Chapter 14 #2
“Yep.” He tilts his phone so I can see the exchange. “I told you he booked the red-eye on purpose.”
Theo
I’ll be in the tenth-floor conference room waiting for you.
Leon
We just landed. We’ll head to the hotel and drop our bags.
Theo
No. Come here directly. We have another problem I need sorted out before Monday.
Leon
Okay.
“Only you, Theo,” I mutter, shaking my head. I start toward the ticket machines, my feet feeling like lead weights, but when I realize Leon hasn’t moved an inch, I turn back. He’s still standing there, illuminated by the glow of his screen. “Coming?”
“In a minute. I’m looking up what food places are open first. The boss can wait five minutes.” He glances up with a grin. “How about Pip’s Pantry? There’s one in Terminal 2 that does hot breakfast boxes. Should I grab a family meal? No clue how long we’ll be stuck there today.”
“Would that be for you—or to share?”
“Share,” he says, the corners of his eyes crinkling with amusement.
“You never know. You could be like Theo demolishing an Alpine Tower—nothing but debris in his wake,” I mutter. “Just checking.”
Actually, speaking of Theo . . . odds are that if he’s been at the office since dawn, instinct tells me he’ll be deep into hangry territory by the time we reach him.
“Actually, make it two family meals,” I say, nudging Leon’s shoulder. “Just in case somebody forgot that humans require actual fuel to function. And maybe grab some chocolate cookies while you’re at it. Chocolate is the only thing that might stand a chance against the Dark Side today.”
The drive from Heathrow to South Bank takes just under an hour. By the time the hired car pulls up in front of Excelsior Parks’ headquarters, the sky has shifted from pale-gray to a soft, rain-washed blue that matches some of the paintings of London hanging inside the National Gallery.
The company’s headquarters are situated along the Thames.
It’s a sleek, ultra-modern building made of glass and steel that gleams against a backdrop of older stone buildings.
Across the river, Tower Bridge rises in the distance.
It’s regal and familiar, the same bridge I’d stared at in Theo’s photo.
Goose bumps ripple up my arm. Let’s hope Theo is in a forgiving mood.
Inside, the building is eerily quiet. Only a bleary-eyed security guard is stationed at the front desk to check our IDs and print visitor badges. The elevator hums as we ride up to the tenth floor.
When the doors open, motion sensors flick on the lights, illuminating the corridor in a warm glow. The charcoal walls are lined with framed blueprints and renderings of Excelsior’s most famous coasters.
“Empty offices give me the creeps,” Leon mutters, shifting the grease-stained Pip’s bag to his other hand. “It’s like the beginning of a horror movie. If we see a set of twins in the hallway, I’m out.”
He’s not wrong. The stillness is unnerving.
At the center of the floor, a glass-walled conference room glows with a stark, lonely light. I spot movement first, then the frantic, high-pitched squeak of a marker against a whiteboard—followed immediately by a low, jagged curse that vibrates through the glass.
I take in Theo. He looks like he’s been hit by a category-five hurricane.
His usually crisp button-down is wrinkled and untucked, the top buttons undone.
There’s a faint grease smudge on one cuff and a dark mark on the knee of his trousers.
A scruffy beard shadows his jaw, and his hair is a mess of uneven curls, sticking out at odd angles.
He paces as he mutters to himself, one hand gripping a marker, the other raking through his hair. The whiteboard behind him is covered in equations and scrawled notes—sensor drift, sampling lag, variance tolerance.
Leon leans close and whispers, “Food usually tames caged animals. Think it’ll work on him?”
“Worth a try,” I whisper back. “If we’re lucky, it’ll buy us enough time before he turns feral. Not sure if that’s better than twins.”
“Oh, it definitely is.”
We share a soft laugh.
“Honey, we’re home,” Leon calls out, his voice echoing off the glass walls as he lifts the takeaway bag like an offering. “And we’ve got lunch.”
I elbow him hard in the ribs, hissing under my breath, “Leon, too much.”
Theo spins around so quickly, the marker slips from his hand and lands on the table with a dull clatter, rolling onto the carpet.
He blinks, his gaze darting between us as if we’re hallucinations brought on by caffeine poisoning.
When his eyes finally lock on mine, they widen, “Kaori?” His voice is rough.
“What are you doing here? I asked Anya for two senior engineers, not—”
“A junior one?” I finish for him, stepping fully into the room. I keep my voice steady, even as my heart does a nervous gallop. His gaze stays fixed on me, intense and unreadable. “Anya thought it would be a good learning opportunity,” I add quickly.
He exhales, dragging a hand down his face. “Unbelievable.”
Completely unfazed by the tension, Leon clears a space among the scattered blueprints and sets the Pip’s Pantry bag on the table with a heavy thud. “You can yell at us later,” he says easily. “But first, food.”
His eyes narrow. “We have work to do. The food can wait.” He turns his body back to the whiteboard.
A few weeks ago, that tone would’ve made me shrink back. But now, I know better. I’ve learned how to read the man behind the glare. I know exactly how hard I can push before I cross the line. “No.”
Leon snorts into his coffee, completely failing to hide his grin. He’s already claimed a seat near the head of the table, unwrapping his sandwich like he’s settling in to watch a match.
“Eat.” I slide the bag toward Theo. “There are two steak, two grilled chicken, and two roast beef sandwiches, six orders of chips, and some fruit and veggie cups. I didn’t know what you’d want so I got a little of everything.”
Theo arches a brow. “You think I need six sandwiches?”
“No,” I say. “Two are for me. I didn’t know how long you plan to keep us here, so I came prepared for a long-term siege.”
A silence stretches between us. Theo stares at me, his mouth opening slightly, as if he’s searching for a witty rebuttal. But his brain isn’t fully firing, and a second later, he finally sits, shoulders sagging.
When he reaches for a roast beef sandwich, I notice the faint tremor in his hand. It’s a small detail, but it speaks volumes about the level of burnout he’s hiding behind. He unwraps the sandwich and takes a reluctant bite, chewing in silence.
The tension in the room shifts now that the beast has been temporarily pacified. Leon and I quietly unpack the rest of the food, spreading it out on the table between laptops and tangled charging cables.
“So,” Leon says in a low voice, tearing open a packet of chips, “I meant to ask you earlier . . . what’s on your London must-see, must-do list? I was thinking about catching a show in the West End tomorrow. You wanna tag along?”
“If we actually manage to get some time, I’d love to,” I say, peeling the lid off my fruit cup and trying to sound more casual than I feel.
I don’t miss the way Theo glances toward me at the mention of my plans.
“Top three on my list are the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and maybe a quick stop by Big Ben.”
Leon nods approvingly, pointing a chip at me. “Solid list. Toss Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London on there while you’re at it. You’ll regret it if you don’t. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a Yeoman Warder in his iconic hat.”
“This your first time in London?” Theo asks.
“No, I’ve been here before, but I’ve never done the touristy things,” I say, glancing over before turning back to Leon. “And I’m supposed to visit Buckingham Palace on Thursday with a family friend.” For dinner, I add silently.
“In that case, let me be your guide,” Theo says.
I blink. “You?”
“Yes, me.”
Is he joking? Who knows when the last time he ate was, let alone showered and slept. “You don’t have time for me.”
He doesn’t even hesitate. “I’ll make time for you.”
I lock eyes with Leon and shoot him an “are you hearing what I’m hearing” look.
He coughs loudly into his napkin, doing a poor job of hiding his grin and the “this is between you two” look.
A beat later he says, “Well, if your friend over here is going to show you the city, I guess I’ll just plan to do things alone.”
I focus on the lid of my fruit cup. I’ll make time for you. Theo’s words ripple through me slowly, like I’ve been told to hop on a ski lift that’ll take me straight to the top of Mount Everest. Probably the world’s most dangerous climb.
“Only if you’re sure you can. I know you’re busy,” I say quickly, trying to sound unfazed.
“You can count on me,” he says. There’s no hesitation.
Then he nods and pushes his chair back, turning toward the whiteboard. “Okay, playtime’s over. I need your assistance with a sensor calibration problem that’s throwing the readings off for the launch segment of Vortex Rise.”
Leon groans. “That’ll take all day to fix.”
“Then we’d better crack on with it,” Theo says.