Nerds in Force

by D. R. Grady

  She waited for him and they gave thanks before digging into the tantalizing fare. Harlow enjoyed sitting with him, talking together, more than she enjoyed the food. Although she could say she enjoyed the food as well. Mostly.

  “You’re unusual.” His comment didn’t startle her. She figured he’d say something like that based on his bemused expression.

  His expression didn’t clear, his thoughts must have. “I’ve met less than a handful of people who eat to live. Yet here you are.” He used a hand to encompass her.

  “I like your food.”

  “I’ve noticed you do seem to savor what I make.” He blinked. “But my Mama is the best cook in the world.”

  “You enjoy her efforts. I enjoy yours.” She sipped coffee, content to share this meal with him. Usually she gobbled the food and concentrated on the next task at hand. “Did Eric make it to the island?”

  “He checked in early this morning. The storm is making it hard for him. He’s determined to reach the island and whisk this woman and her boss to safety.”

  “He knows these waters and while he might not know the inlets there I imagine a former Navy SEAL can find his way through most conditions.” Although the weather was a tricky beast. Hopefully the storm remained of the tropical variety and didn’t surge into a full blown hurricane.

  They had enough troubles at the moment. It’d be nice if something cooperated in this situation.

  “Eric can take care of himself. He’s a good one to go after them as I don’t imagine they have the experience he does.”

  “Riley knows her way around these waters as well. But she is Army rather than Navy.” Harlow pondered that. “If Eric is interested in her it will be entertaining to see how those two branches come together.”

  “There is a lot of rivalry there.” Keith’s eyes darkened. “But love can conquer a lot.” He leaned forward to kiss her. At that very awful moment they got company.

  Finn and Gage entered the kitchen and broke up the next amazing kiss she desperately wanted to share with Keith. The twins brought verve and heckling with them. As per usual.

  “When do you two return to New York?” She was only half joking.

  Finn offered an evil version of a chuckle. He’d perfected that in their teen years. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” And he helped himself to coffee and what Keith had left in the warming oven. Gage carried a laden plate to the bar area.

  “Why don’t you people eat at the perfectly good breakfast table?” Keith’s mother entered the space and after she noticed all of them sitting at the bar gestured toward the nice table in front of a bank of windows.

  “Too many windows, Mama.” Keith answered for them.

  “You don’t want Vitamin D? People need sunlight.” She frowned at them.

  “We’re in danger right now, Talia. Sitting in front of windows is about the most dangerous thing we can do at the moment.” Harlow stepped in. “Anyone with a long range rifle could do a lot of damage if we present a target.”

  “To our credit, these windows are bullet proof but it’s good practice to avoid making ourselves a target.” Finn settled beside Keith.

  Keith’s mom gaped. “Eating at a table like a civilized person can get you killed?”

  “If you’re in our line of work, yes, it can.” No sense in sugarcoating the obvious. But Harlow wondered, for the first time, if she’d chosen the right profession.

  §

  Keith didn’t deny how heartening it was to see people enjoy food he had prepared. Harlow, the eats-to-live on his right and the twins on his left both downed everything on their plates. For Harlow that didn’t occur often. She usually ate until satisfied and pushed away from the table. Then again, he suspected she had worked out hard this morning, so she probably needed all the fuel on her plate. She hadn’t exercised with him.

  “Did you use the gym this morning?”

  She nodded but had just taken a sip of coffee. Once she swallowed the brew she answered. “Verity and I hit the space downstairs bright and early.”

  “I was there early. I didn’t see you.” He would have enjoyed witnessing these two women work out together. He did not voice this.

  “Maybe the term bright doesn’t apply. The sun was in the process of rising when we entered the room.” She slanted a look at him. “You probably had already finished?”

  “We likely just missed each other. I got there around six with these two.” He gestured toward the twins. Finn rose to stroll to the range. He opened the warming drawer and helped himself to additional food.

  His plate hadn’t been as piled as Gage’s.

  “Hunter joined us about midway through.” Gage spoke around a bite of sausage.

  Harlow nodded. “He was there when we arrived.” She frowned at the bottom of her coffee mug. “Why do coffee mugs get empty so fast?” She swung her stool to the side and dropped to the floor to return to the coffee maker.

  She passed Finn and snagged something off his plate, which he tried hard to keep out of her grasp. He slapped her bottom but she avoided the swat with effortless grace.

  “What is everyone doing today?” His mama opened the warming drawer and appeared to count in her head. She probably knew exactly who had eaten and who hadn’t.

  “I have work to do.” Harlow returned to her chair, full coffee cup in hand, looking satisfied.

  “We also have work.” Gage motioned between himself and his brother. They bolted down the remainder of their breakfast, tucked their dishes in the nearest dishwasher drawer, and left the kitchen.

  Aware of two sets of eyes on him, Keith resisted the urge to fidget in the chair. “I’m going to do some research for Harlow to help her determine the right equipment for her sugar processing plant.”

  “Oh good. I need to have that nailed down by the end of today.” She confirmed this after looking at her phone. “Yes, I promised to have this decision made by today’s date.”

  “We’ll have that done by this morning I expect.” Although he’d never had a client before Keith made up a new motto. Always exude confidence, even if you haven’t done this before.

  “Very good.” His mother filled her plate then dithered between the counter where they sat and the comfy breakfast nook.

  Harlow indicated the chair beside him. “You should sit here until this danger has passed.”

  “She’s right. We need to err on the side of caution for the foreseeable future.”

  His mama didn’t look happy with this decision, but she did as they urged.

  “And Eric not back yet…” His mama muttered under her breath.

  “Mama, he’s fine. He knows what he’s doing and he’s probably saving the lives of two of our servicemen. Or one serviceman and one servicewoman.” He guessed those were the politically correct terms.

  “He knows these islands and he’s a retired Navy SEAL. They’re hard to kill.” Harlow kept her tone light and encouraging and he appreciated that.

  His mother’s shoulders relaxed. Things got even better when Savannah and Molly entered the kitchen. They made for his mom first and she basked in the glow of finally having a daughter and an honorary one. They both hugged him too and he loved having a sister and her best buddy in his life.

  He caught Harlow’s eye and they both cleared out of the kitchen after loading their dishes. The Rembrandts had already disappeared into their office and he and Harlow headed to hers. He had left his laptop nearby and grabbed it now as they made their way to the office Harlow had been using.

  They both settled at the built-in desk with their laptops in front of them. He needed to work on the dimensions of the processing plant and those of the equipment she needed. It shouldn’t be hard to determine but he wanted to get it right.

  In the back of his mind he wondered if being a consultant might work out as a job for him. That way he’d get to choose his hours, he could work for himself, and the jobs would change so that might keep it interesting.

  First, he needed to finish this assignment
for Harlow.

  As though reading his mind she pushed a document toward him.

  “What’s this?”

  “This is our standard consultant contract. Should have had you sign it before taking you on the property. We’ll make it official now.”

  He took the time to read it and the terms read as standard. Nothing alarmed him so he signed and dated where she indicated and enjoyed watching her sign and date the paperwork. This connected them on a different level.

  Not the one he enjoyed the most but it held possibilities for his future.

  The future had always been clearcut for him in the past. Until his brother discovered their little sister.

  Things could change in the blink of an eye. Sometimes a person slogged through each day and nothing changed. That had been his life for years but learning about Savannah changed his world.

  Upon meeting Harlow, things had changed again. His future now looked bright and far more enticing than it had. He had someone in his life who seemed to want him as much as he wanted her.

  Maybe he did miss his former career. Yet he didn’t miss the loneliness that had plagued him at times. A new girlfriend (if Harlow agreed), new sister, and he now needed a new profession.

  “That was a long sigh.” Harlow turned her attention to him.

  Her green eyes enticed so he leaned forward to kiss her.

  “You better not kiss anyone else you consult for.”

  He laughed. “You’re the only client I’ll ever kiss.” Keith wiggled his brows and enjoyed her delighted laugh. It occurred to him that he hadn’t heard it much.

  “I’m relieved to hear that. And I will keep you to that promise.”

  “It might be more of a vow.” His voice went husky at the end but she probably understood.

  He did. His heart had just left his possession to now reside with her.

  The scariest part of that revelation—he wasn’t even concerned about that permanent change.

  Chapter 17

  Harlow’s heart swelled at the look in Keith’s eyes. No man had ever looked at her like that and she liked it. No, she loved it.

  Her hand cupped his cheek in solemn adoration. Words failed her. She swallowed.

  He moved closer. His hand curved around her nape and a gentle tug later their lips met again. This time their kiss offered promises. Silent vows that she couldn’t voice but that she heard and offered nonetheless.

  His lips curved into a cute smile. “We’re supposed to be working.”

  “Yes.” Her answer sounded breathy. She had to clear her throat and hoped he didn’t notice. “I have a pile of work I need to accomplish today.”

  With reluctance, they parted and she tore her focus from him and back to her laptop screen. While thoughts of him kept trying to infringe, the atmosphere in the office remained easy and comfortable. He worked quietly at his laptop where he referred to his notes from time to time but didn’t do anything distracting other than breathe.

  She wanted to sit and stare at him but that would never do and she did have deadlines she needed to meet today. Otherwise she would delay others in the office. While it was nice to work from home she also needed to exert discipline to actually accomplish the necessary tasks.

  By lunchtime she felt good about her accomplishments. Beside her Keith nodded to himself then handed her a sheaf of papers. She took a moment to read them and soon marveled at his level of professionalism. This vied for top prize of any work offered by their best consultants.

  “You do excellent work.”

  “Thank you.” He looked quietly satisfied. “I believe becoming a consultant is my next career move.”

  She waved the papers. “You’re well on your way. We’ve certainly got room to add you to our roster. Things like this do come up and we’re always happy to have knowledgeable consultants we can rely on.”

  “I’m glad I could be of assistance.”

  “You have been. This probably saved us a good bit of money. Can you email me these documents?”

  “I did.” He leaned back in his chair and his shirt stretched across impressive muscles. All thoughts drained as her mouth dried. The man needed to hide those under a suit.

  “Thank you.” It took more effort than necessary to shake off the spell the man kept casting over her. She turned back to her computer and found his email so she could forward it to the appropriate people. This way accounting and payroll had the information as did their production team who could now place the order for the necessary equipment.

  Once she finished everything relating to the processing equipment she shut her computer. Keith finished what he was doing at about the same time and joined her in shutting his machine.

  “I’m hungry.” He rubbed his flat, muscled stomach.

  “Let’s go see what we can scrounge up.”

  They headed to the kitchen and found it a busy place. She gravitated toward Verity, Cian, and Chad. The twins hadn’t blown in yet. So she and Keith made sandwiches with the ingredients his mother had laid out and loaded up with some crunchy veggies.

  She sat across from Verity and Chad. Keith sat beside her. They had chosen the large dining room set off the kitchen. It didn’t boast the huge expanse of windows so should be okay. It proved a nice change from the counter bar.

  “How are you going with your research?” She bit into her sandwich, aware of Keith making inroads into his own lunch.

  “We started first thing this morning on digging into this Nesla woman.” Verity shook her head. “She appears to be rather interesting.”

  Cian took over. “The trips and traps are plentiful but Chad is adept at sidestepping or taking them down all together.”

  Verity swallowed a bite of her own sandwich. “It’s been a real pleasure working with a professional of Chad’s caliber. He knows this software, since he wrote it, and we’ve learned plenty about this shady woman.”

  Chad had wrapped his arms around himself. “She’s mean.”

  Harlow focused on her brother. “Yes, but you’ve always known that. From the time we were kids you never liked Nesla.” Perhaps his take on the woman had clouded Harlow’s as well. She’d never taken to the woman either, even when they were all kids.

  “Mean. Pretty, but mean.”

  Verity brought up a picture of her on her phone. “To absolutely verify, this is the same woman, right?” She handed the phone across the table.

  Harlow took the phone and showed it to Keith who hadn’t gotten a chance to see her yesterday. He whistled softly. “I wasn’t sure if I knew her or not. I’ve heard of her but don’t think I’ve seen her grown up.”

  There was no denying that Nesla van den Roos was a beautiful woman. Tall, thin, classy, and utterly beautiful, she was the type of woman who made every man notice her immediately. Her light brown skin revealed island blood, but her blue eyes and light brown curly hair gave away her blue blooded European heritage.

  “Yes, this is Nesla.” Harlow had become resigned over the years that most women couldn’t measure up to Nesla’s beauty and perfect body. Yet she’d never envied the other woman. She might look good but that was negated by the total rot inside.

  She was thankful Chad had pointed that out in their youth. He saw things and people differently than others. From the time he was small he saw what lay beneath the surface whereas others tended to not go there.

  “She’s very strategic.” Verity gave nothing away.

  “And cold-blooded.” Cian added this but also didn’t let on to his feelings. Harlow appreciated their ability but finally understood why so many in her family and the company might find her frustrating. Sometimes it helped to have context and if they revealed what they were thinking, it could help matters.

  “You can tell all of this just from your research this morning?” Keith’s eyes narrowed and he paused in devouring his second sandwich.

  “We can tell by the decisions she’s made along the way. We have also discovered some indications that her husband’s disappearance didn
’t benefit her much.” Verity crunched a carrot. Harlow guessed her buddy didn’t normally eat them, but they were as safe as they could be here so it was okay to eat noisy foods that might call attention to themselves.

  She herself had also selected several of the uncooked veggies.

  “She probably thought she’d get to run the company after his disappearance but his family stepped in and essentially took everything of value.” Cian finished his sandwich.

  “There was a preunp? Or a trust?” Those two options came to mind first. A family as well connected and wealthy as the van den Roos would surely have some safeguards in place.

  “An airtight trust. Very well written and nearly impossible to thwart,” Cian answered.

  “It essentially states that blood family own their houses and businesses. The blood family also control the family shares. She gets some dividends from her husband's shares but it’s a small percentage compared to what she would have shared with him had he not disappeared.” Verity finished her carrot and started on a celery stalk.

  “She must not have been aware of the trust.” Cian shook his head.

  “Or thought she could work around it.” Chad inserted. He wasn’t swaying and seemed interested in their conversation and his lunch.

  “Probably what Chad said. She figured she could work around the trust.” Harlow pondered that angle. Her family had a similar trust.

  “Are the rest of her husband’s family safe?” Keith sipped iced tea.

  “We hope to answer that very question this afternoon. It looks as though they view her husband’s disappearance as suspicious and have heightened their security since he went missing.” Verity’s answer came as no surprise.

  “I’ve always wondered if they would accept her into the family.”

  Keith leaned back in his chair. “Isn’t she as blue blooded as the rest of them?”

  “Maybe, but her parents were never married. Her mother died soon after Nesla was born and her married father died while she was a late teen.” Harlow couldn’t remember the details.