Systematic Seduction (3 page)

Chapter
Three

Blair
took one more sip of lemonade even though she was no longer thirsty. She was
glad he’d changed the subject but doubted he was done asking. “This is the best
lemonade I’ve ever tasted anywhere.”

He
sipped his. “Wow. You’re right. It’s great. What’s their secret?’

“Not
too much sugar and a tiny dash of lime.”

He
frowned. “Really?” Then he took another sip and scrunched up his face as if
thinking about it really hard would help him taste the lime. “Nope. Can’t
detect it.”

“It’s
in there. So, what would you like to know about Atlanta?”

“Were
you born there?”

“I
was born in Alpharetta. It’s a northern suburb—
was
a northern suburb of Atlanta.”

“Is
that where you grew up?”

“I
lived there until we all came underground, yes. How about you? Your bio says
you’re from Austin.”

“My
bio?”

Her
face colored slightly. “The online stuff. You know.”

“Yes,
I’m from Austin, born and raised.”

“Is
that where you started your company, then?”

“Yes,
right out of college.”

“And
how did you meet all the other Weathermen?”

Their
rings arrived, and he popped one into his mouth. “Oh my. You were not
exaggerating. These are incredible.”

“I
told you.”

He
watched her chew hers. “
And
you’ve
also turned the subject from your life and onto mine.”

“Oh,
you noticed that?”

She
popped another ring into her mouth, and he laughed. “You’re very different
outside of work.”

After
she swallowed the food in her mouth, she asked if he meant different good or
different bad.

“Good.
Definitely good. Now tell me about your life in Georgia.”

“There’s
not much to tell you. It was ordinary.”

He
frowned slightly. “I doubt that.”

“Why?”

“Because
you’re not ordinary.”

“Thank
you. Neither are you. I really do want to know how you met all the Weathermen.”

He
ate another ring, holding her gaze with a sexy gleam in his eyes that told her
she wasn’t going to get away with it that easily.

“I’ll
tell you what. You tell me one thing about your life before we moved
underground, and then I’ll tell you one thing about mine. Back and forth like
that, until we each have all our questions answered.”

“Do
you always negotiate everything like this?”

“Yes.”

She
could see herself spilling her guts to this man. No one knew the full extent of
her past, and she had always promised herself she’d keep it that way. But he
was warm and reassuring. He made her feel safe, and Blair could count the
number of people who made her feel that way on one hand.

She
grabbed the last onion ring. “All right. I tried out for a play in high school
and got the lead.”

“That’s
great. Which play?”

Blair
shook her head. “Nope. Your turn.”

Oliver
gave her a droll look. “Blair, if the follow up questions are related to the
same topic, you can ask them and expect to have them answered.”

“I’m
not sure I like that rule.”

“Well,
get over it because it’s set in stone.”

She
laughed at the look on his face and at his words. Blair had trouble remembering
the last time she’d had so much fun on a date. “In that case, it was a play
about the life of author Sylvia Plath. Our drama teacher, who was also the
director, said I had the look to play her, and was just morose enough to be
believable.”

Oliver
frowned slightly and leaned forward. “How did that make you feel?”

“Now
you sound like a shrink.”

“Yeah,
I guess I do. Standard question, I suppose. But seriously, were you all right
with that?”

“I
had a blast playing her. I wish I’d pursued acting.”

“Why
didn’t you?”

She
shrugged and finished her lemonade, then glanced around for their server.
Oliver was more obvious. He pointed to the first server who met his eye and
motioned for more lemonade. Blair grinned at him. “It must be wonderful to
simply point and have people bring you things.”

He
waited until they each had more lemonade to answer her. “It is. Now tell me why
you didn’t pursue acting.”

“I
got sidetracked.”

“By
what?”

“That
is way,
way
off the same subject.
It’s my turn. How did you meet the other Weathermen?”

He
narrowed his eyes, but she could tell he knew she was right.

“Quite
a few of them attended college together and met that way. I met Barclay in
college, and he met Emmett and Grayson as undergrads when all three attended a
symposium on software and web design. That’s how I got to know Emmett and
Grayson.”

“So
you didn’t all attend the same school?”

“No,
we did not. Emmett already knew Ace, Ace knew Blaine, Blaine knew Viggo and
Dominic, and Grayson knew Addison. Ten of us met Atticus as undergrads when we
decided to attend a seminar on the newest hardware. Atticus knew Kane because
his parents knew Kane’s parents through business connections, and that’s how we
met both of them.”

“And
when did you all decide to save the planet together?” She put up her hands.
“And don’t tell me that question isn’t related.”

He
laughed softly. “I won’t because you’re right. It is related. We kept in touch
all through earning our undergrad degrees, and then many of us went to grad
school at the same places. We’d get together once a month, even during school
if possible, and planned ways to either start our businesses, or grow them for
those of us who had already begun theirs. Kane, Ace, and Barclay inherited
their businesses. By the time we all were forced to move underground, we were
in our early thirties and long finished with grad school.”

“And
by that time, you each were set in your individual businesses.”

“Yes,
but moving them underground required tremendous resources and planning. Many of
us lost employees who didn’t survive. We lost family members. In my case, I had
to restructure everything we did because our focus literally shifted
overnight.”

“So
you’ve been good friends with the other Weathermen for about twenty years,
then.”

“Yes,
give or take a few years.”

Their
burgers arrived, and Blair saw the skeptical look Oliver gave his. She hoped
the poor guy didn’t get sick from it. He took a bite, and then immediately
followed that with a long drink of water. “Wow. Delicious, but wow. Hot and
spicy.”

“I’m
sorry.”

“No,
no. I really love it. I just hope I’m not up all night from it.”

I’ll keep you company if you are.

She
took a bite so her mouth was full and she wouldn’t be tempted to put that
thought into actual words. “I guess now it’s your turn to ask me a question.”

He
put down his burger and grinned. “What sidetracked you from pursuing acting?”

“I
walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

“More
like you slammed into the wall head first.”

She
took another bite of her burger while she thought about the worst possible
scenario if she told him a few things about her past. He wouldn’t fire her. She
was his best project leader, and she knew that. On the other hand, working as
closely as she had to with him might become uncomfortable if he knew too much.

He
couldn’t hurt her unless she let him into her life in an intimate way, and that
was under her control not to do. The very worst thing that could happen is that
work might become awkward. She took another bite, and he merely watched her,
his expression calm and interested. She’d never seen a man so patient. Was he
human?

Could
she live with having her everyday life at work become a bit strained? Yes. She
could. Compared to things in her past, that would be a cake walk. And the
simple truth was that she didn’t have to tell him
everything
, only enough to satisfy his curiosity.

Blair
swallowed the food in her mouth and took a quick sip of lemonade. “My mother
had some health issues when I was a kid.”
Not
technically a lie
. “We didn’t have money for things like acting classes,
and there were only limited opportunities in high school.”
Also the truth.
“Once I graduated, things got crazy with the
weather, and I moved here to take the job with your company.”

A
shadow of doubt crossed his face, not that she blamed him. He hadn’t made it to
the top of the heap in his field by being a pushover, and her answer had enough
holes in it to use it for cheesecloth.

“You
could have pursued it underground. What made you choose BioSystems engineering
of all things?”

“I
worked for you. I became interested in it.”

He
looked like he wanted to ask something else, but instead told her it was her
turn, and then took a few more bites of his burger. The next question sprang to
her mind, and she simply blurted it out. “How did you recognize I was having a
panic attack?”

The
second it was out of her mouth, she realized he’d ask her about the attack when
it was his turn. Her many shrinks over the years would say she’d done it on
purpose, because she wanted to tell him. Blair would agree with them, though at
the thought of spilling her guts completely to him, her pulse raced. That could
also be because of the hot sauce on the burger, however.

You still don’t have to tell him
everything.

That
was true. She put down her burger and waited to see if he’d answer her question
or side-step it.

He
cleared his throat softly before he spoke. “Shortly before I made it
underground, there was a massive wind and rain storm where I lived. I was in a
warehouse at the time, taking stock of items I still hoped to sell or give away
before I moved my business underground for good. You know what the storms were
like back then. Same as they are now up there.”

She
nodded, then acted on pure instinct and took his hands the way he’d done to her
earlier. The tenderness in his eyes at her gesture nearly burst her heart. This
man would never hurt her like Donny and so many others had done. She knew that
as suddenly as if neon lights had flashed the message on the wall behind him.

He
gave them a quick squeeze before continuing. “There was no rhyme or reason to
them. They simply came out of nowhere. I had no time to get out of the building
and drive or run away from the area. I was stuck. The flooding was massive and
quick. It was a four-story building, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that
within twenty minutes the water was up to the second story.”

“Oh
my God. Did you try to call for help?”

He
shook his head slightly. “Yeah, but trust me. There was no one to help and no
way for them to do it even if they could get there. The wind was starting to
catch the roof tiles. I could hear it. I hid in an interior room on the top
floor and prayed.”

Sweat
broke out along her hairline just picturing it. Her heart went out to this man
who worked so hard to keep them alive under these cities. She knew people who
had been in storms on the surface before making it underground, and you never
got over something like that. Not entirely. That he’d gone through an
experience like that and had still successfully rebuilt his business was a
testament to his strength.

“Just
as quickly as the storm started it stopped, but it took over forty-eight hours
before the water receded to the point I could get out. The power was out, and
the building had no running water. I had no food with me, and I found only a
few bottles of water in the fridge on the second floor, but I couldn’t get to
them until the next morning. Oh, and there was a jar of peanut butter that hadn’t
been ruined by the water in one of the cupboards. Yes, I ate the entire thing.”

“I’m
so sorry.”

“Those
were the last days I spent above ground. The inventory still in the warehouse
was ruined, and I simply left it there. The entire time while the water
receded, I made plans in my head to leave and move underground. I couldn’t
imagine chancing it and waiting for the next storm. I tried not to picture what
would happen if it did while I was still stuck in that building.”

“I’m
surprised the water receded enough for you to leave in such a short time.”

“I
was, too, but I wasn’t going to question it. I went home, packed what I could,
then went to the office. Hardly anyone was left by then. I told them all to get
out that day. Those who were coming with me already knew where we had set up
the company in this city. I left that day and have never been back.”

“Do
you still have panic attacks?”

“Not
now. I had them for about two years afterwards. The memories haven’t faded as
much as I’d have thought they would by now. That’s why I recognized what you
were going through.”