Chapter Two
Melinda set her laptop and notes on a table in her lab. The room was fairly large for only one person to work in, thus when a piece of equipment or box needed to be stored someplace, it usually ended up in her lab.
Dr. Hump-him—Hamel—followed her in. He took another deep breath. What was up with that? Did he smell something strange? She took a shower this morning. Her little home even had electricity.
Actually, most buildings did in Entebbe. The Ugandan town was one of the larger ones in the small country. It sat on the shore of Lake Victoria in Africa, much like Chicago butted up to Lake Michigan.
“You keep a clean lab, Miss Caster.”
“Yeah, you can’t have microbes from lunch floating onto a petri dish.”
“Penicillin was discovered in such a way.”
“Of course; how do you expect a man to discover anything?” She eyed him for his reaction. If he could handle her man-bashing, they’d get along just fine. No women-bashing, though. Yes, it was a double standard, but it was her lab. If he didn’t like it, he really was more than welcome to leave.
“Agreed, Miss Caster. Men are usually not associated with cleanliness.”
Did he just agree with her? Holy shit. Maybe she’d found a keeper. Wait, he’s Oversight. Never mind.
“Miss Caster—”
“Melinda”—yes, she interrupted, dammit—“please call me Melinda.” The big guy smiled.
“As long as you call me Parish, I will.”
She inwardly cringed. “Parish” reminded her too much of her parents. “No offense, Dr. Hamel, but may I call you by your last name?” She waited for his indignant reply.
“I prefer that, actually,” he said.
Holy double shit! He agreed with her again. This hadn’t happened since the guys on the vaccination floor agreed to move their beer to another fridge. She would’ve hated for one of them to accidently drink a virus. Though, how one could confuse a test tube for a beer, she didn’t know. But she had no doubt, the men would’ve found a way.
“Hamel it is, then,” she said. Her eyes glanced around the room while her brain scrambled for something to say. She was never good at the whole human-communication thing. That was another nice thing about being a researcher; they were known to work constantly, thus excused from social interaction.
Hamel saved her from herself and spoke first. “How about we start from the beginning and you tell me how you came across this new virus.” That she could do.
She opened her laptop, logged into the network, then turned to him. Damn, he was standing close. She hadn’t noticed in the awkward moment spent trying to find something to say. He smelled different, a good different. Woodsy, fresh, like he just came in from a run in the forest. Her favorite smells.
That was another thing she loved about where she lived. Before when she thought of Africa, two things came to mind: dense jungle with monster snakes that squeezed you to death, and desert sands that went on forever, unmercifully killing anyone stupid enough to get lost.
But surrounding Africa’s largest lake, trees and cleared land dominated the populated areas. Waves gently lapped against the shore on Entebbe’s public beaches. As soon as the narrow swaths of sand ended, forests sprang, giving shelter from the sun. Town sidewalks and parks roamed the lake area, letting tourists and natives alike easily dip their toes into the warm water.
Her balcony at home faced the water, always catching the cool winds. At night, she usually sat outside, listening to the waves come in. Sometimes a radio played pop hits in the distance, and happy screams of children chasing the retreating water, only to be caught by the incoming deluge, floated in the air.
Shit. She realized why he was so close to her. Not because she was alluring or exotic. No, he was close so he could watch her type in her network password. Damn. She’d have to change it again. It was time, anyway. She was sure administration wouldn’t be happy if they found out “fuckingpassword1” belonged to their lab technician. It fit the criteria: more than eight letters, number included, and she wouldn’t forget it. Worked for her.
“Melinda.” The nerdy man stepped closer, bringing her back to reality. Damn, he smelled even better. Tingles ran up her arms. Fortunately, her lab coat covered them. A low, intoxicating grumble reached her ears. It penetrated her senses. Her heart raced. Sweat beaded on her upper lip.
Her eyes popped open, looking for the source. Dazzling golden irises met her gaze, just inches away. Ohmigod. She sucked in a breath and tried to step back, but she was against the table. She wanted to put her hand on his chest to move him away, but she was afraid of what touching him would do to her.
He cleared his throat and stepped to the side. “Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to invade your personal space.” He walked to the other side of the table, hand brushing his buzzed hair. Shit, she thought, he could invade her anytime he wanted. A mental slap reprimanded her. Stop that thinking. He’s Oversight.
Once again, she stood speechless, remembering they had started talking about something. What was it?