“I can’t wait to get my workroom in the clinic,” Sando said as they settled on the chairs. Lucan adjusted the umbrella. Despite his supposed Italian genes, Sando burned to a crisp if he sat in the sun too long, especially this time of day. He was a little envious of Lucan’s tan. Luckily, Lucan always made sure Sando sat in the shade.
“It’s getting crowded in your bedroom with all those boxes and files,” Lucan said.
Sando took the sandwich Lucan held out to him. Club turkey without pickles but with extra mayo. Yummy. “Yeah, it’s annoying because every night, I have to clear my bed again so I can actually sleep there, and it’s also quite busy in the main house. Lots of…noises.”
Lucan winced. “I assume you’re referring to my father and his boys?”
Sando nodded, chewing quickly. “But the alpha and his men aren’t any better.”
He thought of the scene he’d accidentally seen the day before: Palani fucking Enar. In Sando’s defense, they hadn’t closed their bedroom door, and anyone would’ve looked, considering the noises the two men had made. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. And wasn’t it interesting that it hadn’t been the other way around? Enar might be a beta, but somehow, Sando would’ve still expected him to be…on top. Was that the right expression? He wasn’t sure.
Lucan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, there are lots of extracurricular activities happening in the main house. Kean calls it the live porn shows, and unfortunately, he’s not wrong. He and I are in the same position, since half the time, it involves a family member of ours. Though he doesn’t seem to object, whereas I do.”
The last thing Sando wanted was to get into another conversation about Grayson and his boys. Lucan wasn’t as outspoken as he had been, but he still didn’t like that relationship, and talking about it would only spoil the mood.
“I’m not making as much progress with the patient files as I’d hoped,” he said, changing the subject. Through a hospital employee, Palani had gotten his hands on boxes of patient files from Dr. Baig. Sando had spent the last weeks going through them. The information was a potential gold mine, but it was hard digging to get to the interesting nuggets.
“No? More work than you’d anticipated?”
“Yes. At first, I started doing manual analysis to see if I could find patterns in the data, but I quickly lost the overview. So now I enter all relevant data into my computer so I can do a more thorough, automated analysis. I have software that can automatically search for patterns in, for example, results of blood tests.”
Lucan frowned. “So you’re doing data entry now?”
“Yeah.” Sando sighed. “Not the most exciting work and also rather time-consuming.”
He took another big bite of his sandwich. Who made his lunch actually? It was delicious. He assumed Vieno or Sven, since they ran the kitchen together. Or did Lucan make these? That would be really nice of him.
“I can help.”
Sando froze, his sandwich halfway to his mouth. “What?”
“I type super fast and can help with the data entry. Then you can focus on the more important things.”
Sando’s mouth dropped open. Why would Lucan offer that? It was dumb work, not something flashy or intellectually stimulating. “It’s not a lot of fun, you know. Just going over every line in the files and adding what’s relevant to my digital files.”
Lucan nodded. “I understand. I just think it’s a waste of your time to do that rather than focusing on your actual research.”
“But you’re busy with the clinic.”
“Not all day. I can make time for this.”
“You have to be very meticulous. And I’d have to explain to you what info would be relevant and what wouldn’t.”
“I’m a pharmacy tech, Sando. Pretty sure meticulous is, like, a first requirement for that job. We can’t afford mistakes, as they could be deadly. I may not be as smart as you, but I’m a quick study, so if you give me a few examples, I’m sure I can learn fast enough what you need. And when in doubt, I’ll just add it to the digital file. It’s not like adding extraneous information would muddy up your files.”
Sando’s cheeks had flushed during Lucan’s speech. His expression and sharp tone had made it clear he wasn’t amused by Sando’s reluctance to accept his help. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like you couldn’t do it.”
Lucan’s face lost the tightness. “I know.”
“I’m very protective of my research. With those files, I could make so much progress, especially combined with the research my father did already, which I’ve memorized. It matters that I get the correct data from the records.”
Lucan’s sweet smile was back, and Sando relaxed. “I know how important this is, which is why I offered to help. Use your brain for the research, not for simple data entry. You’re far too valuable for that. I promise I’ll get it right.”
Something about that statement didn’t sit right with Sando, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “Thank you. I should’ve started with that, I guess. Sorry. I do appreciate it, and if you still want to, I’d love your help.”
“Okay.”
The last bit of stress left Sando’s body. He really didn’t like the feeling of having hurt Lucan, even if it had been unintentional. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Wanna get started after lunch?”
“I’d love that.”
God, he’d be able to make so much more progress with Lucan’s help. In fact, he knew exactly where he wanted to begin. With the McCain family. Palani’s notes on that family were fascinating, and it would be the perfect place to start his real-life research on the gene. As much as he loved the theoretical part, working with people was a thrilling prospect.
Had his father been here, doing that research would’ve never been possible. He wouldn’t have allowed Sando to test live samples and talk to people but would’ve wanted to do it himself, leaving Sando to take care of the background stuff. He was ashamed of thinking like that, which probably spoke volumes about his character, but Sando appreciated the freedom he experienced without his father deciding what Sando’s work entailed. Didn’t mean he didn’t miss him or desperately hoped he was okay, right?
“Have you heard yet from the labs you contacted about using their facilities?” Lucan asked.
Sando rolled his eyes. “None of them would talk to an omega, so your father called on my behalf. I would’ve asked Palani or Lidon, but your father overheard a frustrating phone conversation I had, so he offered his help. I figured since he’s funding my research anyway, it might be the right choice.”
Lucan’s face lit up with pride, which showed Sando that despite his objections to his father’s choice in mates, Lucan loved him nevertheless. “I was so happy when he announced that. He’s donating his money to a great cause.”
Sando fiddled with the paper bag. “It baffles me sometimes, you know? How much faith everyone has in me here. They barely know me and have no idea what I’m capable of. Outside of Enar, no one even has a clue about the intricacies of my research, and on top of that, I’m an omega. I’ve never encountered this much acceptance in my life.”