Page 39 of Chemistry: The Chemist

“How?”

“I’m waiting, Eden. And I’m watching.”

“Watc–”

“Goodnight.”

In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Presently…

“Earth to Johanson!” Jack yelled, snapping his fingers.

Out of your head, Egypt.

It was easier said than done. Seven nights ago, I met someone magical. Someone mystical. Six nights ago, he’d left me at the entrance of my building and I’d been swallowed into an abyss ever since.

Maddening, he was. And I was still trying to decipher my feelings. I wasn’t sure if I was disappointed or completely dazed. His presence felt make-believe. Not as if it hadn’t happened, but as if it was just unreal. Far too good to be true.

But, the thudding between my legs each time I thought of him assured me it was real. He was real. Regal, but real.

To make matters worse, I always thought of him. There was hardly a moment when he wasn’t on my mind. Walking around with an irregular heartbeat in my chest and my cooch was torture.

“Have you heard a word we’ve said?” Macy asked.

A roll of the eyes wasn’t enough to display my disdain for her. I needed her to hear me clearly. Unfortunately, I was unable to get my mouse across the screen to click the microphone button.

The mouse pad I’d pulled from my closet once given this assignment was bent out of shape and needed to be replaced. I’d told myself thirteen times I would grab a new one while I was out.

This time, I promise.

Frustrated, I picked the mouse up and slammed it on the desk, shoving the pad toward the edge. That didn’t help much.

Finally.

I made it across the screen to tap the button.

“Macy, against my will, I have heard every word you’ve said. Sorry, Jack. Running over some details.”

“Care to share?” Bradford chimed in, sipping the coffee from his mug.

Ugh. I sighed, wishing I could spend my mornings at the facility and not staring at my screen for morning meetings. Field assignments had their perks, but this wasn’t one of them. I could smell the medium roast with creamer in his cup through the screen.

Two creamers. Four packs of sugar. I knew his preference because I fixed us both a cup each morning when I got in if I didn’t stop by the coffee spot right at the corner of 2nd Street and Poplar. He was the only person I’d consider going the scenic route for. I loved my team, but they’d shown me time and time again they weren’t worthy of my trust.

“Can you wait until this meeting concludes to finish your coffee? I’m jealous.”

“You’re put up in a beautiful loft you had a damn good budget to decorate, sitting in front of a desk in front of a window overlooking the beautiful city of Clarke. We’re all jealous!” Bradford teased, taking a long sip. “Now, care to share?”

Shaking my thoughts clear of Mister, I tapped into the young woman on a mission to make her father proud. Though he’d left us years ago, I still felt him with me on each assignment. Like him, I’d taken a liking to problem-solving and landed a job in the same realm he’d held ranking for most of his career.

“I’m making strides. The owner still hasn’t shown face, at least I haven’t been able to put a face to the name.”

“Name?” Macy questioned.

“Yes. I have a name now.”

“We’re listening,” Jack told me, standing from his desk and moving toward the board we’d been scribbling on as a team for months. It should’ve been filled to the brim but we hardly knew anything. Many months of intel led us nowhere.

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