Chapter Eighteen

In the ensuing six months, both women worked feverishly on the project as one snag after another threatened to stop everything. Nicky had been so involved that her planned return to the States to settle her apartment never materialized. For her, the isolation in the lab and non-stop work kept her mind off Harry. On the occasions that she allowed herself to think of Harry in more than a casual way, her mood changed drastically. She became sullen and withdrawn, burying herself deeper in her research.

Trying to forget the small woman she’d left behind, Harry became so engulfed in her work that everyone around her was on edge. Absolutely no one was immune to her wrath and almost daily tirades.

Harry paced her office like a caged lion. “What do you mean Cole Corporation is taking a new drug like ours to the federation before us! How the hell did that happen?”

John Fredericks felt the full brunt of her frustration and rage. “Harry, I’m just telling you what the head of that particular panel told me. I thought we had the lead on this.”

“We did. As far as I know, we do. This is unacceptable, John. I will not allow all our hard work to go down the drain because some bastard is selling us out!”

She jabbed the button of her intercom with such force that it bounced across the desk. “Sally? I want to speak to the last person who came out of the Martins’ project with information. No! Strike that. I want to see all available personnel who have provided information in the last six months. Now!”

Sally had been waiting for this major eruption ever since Harry returned from her disastrous trip out in the field. Her boss had been preoccupied, quite often harsh, and very engrossed in the new project. She even inspected the personnel assigned to the teams that were rotated every three months. Her scrutinizing of every operative in minute detail had Seth Roland paranoid that she was going to let him go.

“I want Guy Cole in for a meeting this week, John. We’ve held him at bay long enough. Let’s see what he’s been up to, shall we? If he’s indeed the frontrunner in this, then Shekia will go over to him once she knows. Deal with it!”

John Fredericks had seen the deterioration in her mood for weeks. At first, he had attributed it to the broken ankle, but that was now completely healed. Unfortunately, her mood was not.

Fredericks left and Harry picked up the last report from the project containing Nicky’s precise script. After the initial snafus, everything was progressing ahead of schedule. David and Eden Martin and their daughter Nicky were the only people that she could trust completely; they had the most to lose. What the hell does this all mean? Who is the mole in my operation giving away the secret to Cole?

As she looked at the written words, she felt closer to Nicky. Sometimes she would read the reports repeatedly, picturing Nicky narrating the contents. At first, she would see those silver-flecked green eyes mysteriously appearing out of nowhere. Over time, the image changed to a very sensual one: Nicky naked in her arms and passionately wanting. The images and the effect they had on her body were driving her crazy. If she were going mad, it would be her penance for leaving Nicky behind and refusing to admit she had feelings for the young woman. With pen in hand, she dashed off a quick note.

Nicky,

Your reports have been extremely valuable to me. Thank you for keeping me well informed about the goings on there.

Diane asked me if you would be returning, as everyone in the lab misses you. I do too, Nicky. I wanted to tell you so much, but I never seemed to find the right words or moment. Perhaps when and if you return, we could have a long talk.

Take care of yourself, Harry.

She sealed the envelope and smiled as Nicky’s face appeared, bringing her, for the moment at least, some sense of calm. If the Cole Company takes over, what will happen to Nicky and her parents? All their hard work on the project will be worthless if that company gets approval first. I simply can’t let that happen. Nor will I allow my life’s work to go down the tubes. This was her company, the place she’d worked in since leaving college at twenty-one. No one would take it away from her or harm those she cared about without a knock down, drag out fight.

At that moment, Sally walked in with a cup of freshly brewed of coffee in hand. “I think you need this, Harry.”

“What would your reaction be if I said Cole has the same drug up for assessment before we do?”

“Hey, don’t joke about a thing like that, not with all the work everyone has put in on the project.”

“Might not be a joke, Sally.”

Without being asked, Sally dropped into a chair opposite Harry. “Really?”

“Yes. God knows how, but he’s pulled that rabbit out of the hat. And we have to find out how.”

“You think he’s stolen it from your project?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him to have one of his people on the inside, but we might never know for sure. Cole is very astute and he would have covered his tracks well.”

“If you can’t prove it, what will happen?”

“He’ll get the company, if he wants it at a knock down price. Shekia needs the funds and I can’t blame her. Her father was the one with allegiance to the company; she’s actually stayed with us longer than I expected.”

“Yeah, because you charmed her. She likes you, Harry, everyone knows that. I guess they have always banked on it.”

“Things change, Sally, unexpectedly sometimes.”

There was a hint of defeat mixed with tiredness in her voice. Sally knew it wasn’t just a conversation about Shekia Canning. There was more to it than that.

“How’s that young woman that you left behind at the project getting on? She didn’t even want to go at first, if I recall.”

“Nicky? Oh, Nicky’s fine. She was Abby’s sister, Sally, and I never knew. All those wasted years when we could have talked about her sister, she never said a word.”

Sally realized what the problem was and it had a great deal to do with the pint-sized Nichola Ralston. Strange, no way would I have guessed that Abby and the women I met that day in the conference room were sisters.

“That must have been a big surprise. Why didn’t she ever tell you? Come to think of it, why didn’t Abby say her sister was in town?” Sally wished she were anywhere else at that moment. She realized she had said something vaguely detrimental against her boss’s partner. Abby was on a pedestal it would take a Titan to remove her.

“I don’t know, Sally, I really don’t. Maybe Nicky didn’t have a good impression of me. I guess it’s something I’ll never know.”

The words were so plaintive they cut through Sally’s tender heart. “I don’t think it had anything to do with Ralston not liking you, Harry. Otherwise when you asked her to go on the field trip, she would have definitely said no and stuck to it.”

Harry had never considered that aspect. If Nicky had wanted to hurt the project, and Harry by default, the young synthesist would have stayed behind. She didn’t know it was her parents’ project until she was on the aircraft. Why did she change her mind? Nicky was never difficult; in fact, quite the reverse. “I think you’re right, Sally. I never looked at it like that.”

“Harry, did you feel better after meeting Abby’s family?”

No one had asked her that question, not even James who was now embroiled in a long term relationship and with it, the prospect of leaving old friends behind. “Yes, I did.”

Satisfied with the answer, Sally went back to business matters. “What’s the next step with the Cole situation?”

“We have it all out in a meeting, the sooner the better.”

“He might be awkward.”

“Not if the stakes are high, and I’ll make them the highest.”

Sally wasn’t sure what she was hearing. Is she issuing a challenge? Does the victor collect all the spoils and the loser leave with little more than the shirt on their back?

“What do you mean, Harry?”

“Wait and see, Sally. Wait and see.”

“Have you seen Jacob recently, Nicky?”

“No, Evan. He had to go into the town on business, but he should be back in a couple of weeks or so. Anything I can do?”

“He was going to loan me a couple of books, but no problem. I can wait until he gets back. He’s not having any trouble, I hope.”

“No, if everything goes well on this trip, he should be fine.”

“I know he has a problem, Nicky. We’ve talked a little about it.”

Nicky smiled. Evan had declined to be posted back home and had stayed the entire six months to continue his work. Now he was on his second stint and seemed to love every minute of life in the interior. She did think that Jacob might have something to do with it, probably a lot to do with it.

“You’ve really settled here, Evan. The company will be hoping no one else poaches you.”

“Oh, I don’t know Nicky. I love the job, of course, but something else keeps me here.”

“It does? What?” Nicky was interested, although she thought she knew the answer. Rita Lawrence had gone home disillusioned but well paid. Neil Jenson had signed on to come back in a couple of weeks. He wanted to be home for the birth of his first grandchild, otherwise he would have stayed longer. Peter St. Clare had managed to survive a dressing down from Harry after the first three months, and had been given the project for the next year. Nicky did wonder if the letter she had sent with Peter had helped his cause. But she couldn’t second-guess Harry at any time, she really didn’t know her that well…the business side of Harry at any rate.

“The people…one person in particular,” Evan admitted ruefully.

“We admit to being friendly natives, Evan.” Nicky chuckled as his face turned red. Oh, so it is what I had originally thought.

“Yeah, you sure are.”

Nicky didn’t want to pry, so she slapped Evan on the back and went back to her analysis.

Six months had passed since Harry had left. It hadn’t been easy at first, and Nicky had wanted to follow her boss back to civilization. However, the pressures of getting the job done correctly and quickly became the overriding factor. Waking up at the crack of dawn and working until sunset helped. By the time her day ended, Nicky was too tired to do anything but eat and chat for a short time with her parents before she hit the hay. It was all a diversion, but it didn’t eliminate Harry from her subconscious. The rare times she allowed herself to daydream, she would picture Harry in her arms, needy and passionate, with Nicky fulfilling every need. Who cared if it was just sex! At the end of the day, she was sure they had felt more than that. Now we will never know. Mom said time is a great healer, but time is infinite isn’t it? Can I wait that long?

Leafing through the mail, she recognized Harry’s distinctive writing. It’s addressed to me! Ripping open the envelope, tears flowed freely as she read the words. She does care. Sitting down with pen in hand, she wrote the words she had wanted to say, longed to say.

Dear Harry,

Everything here is progressing on schedule and we should have a finished product in the near future.

I miss you too, Harry. Many words were left unsaid by both of us. I’m not sure why we both found it so difficult to express ourselves with something other than defensiveness. You are right; a long talk is in order. I’ll be back; that’s a promise. So watch for me to pop up when you least expect it.

Love,

Nic

As the image of Harry came to mind, she smiled and sealed the envelope. With a skip to her step, she went to find the runner to take it into town and post it.