Bad Nerd Rising (11 page)

“I’ll take care of
notification on my end. How is your search going?”

“We’re only in the first
phases now, so I don’t know yet. Once we start the testing
tomorrow, we’ll be in better shape. In seven days, we’ll have a
huge database. We can expand that if we need to.”

“Will you have some
definite conclusions in a week?”

She frowned. The first
thought that popped into his mind was
so
beautiful.
He wondered how he had managed
to keep his hands off her. With her aunt and uncle in residence,
and his mother acting so weird, especially now that Tia had
arrived, he thought maybe that was the only thing preventing
him.

Could a prince get away
with sexual harassment of a paid consultant?
He didn’t know, and figured his people had enough problems
right now. They didn’t need his poor choices to add to their
burdens.

He could just see the
headlines, “Rurikstan Prince Sexually Harasses American
Microbiologist.” “American Microbiologist Sues Rurikstan Prince for
Improper Conduct.
I was only trying to
help, and then he sexually harassed me
.”
“American People Polled: Rurikstan Lowest Rating Yet.
Who knew the prince was a
pervert?
”

Aleksi struggled and
finally managed to clear his mind in time to hear her say, “We’ll
have more conclusions in a week than we currently have.” She turned
a stunning smile on him, and he liked the light in her eyes, her
intelligence and the way some of her hair curled around her
ears.

“We’ll take whatever
conclusions we can get,” he said, hoping his voice didn’t sound as
husky as he thought.
Lecher
and
pervert
swarmed into his brain, and Aleksi struggled to
keep his mind clear of sensuous thoughts.

“I think after all this
testing we’ll be able to make some definite decisions. We’ll know
exactly what’s in the wells, and then we can take the necessary
steps to make them safe again.”

“Wonderful.” He groped for
something to say and thought about the meeting he was about to
enter. “I’m meeting with our plumbing team in a few minutes. We’re
hoping by the end of the week to be able to use the showers again,
at least.”

“That would be wonderful.
I’ve been lusting after the shower in my room,” she admitted with a
sweet smile.

The teenage boy in him
thought, “
Heh, heh
, she said
lusted
...” and Aleksi cut off those thoughts
immediately.

“I must say I prefer
showers over the tub. Must be the years I spent in America,” he
said. Pretty stupid, but at least he sounded normal.

“I had no idea of what you
would have been used to here. How did you manage to live in the
dorms and the nasty apartments during school?” She cocked her head
to the side and he liked how the sun made her eyes glow brighter
than any of the gems they took from the earth.

“I had to learn to cook,
that was a challenge, but other than that, I didn’t mind.” He
shrugged.

Her eyebrows rose. “How
could you stand the small rooms and dirty bathrooms?”

He smiled. “I’m a man. I’m
pretty sure I never noticed.”

“I noticed,” she said dryly.

“You’re also a
microbiologist. I studied international business and law. We
probably noticed different things.”

“Or ignored different
things. Do you still cook?” He liked the light of mischief that
danced in her eyes.

He thought about that while
rocking back on his heels. “I probably wouldn’t starve.” He
couldn’t help but laugh. “But you’d have to be really hungry to eat
what I cooked.”

Her laughter warmed him
from the inside out. “I see. Well, I’m not much of a cook either,
but I do okay.”

“You’re probably much better than I am.”

“My food is edible, that’s
about the extent of it. I don’t pay much attention to my
efforts.”

“Do you eat out frequently?”

“I eat in the cafeteria most days, but I
also have a huge family, so there’s always someone willing to feed
me, which is nice.”

“You have frequent family
get-togethers?” He thought wistfully of how special that must be.
It had always just been his parents and him.

“Oh yes. I can manage to
bake something, so I usually take a dessert or salad. Then I get to
eat everything else and it’s always really good.” She smiled and he
liked that she let him in on her secret. He felt like a
co-conspirator.

He glanced reluctantly at
his watch. “Ah, my meeting is about to start.”

She cocked her head. “If
you need me, just call,” she offered. And turned to traipse back to
the lab. She tripped but caught herself, probably from long years
of practice.

He had to clench his hands at his sides to
keep from telling her he desperately needed her.

Pervert

With a defeated sigh, he
turned to the conference room where he was to conduct the meeting.
It was too soon to mention his heir problem. He wasn’t sure enough
of her yet.
But she said
lust
, the teenager
inside him repeated.

Yeah, at least she knew
the word. Too bad she had no idea what it actually felt like to
want someone you had to keep your hands off.
For now
, he reminded himself. She
was here for at least two weeks. A lot could happen in that
time.

Please
.

Chapter
9

At supper that evening,
which still included her aunt and uncle, relaxing was a little
easier for Tia. Knowing Aleksi struggled with cooking somehow made
him more human to her. She could relate. She’d never tell him about
her prom fiasco, but at least she had cooking skills, or lack
thereof, in common with him.

“What did you do today,
love?” Aunt Emma interrupted her musings, for which Tia was
grateful.

“We’re preparing for a big
day tomorrow,” Tia said, and forked up some chicken. She thought it
was chicken. Some kind of fowl, anyway.

“What’s on the agenda?” her uncle asked.

“We plan to sample all of
the wells in Rurikstan City and then we’ll run a series of tests on
them. Some will give us quick results, while the others will take
longer.”

“You’ll have an incredible amount of
information,” Rich said, sounding impressed.

“We hope so. I’ve been
playing with the idea of having someone continue the testing,
perhaps just monthly, after I leave,” she said and bit her
lip.

Gracia brightened. “You’re
leaving?” She sounded hopeful. Tia resisted the urge to roll her
eyes. She appreciated the dark look Aleksi sent her. He didn’t seem
to appreciate his mother’s venom any better than she
did.

“Not until we finish the
testing and formulate a plan to fix the problem. But eventually,
yes, of course.”

She noticed Emma frown at
Gracia, but couldn’t place Emma’s expression. Her aunt appeared to
be deep in thought, always an interesting outcome – when General
Emma thought out strategies and the like, smart people fled. The
woman definitely had sent more than one brave man and woman
sprinting for the hills.

“Oh, you’re not leaving soon?” Gracia
sounded disappointed.

“Not until I fix your well
problem,” Tia said and turned to Aleksi. “Did you have any trouble
when you mentioned we’d be testing the wells tomorrow?”

He shook his head. “All of
the personnel my assistant spoke with actually offered to help in
any way they can. We’d all like to see this problem solved.” He
glanced at his mother, his expression stern, like he’d nearly
reached his limit with her.

Tia almost felt sorry for
the woman, but Gracia radiated a clear message of
I-don’t-want-you-here. It was just plain silly. They needed her
skills. And was it so wrong to have her aunt and uncle drop in?
Aleksi could do a lot worse than personally knowing a powerful
United States Admiral.

Surely the woman knew this,
but she didn’t seem to care. It was strange behavior for a
princess. One who’d been so for nearly forty years. One bright
thought was that if Princess Gracia acted like such an idiot, maybe
being a princess wasn’t so difficult after all.

“Mother, perhaps you should
retire for the evening. You’re looking a little pale,” Aleksi said.
Even Gracia couldn’t miss that order, and Tia figured she was
thinking about that island he threatened her with, so she rose
unsteadily to her feet.

“Yes, I could use some
sleep,” she said and turned – barely acknowledging her guests. Even
if it was proper royal behavior, it was still rude.

“I’m very sorry for her
behavior,” Aleksi apologized. He stared after his mother with a
rather lost expression, and Tia wanted to smooth the lines that
bracketed his mouth.

“Aleksi, how long has she been acting like
that?” Emma still wore her thinking face.

“The last year,” he said,
and frowned at his barely touched dessert.

“Has your father been gone that long?”

“Yes.”

“Has her behavior been like this before his
death, during, or after?”

Aleksi stared at her aunt,
as though trying to flip through his memories to locate that
answer. “I’d say it’s been gradual, but at least since after his
death. Perhaps before, but not to the extent she’s exhibiting
now.”

Emma nodded and sucked her
lips between her teeth. “I think your mother needs grief
counseling.”

Aleksi started. “Grief
counseling?”

“Yes. Have either of you
undergone any type of counseling since your father passed
away?”

“No, there hasn’t been time,” Aleksi
said.

Rich stirred. “Has your
mother been out of Rurikstan since his death?”

“No,” Aleksi admitted. “You
believe she is suffering from grief?”

“I think that’s a huge part
of the problem. She might also be experiencing some symptoms from
your well water,” Emma said.

Tia straightened in her
chair. “I should have picked up on that.”

“Not necessarily, love.
Right now, I think Princess Gracia needs to be sent to France or
England – somewhere you trust to help her emotionally. Something is
bothering her, I’d say.”

“How did you pick up on that?”

“I’ve experienced similar
grief. I recognized the symptoms. But I’m also picking up from you
that you don’t quite know what to do with her. Like her behavior
now isn’t quite normal.”

“It is not,” Aleksi said
fervently and shook his head. “I don’t even know her these
days.”

“That’s probably because
she’s not taking your father’s death well. Were they
close?”

“Yes, they appeared to have
a good marriage.” Aleksi’s voice was quiet. “I’ll speak with an
advisor who knows her well.”

“That’s a good idea. Don’t
take my opinion, because I don’t know her, but I think you’ll see a
different person after only a few weeks with a skilled
therapist.”

“But you advise I send her away, rather than
bring someone qualified in?”

“Yes, only because if the water is part of
the problem, then that might help to alleviate some of the more
severe symptoms.”

“I’ll speak with some
trusted people.”

“I think you’ll find you get your mother
back once she’s feeling better.”

“Thank you,” Aleksi said
with heartfelt sincerity.

Tia noticed his eyes slid
to her and she wondered about it. Why would he send her such a
speaking look? She wished she could help his mother, if what
General Emma said was true.

If the woman really was grief stricken and
couldn’t fight her way out, then she needed help and sympathy, not
snarky, petty comments like Tia had been thinking.

See, another obvious reason
why she wasn’t princess material. American girls did seem to do
snarky well. Shouldn’t a princess be sympathetic and
sweet?

Tia nearly choked on the
next bite of cake. If so, she certainly didn’t qualify. To keep
from falling into her own depression, Tia refused to look at Aleksi
again. The man made her want things she knew weren’t good for her.
Like a drunk who wanted another round of alcohol.

***

“You’re going to send me
away?” His mother sounded horrified early the next morning, like
he’d betrayed her.

“Yes.” He sucked in another
deep breath of air, and continued. “I’m not sending you to the
island, but to London.”

She perked up.
“London?”

“Yes, mother. I want you to
see some doctors there.”

“Why, there’s nothing wrong with me.”

“There could be. We can’t
be certain those of us in the palace weren’t affected by the same
thing that has caused our people to sicken.”

“You want me to fly to
London to be checked by some doctors there? Dr. Mahon is perfectly
capable...”

“Mother, Dr. Mahon is
averaging three hours of sleep a night. He can’t afford to see yet
another patient.”