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“What exactly happened?” Anton ventured, looking around and seeing that his own science team was noticeably excited. He frowned when he saw Mindy grab a scientist by the collar and shake a clipboard at him. Things were bad if the clipboard was out.
Lou flung her arms wide. “They blew up the bonfire.”
“Come again?” Grace stepped forward and held a hand up. “I don’t think I quite understood what you just said.”
“I don’t know what’s so hard to understand. They blew the bonfire up.”
Grace whirled on the milling scientists with a downright murderous look in her eyes. “What the hell?” she roared.
Anton was honestly impressed that she had such an ungodly sound in her. A silence descended on the clearing with all the gravitas of Thor’s hammer, and no one dared speak a word as Grace sucked in a deep breath.
“I did this out of the goodness of my heart, and do you know why?” she asked them, her voice quiet now. When no one answered, she continued on with a sweeping glare, hands on her hips. “I did it because I love you all. Even you, New York team. I mean, I don’t know you, but you’re my people, anddo you know why?”
At this, a scientist made of far sterner stuff than Anton had assumed, stepped forward. “Because you’re, ah, the lab queen?” they supplied with a smile Anton assumed was meant to be placating.
“You're damn right, I am!” she yelled, pointing a finger at the scientist and marching forward. “But if you think for one second I’m going to tolerate a lab war resembling the previous one circa last year,the bad year,the year we don’t talk about, then you’ve got another thing coming. Do you get me? I’ve stared into the depths of space with naught but a hot pocket and my love for this woman,” she pointed a finger at Lou, “to keep my wits about me and my sanity intact. Isn’t that right?” She nodded at Lou, who nodded back and sipped her beer with a bland expression on her face. This was, Anton supposed, old hat to Lou, after all. “If you think you’re going to do what I know you’re plotting then brace yourself, because I’ve got a budget five times yours and no social hang-ups holding me back when it comes to keeping peace and order in my labs.”
“Holy shit,” Mindy breathed, her eyes wide as she watched Grace launch into another tirade that would make Napoleon proud, “she’s terrifying.”
Anton nodded, his eyes following Grace as she marched around the clearing with all the pomp of a queen. He’d gotten off with a slap on the wrist for the way he’d behaved on their first meeting.
“I know.”
“It’s magnificent. I approve of you dating her.”
Anton balked, eyes snapping to Mindy. “Wait, what? How do you know that already?”
Mindy shrugged. “It’s my job to know what you’re getting yourself into, and I approve. Besides, you’ve been mooning over her for months. It’s time you did the deed and got some of that energy out. It’s not healthy, with the hours you’ve been keeping.”
“Mindy…” Anton groaned, covering his face with a hand. “This is like getting the birds and the bees talk from my mom.”
She scowled. “I am not your mom.”
“Also, let me remind you all! What’s the first rule of Lab Wars?!” Grace demanded from the group with a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t get caught,” someone yelled. There were a few nervous titters of laughter and Grace gave them a withering smile.
“Wrong!” she yelled, “it’s don’t talk about Lab Wars, and you know why? It doesn't exist. Don’t even think about it! Don’t breathe in its general direction, and don’t fantasize about it, and don’t write about it on your damn blogs. I swear to god, if you ruin another family outing I will turn this bonfire right around and take us all home.”
Lou barked out a laugh, which only served to add to Grace’s consternation. “What? I can laugh. We’re blood-sisters. You have to love me.” Grace glared at her, prompting a half-hearted mutter of “I’m in charge around here, you know.”
“Thin ice, boss lady. Thinfreakingice,” Grace muttered, pinching her fingers together. Lou’s lips turned down in a pout, but the scientist said nothing as Grace continued to eyeball the line of assembled scientists. “Consider this your first and final warning about Lab Wars. I will not be having a repeat of last year. Not on my watch, and not against the visiting team. I’ll take you all on and you’ll lose. Don’t make me cut off your coffee.”
A gasp went up from the group of party-goers, but Grace continued speaking.
“I’ll do it. I’ll drown you in so much decaf you won’t be able to go on your little science benders, capisce?” Grace punctuated the end of her sentence with a snap of her fingers. Anton had never seen a group of people scramble to agree faster than this stammering and all-but-bowing group of scientists. Geniuses that they were, they knew when they’d been beaten. Anton shoved his hands in his pocket and ambled up to Grace as she held court, receiving heartfelt apologies and promises of better behavior in exchange for caffeine.
“And don’t think I don’t know that you masterminded this, Elisha.” Grace jabbed a finger at a willowy scientist with a pile of box braids. The woman fiddled with one braid and gave Grace a little shrug.
“I have no idea what you’re referring to, Gracie,” she demurred, one corner of her lips turning up into a smile. “This wasn’t me. I would never.”
“Your lips say no, but your hips say yes,” Grace muttered, arms crossed as Elisha skirted past, but not before pressing a kiss to Grace’s cheek. “Play nice with the New York team,” Grace sighed when Elisha drew away with a wink.
“Please caffeinate me,” Elisha called over her shoulder.
“Half-caf! Nothing more,” Grace barked out, but there was a smile on her face, especially when Elisha’s disgruntled moan hit her ears.
“Kids these days,” Anton said, coming to stand beside Grace.
