by I. T. Lucas
“Would you like some coffee, Papi?”
“Yes, please.”
She poured him a cup. “There is something I need to tell you.”
“What is it, precious?” Worry suffused his words.
“It’s a good thing, Papi, a wonderful thing. Andrew and I are expecting a baby.”
The bright smile that flitted through his face was immediately replaced by a frown. “Who is Andrew?”
Damn, most days he knew who Andrew was. She considered lying and saying he was her husband, but the lie couldn’t pass through her lips. “My fiancé, daddy. We are getting married in six weeks.”
He smiled and pulled her into a hug. “I’m so happy for you, my girl.” He let her go with a mischievous grin on his face. “I’m happy for me too. I can’t wait to hold my grandchild in my arms. But I’m not sure your mother will be thrilled about being called Grandma.” He winked.
The best thing was not to correct him and just go with it. “She’ll get used to the idea.”
“Question is, will I? After all, I’ll be going to bed with a grandma.”
Unfortunately, only in your dreams, Daddy.
Chapter 18: Amanda
Amanda glanced at her schedule for the day and sighed. It was going to be a rat race. There was so much she still needed to do in the two days before her scheduled trip to Hawaii.
They were taking the clan’s largest jet to shuttle the girls and their escorts, Vanessa, Amanda, and Gertrude. Overkill on all accounts. The plane belonged to Annani’s sanctuary and had to be flown from Alaska. Annani’s people, who needed it on an almost daily basis, would have to manage without. Three escorts for a group of twenty-two kids made sense, but not for a same sized group of adult women. But the psychologist warned that the women’s submerged memories might reemerge at any moment, and they might panic. According to Vanessa, a group that large required a minimum of three immortals with decent thralling ability.
“Is the next one here?” she asked Syssi.
Syssi glanced at the list of interviewees. “She is ten minutes late, I don’t think she is coming.”
“Good, I need a break. Join me for coffee?”
Syssi got up to her feet and stretched. “Sure.” She turned to Hannah. “If someone named Mona shows up, come get us. We are in the kitchen.”
Without lifting her head up from the monitor, Hannah gave her the thumbs-up.
In the kitchenette, Syssi put a fresh packet into the coffeemaker and leaned against the counter. “I can’t believe how flaky these young ones are. Having a guaranteed source of income is spoiling them rotten.”
Amanda nodded. “One didn’t want to work full time, the other one expected an executive’s pay, and this one made an appointment and didn’t show up.” She leaned closer to Syssi’s ear and whispered. “I think we need to forget about hiring an immortal and settle for a mortal or two to handle the interviews.”
Syssi pulled up two cups from the cabinet above the sink. “Not a bad idea. The questionnaire is vague enough. Paranormal abilities are strange, so it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that some of the questions are a little out there.” Amanda took one and held it out for Syssi to fill. “William is coming later today to show us his video game. If it’s as good as he claims, we might not need to hire additional staff.”
“Even if it’s that good, it’s not a substitute for a face to face interview. Besides, it only tests precognition and remote viewing. It can’t test telepathy or any of the other paranormal phenomena.”
Regrettably, Syssi was right. “We keep on looking then, but there are not that many unemployed immortals left. Shortly we will run out of names.”
“I have an idea.” Syssi put her cup down. “If I remember right, we have five high-school students and two local college students. Three of them are working for Nathalie, but we can offer the others part time jobs. Kids are always looking for an independent source of income, and they don’t get their share in clan profits until they either graduate college or reach twenty-five years of age.”
“Brilliant idea. I’ll call Onegus and get their names and numbers.”
“Yo! Amanda, Syssi, there is someone here to see you!” Hannah called from the other room.
Syssi lifted her cup. “Good. Ms. Mona decided to show up.”
They headed back to the lab.
It wasn’t Mona. It was William, and he was blushing like a red tomato.
Hannah cast him an indulgent smile. “So you’re Amanda’s cousin?”
“Unbelievable, ha? Look at her and look at me.” He waved a hand over his rotund physique.
Hannah cocked her head. “I can see the family resemblance.”
“You can?” Amanda and William said at the same time.
“Yes, of course. Don’t you see it, Syssi? The blue eyes, the high cheekbones, the height.”
Syssi glanced from Amanda to William and back, then nodded. “You’re right. I didn’t notice the eye color because of William’s glasses, but it’s the same shade of blue. Yeah, and you’re right about the rest too.”
What Syssi hadn’t said was that William’s cheekbones were not as pronounced because of his padding, and although he was only an inch or two shorter than Kian, his width made him look shorter. What Amanda couldn’t understand, though, was why he was wearing glasses. Maybe it had something to do with filtering the glare from the monitors he was staring at all day.
William beamed. “Thank you. I’m flattered, especially since the compliment comes from such a beautiful woman.”
Used to compliments, Hannah accepted William’s graciously. Even before she’d lost weight, her pretty face, her confidence, and her witty sense of humor made her a very popular girl. Hanna never suffered from a shortage of suitors.
Which, unfortunately, didn’t bode well for William. And anyway, there could never be anything more than a hookup between them.
“William, darling, you can come back and flirt with Hannah after you show us your game.”
“Yes, right.” He shifted the box he was holding under his left arm and offered his right hand to Hannah. “It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Hannah.”
With a sly grin, she shook it. “Mine too. Come see me after you’re done with these two.”
The girl had just made William’s day. Hell, she’d probably made his year.
“I’ll certainly will,” he said.
Amanda shook her head. She’d better have a little chat with Hannah before the post-doc had a chance to toy with William. He was too sweet and naive, and she could easily shatter his fragile ego.
“Are you coming?” Syssi asked.
“In a moment. Help William set up the console in my office.”
Syssi cast her a perplexed look. She knew perfectly well that William didn’t need anyone’s help with anything that had to do with electronics.
Amanda made a shooing motion with her hand. Syssi might be a seer, but unfortunately, she was no mind reader. “And close the door behind you.”
Finally, understanding dawned on Syssi’s face, and she winked, then did what Amanda had asked.
Amanda braced her hands against Hannah’s desk and leaned, so her face was only a few inches away from the postdoc. “Hannah, sweetheart, you’re an awesome girl, and if you really like William, I have no problem with some innocent flirting. But if you’re just toying with him, don’t. He is a sweet man, and I love him dearly. I would hate to see him hurt.”
With an offended expression on her face, Hannah crossed her arms over her chest. “I never toy with guys. Have you ever seen me encourage someone I wasn’t interested in?”
“Darling, I don’t follow your love life that closely.”
“I like William. He looks smart and kind, and he is very handsome.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. Yeah, right.
Hannah narrowed hers. “You’re lucky you’re my boss, so I’m not going to say what’s really on my mind. But just so you know, William has a gorgeous face. You just don�
�t see it. You focus on everything that is less than perfect.”
Ouch. Amanda could practically feel the slap on her cheek. She leaned back, getting out of Hannah’s personal space. “You got me, and I’m sorry. But he is my cousin, and I don’t really look at him that way; as a woman admiring a man, that is. Anyway, I’ll leave you to your work.”
Hannah’s face softened. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have exploded like this. It’s just that for years I had people look at me and see a fat girl and nothing else. My mother included. I can’t stand it when it’s done to others.”
“I totally understand.” Amanda turned on her heel and marched toward her office. She knew all there was to know about being objectified, but in her case, it was her beauty that was getting noticed. Hannah would not appreciate the comparison. People viewed Amanda’s looks as a gift, an advantage, and in some ways they were, but not if you wanted to get noticed for who you were on the inside.
In her office, William was already done hooking up his game system to her monitor. “Ready for a demonstration, ladies?”
Amanda waved a hand. “Wow us.”
“It looks like any other game. The objective of the spy is to reach a destination while overcoming obstacles on the way. He needs to survive the assassinations attempts; planes rigged with bombs, cars that are coming at him, and so on.” He started the game and showed them a few moves.
“Someone with precognition or remote-viewing talent will be able to avoid the traps and choose the safe route. He or she will dodge a knife when it’s thrown at them, not board a plane that has a bomb on it, and so on. Now, in most games, the players become familiar with the obstacles, and after playing it several times, they know what to expect. This game generates new scenarios all the time. A player will not encounter the same obstacle at the same spot in the game twice. It’s always random. The only people who will do exceptionally well are those who have the paranormal ability to predict what will happen next.”
Amanda put a hand on William’s shoulder. “Excellent. It’s violent and bloody enough to be rated M so, hopefully, we won’t get kids. After all, we can only approach adults. Though we can take the kids’ information to be used later when they reach legal age. The only problem is that we will get only guys. I don’t see women playing a game like this.”
Syssi nodded. “Is there a way to make the game attractive to females?”
William shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. You need to tell me.”
“We can have a choice of spy avatars and include female options,” Syssi suggested.
Amanda had a few ideas of her own. “Get her a hunky counterpart. A hot British spy, or maybe a frenemy; a Russian spy.”
William pulled his tablet from the box and started taking notes. “Got it. A female spy, and a hot counterpart. What else?”
Syssi smirked. “Get her a choice of disguises. Wigs, fashionable outfits, shoes. Girls like to dress up.”
She was on to something. “Also a choice of flashy cars, and a condo to decorate, things like that.”
William looked confused. “I’ll need help. I know nothing about fashion or interior decorating…” His eyes widened. “Ingrid can help. Right?”
Amanda agreed. The interior decorator had a fabulous fashion sense. “Then it’s a plan. What do we do once the game is ready?”
William shrugged as if it was too obvious to explain. “We sell it and rent it like any other game. To play, the gamers will have to be online, so we can collect the data. I’ll have the software produce a daily list of top performers. With a certain threshold, naturally.”
“Perfect.” Amanda leaned and kissed his cheek. “You’re a genius, William.”
He pushed his glasses up his nose. “I know.”
“And so modest too,” Syssi teased.
They waited for William to pack away his equipment, then exited Amanda’s office.
Once in the main lab William hesitated, casting a quick glance at the door and then at Hannah. When she smiled at him in invitation, he made up his mind and approached her.
“I was thinking,” he started. “It’s almost lunch time. Would you care to join me for a hamburger?” When he didn’t get the response he was hoping for, William continued. “Or something else? What are you in the mood for?”
Hannah lifted a small cooler she had stashed under her desk. “I don’t eat out unless I absolutely have to. I plan all my meals according to the guidelines of my diet and prepare them myself, so I know exactly what goes into them.”
For a moment, William looked deflated but then remembered he was supposed to flirt. “You don’t need a diet, you’re perfect the way you are.”
“Thank you. That’s very nice of you to say. But this is the result of the diet. I’ve lost over sixty pounds. I could lose another thirty, but I’m happy where I am at. For now, I just want to maintain this weight.”
“Good for you.” He hefted his cardboard box. “Until next time, then.” He turned to leave.
“Wait! I still want to have lunch with you. We can go out and sit on the grass, picnic style. You can share mine. I’m a great cook.”
Turning back, William looked like she’d given him the best of gifts. “Thank you, but I can’t eat your lunch. I’ll just take a bite to taste your cooking.”
“Don’t worry. I packed double in case I needed to stay overtime and eat dinner here. I have enough, and it seems I’m going home on time today.”
“In this case, I’ll be delighted. Thank you.”
Hannah lifted her purse off the back of her chair. “You can stash your box under my desk and get it when we come back.”
Amanda shook her head. The game was too valuable to be lying around for anyone to snatch. “I’ll take it and lock it in my office.”
William handed it to her. “Thank you, that would be better.”
Hannah threaded her arm in his and walked him out. “So tell me, William, what do you like to do?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I like to eat.”
“And I like to cook. We match perfectly.”
Chapter 19: Andrew
“Did you check the bathroom?” Nathalie called from the walk-in closet.
Just to make sure, Andrew made another round of opening every drawer and even peeked into the shower to make sure he’d collected Nathalie’s shampoo and conditioner. “It’s clear. I stuffed everything into two Ziploc bags. Where do you want me to put them?”
Between the bags of clothes Nathalie had brought over several trips, and his recently purchased new wardrobe, they ended up with a lot of stuff to take home with them, but no luggage to carry it all in.
“Just put it in one of the shopping bags.”
Ziplocs in hand, Andrew crossed the bedroom into the closet. “I think we should ask Syssi to loan us a couple of suitcases. We can bring them back tomorrow.”
From her crouching position on the floor, Nathalie pushed up to her feet and examined the array of plastic bags. “We can manage. Several trips to the car and we will be done. As it is, I feel like we’ve imposed on your sister and her husband enough.”
Andrew pulled her into his arms. “Sweetheart, you still cling to your old ways, when you had no one to rely on other than yourself. This is no longer the case, and you need to internalize that it’s okay to ask family for things. They are happy to help. Not only that, you’re making them feel uncomfortable by trying to do without. You have a whole clan of relatives now who’ve got your back. Get used to it.”
In response, she lifted her head and offered him her sweet lips for a kiss. Not an offer Andrew could refuse. He kissed her, only a light peck at first, but as her tongue darted out and sneaked between his lips, he was lost to her. Cupping the back of her head, Andrew deepened the kiss, and when she moaned into his mouth, he couldn’t help but push his hand under her T-shirt and gently caress her breast through her bra. Her nipples were very sensitive because of the pregnancy, so no pinching or tugging. It would have to wait probably until the baby was born—o
r even longer if she decided to breastfeed.
For some reason, the image of Nathalie nursing their infant daughter got him horny as hell, not that he wasn’t a moment ago, but that was like dousing fire with gasoline. He lifted her shirt and knelt in front of her.
“What are you doing?” She tried to pull him back up.
A moment later, when he pulled her bra cups down and under her breasts then licked around one stiff peak, her question was answered.
“Andrew!” Nathalie whispered loudly. “They are all waiting for us in the living room. You can’t do it now. Wait until we get home.”
He palmed her wet nipple. “Just a little more. I can’t leave the twin bereft; wouldn’t be fair.” He licked her other nipple, then rearranged the bra cups and pulled her T-shirt down.
A smile on her beautiful face, Nathalie smoothed her palm over his short hair. “I love you, Andrew.”
“Because of this talented guy?” He pointed at his tongue and waggled it at her.
She laughed. “Among other things. Now, get up and start hauling bags.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Andrew pushed to his feet and grabbed a couple of bags in each hand.
“Need help?” Kian asked as Andrew crossed the living room and deposited the bags near the entry door. “I’m good for now. But later I’d appreciate help getting everything into the car.”
Kian nodded. “Bridget asked that you come see her before you go home.”
“Why? She already gave me the green light to go.”
Kian shrugged. “Do you have all the pain meds you need?”
Nope, he only had enough for two more days. “I don’t. I’ll better go down to the clinic and get a big supply. I hope Bridget has enough on hand and doesn’t give me a prescription to fill out. I’m going back to work tomorrow, and God knows what’s waiting on my desk. I’ll probably have no time to go to a pharmacy.”
Kian waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll ask Shai to arrange a delivery for you.”
“First, let me see if Bridget has some for now.” Andrew turned to Nathalie. “Don’t you dare lift any of these bags. I’ll be back in a few minutes, and Kian or Okidu can help me down to the car.”
