Countermeasures. Janie Crouch

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СКАЧАТЬ finishing a project for the government. As director of R & D, he would be your boss, right?”

      Megan nodded. “Um, yes. Dr. Fuller is everyone’s boss, I guess.”

      Sawyer smiled encouragingly; at least she was talking to him now. “Do you like him? Is he easy to get along with?”

      Megan looked down and began moving items on the desk around again nervously. She obviously didn’t want to answer his questions. That was fine. Sawyer didn’t want to put her in a place where she had to speak badly about her boss. He decided to change the subject before Megan rearranged everything on her desk.

      “Megan, do you think you could get me a cup of coffee somewhere or point me in the general direction of one? I’d just like to get some caffeine in my system before I meet Dr. Fuller.”

      Megan opened her mouth as if to answer him, but then just shut it again shaking her head. She seemed at an utter loss at what to say.

      Cyberdyne really needed to look into replacing Megan as their R & D receptionist.

      A man in a white lab coat, probably in his early forties, walked over to where Sawyer and Megan stood looking at each other. “Megan, is everything okay?” When Megan nodded, the man turned to Sawyer. “You must be Agent Branson. We were told you’d be arriving today. I’m Jonathan Bushman, Dr. Fuller’s assistant.”

      Sawyer shook the man’s outstretched hand. He decided not to mention the coffee; it had just been an attempt at changing the subject and he didn’t want to get Megan in any sort of trouble.

      “Great, Jonathan. I’m ready to meet Dr. Fuller whenever it’s convenient.”

      Jonathan looked to Megan and then back to Sawyer, frowning. “But you already have.” He gestured to Megan. “This is Dr. Zane Megan Fuller, lead conceptual and computer scientist for Cyberdyne.”

      * * *

      OKAY, HAD THE federal agent just asked her to go get him some coffee? Megan had to admit he hadn’t been obnoxious about it, but still...coffee? Of course, she couldn’t really blame him. She had been puttering all around the desk, resorting back to her college behavior when she’d had no idea what to do when she was attracted to a member of the opposite gender—she’d practically lost her ability to speak for goodness’ sake.

      She had thought those days were long behind her, but evidently not when a man as gorgeous as Sawyer Branson talked to her. She could barely bring herself to meet his eyes for most of the conversation. He must have thought she was the worst secretary in the history of the world.

      Megan had to remind herself that she was no longer that socially awkward, painfully shy sixteen-year-old girl she had been at MIT, intellectually ahead of all her classmates, but emotionally much less developed. Now Megan was twenty-nine years old, well respected and liked in her workplace and confident in her abilities and accolades.

      If still a little shy socially.

      Megan could see the wariness crossing Agent Branson’s face as he realized his mistake. He probably wasn’t too thrilled that he had asked her for a cup of coffee, either.

      Megan stuck out her hand for him to shake. “Hi, I’m Dr. Fuller. Megan.”

      “Not the receptionist. I’m sorry about that.” Megan could appreciate that Agent Branson had the good sense to at least look sheepish. His handshake was firm, and if Megan didn’t know better she would almost swear she could feel his thumb caressing the back of her hand. That totally had to be her imagination. She pulled her hand back quickly.

      “Yeah, there’s not actually a receptionist for R & D, despite this desk. We just pretty much keep the desk as a catchall for office supplies and stuff.” Megan held up the stain-remover stick. “I got a stain on my lab coat, so I was coming to see if I could use this to get it out.”

      Agent Branson nodded and gave her a half smile. “Well, a lab coat might have clued me in that you weren’t a receptionist, but I definitely didn’t know you were who I was here to see. My apologies.”

      Wow, if that was only a half smile, Megan didn’t want to be around if he decided to turn his full charm on her. “I can still direct you to the coffee if you want it.”

      Agent Branson gave a bark of soft laughter. “Believe it or not, that was to make you feel more comfortable. You seemed to have lost the ability to speak for a while there.”

      Megan could feel a flush spilling over her. “Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t have made a good receptionist. I’m more of a computer-person than a people-person.”

      Megan heard a throat clear from the other side of the desk. Jonathan. She had almost totally forgotten her assistant was there. Good Lord, she needed to focus. On the situation, not on Agent Branson.

      “Jonathan, yes, okay. Um, Agent Branson, it sounds like you didn’t know very much about me and we know even less about you. All we were told was that you would be ‘a presence’ here at Cyberdyne for a while. I don’t really know why.”

      Agent Branson looked around. “Is there somewhere we could go to talk that isn’t so open to everything?”

      “Yes, of course. As you can see, we have an open workspace in general, but everyone also has offices. Mine is in the back.” Megan began walking that way. “Should Jonathan join us?”

      Agent Branson shook his head. “Right now, I’d just like it to be the two of us if that’s okay. I’ll need to talk with all of the R & D employees while I’m here, but I’d like to start with just you.”

      Megan could tell Jonathan didn’t like that. But her assistant tended to be a little high-maintenance in that way. He always wanted to be involved with whatever was going on and tended to get a little churlish when he was left out. The behavior had been getting worse more recently. Megan tried to smile at Jonathan, but he had already turned away with a huff. Megan just shook her head and led Agent Branson back to her office, closing the door behind them.

      Megan stood behind a chair at the table and gestured to another seat for Agent Branson. She couldn’t help but admire the casual fluidness in how he filled the chair. As if he was a model.

      If it wasn’t for the scar on his chin and slightly crooked nose—it looked as though it had been broken at some point in his life—Agent Branson definitely could’ve made a living in front of the camera. Black hair, cut short and stylish, a perpetual five-o’clock shadow, gorgeous green eyes. Megan put a hand up to her chin just to make sure she wasn’t accidentally drooling.

      It was time to rein in all of this nonsense. Okay, yes, Agent Branson was attractive. Megan didn’t know the specifics of exactly why he was here, but she did know that it wasn’t for her ogling enjoyment. Megan took a deep breath in through her nose to focus herself, then released it gently through her mouth.

      One of the advantages of being so intellectually advanced for her age when she was growing up—and always surrounded by older people—was that Megan had learned early how to act professionally even when she didn’t feel that way. She wasn’t going to let Agent Handsome discombobulate her any more than he already had today. She hoped they both would just totally forget the incident at the reception desk. That wasn’t how she ran the R & D department—all flighty and unable to speak. She was a professional and she could handle this.

      She СКАЧАТЬ