Jake just shook his head and took our orders. Nora’s thinly veiled innuendoes never seemed to faze him. And we all knew she wasn’t serious. Although Jake was what most women—including Nora—would consider attractive, he was married, and that was a line none of us would cross.
Not intentionally, at least. But that was another story.
Jake took our orders—dirty martinis for each of us, plus our usual salads with grilled chicken. He came back with our drinks a few minutes later.
“How are the wedding plans coming?” Nora asked.
Everly’s blue eyes sparkled. It was wonderful to see my friend so happy. “Right on schedule. It’s hard to believe it’s almost here.”
“It’s going to be amazing,” Nora said. “I’m so excited.”
“Nora, your prediction that Everly would force us to wear ugly dresses didn’t come true,” I said. “Our bridesmaid attire is very flattering.”
“That’s because she let me pick the dresses,” Nora said.
I shrugged. “Still.”
“We won’t come close to outshining Everly, but we are going to look fabulous,” Nora said. “What about my request that there be hot single men at the wedding?”
“There should be a few, I guess. But it’s not like I’m going to invite strangers to my wedding just so you might get a date.”
Nora rolled her eyes. “I thought we were friends.”
Everly laughed. “Fine, I’ll see what I can do. Sophie, are you bringing a date to the wedding?”
Sophie was busy trying to tame her unruly locks, smoothing them into a new bun. “No. It would be nice to go with a date, but that would require having a date. That came out weird, but you know what I mean.”
“I’m attending solo as well,” I said.
“You’re still on your no-dating kick?” Nora asked. “I have to be honest, I’m surprised you’ve held out this long.”
“Holding out implies I’m acting against my true desires. I’m not interested in dating, so it’s not a matter of willpower. I’m simply being true to myself.”
“Good for you,” Everly said.
“As long as you’re happy, you know I’m happy for you,” Nora said.
But I had a feeling that Nora didn’t believe I was happy.
As if I needed a reminder of my singleness—and lack of sexual activity—I felt a little twinge in my lady parts. There was no reason for me to experience even a hint of arousal, but apparently I’d reached a point where my body didn’t require outside stimulation.
I thought about mentioning it. My friends would no doubt provide a variety of potential solutions. But then Everly asked a question that sent all thoughts of my missing orgasm fleeing from my mind.
“Hazel, how’s work?”
My back stiffened. “My workplace is about to be invaded by the enemy.”
“The enemy?” Nora stirred her martini with the skewer of olives. “That’s… dramatic.”
“I’m not being dramatic. This is a real problem. My boss hired Corban Nash.”
“Who’s that?” Sophie asked. “Is he an ex-boyfriend? That would be awful.”
“No, he’s not an ex-boyfriend,” I said, pulling a face.
Everly put a hand over her mouth—was she hiding a laugh?—and Nora grinned at me.
I turned to Sophie before either of them could say anything. “Corban Nash is a charlatan posing as a scientist. And he’s apparently managed to hoodwink my boss, a man I’d previously deemed to be perfectly respectable. Now I don’t know what to think.”
“Your boss hired Corban Nash?” Nora asked, her lips still curling in a knowing smile. “The guy you’ve been obsessed with forever?”
“I’m not obsessed with him, and forever is far too long a time period to be relevant. In fact, one could argue that our minds aren’t capable of understanding the concept.”
“Don’t try to change the subject,” Nora said. “The man you’ve hated from afar will now be working with you?”
I took a sip of my martini, as if I needed the alcohol as fortification. “Yes.”
Nora leaned closer. “Is he hot?”
I pressed my lips together to stop myself from saying yes. “What he looks like is of no consequence.”
“He’s hot,” Nora said.
“No, he isn’t.” Liar.
Wait, why was I lying to my friends?
I wasn’t lying. I didn’t think he was hot. Maybe some women would find him attractive. Women who liked his brand of rumpled carelessness coupled with a strong, muscular body. Brown eyes and a dreamy smile.
Dreamy smile? Who was I?
“Will it really be that bad?” Everly asked.
“Yes. The man is single-minded and stubborn.”
“That doesn’t sound at all like someone else we know.” Nora sipped her martini.
“I’m not single-minded and stubborn.”
“Yes, you are.” Nora set her glass down.
She might have had a small point. “Be that as it may, I suppose the best course of action is to avoid him. That, or make it my professional mission to destroy his research.”
“Just don’t do anything crazy,” Everly said. “You don’t want to put your job at risk.”
“I wouldn’t do anything of the sort.”
Nora and Everly shared a look. I pretended I didn’t catch the meaning behind their glance, but I did. They didn’t believe me.
I took another drink of my martini. They had no reason for concern. I’d be a consummate professional.
But if I had the chance to poke holes in Corban Nash’s supposed theory, I was going to take it.
5
Corban
“Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.” ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
I pulled the last of the books I’d brought out of the box and set them on a shelf. A new office. A fresh start. This was good.
Elliott had come by first thing this morning to make sure I was getting settled. He’d given me a quick tour of the building and said a student aide would show me around campus later today. I liked him. I could tell he understood me. A lot of people didn’t, so finding a boss who didn’t change the subject as soon as I started geeking out over statistics was a good sign.
He’d left me with paperwork for HR and a stack of folders detailing a few of Woodward’s currently-open research studies. I took my seat and thumbed through them. Interesting stuff. A big part of my job was going to be analyzing data from the studies run by Elliott and the other research professors here. I loved numbers, so it was right up my alley.
But I was also itching to get my own research going.
I had tons of data to work with already, but as Hazel had unhelpfully pointed out, it was anecdotal. That didn’t make me any less convinced of its validity. The next step in gaining widespread acceptance of my theory was to put it to the test in a controlled setting.
To make that happen, I needed access to resources, and this job was the beginning. I also needed grant money, and Elliott had already given me the go-ahead to work on grant applications. Unlike Ms. Angry Hot Librarian, Elliott believed in my work.