Page 50 of Beautifully Complicated

“Kier?” Daniel glances at me over his shoulder, arching a suspicious brow. “Your assistant calls you Kier?”

Good thing my hands are in my pockets so he can’t see how white my knuckles are.

“Why wouldn’t he? I’m more like a colleague since Aiden’s never been my student, and colleagues tend to use first names.”

Aiden mouthssorrywhile Daniel’s still looking at me, and I dip my head just slightly as Daniel mumbleshmm.

Why did I invite my secret love interest to spend time with me and a colleague who may or may not have a crush on me? I’m supposed to be a genius, right?

“So, Professor.” Aiden turns to Daniel. “How are your classes this semester?”

Daniel tells us about the courses he’s teaching, taking the heat off Aiden and I for what we call each other and how much time we spend together, and from there the conversation naturally centers around our work.

“Are you planning to include a unit on AI in your classes? Is that what made you interested in this lecture?” Aiden asks as we take our seats, with me positioned between the two men.

“Oh no,” Daniel says. “My curriculum is full without a unit on AI. I just thought Kier might find it interesting.”

“Of course.” Aiden nods along as though that makes perfect sense, but the slight flush in his cheeks has me thinking he’s not buying that.

Aiden leans back and wriggles in his seat, getting situated, and while he’s busy Daniel leans closer to ask for my opinion on a new coding program he’s thinking about introducing to his students. Before I can answer, my phone beeps with a text notification.

I give Daniel an apologetic look and fish it from my pocket, nearly dropping the damn thing when I see a text from Leanbh.

Have fun tonight. XOXO. And don’t forget to silence your phone.

“Is that Conor?” Aiden asks with such innocence I’m momentarily speechless.Conor?

“Who’s Conor?” Daniel asks from my other side.

“His boyfriend,” Aiden replies.

“Boyfriend?” There’s no mistaking the shock in Daniel's voice. “You’ve never said anything about a boyfriend before.”

“I…” I clear my throat to stall for time. “I don’t usually talk about my personal life.”

“But your assistant knows.” That tiny hint of a bite is back in Daniel’s tone.

“Only because Conor’s called before when we were in the lab. Kier was busy and asked me to check who was calling in case it could wait, and when the name read Leanbh he had to explain.”

“Leanbh?” Daniel asks.

“It’s Irish for baby. isn’t that cute?” Aiden gushes.He’s way too good at subterfuge.

“Very,” Daniel says flatly. “So, did you meet Conor here? Why haven’t we seen him?”

“We met in Boston. He’s still there.”Please, God don’t ask me anything else.

“Oof, long distance.” Daniels tsks. “That’s tough. Why are there no pictures of your baby in your office?”

“Conor isn’t… He isn’t, uh… out,” I stutter.

Daniels eyes flare wide. “He’s not? Why would you date someone in the closet?”

At a loss for a better explanation, I simply shrug my shoulders and mumble, “I like him.”

Fortunately, the lecture starts after that, so there’s no more grilling me about my secret boyfriend—the one named Conor. And the presentation itself is very well done, offering some insight into how AI can manage the flow of power through the grid, which is something Aiden and I might want to look into for our work so that prosthetics can regulate the force to walk versus run.

I take the presenter’s card afterward so I can reach out to him with any questions, and maybe even to gauge his interest in a new company.

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