Page 7 of No Questions Asked

“It is.” She loved that he remembered that she had an important meeting this morning, even though she’d forgotten to remind him about it at breakfast. He remembered everything important—her birthday, their first kiss, the first time she told him she loved him, and the fact she liked gelato more than ice cream. He was thoughtful in the way he thought about her, and she not only appreciated it, she tried to reciprocate it.

“You know that project I’ve been working on?” she said, keeping her voice low.

“The malaria vaccine?”

“Exactly.” She leaned forward, excited to share the news. “The client, Vaccitex, is over the moon with our research. Apparently they intend to implement our contribution right away and want to bring a microbiologist on board temporarily to integrate it. Cutler personally thanked me for my contribution and...” She paused, taking a breath. “Elvis, I’m among the scientists being considered for the project. Can you believe it?”

Elvis’s eyes widened, and she was grateful to see the flash of pride that crossed his face. “Gwen, that’s fantastic. You deserve it. You worked so hard on that project.”

“I know, but I’m still in shock.” She didn’t care who saw. She put her hand over his and squeezed. “Just knowing my work might help to save millions of lives is so gratifying. But being recognized for that hard work and having the chance to be part of the implementation is really exciting.”

“It’s more than exciting. It’s prime. Freaking awesome. We’re definitely celebrating tonight.”

His support meant everything to her. “Well, we can’t celebrate just yet. I have to go to an interview with the client at three o’clock. After that, Vaccitex will make the final decision on which one of us to take. But just the fact that I’m among the scientists being considered is thrilling. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.”

“I’m not surprised at all. You’re a brilliant woman and your work on the project was both innovative and smart. You’ll kill it in the interview.”

“You know I love you, right?” she whispered.

He grinned at her and made a little heart with his hands. It was a cheesy, adorable thing to do, and it made her fall just a bit harder for him.

“So, who else from ComQuest was selected to interview tomorrow?” he asked.

“Well, obviously, John—he’s the director, after all—but I don’t think he’ll go for it in light of his recent illness. It would be too hard for him to travel. So that leaves Em Cook, Tom Kobayashi, and me.”

“Travel?” Elvis’s grin faded. “Travel where?”

“Brazil! Elvis, I could be going to the rainforest. Whoever is selected will get to be part of the field team and ensure the integrity of the formula while in the field. That kind of opportunity has always been a dream of mine.”

“Brazil? The rainforest?”

“Yes, to several remote villages. I don’t know all the details yet. So, what do you think?”

“I think...wow. Just wow.”

“I know, right? It’s so incredibly cool. I just hope it doesn’t fall through. Cutler told me Vaccitex is in serious trouble in terms of information protection. Someone has been hacking into their systems, trying either to steal or corrupt their data.”

“Why would anyone want to corrupt or steal data on vaccines?”

“Seriously, Elvis? Vaccitex is a nonprofit organization. They’re supported by charities and governments around the world. But if a commercial company can make the vaccine first, think of the killing they could make. Cutler told me Vaccitex is looking for help to protect their critical systems.”

“That happens to be right up my alley.”

“Believe me, your name was the first thing out of my mouth when Cutler said that, not like he didn’t already know. But he said he can’t spare you or Xavier right now. He needs your focus on the Astro 10 project.” Elvis and his twin brother, Xavier, had been working hard on a network security issue for NASA, so while it had been disappointing, it hadn’t surprised her when Cutler nixed her idea of adding Elvis to the team.

“Oh.” Elvis looked seriously disappointed. “I presume you recommended Lexi, then?”

“Of course I recommended Lexi. But Cutler was already ahead of me. He said he’d already passed Lexi’s name and information about X-Corp to Vaccitex.”

“That’s great, but her time won’t be cheap. It will be hard for a nongovernmental organization like Vaccitex to afford.”

“That’s the thing, Elvis. Cutler said ComQuest is willing to subsidize Lexi’s time and whichever one of us the client chooses to be on the project. It’s part of a larger strategy to rebuild the company’s reputation after the recent disaster in the British Virgin Islands.”

“That’s smart.” Elvis rubbed his chin and looked at her thoughtfully. “Really smart. There’s a lot to like about this situation in terms of saving lives. But the threat is real. If commercial companies get the breakthrough first, or steal the vaccine data, they would control the pricing. That means people who really need it aren’t going to get it.”

“I know. Hopefully I’ll find out more at the interview. I don’t want to be a downer about my possibilities, but both Em and Tom are more senior than I am, so the odds I’ll be selected over them are not in my favor. But I did make some significant contributions to the project, so I’m going to give it my best shot.”

“You’ll be amazing.”

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