Chapter 30
NATE
The crowd erupts in a second round of applause as Vivienne completes the question period following her talk.
There’s a genuine smile on her face as she walks off stage, and when she meets my eyes, I can’t help but reciprocate it.
What a vision she was presenting her research. So passionate, so knowledgeable, so eloquent. I can say with confidence that she was in her utmost element up there.
One of the first times I asked her why she’d decided to pursue postgraduate education, she’d given me some half-assed answer about how she wouldn’t get far without it.
But watching her today, it was obvious that this was her passion. She loved chemistry and the impact she could make on others’ lives; she’d just gotten torn down by the hardships of her project…and the people telling her she couldn’t do it.
And by people, I mean Arjun—that no-good motherfucker who didn’t clap for a member of his own group when she’d finished presenting.
He thought he was slick, crossing his arms to fly under the radar—which is exactly why I gave the leg of his chair a (not-so) friendly and very harsh kick. He looked back at me in distaste but seemed to learn his lesson quickly when he clapped the second time around.
“Hey,” Vivienne says casually as she plops into the now-empty seat beside me.
Soon after she finished, the chair of the imaging chemistry section announced it was time for a coffee break, prompting everyone to file out of the room. Before then, every single seat of the largest conference room had been filled, with people even piling up at the back.
That many people were eager to listen to her research, and honestly, I could see why. The probes she’d synthesized for widely used imaging modalities like MRI and PET are likely to change the medical field as we know it.
I'd like to say I understood more, but that would be a lie—I was too transfixed by her. Plus, my knowledge of organic chemistry is limited to, quite literally, nothing.
“You were amazing up there,” I say in sincerity, only to be met with a wrinkle of her nose.
“I’m not too sure about that. My voice cracked at one point, and I’m pretty sure people picked up on my nervousness. There also might have been a mistake in one of my reaction schemes—”
I cut off her word vomit with a squeeze of her thigh.
Her body stills, then she tilts her head as I pull out a rectangular box from the pocket of my trousers. I hand it over to her before she can say anything else.
Vivienne is a perfectionist, but at times, she needs to realize that no one pays attention to the details as much as she does.
“What is that?” Vivienne asks while inspecting the blue velvet.
I stay silent, letting her take the lead. With a hesitant hand, she opens it to reveal a gold bracelet. It’s just a simple, small, dainty plane, with the wings encrusted in rubies.
Red—for the second time I’d ever seen her, all dressed up for the event that kick-started this all.
“Hopefully you like it. I thought it was symbolic.”
Over the past month, I have tried my hardest to help Vivienne overcome her fear of planes.
We started small—watched the Planes movie, went to the aviation museum, got in and out of planes parked at the airport, before we took it up a notch and taxied around.
And it all paid off when we finally got on the Archer Aviation jet bound for Italy.
Although she’d been nervous at each new step, she pushed through. Admittedly, she was out cold from the melatonin she took on the flight over here, but I’m not counting that. So when I saw this bracelet through the window of a local jewelry store here, I knew I had to get it.
Her head shoots up to me in shock. “This is beautiful. Thank you so much.”
She’s about to lean in for a hug when a female voice calls out, “Vivienne Brown?”
The hand on her leg darts back to my own just as Vivienne bolts upright. We both turn to see a woman dressed in a crisp pantsuit.
“Julie Mitchell.” The blonde holds out her hand, and Vivienne shakes it. “VP of R&D at Thomson & Thomson. I just wanted to say what a stellar presentation that was. Very well done.”
Vivienne’s lips part, clearly taken aback by the compliment, but she recovers quickly with a smile and a “Thank you so much.”
“By the looks of it, you’re about to wrap up your PhD, and I wanted to see if you’re interested in working for us once you graduate. We’re currently hiring an organic chemist for one of our new departments, and with your research experience, I think you’d be a perfect fit.”
Julie hands out her business card, which Vivienne takes with a smile.
“It would be an honor.”
“We’d love to fly you to our headquarters in California for a tour of our facilities. Given that you spent the past four years of your PhD in New York City, it could also be a great experience to see what the West Coast has to offer.”
“That would be wonderful,” Vivienne says, but then my heart drops.
I’m happy for her, but this offer…
“Then I guess we’ll be in touch.” Julie seems satisfied with the outcome of their interaction as she walks away.
The second she’s out of sight, Vivienne turns back to me, mouth wide open. “They’re one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world.”
“Guess you did better than you thought?” I grin despite the heavy feeling in my stomach.
California.
That’s on the other end of the continent. And though that shouldn’t be a worry for me—I’m the CEO of an aerospace engineering company, for fuck’s sake, and I could hop on any one of our planes to visit her. But that’s part of the problem.
I didn’t want to visit. I wanted a life with her, and that’s going to be hard to accomplish if there’s distance between us when this arrangement is over.
“I—” She looks between me and the business card. “I can’t believe this.”
Although it’s strained, I give her my brightest smile. “You ready for a coffee break?” I nod toward the hallway, where hundreds of people stand with cups in hand.
“Actually, I was thinking you could clasp the bracelet on me over tiramisu?” Vivienne raises a wary brow.
“Anything my scientist wants, she gets.”
She bumps her hip into mine excitedly, walking us in the direction of the hotel exit. “I can’t believe I get to eat real Italian tiramisu. Best dessert to ever exist—so light, so creamy. You can eat so much of it without ever getting sick.”
I laugh, shaking my head at the mental image. “While that all sounds great, I can think of better things with a similar description.”
That earns me a gasp and a smack to the arm that makes me guffaw louder. Apparently, that’d been the wrong reaction when she circles my wrist and pulls me into a secluded corner of the conference center.
Hands planted on her hips, she stares at me with that completely unimpressed look in her eyes.
I shrug, dipping close until I’m hovering above her ear. “I didn’t hear any complaints when you were screaming my name last night.” My voice drops into a low drawl.
Vivienne lets out a long, ragged breath. And I’m just about ready to throw this girl over my shoulder and carry her to our hotel room when an abrupt vibration goes off in my pocket.
I pull it out to find one missed call and a text message from the last man I ever thought would contact me again.
Everett Staines: Call me back as soon as you can.
Below is an email from my lawyer informing me that the presentation Carter gave at the conference has been officially deemed mine.
And lo and behold, it was now his turn to get shredded in the news.
With a quick Google search, words like cancelled, bankruptcy, and screwed stand out to me, but I couldn’t care less about that right now.
“What is it?” Vivienne asks.
“The CEO of SkyWay Airlines wants to talk to me.”
Vivienne gasps, looking up at me with hopeful eyes, but I want her to turn it down a notch. While things have been going well for the company lately, I haven’t heard from the guy in a long time. The last thing I need is an ounce of hope before it’s ripped away from me, again.
“Just give me a minute,” I say before putting some space between us. I really didn’t want to hear the scolding that was about to go down during this phone call.
The man picks up on the second ring.
“If it isn’t the one and only Nate Archer,” Staines opens with way too much enthusiasm.
He must sense the lingering confusion in my silence when he lets out a long sigh.
“I should first apologize for the way things ended between us. The headlines and allegations made about you were too heavy to ignore—for the sake of SkyWay Airlines, but also for those close to me who’d been in such a situation.”
Uneasiness settles deep in my stomach at his words.
The last time we talked, he mentioned his wife, who experienced a similar situation to the so-called Leonardo DiCaprio accusations. Now, having felt such deep care for another person, I see where he’s coming from.
On the business side, his choice to break ties with Archer Aviation was also completely understandable. This is a cutthroat industry—you wouldn’t want to hold on to someone who can jeopardize your profit margins.
Regardless, I keep my answer curt. “No worries, I understand.”
“The damage I’ve done may be irreversible, but in light of your great work at the Aviation Global Forum and the recent news that’s come out about Crawford Aerospace, I’d like to verbally extend the electric plane deal to you. Again, I completely understand if you wish to decline—”
“Everett.” I interrupt the man before he goes any further. “It would be an honor to work with your company.”
The line goes silent, and a surprised chuckle erupts. “I was nervous there for a second. Well, I’m glad to hear that. I’ll have my team send over the contract shortly.”
A large smile takes over the expanse of my face, and I turn over to Vivienne, whose furrowed eyebrows relax at the sight of me.
“Thank you for this opportunity,” I say.