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He forced a smile as he walked over. It wouldn’t do him any good to let the professor know he was unhappy with his role.
Tugging on his suit jacket, he took long strides to cross the room before knocking on the doorframe.
“Excuse me. I’m looking for — Sydney? What are you doing here?” His day just got a whole lot better.
“You two already know each other?” Lewis said from behind.
“We do. Yes,” Syd said, thin-lipped.
Lewis moved beside Aaron and stretched a hand toward her. “But you and I haven’t met yet. I’m Special Agent Patrick Lewis. It’s nice to meet you, Professor Davis. I saw you come in. I was at the door at the front.”
“Yes, I remember.” Sydney smiled at Lewis as she stood and shook his hand. But her eyes lost their warmth when she looked back at Aaron.
“Hang on a second,” Aaron said. His mind numbed when he made the connection. “You’re Professor Syd Davis?” He tried to remember what he’d said to her at the café, but the whole thing was so unexpected he found it hard to recall their conversation. “Not Carpenter?”
“That’s correct. Remember I told you I changed my name after my mom left my dad? Davis is my mom’s maiden name.”
Aaron covered his mouth to hide the smile that forced its way out.
“You find this amusing?” she said. The hand that went to her hip made it clear she wasn’t impressed.
“Sydney Davis. I … I don’t really know what to say.”
“You said plenty at the café.”
A few words came back into his memory. “What I said then, I didn’t mean it.”
“Yes, you did.”
“Okay, I did.” A small huff of a laugh escaped. “Sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, but it is kind of funny.”
“Is it?”
“Am I missing something?” Lewis asked.
Aaron grabbed the file out from under his arm and opened it, flipping over the top page to reveal a photo of Sydney. It was a nice photo. “Next time, I’ll read the file first.”
Syd’s tongue clicked in resentment. “Didn’t even read the file,” she mumbled. “For the record, the protection thing wasn’t my idea. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have ever asked you here.”
“Can you excuse us a moment, Lewis?” Aaron said, handing the file to him.
“Sure.” Lewis backed out with a look between the two while Aaron stepped farther into the room.
“Syd, I really am sorry. I’ve been unprofessional and I apologize for that.”
“From what you said at the café, it sounds like you’re making a habit out of it.”
She was right and that was embarrassing.
“Give me the chance to start over.”
She shrugged. “As long as you stay out of my way, I don’t care what you do. You’re not here to judge my work. You’re here to make sure I’m safe. You do your job, I’ll do mine, and we’ll get along just fine.”
“Your research. Right. Can I ask why exactly you need the protection?”
“You can read it in the file.”
“But you’re conducting cancer research, right?”
