I groan internally and focus on the present.
“I’m chief engineer on a program called Lite-Brite.”
“Lite-Brite? Like the toy?” I ask.
His eyes brighten. “Exactly. Also the nickname for the LBR780T contract.”
“I haven’t thought about that toy in years. I loved that thing.”
“Me too.” He grins wide.
My feelings for him are making my illness react in unpredictable ways and that’s dangerous.
“I’m glad I caught you before it was too late,” he says, gesturing to my half-packed office.
“You are?”
“The Lite-Brite contract is in trouble. I got an email from your contracting company just today and it feels like a sign.” He holds my gaze as he speaks.
I can barely stand his scrutiny but I can’t look away either. How do normal people maintain eye contact while having conversations? Suddenly I’ve completely forgotten.
“We could desperately use your help. I’ve been doing my best to keep up with the customer deliverables but to be honest I’m an R&D guy through and through. The document stuff stresses me out. All the due dates and correct classified markings.” His hands shake out around his head. “Trips me up.”
Oh. Realization sets in. Of course that’s what he meant when he said he needed me. What else could he have meant? His team needs me for work.
Wait, what?
“Wait, what?” I repeat out loud, only to remember who I’m talking to. “You’re asking me to come work with your team?”
The lab already boasted the crème de le crème from all around the world and Nathaniel’s team were the varsity stars. The dream team. I struggle to keep my face neutral.
“They mentioned that you have six weeks until your next contract started,” he says.
I blink. I had plans to go traveling and see the national parks of the Southwest desert. Six weeks to recoup from constantly jumping from job to job, contract to contract every six to twenty-four months for the last ten years. I was exhausted.
“I know it’s a big ask, but if you could stay—just a month, five weeks tops—it would mean the world. We’re in desperate need of help.” His hopeful look almost has me saying yes before I realize what I’m doing.
Must break eye contact from beautiful man to maintain strength. I had barely come to terms with leaving as is but that didn’t mean I could stay.
“Wow. I’m so honored. Really—”
He holds up his large hands. Very large hands. “No, no. Wait. Don’t decide yet. I know it’s last minute but at least let me try and sell you.” He grins like a little kid asking for another cookie.
“How can I let down the Big Cheese?” I give two thumbs-up. And then immediately cringe to death inside.
Big Cheese? Thumbs-up? Do I know what the word normal means?
“I am the cheesiest,” he agrees. My insides settle. He chuckles with a head shake. “The team is gonna like you.”
“The team?” I ask, already knowing I shouldn’t.
“Do you have some time? I can give you a short tour to meet everybody.”
I wipe my palms on my pants noticing the slightest glow to my skin. I discreetly tug my sleeves down to cover my hands. I chew my bottom lip.
“I don’t—um, I can’t shake hands,” I say quickly and wonder if it sounds rude to his ears.
He nods once and says, “Okie dokie.” As though he hears it all the time, he moves on. “It’ll just be a quick tour.” He ducks his head a little lower to meet my focus. His head tilts toward my cubicle opening. Dimples tease me as his hazel eyes search mine, pleading, with their puppy dog magic.
Well how in the heck could anybody say no to that?
“What’s the worst that could happen?” he asks.
I glance to Ferngully without meaning to. Boy, isn’t that a loaded question. I’ve already decided. I can’t stay, but I can hang out with him just a few more minutes.
“Just a tour,” I say and clench my fists. It’ll be fine.
4
Julia
As we cross the campus, Nathaniel gives me a breakdown of his company.
“Shemesh-Tek is small, just five of us. Mostly R&D, er, research and development.”
“Right,” I say. We walk side by side, and though we obviously aren’t touching, I swear his body heat tickles along my arm.
“We’re probably the smallest of all the contractors on base. To be honest this is currently our only contract. But I’m hoping to change that. If Lite-Brite is a success the government should ask for more business.”
“Things can be small and still be fierce. I think Shakespeare said something along those lines,” I said.
I shoot a look to him. If he had been studying me—also little, also fierce—he’d looked away too fast for me to catch. There is a hint of a smile, however.
“The labs lets us use the building and testing area as part of our contract with the military. Ken, the lab liaison—you’ll probably meet him later—helped us get the contract. Basically, we have to knock this out of the park to get work again.”
“Yeesh, no pressure,” I say.
“Exactly.” He chuckles. “But I’m not worried. Lite-Brite will be groundbreaking. We’re developing a way to harness solar energy with new and exciting technology that has been attempted but never accomplished in a cost-effective way.” His hands are animated as he speaks. “I think that’s probably all I can say until you sign the NDA.” He shoots me another quick glance. “If you sign it.”
I suck in my lips. Dammit, that sounds cool. To be a part of that technology would be such an honor.
He shows me how to gain access to the classified side of base and explains a bit more about the hierarchy. I would still work for the contracting company that’s been moving me around the country these last ten years. His company, Shemesh-Tek, is just temporarily subcontracting me. All the different contractors on base can be a bit confusing.
“So Shemesh-Tek was hired by the labs, by way of the military?” I ask, making sense of it.
“You got it. So besides an awesome new office and team, not much should change for you as far as paychecks and benefits are concerned. If you decide to stay.” He runs a hand through his hair. It’s highly distracting how he constantly fusses with it. It makes me want to hold his arms down or run my own hands through to smooth it.
The thought takes me by surprise. I don’t often think of touching people these days. I’ve gotten so good at cutting off that impulse after all these years. Being around Nathaniel, I find myself gripping my hands together to keep them at bay.
Shemesh-Tek is located in a building that is probably one of the most secure on campus, requiring a trip through a guarded gate. We enter a small building that smells like old carpet, cleaner, and coffee, but not necessarily bad. It actually reminds me of the smell of my grandparents’ house when I was little, before all the moving began. A long-forgotten smell that had the startling effect of feeling like coming home.
“This is Febin Khatri, electrical engineer and resident wunderkind,” Nathanial says as we reach the first office in our tour. I’m impressed that each team member gets their own office with a door that shuts and locks. You know you’ve been in the world of government work too long when a locked office makes you go, Ooh, fancy.
“Star Wars or Star Trek?” Febin asks me by way of introduction, leaning back in his office chair, arms crossed, eyes glaring and assessing. His question is touched with an Indian accent. His wispy black mustache is clearly trying to make an attempt at the real thing but he couldn’t have been more than seventeen. It doesn’t take a genius to see he is firmly in the Star Wars camp as there is an actual Boba Fett helmet on the shelf behind him.
I lift my chin. “Neither,” I say confidently. “Doctor Who.”
His gaze narrows. “I’ll allow it.”
“Don’t pick on the new person,” a voice calls out from the next office.
“I’m not picking on her
,” Febin defends.
At the same time Nathaniel says, “She hasn’t accepted yet. Don’t frighten her, children.”
A chair rolls out into the hallway. Wrapped in a blanket and wearing fingerless gloves, another small-framed teammate waves. “I’m Dylan. My pronouns are they/them.” Their hair is cropped in short, bleached curls and a tiny gold hoop decorates their septum. “Don’t talk to me about anything in the MCU.” They snap their gum sharply. “I have cut a person for less.”
“Dylan is our laser optics specialist,” Nathaniel explains. “And an obvious charmer.”
“I don’t need to charm. I can make things go boom.”
“Not on purpose,” Febin quips moments before a paperclip is thrown at his head.
Spinning back to me, Dylan points to a sign on their door that says SPOILER FREE ZONE with a list of several top-trending streaming shows.
“I’m Julia.” I mime zipping my lips and throwing away the keys. Dylan nods once before replacing their giant noise cancelling headphones and kicking to roll back into their office. They call out, “No spoilers,” one more time before the clacking of keys begins.
A few other voices call out shouts of agreement.
Nathaniel runs a hand through his hair, looking sheepish. “The team has been logging a lot of hours. Just assume we haven’t seen anything since Avengers: Endgame.”
A silence falls over the group. Febin sniffs. “I’m still not okay.”
“Yeesh. They seem overworked and miserable,” I say as a joke, because they are all thriving and happy. Each person I’ve met so far is extremely passionate about the work and look at Nathaniel with glowing admiration. But when he gives a noncommittal chuckle to my comment, a shadow passes over his face. The fact that his team pulls so many long days is clearly eating at him. They do need help.
Blerg.
Here comes the guilt.
A beautiful older woman with chunky, colorful jewelry and long silver hair steps out next holding a large homemade ceramic mug with the string from a teabag hanging out. “Hi,” she says with a genuine smile.
Her aura is so calming, just having her address me melts the nervous tension from my shoulders.
“Here we have Kate Sedillos, fellow energetic engineer,” Nathaniel introduces.
“I heard you all but saved the J-78 contract over on the aerospace side.” Her voice is as soothing as her presence.
“That was a good team. I was happy to help,” I said.
“We’re lucky to have you join us.”
“Hasn’t agreed yet,” Nathaniel mumbles.
She shoots him an accessing look. “Hmm,” is all she says before heading back into her own office.
Nathaniel directs me on and gently knocks on the cracked door before pushing it open. The office is dark except for two giant monitors obscuring the face of the occupant. The glowing blue keyboard clacks as fingers blur across, typing at record speeds.
“And this is Jared Pala, our software engineer. He makes it so all our systems can talk to each other,” he explains.
The man in question types on, unaware of our presence.
“He’s in the zone. Hang on.” Nathaniel balls up a sticky note and tosses it behind the monitors.
A muffled curse and a second later, the man in question stands up. And up and up. He towers at least a foot and a half over me. I’m only around five feet, but still. He blinks at the bright light from the open door before slipping off his headphones. My eyes widen at his impressive stature despite trying to play it cool. He has a pierced eyebrow and black hair that’s tied in sections going all the way down his back. I am a little intimidated until he smiles and extends a hand.
“Hey. Julia?” he asks with a rich voice.
I nod, a little awestruck. I blink at his extended hand.
“Jared Pala,” he says.
I hate this part. The awkward explaining that I have an autoimmune disorder that makes me susceptible to germs is the easiest half-truth I’ve learned to tell. I feel guilty every time I do. My best friend, Angel, deals with chronic illness and while mine feels painfully real, it is not the same. My pain comes from pushing down on this weirdness inside me.
But before I need to say anything, he drops his hand. “Oh yeah, Nathaniel texted me. Sorry.” That’s it. No big deal, no more questions. The moment is over.
“No worries,” I say. My sleeves have been pulled down this whole time and it only just occurs to me that nobody else has tried to shake my hand. I just barely told Nathaniel about it. He was on his phone for a second, likely sending over the info to the team. He didn’t make a whole thing about it. Already he managed to make me feel totally at home.
“So has he convinced you to join us yet?” The look he shoots Nathaniel tells me that Jared is his closest friend in the office.
“He’s definitely throwing all the perks at me,” I say.
“Just wait until you see the espresso machine.”
“Foiled,” I say like a curse. “Free coffee gets me every time. Big Cheese plays dirty,” I say without thinking, and then feel thankful for the dark office hiding another blush.
“Big Cheese?” Jared shoots Nathaniel another look and then tilts his head. “It suits him.”
Nathaniel shrugs. “I am the cheesiest.”
Jared smiles bigger to reveal very nice teeth and takes a second longer to study me. It’s like he’s reading something on my face I’m not aware of. I don’t doubt for a second this guy has game. I scan his desk for pictures of a partner and see none.
“Okay, we’ll just let you get back to work.” Nathaniel shuffles me back out the door.
Jared raises the pierced eyebrow at his friend. “Nice meeting you, Jules. Hope we’ll see you again.” He shoots me another charming smile before dropping back into his work.
“Julia,” Nathaniel corrects before closing the door with a thump.
I think I hear a soft chuckle as I’m led away.
Back in the bright light of the hallway, Nathaniel dusts off his hands. “So that’s the team. You seem to fit right in.” He smiles hopefully.
Ughhh.
What’s the worst that could happen?
This.
The team could be amazing and hilarious. The project could be the coolest thing I’ve never heard of. The camaraderie between the engineers could feel like the family I’d never been a part of. Nathaniel looks so desperate for help that every time I look at him my resolve melts a little more.
That’s the worst that could happen. At least until I go off like a bomb and ruin all of their equipment and possibly kill someone.
* * *
I’d only had the briefest introduction to the Lite-Bright project and team and already my heart is chanting in my chest: want this, want this, want this.
I can’t want this. I can’t have any of this. I can’t have a normal life.
So dramatic, Grandma Sue says in my head as Nathaniel and I keep walking.
“There it is,” he whispers, gesturing me into a small alcove where the notorious espresso maker gleams.
I open my mouth to speak when he says, “Wait.” Nathaniel reaches into the small cabinet above and pulls out a giant bag of chocolate miniatures. He puts a finger to his lips and says “Shhh. Just so you know, I don’t tell just anybody about that secret stash.”
“You really are pulling out all the stops.” I lean back against the counter slightly away from him. When I smell him, a flush of heat rolls through me. Stupid lady hormones.
“What do you think so far?” he asks me.
“It is a very nice machine,” I say coyly.
He grins. “About my little island of misfits. What do you think of them?” His hands shuffle around before he tucks them under his arms as though restraining them.
Misfits. That description only makes me long to be a part of this team more. I connected with them. I liked them all. If they were misfits, then I’d definitely fit right in. The most baffling part is that he wants me to join them. Ev
erybody knows Nathaniel and his team are the up-and-coming power team. Whenever they actually venture out to the lab cafeteria, they are always together, heads bowed, talking emphatically. Anybody would kill to be invited to sit with the cool kids. If anybody here needed to be vetted, it was me.
“I’m a little intimidated,” I say honestly, shocked at myself. “That’s a lot of brainpower in one building.”
He looks back to the offices we just toured with a befuddled grin. “We’re all just big dorks.”
“Dorks are the ones who change the world for the better,” I say.
Our gazes clash. The power in me surges suddenly and unexpectedly. I dig my nails into my palms to calm myself and look away. This lack of control is new and scary. I turn away sharply.
“It’s a great offer.” I pretend to look at the schematics on the wall. Squiggly lines and acronyms that make no sense cover it. They could be written in Latin for how well I understand them.
“I mentioned the pay raise, right?”
I groan quietly.
“Julia.”
Gah! Why does he keep saying my name like that? I turn my attention back to him.
“I really need the help. We’re desperate.” He tucks his hands under his arms again. I noticed he likes to make himself smaller. Maybe that’s the life of a tall person—always trying to diminish themselves—while all I want is to be seen. “Full disclosure: there may be times when you’re asked to work a little longer than the normal nine-to-five.”
Well, that isn’t a problem for me. It’s not like I have a social life. Was that why I was recommended? Not just the timing, but the fact that I have no family, no known relationship or friends? Was I such a loner that my reputation preceded me?
I’m silent too long in contemplating my embarrassing existence because he adds, “And I need somebody who can handle the pressure of a contract this big.”
“I’m not intimidated by that,” I say.
He smiles with surprise. Your reservations are …?”
“I had plans to take some time off.” Obviously, I can’t explain that I’m worried about going off like a bomb and hurting innocent people. So I leave it at that.
The Untouched: THE UNSEEN SERIES, #2 Page 3
