Marcus passes me something wrapped in brown paper. When I open it, I find an egg, tomato and cheese sandwich on sourdough bread.
“This is my favorite,” I say, my stomach murmuring its approval.
“I know. I talked Vadim into making it.”
“I’ll have to thank him.”
I bite into it, realizing how hungry I actually am. I don’t really think about it when I’m in the lab.
“How’s it going?” Marcus asks.
“Good so far. How about you?”
“We started on the bridge.”
When we walk out of the Sub, the glare of daylight makes me squint. I eat my sandwich as we walk to the pool, Marcus giving me occasional glances before he finally speaks again.
“I know everything’s not like it was before,” he says. “I need to earn your trust back, and I don’t want to come on too strong. We really can just sit at the pool and talk, and I mean that.”
“I know. We’ve never done anything I didn’t want.”
