Page 5 of True Soil-Mates

Alex is still beaming. Definitely a good sign. He’s also standing quite close to me. Mmm, he smells amazing. Is that pine soap?Focus, girl. “How many people work here, approximately?”

“Right now, we’re down to forty-four. In a few months, we will be gearing up again, so it’ll probably be fifty-seven or so.”

“Oh. Wow.”

He nods. “Yeah. It’s a lot of people and a lot of projects.”

“I hope your office is more interesting than the lobby,” I laugh.

Crap.From his frozen expression, it’s…not. “Well, no matter how it looks today, we can brighten it up and make it less stressful,” I say confidently. “Will you show me?”

Alex’s hand gently takes my elbow for half a second, turning me to follow him down another long corridor. The tiny touchmakes me wonder: could he be interested? Please tell me I’m not imagining this spark.

Of course, it would be nuts to assume my very first real crush would end up being the man I stay with forever. But for the moment, I’d be thrilled with a date or two.

We pass an office area. One large cubicle looks lived in, but the two smaller ones behind it are completely empty.

“This is Carol’s desk,” Alex says. “She brought in some wildflowers once, but they only lasted for a week.”

“There’s a bit of side light from this big window, but not a huge amount.” I take a quick photo with my phone. “I can look into low-light flowering plants, and make her a medium-sized arrangement – maybe put it here on a side table so it doesn’t take up any of her desk space?”

He beams down at me. “I like that you think about every detail.”

We turn and enter a large area that is either his office or a NASA technician’s workspace.

A long desk takes up the entire end of the room. There are three laptops, a pile of notebooks, and two coffee mugs – one holding pens, the other, presumably, filled with coffee. On the side, toward the hallway, is a long, high table covered with tiny screws and flat metal parts. The wall on the opposite side is completely bare except for the full-length window.

The space feels extremely clinical, as if every surface is wiped down with alcohol every night. Possibly by robots.

“My energy peaks during daylight,” he says quietly. “When it gets dark, I force myself to go home.”

I look around carefully, taking in the pristine white walls and the soft white oak flooring. “You keep this window completely clear so you can pace while you’re thinking, right?”

His head jerks toward me. “How did you know?” He stares at the floor. “Did I wear down a groove?”

I laugh. “Not at all. I just feel like I’m getting to know you a bit.”

I walk to the corner near the door. “What if there were several tall, wide plants right here?” Then I point to the other side. “And could you afford to lose about a foot and a half at the end of this desk? If so, you could have plants at either end, without interrupting your process. We could add an extra tray to make sure dirt doesn’t spill. And of course nothing anywhere near your…” My hand waves vaguely to the table strewn with bits of tech. “Metal surgery table.”

Smiling, I look up at him. “Instead of an intrusion that would stress you out by shrinking your space, maybe you could think of them as friends who are helping you work? Green buddies who are cheering you on?”

Alex looks at me. He blinks twice. Then he bursts into laughter that is so natural and sexy that I can’t help it, I reach out to touch his bicep as I laugh with him.

“I love it,” he chuckles. “I don’t know about the cheerleader part, but softening the edges makes sense, as long as I don’t lose my spotless zones.”

Before I can show him any of my photos to start making specific suggestions, a middle-aged woman bursts in.

“Hey, Carol. This is Jasmine, the plant expert I was telling you about.”

She nods to me, smiling, but her expression is tense. “Lovely to meet you, Jasmine – I’m sorry, Alex, there’s a bit of a problem.” She turns to him. “Jennifer and Emily have to leave immediately. Family emergency. But they just started running the Martin 937 test and there are two hours left, and nobody else is free.”

Alex thinks. “The final part of the project doesn’t need to be done by a researcher – it’s just data entry. Any chance you could stay late tonight?”

Carol winces. “I’m leaving early today to take my mother to the doctor.”

“I’ll do it.” They both turn to me in surprise. “I mean, if it’s something I can do.”

Alex smiles, reaching out to trail his fingers across my elbow for half a second. “I’m sure you can, if you don’t mind being trapped in a tiny lab with me.”

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