Sometimes It Is Rocket Science (12 page)

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.  I’m so, so sorry.”  She rubbed his back in slow, soothing circles.  She continued to hum their mother’s favorite lullaby and stroke his back until he slipped into a troubled sleep.  When his heart-wrenching, hiccupping sobs died down, she carefully eased him onto the mattress and tucked the blanket over his shoulders.

Robert was standing like a sentinel in the doorway.  Face tight from the salt of tears and emotionally drained, she didn’t resist when he folded his arms around her shoulders and kissed her temple.   Her legs were watery and her head ached.  She longed to burrow under her blankets and sleep for a year.

He guided her down one flight of stairs and into her father’s old study.  If he found it odd that none of the rooms had doors, he didn’t comment.  Georgiana collapsed onto the comfortably worn leather settee near the door.  It only took Robert a minute to locate a dusty bottle of Scotch and two glasses.  He poured a measure of Scotch into both glasses and placed one in Georgiana’s icy, shaky hands.

Georgiana downed the Scotch in one gulp.  She gasped as the fiery liquid burned its way down her throat and to her stomach.  She held out her glass for a refill, frowned when Robert did nothing more than stare at her with compassionate, but resolute, dark eyes.

“I think it’s time, doll, you tell me exactly what happened to your brother.”

Georgiana slid lower in the seat and set the empty tumbler on a small, round side table.  She dropped her head so that her hair obscured her face and stared at a point on the floor between Robert’s legs.  Robert feared she’d never answer.

“Georgiana…”

She sat up suddenly, clasped her hands together tightly.  “Tab started at the Brentmore Academy again last fall.  He offered to transfer to a school in Houston so I wouldn’t be alone, but he loved that place so I insisted.  I bought him a new car for his birthday while we were in Dallas.  Dad and I had let him drive us back and forth to Dallas so he knew the route home, and I wanted him to have his freedom.” 

Hot tears stung her eyes and bile burned the back of her throat.  “We had a shopping trip planned for the second month of the semester.  He needed to stock up for the winter and I missed him.  I’d offered to go up there for the weekend, but he was so excited about driving home by himself for the first time.

It was rainy. He should have stayed at school, but he missed me too, I guess.  Or he was just too excited, I don’t know.  He’s a good driver.  Did better on his test than I did.”

Robert settled a hand on Georgiana’s knee.  The warmth of his skin penetrated the layer of worn denim but did little for the chill seeping into her bones.  She appreciated the gesture nonetheless and flashed a weak, watery smile.

“Halfway between here and Dallas, he lost control of the car.  The police and the DA blamed it on the weather and road conditions and his inexperience.  He claims it was mechanical failure, so I’ve…”  She sighed, squeezed her eyes shut, and exhaled shakily.  “He crossed the median and hit a pick-up.  The truck was speeding, the driver was drunk.  He and the passenger died almost on impact, they said.  Neither was wearing a seatbelt.  Tab’s the only survivor.

He broke his wrist, a couple of ribs, and busted his head.  The DA decided not to press charges, we paid off the families to keep them from suing, and the lawyers used every threat in the book to keep his name out of the media.  Not many people know about the accident, and I will do
whatever
it takes to keep it that way.”

Robert gently pried her hands apart and cradled her frigid digits between his palms.   “Damage control.  You did a good job.  It didn’t turn up it anything I had my assistant dig up.”

She opened her mouth to berate him for prying but snapped it shut at the last minute.  They hadn’t been more than casual friends for several years, and he’d always been wary of anyone close to his father.  Had their positions been reversed, she would have done the same. 

“How is Tab now?” Robert asked, massaging her fingers to get the blood circulating.  He had a hard time reconciling the cheerful, if shy, boy he’d taught to cheat at video games with the sobbing teen.  He didn’t believe that night terrors were the worst of the damage. 

“He’s suffering from survivor’s guilt and PTSD according to the experts.  Not that any expert has lasted longer than a session or two.  They either wanted to drug him to the gills or lock him away in a facility.  He’s made some progress, but he’s depressed, listless, during the day.”  She tilted her head towards the stairs.  “Then there are the nightmares, of course.”

“Suicide?”  He didn’t want to press Georgiana any further, but he needed to know what to expect.  There was no way he was going to let her continue to run herself ragged handling Prask, the company, and her brother.  She was his father’s friend, had been
his
friend, and he had to do something to alleviate her strain.

Tears spilled over her flushed cheeks and dripped off her pointed chin.  “His last attempt was months ago,” she croaked, throat impossibly tight.  “He hasn’t… I don’t know.  I want to believe he’s beyond that point, but I just don’t know.  We don’t talk about the accident.  It’s unhealthy, but I can’t… I can’t do anything to set him back.  I can’t lose him.”

Robert tugged her onto his lap.  Her heels bounced off his shins but the pain hardly registered.  He curved an arm around her shoulders and tangled the fingers of his free hand in her hair.  He pressed his lips to the top of her head.   “How are you, Georgiana?”

“Me?”  She chuckled mirthlessly, tears streaming out of her eyes and soaking his shirt. “I’m fine.  Tab’s the one we have to worry about.”

He didn’t share her philosophy.  Coffee, her sense of duty towards her father’s company, her brother, and his father were all that held her together.  He doubted she realized just how close she was to a breakdown.  For reasons he didn’t care to examine too closely, he wanted to protect her from that fate.

“You’re moving in with us.  You and Tab.”

She jerked backwards so suddenly she would have fallen off his lap if not for the arm clamped around her shoulders.  The tears stinging her eyes dried instantly.  “What?”

“You and Tab are moving in to my father’s house,” he said, speaking slowly and over-enunciating every word.  “I don’t think we should move Tab so soon after falling asleep again, so we’ll do it tomorrow.  I’ll help you pack for him.”

Georgiana bristled.  It was just like him to expect everyone to simply fall in line with his decrees.  She’d seen it at MIT where students and professors had rushed to accommodate the charming and overconfident genius.  Maturity had only added to his appeal, and success had made him more arrogant. 

She shifted so that her feet were flat on the floor on each side of Robert’s knee.  She met his dark, expectant eyes, ignored the chill that slithered down her spine.  She refused to be like the others who rolled over and surrendered at the first sign of disapproval from the great and powerful Robert Norwood. 

“Maybe you think everyone should jump when you give the word, but you are not my lord and master, Bobby.  I’m not one your employees; I’m not one of your women.”

“No, you are my -.”

Her nostrils flared; her fists balled at her sides.  “If you say ‘fiancée,’ I swear I won’t be responsible for what happens next.”

Robert eyed her fists and leaned back.  “You are my
friend
, Georgiana.”  He raked a hand through his thick hair.  “My father is undeniably fond of you and your brother.  Do you honestly think he’ll be able to recover if he’s worried sick over the two of you?”

“We aren’t the ones Prask is trying to kill!”

He arched a dark eyebrow.

Georgiana’s heart leapt to her throat as something Prask said during dinner came back to her.  She tried to swallow but it was as if all the moisture had been sucked out of her mouth.  “What kind of car did Tab drive?”

Robert frowned at the rapid subject change.  “I don’t know.  There wasn’t anything in Cedric’s notes about it.”

“He’d only had the car for a couple of months.  We bought it in Dallas when school started.”  Her tongue darted to soothe her chapped, stinging lips.  “Earlier tonight Prask made a comment about Tab ‘racking up the miles’ on his Mercedes.”

“And Tab drove a Mercedes.” 

Georgiana nodded, forced back the bile rising in her throat.  It was possible that Prask had been in Dallas at some point and seen Tab’s car, but she didn’t believe in coincidences.  She didn’t believe Prask’s mention of it during dinner had been a casual observation.  He enjoyed watching his victims bleed.

She’d never considered herself a particularly violent person, but she wished Prask was in front of her so she could murder him.  Her brother, her sweet, sensitive brother, had never harmed anyone in his life.  What did Prask have to gain by killing Tab?  It was as pointless as killing Dan.

Robert’s touch was gentle as he tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.  His eyes radiated a steady, sympathetic warmth.  “I know it doesn’t make sense, Gigi.”  He paused as if testing the taste of the nickname on his tongue.  “I know that scientific brain of yours likes to have proof before making a hypothesis, but ignoring this won’t make it less true.”

Georgiana’s feet twitched.  “I have proof.  At least I have access to proof.”  She dropped her stare to her knees.  Robert’s patient stare was unnerving.  Where was the playboy who avoided complicated relationships like the plague?    Why wasn’t he bundling his father up and skedaddling back to New York?

“What do you have, Gigi?”

The nickname only Tab used should have sounded strange coming out of Robert’s mouth, but it didn’t.  She felt some of her earlier resentment melt away.  “The cars are at Dan’s.  I have them in the workshop.  If there’s evidence of tampering, I’ll find it.”

He had faith that she would.  He’d watched her rebuild a totaled Camry when she was eleven.  Emotion wouldn’t interfere with Georgiana’s brilliance; it would ensure she did her best work. Having the wreckage at Dan’s house also gave him all the leverage he needed to keep her under his protection.

“I take it Tab doesn’t know you have the physical evidence from his accident.”  The guilt gleaming in Georgiana’s tear-filled eyes was all the answer he needed.  “Move in to the mansion.  You can work on finding proof against Prask without being away from Tab.  He won’t be suspicious of all the time you spend in the lab.”

A small smile curved Georgiana’s lips.  That much was true.  Tab was well aware of how preoccupied she could get when starting a new project.  She could also keep an eye on Dan.  NORA was set up to monitor his health and care for him, but there was only so much the AI could do.  She just wished it didn’t mean having to move in with Robert as well.  His presence did horrible, wonderful things to her peace of mind.

“There will be questions about the unexpected move.  Prask will get suspicious.  He could disappear,”   she said, running her tongue along the front of her teeth as she considered all the implications.

Eyes dilated and jaw tense, Robert lifted Georgiana off his lap.  Her nervous gesture made
him
fidget.  “No one will think twice about an engaged couple living together.”  He glanced around the study.  Though a large room for a townhouse, it was half the size of his office at the mansion.  “Given Dad’s illness and Tab’s age, they will understand why we chose not to live here.”

“We are not engaged.”  Georgiana felt like a broken record.  How many more times was she going to have to contradict him?  Was she going to have to pin a note to her forehead?

“You never answered me earlier.  I suggested we keep up the charade and you ran out on me.”  Robert folded his arms across his chest; one corner of his mouth lifted challengingly.  “It’s a nasty habit, doll.”

“Tab needed me,” she snapped, hands on her hips and spine stiff.  “I’m
so
sorry your ego can’t handle coming second to my
brother
.”

“Tab is sleeping.  Unless you’re expecting a frantic call from someone else, there’s nothing stopping you from answering now.”

Georgiana’s hands fell off her hips.  She hated the thought of lying to their friends and families, but Robert’s plan had its merits.  Though her pride insisted she handle Collier Analytics on her own, Robert was the better CEO.  As her fiancé, no one would be surprised if he took an interest in the company.  She would still make all the decisions, but he could act as her consultant.

It would stop Prask from pestering her with dinner invitations, and it would keep her board from losing faith in her.  She could spend less time reassuring them and more time with Tab and her lab.  They would have to work out a way to keep Dan and Tab from getting hurt when the ruse was over, but she was certain Robert’s devious mind would come up with a solution.  Despite her weakness for Robert’s smile, she wasn’t worried about falling for the lie.  Prolonged exposure to him was bound to boost her immunity.

“I’ve seen what happens when you try to be discreet,” she said, “I won’t be laughed at behind my back.”

“What are you saying, doll?”

“This is different than you just being my dinner date.  No women.  Not for the duration of this engagement.”  When he didn’t respond, she tilted her chin up and settled her gaze on a point just over Robert’s left shoulder.  “It’s a deal breaker.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Robert stuck out his hand.  “Then you have yourself a deal.”  Once Georgiana’s small hand was in his, he yanked her forward.  His lips hovered over hers; her Scotch-scented breath tickled his face.  “Darling.”

Before she could blink, his firm, hot mouth covered hers.  Thanks to a few less-than-memorable high school experiences, she’d never been a fan of kissing.  In the past, she’d let her mind drift off to complex equations and tried not to think about the eager but sloppy lips pressed to hers.  More than one boyfriend had commented on her lack of participation.

When Robert kissed her, she couldn’t remember her name.  She sank her fingers in his soft, dark hair.  His tongue darted out to trace the seam of her lips.  He tasted like Scotch, Nutella, and something indescribably sinful.  The combination turned Georgiana’s bones to jelly. 

His hand slipped from her shoulder to her hip.  His knee slipped between her legs.  He lifted his lips off hers just long enough to catch his breath.  The desire blazing in his eyes stole the air from her burning lungs.  She took a quick, unsteady step away from him.

“I - I need to go back to Tab.”  She inhaled sharply and took another step towards the doorway.  “He shouldn’t be alone.”