Bad Nerd Falling (13 page)

Both Helena and Maria
stopped what they were doing to turn and stare at her. Helena had
grown a little pale. She understood that. The woman had worked
really hard to gain that advanced degree and she wasn’t being
compensated for it,
at
all
.

“
What did Aleksi decide?”
Helena’s voice was just above a whisper.

Maria stepped closer to the alarmed
woman and brushed a soothing hand over her back.

“
I pointed out that you’re
being paid the starting rate of a bachelor’s degree candidate. Of
which you are neither.” Tia kept her gaze on Helena.

“
What happened?” Helena
stayed tense but Maria relaxed. She, better than Helena, discerned
what was about to happen. Smart lady, Maria, who wasn’t being
properly compensated either.

“
It didn’t take Maks long
to review your file and realize that you weren’t paid what you
should have been at the hospital either. Then when you moved to
this lab to help during a crisis situation, you also weren’t fairly
compensated. As of today, your pay will be assessed and you will be
granted any back pay owed you. Your pay scale is also being
reevaluated, as is Maria’s and Jorge’s.”

She kept her eyes on Helena, but she
still heard Maria gasp. “Shouldn’t Graham have discovered
this?”

“
No, there’s another man
in charge of wages and he’s not well-liked by Maks. Graham has also
expressed reservations about him. Aleksi has taken over that
project because his word is law. He plans to research this and
he
will
discover
what’s wrong.”

“
Graham hasn’t said much
good about Bertram.” Maria bit her lip.

“
Maks’ words weren’t
repeatable. He’s going to assist Aleksi, but he was pretty upset
when I showed him the file I collected on your wages.”

“
What does all this mean?”
Helena was still pale, but now looked perplexed.

“
Money isn’t of much
interest to you?” Tia smiled. The woman was a brilliant scientist
but couldn’t balance her own checking account.

“
No, I’ve never understood
it. It baffles me and is so frustrating I generally don’t pay much
attention to it.” Helena scowled. “I hate finances.”

Maria patted her. “You need an
accountant, Helena.”

“
Or someone in your life
who is good with numbers.”

“
Why don’t you have Maks
take a look at your finances? He can fix them.” Maria’s suggestion
was more of an order.

“
He already does.” Helena
sounded a little guilty.

“
Is Vlad good with money?”
She asked because she was nosy.

“
Yes. He’s got a good head
for numbers. There isn’t much Vlad can’t do.” Maria’s face turned
pensive.

Tia nodded. “He seems very
capable.”

“
He is. Sometimes I worry
he’s
too
capable.”

Because that statement
puzzled her, she left it alone.
How could
someone be too capable?
From Helena’s
bemused expression, it appeared she didn’t follow Maria’s thoughts
either.

Maria appeared to be very aware of
what she said though as she turned to rifle through her sampling
box.

“
You didn’t follow that
either?”

Helena whispered back.
“
No
.”

“
That at least makes two
of us.”

“
Right,” Helena replied
but she sounded… odd.

“
What’s wrong?”

Helena was silent for long moments.
“The more I learn about Vlad the more I realize I know nothing
about him.”

“
And?”

“
It’s hard to date someone
you know nothing about.” Helena chewed on her lower lip for a
moment. “How can I date a man whose entire life is a
mystery?”

“
I don’t know.” She felt
for her. “Don’t you think you’re putting a lot of pressure on
yourself? New relationships are always exciting but also hard.
Shouldn’t you give this more time?”

“
Yes, that’s exactly what
I need to do.” Helena didn’t sound convinced in the least. In fact
she sounded morose and unhappy.

Her heart dropped, but she wasn’t certain
why.

Chapter 12

“
Beau wants to meet my
sister?”

Helena glanced up at him as he walked
her home that afternoon. He was distracted by those green eyes.
“That’s what he said this morning.”

“
Is that a good
idea?”

Her shrug wasn’t reassuring. “I don’t
know why it wouldn’t be. They’re only going to meet. It’s not like
we’re arranging for their marriage.”

She seemed unusually quiet and a
little down. After their frolic in the lab, he had been looking
forward to seeing her this afternoon. Maybe indulging in more
kisses. Except she not only wasn’t receptive, she appeared to have
taken at least one step back in their relationship.

“
Helena, did I do
something wrong?” He wasn’t familiar with relationships so he was
treading on unknown ground. Still, even he could tell the ice was
thin and cracking and the water underneath wasn’t going to be
comfortable. He gauged the ensuing conversation wasn’t going to be
either.

She looked surprised. “No.”

“
Then what’s wrong?” Were
all females this difficult or just his? He combed through his
memories of childhood but couldn’t recall his mother’s moods. Or
how his father had dealt with them. Maybe he needed to bring in a
professional here. Except Emerson was busy with some dignitaries
who were due to arrive soon.

His father was in a day-long meeting.
That left him on his own since Aleksi wasn’t married yet and Maks,
although his brother, didn’t seem inclined to help him. He needed
to repair that rift. Except he didn’t have any sort of basis or
foundation to start.

Still, Helena was too important not to
work at this.

They climbed the stairs to her
apartment and he watched as she tugged out her keys to open the
door. He followed her inside, wondering what to say. He had pinged
the conversational ball back to her, so he let her think. Right now
he could give her time. It was the most gentlemanly thing to
do.

After dropping her things on a small
table inside the door, Helena disappeared into the kitchen. When
she returned she carried two bottles of iced tea. She handed him
one before sinking onto the couch. He sat beside her. After
twisting the cap off the bottle he took a long draw, and waited.
The thing was, he was comfortable with long silences. He could wait
here all night. And all day tomorrow.

“
The problem is that I
don’t know what’s wrong.”

That didn’t sound good. “Okay.” He
focused on her face.

There was another long pause. It
stretched into several minutes. But Vlad knew instinctively not to
push her. She had to work through this. If she didn’t know what was
wrong, he doubted he could help.

She turned to face him, her expression
hesitant. “I don’t know you, Vlad.” Her voice was filled with
tears, more hesitation, and fear.

His stomach flipped, painfully. “What
don’t you know?”

“
Anything.” Her hands
wrung the tea bottle.

“
That’s pretty
general.”

“
I don’t know what you do
for a living. I don’t know if you furthered your education and have
a degree. I do know what your favorite color is, but not your
favorite food, or if you have a sport you follow.” Her eyes were
pools of despair, like she had somehow failed him.

That wrenched his heart. He leaned
forward to set his tea on the coffee table and reached for hers.
She relinquished the bottle as though she didn’t even notice she
held it. Maybe she didn’t. The cap was still secured. He set her
bottle beside his before he tugged her across the couch.

He felt tremors coursing through her
and hated them.

“
I am a warrior. I’ve
spent the last thirteen or so years training in various countries
around the world. My favorite food… I’m not certain about that.” He
had never much cared about food. It had never been important
before.

“
Everyone knows what their
favorite food is.”

“
I suppose I’m normal. I
like steak.” He tugged her onto his lap and held her close. “What’s
your favorite food?”

She didn’t even think about it.
“Chocolate.”

“
That was
quick.”

“
Yes. If I don’t get it
regularly, other people suffer.” She nuzzled the side of his neck.
Then she inhaled, like she was drawing his scent into her
lungs.

The primitive part of him
approved.

“
As for a sport, I don’t
follow any. I prefer to play rather than watch.” There hadn’t been
time to get involved anyway. His life had been all work and very
little play. “What about you?”

She shrugged. “I’m not enamored with
sports. I know some women are, but I’m not.”

“
What are your favorite
movies?”

“
Romantic comedy, science
fiction, and cartoons.” She raised her head so they were nearly eye
to eye. “What about you?”

Another hard question. “I guess I
don’t have a favorite. I like action stuff but I’ll watch pretty
much anything.” It was only now, in the light of her questions that
he realized he hadn’t lived a normal life at all. Watching movies,
going out to eat, dating, maintaining friendships were all things
normal people did. In his thirty-three years, he couldn’t remember
doing any of those.

“
What about
music?”

He knew that question was next. “I
have no preference.” It occurred to him that he couldn’t name even
one popular singer right now. Much less describe any of the genres.
Ask him which weapon to use for which mission and he could give you
the run down before you opened the Humvee door. Which terrorist
factions were active in what regions? He could answer that in his
sleep.

“
I like the popular stuff
you hear in stores. But also Beau’s practice sessions.” Helena
tapped her lips. They distracted him. With a lot of effort and self
control earned over rigorous years, he tore his attention back to
the conversation.

“
Is he going to perform
for you tonight?”

“
I don’t know.” She
frowned. It didn’t mar her beauty in the least. Helena Dubrinsky
remained the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. A man who had
traveled all over the world and yet this one woman was the one he
wanted above all others. The girl next door who he left behind all
those years ago but never forgot.

Maybe he should have spent the past
few years learning the art of dating. Yet even as he thought it, he
rejected that notion. Not once in all the years spent apart from
Helena had he wanted to date someone else. He had been true to a
female he had never even kissed.

Kissing
. That tempted him to lean forward and press his lips against
hers.

She responded before bracing her hands
against his chest. “I would love to kiss you for the rest of the
evening,” she said.

“
I’m sensing a
but
here.” He took his
lips back.

“
What a smart man.” Helena
tapped his nose before she used that finger to explore his cheeks
and jaw.

“
What are we going to do
this evening if we’re not allowed to kiss?”

“
Are you
hungry?”

As soon as she asked, his stomach
offered a rousing answer. She laughed and wriggled off his lap.
“We’re going to make supper.”

“
I’d rather kiss,” he
decided as he stood with her. His hand trailed over her back and
then into her hair. Since she didn’t resist, he tugged her close
and reclaimed her lips. If they had to cook, he wanted her
attention torn between the task at hand and his kisses.

It was sad that kissing her was all he
had.

“
You have to stop doing
that,” she scolded long moments after Vlad stopped kissing her.
Helena opened heavy eyelids to glare at him.

He wasn’t in the least bit upset or
daunted by her. His lazy grin made her think about kicking him. It
was only the voice in the back of her mind reminding her that this
man was likely well versed in the art of hand-to-hand combat that
tamped the urge.

And that little thought brought a new
one. Even if she didn’t know Vlad well, she was certain he would
never knowingly hurt her. If it became necessary, she knew he’d
take the fall to save her. He would place his own life on the line
for hers. Somehow, despite what she didn’t know, that thought
swelled the little bubble of hope that had deflated
earlier.

Maybe they didn’t know each other very
well. They hadn’t spent any quality time together before Italy.
Sure, he had growled and snarled at other males during their school
years here in Rurikstan. Until the day she told him off and he left
to start his training.