Elliott seconded. “Lukas and I feel better knowing there are two of you there, especially with the visitor you recently had.”
“Nothing on that footprint so far,” Lukas added. “We’ll keep on it.”
Lorin blinked. When had Gabe sent Lukas—
“Shall we look at the agenda Gabe sent?” Willem said.
An agenda? Of course Gabe had sent an agenda—and the first thing on it was a quick review of her own quarantine results. All the tests had, so far, come back negative. Her clean bill of health was great news, but the fact it had been mentioned at all simply re-emphasized that she’d made a huge mistake in the first place. Julianna’s sympathetic expression made her feel even more stupid. Wyland continued with an update on the box itself, which had been catalogued, carefully crated, and placed in the archives until they were ready to examine it.
Gabe was up next, and the rest of the meeting went very smoothly—too smoothly. The details Gabe walked them through were well thought-out, exhaustive, and smacked of fait accompli: while Gabe and Lorin worked the dig for two more weeks, Julianna would coordinate a retrofit of the secure lab located in Sebastiani Labs’ sub-basement. Once the buildout was complete, they’d run the box through a battery of tests. After reviewing the results, the box would be carefully opened, and the items inside extracted, carefully catalogued, and then analyzed.
“Lorin will coordinate expansion of the grid in the area where the box was found,” Gabe said, looking at his watch. “The summer crew starts arriving in a few hours.”
“We’re keeping the discovery of the box confidential for now, correct?” she verified.
At her side, she felt as much as saw Gabe nod.
Elliott concurred. “No need to tell the students anything specific until we know what we’re dealing with.”
She sighed. “I know it’s the right decision, but these workers were selected for their brains. It’s going to be a challenge.” Shooting a glance at Gabe, she said, “Explaining Gabe’s presence here will be challenging enough.”
Elliott’s hooded gaze encompassed them both. “I have every confidence that the two of you will come up with a convincing explanation.”
At her side, Gabe sat up straighter. He’d felt it too. Elliott’s patented “nested Russian doll” requests were powerful—an order at the core, couched as a request, wrapped in an expression of confidence that made his employees kill themselves to fulfill his expectations.
Gabe leaned forward, pressing his hard, muscular chest against her shoulder blade, quirking a smile and gesturing with his hand while he and Julianna discussed the specific chemicals, tools, and equipment Gabe required for his work. His voice vibrated through her torso, painfully acute, but she couldn’t quite seem to find the muscular will to shift her body away, or to ask him to move. There was a smudged fingerprint at the rim of his glasses, and she could smell the coffee on his breath when he laughed.
As the meeting went on, there were no disagreements, because Gabe gave everyone an opportunity to build upon the plan. He asked for input. He accepted feedback gracefully. Though Lukas scowled, no doubt mentally beating the bushes for risks he hadn’t yet seen or considered, Elliott, seated at the head of the boardroom table, smiled like a pasha.
Lorin sat silent and numb. He’d thought of everything. In a mere twenty minutes, she’d officially and totally lost control of her mother’s project, her own contributions relegated to tasks and sub-tasks on a freaking project plan.
Finally, Julianna snapped her stylus into her e-tablet with a decisive click. “Gabe, I’ll have an updated lab status to you by noon.” She turned toward Elliott Sebastiani. “Thank you for the opportunity to work on this project, sir. And Lorin?” Julianna’s gaze met hers from the open window on the desktop. “Congratulations on your find.”
There was no wordless
“Nothing on that footprint so far,” Lukas added. “We’ll keep on it.”
Lorin blinked. When had Gabe sent Lukas—
“Shall we look at the agenda Gabe sent?” Willem said.
An agenda? Of course Gabe had sent an agenda—and the first thing on it was a quick review of her own quarantine results. All the tests had, so far, come back negative. Her clean bill of health was great news, but the fact it had been mentioned at all simply re-emphasized that she’d made a huge mistake in the first place. Julianna’s sympathetic expression made her feel even more stupid. Wyland continued with an update on the box itself, which had been catalogued, carefully crated, and placed in the archives until they were ready to examine it.
Gabe was up next, and the rest of the meeting went very smoothly—too smoothly. The details Gabe walked them through were well thought-out, exhaustive, and smacked of fait accompli: while Gabe and Lorin worked the dig for two more weeks, Julianna would coordinate a retrofit of the secure lab located in Sebastiani Labs’ sub-basement. Once the buildout was complete, they’d run the box through a battery of tests. After reviewing the results, the box would be carefully opened, and the items inside extracted, carefully catalogued, and then analyzed.
“Lorin will coordinate expansion of the grid in the area where the box was found,” Gabe said, looking at his watch. “The summer crew starts arriving in a few hours.”
“We’re keeping the discovery of the box confidential for now, correct?” she verified.
At her side, she felt as much as saw Gabe nod.
Elliott concurred. “No need to tell the students anything specific until we know what we’re dealing with.”
She sighed. “I know it’s the right decision, but these workers were selected for their brains. It’s going to be a challenge.” Shooting a glance at Gabe, she said, “Explaining Gabe’s presence here will be challenging enough.”
Elliott’s hooded gaze encompassed them both. “I have every confidence that the two of you will come up with a convincing explanation.”
At her side, Gabe sat up straighter. He’d felt it too. Elliott’s patented “nested Russian doll” requests were powerful—an order at the core, couched as a request, wrapped in an expression of confidence that made his employees kill themselves to fulfill his expectations.
Gabe leaned forward, pressing his hard, muscular chest against her shoulder blade, quirking a smile and gesturing with his hand while he and Julianna discussed the specific chemicals, tools, and equipment Gabe required for his work. His voice vibrated through her torso, painfully acute, but she couldn’t quite seem to find the muscular will to shift her body away, or to ask him to move. There was a smudged fingerprint at the rim of his glasses, and she could smell the coffee on his breath when he laughed.
As the meeting went on, there were no disagreements, because Gabe gave everyone an opportunity to build upon the plan. He asked for input. He accepted feedback gracefully. Though Lukas scowled, no doubt mentally beating the bushes for risks he hadn’t yet seen or considered, Elliott, seated at the head of the boardroom table, smiled like a pasha.
Lorin sat silent and numb. He’d thought of everything. In a mere twenty minutes, she’d officially and totally lost control of her mother’s project, her own contributions relegated to tasks and sub-tasks on a freaking project plan.
Finally, Julianna snapped her stylus into her e-tablet with a decisive click. “Gabe, I’ll have an updated lab status to you by noon.” She turned toward Elliott Sebastiani. “Thank you for the opportunity to work on this project, sir. And Lorin?” Julianna’s gaze met hers from the open window on the desktop. “Congratulations on your find.”
There was no wordless
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