Chapter 32
The day flew by. Working with Jay was the easiest, most natural thing in the world. He got just as excited as I did whenever one of our tests was successful, and by lunch, we were already contemplating giving the NeuroManipulator another test to see if our adjustments made a difference.
“Ready to give it a shot?” Jay asked, swiveling to face me in his chair, giving me a boyish grin.
I smiled back at him. “Heck yeah!” I beamed. “Though maybe you’ll be the guinea pig this time. You’ve been in my head twice now. I need a break.”
Jay’s eyes shone, and he reached across the desk. He lightly tapped my temple with two fingers, causing my breath to catch slightly.
“I like being in your head, though,” he teased, and I blushed.
“Your turn, or no dice,” I insisted, remaining firm.
Even just a few hours ago, I might have felt nervous standing my ground, but Jay made it feel easy to be myself. He never made me feel silly or clumsy, and I was beginning to feel more relaxed around him than I’d ever been with anyone in my life… outside of maybe my parents.
“Alright, wiz kid. You drive a hard bargain,” he said. We both stood up to make our way back to the surgical chair when the elevator dinged, signalling a new arrival into the lab.
The comfortable, easy-going atmosphere I’d been enjoying vanished when two men strode out of the elevator.
The older of the two was wearing a charcoal grey suit. He was tie-less, and his shirt was open at his throat. His short brown hair had a slight wave to it, and he had smile lines on his face that had me placing him in his mid-sixties.
The younger man was clearly related to him. He was in business casual attire with well-tailored navy suit pants and a crisp white shirt, also open at the throat.
He was devastatingly handsome, with a perfect tan, white teeth, and a five-hundred-dollar haircut.
“Jay! What are you doing hiding down here? Everyone on the MRT floor is trying to organize a team lunch to welcome the new staff,” the younger man said, and Jay gave him a small smile and a shrug.
“Duty calls. I was just working with Milo here on the prototype.”
“Milo? Milo Murphy?” the man asked, his blue eyes shining as he gave me an appraising look.
I nodded, doing my best to calm the anxious flutter of my heart.
“I read your application essay. Very impressive. We’re super excited to have you here,” the man said, and my entire face turned tomato red.
“I would love to shake your hand, if that’s okay,” he said, and I nodded, sliding my hand into his and shaking it briefly.
“I’m Sebastian, Sebastian Stevens; this is my father, Luke.”
“Ohmygosh…” I said, feeling a little starstruck. “S-so nice to meet you. I’m honored and excited to be here, too.”
Sebastian gave me a handsome smile, and I found myself nearly swooning at how attractive he was.
Jay stepped slightly closer to me, and I glanced up at him, frowning at his uncharacteristically tight expression.
“What does Jay have you doing down here, Milo?” Luke asked. He was smiling as well, but there was something slightly more calculating in his expression, and it made me nervous. Like I was being tested somehow.
“We were just working on optimizing the memory gripping technology in the NeuroManipulator,” I explained, unsure how in-depth I was expected to go on the specifics.
Luke’s expression remained professional and cordial, his eyes flashing.
“That’s highly classified work that Jay has you working on for your first day. Have you signed the appropriate NDAs?”
“Uhm—”
Jay discreetly tugged my sleeve and positioned himself slightly in front of me, though he had his usual easy smile on his face. He waved a lazy hand at Luke, laughing.
“Don’t worry, I’ll have him sign everything he needs to sign before end of day. Milo already had some great ideas. We’ve been able to get a lot farther than I would have on my own. I’m really optimistic about our deadline.”
Sebastian’s eyebrows rose in surprise at the way Jay had casually touched me, but Luke looked intrigued.
“Is that so?” he asked, his deep voice rolling through the lab. It was slightly ominous, like the rumble of thunder before the sky opened up in a storm.
His ice-cold blue eyes met mine, and I resisted the urge to audibly squeak in fear.
“Y-yes, sir. We were just about to test it out.”
Jay glanced at me, his smile tightening slightly at the corners.
“Yeah, maybe we’ll test it later since everyone’s trying to go to lunch.”
“Good call, no need to burn him out on his first day. We don’t want him thinking life at Neurovance is all work and no play.” Sebastian winked at me, his blue eyes considerably warmer than his father’s.
Luke glanced at his son, raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow.
“And that’s why you’re in comms and not research, Sebastian,” Luke said sternly. I didn’t miss the way Sebastian flinched at the clear reprimand, and I frowned.
Luke made it seem like heading up one of the most renowned marketing departments in the world wasn’t the accomplishment that it was.
It made me not like him.
I was used to having my own accomplishments belittled. Seeing Luke do it to Sebastian triggered me, and I suddenly wanted to get away from the tall, well-dressed man with the cold blue eyes.
“Seb’s right,” Jay said, coming to Sebastian’s defence. “We’ve been at this for hours. We can afford to take a lunch break. Besides, we all know how important it is that Milo is exposed to the culture. That’s what probation is for, right? To make sure everyone’s a good fit?”
Sebastian shot Jay a grateful look, and Jay gave him a gentle smile, tugging my sleeve again as he moved to head toward the elevator.
“Yes. Culture is important.” Luke’s eyes fell to where Jay had touched me, his mouth forming a firm line. “Let’s make sure we’re all setting a good example for Milo.”
Jay immediately let go of my arm and nodded, his Adam’s apple rolling as he cleared his throat.
“Yes, of course.” Jay winked at me, tilting his head toward the elevator. “Let’s go, Milo. Seb, you coming? The new MTRs are going to fangirl over the great Sebastian Stevens joining us for lunch.”
Seb glanced anxiously at his father, who was watching all of us with that scary, cold look on his face.
“Yeah, I think I can afford to make an appearance. I’m ahead of schedule on all my deliverables.” Even I could tell he was asking his father permission.
“Make sure you have that report we discussed on my desk before curfew,” was all Luke said, and Seb nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Have a good time. It was nice to meet you, Milo,” he said, though he was no longer looking at me.
His gaze had fallen to the prototype Jay had been working on.
He picked it up and examined it closely.
A strange feeling of protectiveness welled through me, and I found myself wanting to snatch the device out of the man’s hand.
Which was ridiculous.
The prototype belonged to Luke. This was his company. I didn’t have any right to tell him not to touch his own intellectual property.
Shaking off the uncomfortable feelings, I scurried after Jay and Seb, who were now chatting amicably about where they wanted to take the team to lunch.
Settling in quietly next to the two of them, I did my best to shake off the uncomfortable feelings that were swirling in my chest from that entire encounter.
I was probably just overreacting. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d catastrophized a social situation due to my chronic anxiety.
Jay glanced at me, his brow creasing in concern.
“I can hear that noodle of yours whizzing. You okay?” he murmured quietly, and I flushed, feeling shy now that Sebastian was looking at me too. He also looked concerned, and I pushed my glasses up my nose awkwardly.
“Yeah, all good. Just still thinking about the project.”
Jay smiled as the elevator doors opened to the bright, bustling MTR floor.
“Well, try to unplug for a bit. Time to meet the rest of the team.”
“You’re going to love everyone. Research is a great group,” Sebastian confirmed, his tone warm and welcoming.
I gave them both a smile and nodded.
“Alright.”
“Cool. Let’s get some lunch!” Jay beamed, stepping out of the elevator and clapping his hands jovially.
“Alright, everyone! What’s the plan?” he asked, smiling at all the eager faces of researchers ready to take a well-deserved break.
As Jay and Sebastian fielded restaurant requests, I allowed myself to relax a little.
On the bright, sunny MTR floor, it was easy to leave my worries behind.
Maybe I would make friends here, after all.