Chapter One

 

Many people would look at the bleak landscape and think of this place as an icy version of hell. In fact, Lily had heard it being described as just that more than a few times. It seemed logical to her that when anyone signed up for research at a station in the Antarctic it would be expected that they would see their fill of snow and rock for the duration.

It also made sense that since many people felt that way, they were out of here the instant their time was up.

Lily was the opposite. The landscape was cold and usually stark, sure. But it was beautiful in its own way. The various species of seals, whales, and birds that made this forbidding place their home brought the chaos of life. During the summer, she loved the varying shades of blue in the ice, water, and sky. Even the pristine white was amazing. In the winter, the Aurora Australis blazed the most incredible light show she’d ever seen across the dark sky. Moreover, in the changeover between seasons, she was glad for the silence. With only a skeleton crew around it would be easier to get things done. It gave her a little thrill not to have to vie for equipment or have to listen to the griping. Watching the PistenBully they’d lovingly nicknamed Tank slowly trek away with the last group to leave always put a smile on her face.

Just as it did now.

The only thing she would have to deal with was the maintenance crew and possibly the facility manager’s attempt at conversation.

Wonderfully loose and light for the first time in weeks, Lily headed straight back to the lab to get some much-needed work done.

Studying the population dynamics, physiological ecology, and adaptation of marine and terrestrial microorganisms might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but Lily found it fascinating to watch evolution at work.

She headed straight to her station and quickly checked the specimens before retrieving her notes and charts to log and try to make sense of the data. Lily reviewed her report from the night before and smiled. Everything seemed to be working out to prove her hypothesis. Just a few more months and she would have enough to write a paper and maybe even share her findings.

“Lily!”

Annoyance tore through her at the interruption. “What is it, Jeremy?” She barely gave the base director a glance before returning to pore over her notes. Where was she?

Balding, on the paunchy side, and too chipper for Lily’s liking, Dr. Jeremy Caulder sat down at the bench next to her. “Good morning to you, too.” More than likely used to her focus, Jeremy was undeterred. “I brought you a coffee. Black, two sugars, right?”

Not even close. “Thanks.” Lily took it anyway and put it on a stool away from her notes and specimens. To come bearing gifts was new. She knew he was building up to something.

“I was wondering…” He cleared his throat before continuing more confidently. “I need you to do me a favor.”

A favor? Now? She turned back to her work. “I don’t really have the time, Jeremy. Can’t you ask anyone else?”

His voice changed pitch and became a slight whine. “Not really. You know this place better than anyone.”

That got her to raise an eyebrow. Lily looked at him, sure her incredulity was clear on her face. “Better than you?”

His face flushed from collar to hairline. “Of course not, but I thought that you might have a better chance of achieving the ultimate goal than I would.”

Lily abandoned her notes to focus on him. This was heading down a road she wasn’t sure she wanted to tread. “What’s going on, Jeremy?”

He shifted from foot to foot. “Well, you know we’ve been struggling to find funding.”

“Yes.” It was something she had been worrying about in the back of her mind for months now. “I thought we were good for another year at least.”

“I might have exaggerated a little about just how well we were doing. If things continue as they are, we may have to shut down in a few weeks’ time.”

Lily went cold. She needed three—four—more months. Tops. The others she talked to needed only a few more as well. What they did here was important and to have that taken away was unacceptable. Unbearable. If there was something she could do to change the course of how things were going, she would definitely do it.

She picked up the unpalatable coffee and took a sip, sure she was going to need the jolt for whatever he was going to say. “What do you need me to do?”

Jeremy cleared his throat. “There’s a visitor coming…a potential patron. I need you to woo him.”

She narrowed her eyes as dread gripped her heart. “Woo how exactly?”

His ears turned pink as he cleared his throat again with a little cough. “You’re a lovely girl. Flirt a little.”

Anything but that. “You basically want me to bat my lashes and…what…?”

“Whatever you have to do to get him to give us the funding we need.”

Lily’s head throbbed viciously. Of all the harebrained ideas… “We’re academics. We don’t prostitute ourselves.”

He scrubbed his hand over his face. For the first time, Lily saw how worn down he was. Jeremy had obviously been hiding just how dire things were from everyone for a while now. “Lily, we all do what we have to in order to fund our research.”

“Then you put on something slinky, bat your lashes, and see if he throws cash at you.”

“I never said anything about putting anything slinky on. I guess I could flash a little leg…”

The mental image of balding Jeremy, rotund and in a little black dress, baring his legs was enough to burst the angry knot that had been growing in her gut. “I’ll show him around. Nothing more.”

Jeremy gave her a gently reproachful look. “And be nice.”

“I’m always nice,” she grumbled.

“Extra nice, then.”

“Fine. I’ll be extra nice.” Lily sighed. Of all the indignities she’d had to endure for her work, this had to be the worst. Not to mention the weirdest.

Lily wasn’t the most social person. She knew that. And she was sure everyone who’d ever tried to have a conversation with her knew it, too. It wasn’t because she didn’t want friends, because she did. Only making them was harder than she’d thought it would be. People just didn’t get her and vice versa. She had hoped that once she got into the academic world she would be around people who were more like herself. In a way she now was, but making friends with adults seemed even harder. So she had retreated into her work and books.

It was more rewarding anyway.

And without the drama…and backstabbing…and general headaches.

At least data made sense. She could look at her graphs and know that what she saw could be backed up. Conclusions could be drawn with confidence. Unlike a person who could lie, backtrack, or just be an asshole and throw off any type of logic she tried to apply to them.

She’d learned it was best to stay away from most people as a whole to protect herself from said assholes.

Besides, getting work done was a wonderful side effect of not getting hurt.

Jeremy gave her a hesitant pat on the shoulder. “Thanks, Lily. I know it’s an imposition, but think of the good it will do.”

She was more concerned now about making a good impression. There was so much riding on her minute social skills that it was dawning on her just how unlikely things were to work out. “Jeremy…I don’t know if I can do it. Being charming isn’t exactly my thing. There’s so much depending on this. Shouldn’t you ask someone else?”

“I think you’re perfect for the job. No one loves this place more than you. If anyone can convince him of the good we’re doing here, it’s you.”

That the director of the facility had such confidence in her ability to do this warmed her heart, even though she was sure him coming to her was more to do with the lack of options than anything else.

“So who is he and when is he getting here?” Might as well put a game plan together while she could. “What can you tell me about him?”

“His name is Kieran King.” If he was waiting for her to recognize the name, he was going to be sorely disappointed. He forged ahead when she didn’t bat a lash at the name. “He’s quite the philanthropist and sought-after bachelor and has had his hand in quite a few successful scientific ventures.”

Lily fought not to roll her eyes. What a shock. A rich, probably past-his-prime playboy who used others’ successes to boost his own ego.

It was on the tip of her tongue to scathingly comment on that possibility when Jeremy shot out of his seat and fished his buzzing phone out of his pocket. “And he’s here. I’ve got to go meet him.” His gaze dropped to her clothes before taking a long, meandering look at the knot she’d haphazardly looped her hair into after getting up that morning. “Meet us at the social pod?” He glanced at his watch. “In, say, about twenty minutes?”

The message was loud and clear. Get yourself tidied up. “Okay.”

One of the things Lily loved about the facility was the setup. The separate pods were linked together and all had their own functions. They could be added to, moved, and rearranged if needed. The sleep pods contained dormitory style housing, which she found more than adequate. After living in such a setup for nearly a decade—first at university, then work here almost immediately after—Lily was used to cramped accommodations.

She was one of the lucky ones and didn’t have to share with anyone, even when the facility was replete with researchers. Having been practically a fixture at the station, Lily had secured a single room just over a year ago and had never been happier.

Edging past a stack of books, she headed straight to the wardrobe and yanked the door open. There wasn’t much there. Jeans and t-shirts were her normal attire. Joggers when she was in need of extra comfort. There might have been a few times she’d shown up in the lab in flannel pajama bottoms… so it wasn’t a big surprise that nothing in her closet could be considered flirtatious. Functional, yes. Protective? Sure. But overtly sexy? Definitely not.

Heaving a breath, Lily rooted through to find her least wrinkled clothing—a well-worn pair of jeans and a fitted pink t-shirt emblazoned with a unicorn. That was cute, at least. It would have to do. It wasn’t like she was out to impress the man. The station was on display, not her.

Still, getting on Jeremy’s bad side didn’t appeal.

Lily brushed her hair but could do nothing with it so tugged it back into a long ponytail. She pushed her glasses up her nose to glare at herself in the mirror. Her petite form, pale complexion, black hair, and dark, almond-shaped eyes had been inherited from her Thai mother and gave her an exotic look. It wasn’t something she usually enhanced. Or at least she didn’t think any of it needed emphasizing. While some of the women here felt they needed makeup, Lily didn’t. What was the point? She didn’t need mascara to use a microscope. It wasn’t like she could have predicted that a situation like this would come up.

Sighing, she poked at cheeks her mother had always said were too round. Lily sucked them in and pouted her lips before releasing the ridiculous look with a bark of laughter. She was being an idiot. It wasn’t like she could fix her face or the rest of her flaws before meeting him.

What frustrated her more than having to suck up to some rich troglodyte was that she didn’t have the slightest idea how.

Not that she would admit not knowing how to do anything to anyone.

Wishing there was a book on the subject, Lily gripped her phone briefly before dismissing the idea of doing a Web search. How hard could it be? Just be nice. That was all she had to do.

She’d engage him in conversation, probably have to explain what her research was all about, and show him around. Make everything they did here sound vital enough to throw cash at.

And smile.

Simple.

So why was her heart threatening to beat through her ribs?

It was only going to be a conversation. An hour of her time. Tops. She just had to keep him engaged and get him to see the importance of the station and the work being done there.

Lily fought to keep from hyperventilating.

Simple. Right.

The closest thing she had to makeup was lip balm that she used religiously in the harsh environment. She smeared it on, then pressed her lips together, hoping to force some color into them.

As a last-second decision, she took off her glasses. She could make do without them. At the very least it would blur the man she was about to meet.

Shaking her head at how delusional she was being, Lily straightened her shoulders and embarked on the winding path to the canteen.