Absolute Zero (22 page)

“My abstract. If you have a minute, I’d like your feedback.

“I thought you already
had
a project?” Anne asked as her hand reached for the papers.

“I did and then McClellan dropped a bomb on me. I thought since he didn’t say anything in the meeting that he was OK with my research, but apparently that wasn’t the case. He sent me an email last Friday outlining every reason why he doubted the data I collected. Says I wasn’t considering the fact that the cells I’m using aren’t even suitable for this. How the hell he knows that is beyond me – I swear, I didn’t even think he was paying attention during my presentation. He said, and I quote, “your project is doomed for failure, please do not waste any further funding on this, try again…blah blah blah. He’s an
asshole
,” she breathed out.

Anne looked from the paper to Carol’s face. Her eyes were practically glittering with hatred or maybe glistening with unshed tears? It was hard to tell…

“It’s OK,” Anne heard herself speak in a gentle tone. “We’ll fix it. Just let me take a look and see what you’ve got, alright?”

“Sorry,” she breathed out. “You probably think we’re all a bunch of…incompetents around here. I don’t want to take up your time, but Em said you were phenomenal at this. She said you helped her do in a couple hours what she struggled with for weeks.”

“Well, I don’t know about that. I mean, most of the research came from Em, I just tweaked it a bit for lack of a better term. Of course, I never
did
get to present it…”

The statement caused Carol to snort. “No, you didn’t…”

A small smile played on Anne’s lips as she regarded the woman next to her.

“Right. So. let’s take a look,” she turned her attention to the paper and began reading.

*****

As soon as the house came into sight that night, her eyes immediately focused on the blaze of color gracing the spot near the front door. She parked her car in the driveway and opened the door distractedly before unfolding herself from the vehicle. Her eyes couldn’t move beyond what she was fixated on.

She slowly walked toward the front stoop and stared down at what had to be at least three dozen brightly hued flowers in a clear crystal vase. A small envelope was perched in a holder above the mass of color. She didn’t even need to read it to know from whom they came. Tulips that originated as yellow from the stem and morphed into bright red tips.

He had said they reminded him of her…

Funny, she never
did
respond to his instant message and he never
did
contact her again that day, but here she stood with her mouth agape and her insides performing that strange fluttering that seemed to plague her far too often lately.

Bending down, she pulled the envelope out and a smile curved her lips as soon as she saw it.

Mouth

That was all that was written on the small white envelope. She opened it and stared at the simple words in front of her on the card within.

Apology Accepted.

She was in trouble. 

He was three thousand miles away and she was no safer from him or the responses he produced within her.

*****

“Welcome back. I’m walking into your building right now,” he heard the familiar voice through his cell phone.

“Ian? Your three o’clock is on the line. Mr. Jonathon Daniels from Emtech Bio,” he heard Mrs. Craigh’s voice through the speaker on the desk phone.

“Cancel it. Give Mr. Daniels my sincerest apologies and ask him if we can reschedule for tomorrow.”

“You’re booked tomorrow, sir,” Mrs. Craigh responded in a bland tone. He could almost
see
her facial expression through the phone. She was most likely glaring at it.

“Well then, the day after tomorrow…”

“Booked solid, sir. I’ll tell you what. How about I look at your schedule and plan it for you?”

“Sure,” he responded in a light tone.

“Ian, you’ve been wanting to meet with this man for three weeks. Why would you…oh! Never mind…”

“Hello Mrs. Craigh,” he could hear a soft female voice in the background right before one of the double doors to his office opened.

“I’ll take care of it, Ian,” Mrs. Craigh stated before cutting off the call.

Pushing aside his files, his elbows rested on the surface of his desk as a beautiful brunette with a willowy frame breezed through his door and wandered in as if she owned the place. She’d look a wee bit more regal if her hair wasn’t caught up in a messy bun and her clothes didn’t have splats of color all over them.

“Did you get any paint on the walls?” he asked as he swept his gaze over her.

“Funny,” she responded without smiling before seating herself in front of his desk.

“I’d give you a hug, but…” she started before his hand waved her off.

“I’ll take you to dinner tonight. You can hug me then,” he finished for her.

She gave him an acquiescing shrug and nod, before her dark blue eyes bored into his.

“I have to talk to you about something.”

Immediately his hands clenched into fists in front of him. The look she was giving him and the fact that she hadn’t bothered to change before coming to his office were telltale signs that something was wrong.

He knew exactly what she was about to say, unfortunately.

“Mum checked herself out of rehab,” she stated.

“Of course. And this should concern me why?” he asked, leveling an intense stare that matched her own.

“She’s already been to my house, asking for money. It won’t be long until she contacts you.”

“And she’ll receive the same response she always does. Don’t let her manipulate you, Lena,” he sat back in his chair, his fingers drumming on the arms rests.

“I thought maybe when I was finished renovating the Inn I should give her a job. She could stay there and I could keep an eye on her.”

“Hmm. Sounds perfect. You make sure to lock your valuables away and grow eyes in the back of your head, eh? And then when she decides you’re of no use to her anymore, she’ll leave and you’ll be left with a broken heart – yet again.”

“Don’t be an arse, Ian.”

“And don’t get soft on her, Lena. It’s what she does, who she is.”

“She’s our Mum,” she responded in a soft voice.

“Don’t remind me. I’m more than willing to pay for her rehab but legally, she
is
an adult. I can’t force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do and neither can you. If I give her money, she’ll buy pills. She buys pills; she hurts herself and everyone around her. She’s a waste, Lena. At what point are you going to give up on her?”

“Like you did?”

He blew out a frustrated breath. “Aye, like I did. And you know what? I can honestly say I don’t care. I’ve tried too many times and it always ends up like this. I wash my hands of her. You’d be wise to do the same.”

“I just have a hard time turning my back on her, that’s all.”

“She didn’t have any trouble turning her back on
you
, did she?” he spoke the harsh words and regretted them immediately when her hurt filled eyes lowered from his. She was his absolute favorite person in the world and he had hurt her with his callousness.

“I’m sorry,” he stated quickly before grabbing the arm rests. He was about to push out of the chair and hug her; paint splattered clothes and all, before Mrs. Craigh’s voice filled the room.

“Ian? The Florist called to confirm the flowers were delivered,” she stated.

“Ahh…thank you?” His eyes widened slightly at the phone. Her timing was suspiciously
bad
.

“Well, you told me to tell you as soon as they confirmed…”

“Yes. Right. Good,” his finger pressed the speaker button to cut off the call before his gaze met his sister’s. At least the hurt expression on her face had changed to one of amusement and keen interest. If he didn’t know any better, he would almost bet Mrs. Craigh did that on purpose.

“Something you want to tell me?” one of Lena’s dark brows shot up.

“Not particularly,” he responded with a straight face.

“Come on, Ian! It’s been…a while. You’re…dating? You didn’t tell me you’ve met anyone.”

“I’m not dating anyone.”

“Flanging?” she asked with a sly grin.

“Lena! Right, like I’d tell you
that
.”

“Well which is it? Who is this mystery woman? It
is
a woman, right?” her eyes crinkled and a small snort erupted from her nose.

“Your maturity is astounding…”

“Thank you. Now, tell me about this person,” she demanded as her body leaned toward him.

“I really don’t have time for this,” he breathed out.

“Yes, you do. You cancelled your phone conference for me, I heard you on the speaker. Tell me.”

“There isn’t much to tell.”

“No? Then this should be quick. I’m not leaving this office until you tell me, by the way,” she seemed to emphasize her threat by settling her back against the chair and gripping the armrests.

“Why do you care? I don’t ask you about your…relationships.”

“Because I
do
care. I want to see you happy for once, is that so wrong?”

“I
am
happy.” Another snort erupted from her at his words.

“
You
are not a happy lad. Sorry. I’ve seen you in action and Mrs. Craigh and I talk far too often for me to believe that. You’re a bampot in the office and I’d imagine you’re like that everywhere.”

“I am
not
. I just want things done a certain way, is that so wrong?”

“So where is she from? Dundee? Glasgow?” she pressed on.

A loud sigh escaped him as his eyes narrowed.

“Edinburgh, Perth, Forfar…what?”

“America.”

Her eyes widened for a moment as his soft admission caused silence on her end. They stared at each other for at least a minute.

“What?” she finally asked.

“You heard me.”

“You met her last week?”

His answer was a small nod.

“You never go to America. Well, rarely,” she amended. “How’s that supposed to work?”

“I dunno. I wasn’t thinking ahead. I just know I like her. She’s…different.”

“Tell me about her.”

“Don’t you have anything better to do? Don’t you need to go home and…paint yourself or something?” he huffed out, clearly uncomfortable.

“
Tell me
.”

His eyes focused beyond her shoulder before he gave a slight shrug. “She’s this wee thing. Bonnie, but that’s not why I like her. She’s smart and she’s got a mouth on her. Stands right up to me. She called me a bully,” he tried to fight it, but the smile he was suppressing decided to make an appearance.

“You
are
a bully,” Lena stated. “I think I like this lass. What does she do?”

“She…works for me.”

“In America?” A distinctive frown overtook his sister’s features.

He nodded; waiting for the barrage of questions he knew would follow.

“How long has she worked there? You said you met her last week?”

“She’s a new hire. She just started.”

“That makes no sense. I thought you said you were thinking of selling that facility, why would you hire someone?”

“I didn’t hire her. In fact, there’ve been quite a few things I haven’t been made aware of in that facility,” he stated before the sides of his mouth turned down.

“That’s because you neglect them. Your heart hasn’t been in that place for a while now,” she added softly.

“Really? And you know this
how
?” He asked with a cocked brow.

“Because you tell me everything. I thought you needed that facility for tariff purposes?” she asked.

“I did. Or at least I thought I did,” he added, speaking more to himself than her. “I have a decent distribution network now that pretty much opens the world as a market. The cost of the tariffs in the US are far less than the cost of running a facility that doesn’t really produce anything profitable anyway. It makes sense to sell it,” he shifted his gaze back to her eyes. “Besides, I’m looking at a property in Perth. I’m thinking of consolidating the R&D and manufacturing facility into one location. I’m landlocked here and we need to expand, I just can’t find a suitable property in Dundee. I could definitely use the money from the sale of the American facility to help fund the purchase of the Perth building.”

“So then, why don’t you sell it?” she asked as if it were the simplest decision in the world.

“Because I hate to admit I made a mistake,” he confided.

“Well, that certainly sounds like you,” she laughed out.

“Well, that and…I want to make sure I’m not doing this for personal reasons. What kind of businessman let’s his personal life dictate professional decisions? I want to make sure I’m not just throwing this away because of my…past,” he stated without looking at her.