Page 9 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
Nori
Nori had never convinced anyone tolet her experiment on them. Nor had she imagined in her wildest dreams she might ever have to.
Her experiment offered a cure, not a temporary retrofit like the other team’s bionic heart. But they were resident researchers at this university and much further in their human trials than she was. To a layman, their artificial-heart would be an obvious choice over her nano-mites with zero human precedents to show. She’d have to dumb things down and explain everything to him in over-simplified terms, so he really understood the gravity of what she was offering.
She wiped her clammy palms against the sides of her pants, heart hammering inside her chest as she reminded herself she had absolutely no reason to be nervous. She was here to offer this man a cure, and really, he should be the one scouting her, not the other way around.
Squaring her shoulders, Nori glanced up as Vir set her coffee on the table in front of her. She took a discreet whiff, letting the strong acidic aroma clearher head. He took the seat opposite her, and her gaze instantly shifted to his too thin face. An untidy stubble of dark hair marked his boney jaw, with the deep indents under his eyes yelling sleep-deprivation. He looked sick.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at herself. Of course, he was sick. That’s why shewas here.
As she continued to stare at him, the tightening in her chest began to ease, little by little, till it was gone completely. As if she hadn’t been a nervous wreck only moments ago. Bizarre. Maybe her pep talk had worked better than she’d hoped.
Vir visiblysighed before glancing up from his cup. His dark eyes widened on meeting hers, the intensity in them making it hard for her to look away. He glared at her like he was trying to intimidate her or something. Or… like he was intimidatedbyher. What was wrong with this guy?
Fehim cleared his throat as he elbowed Vir in the side, making him blink rapidly before dropping his gaze back to his coffee.
Whatever.She had a human lab rat to acquire.
“Hello, Mr. Varma. My name is Nori Arya,” she said, looking directly at him.
Vir’s eyes lifted to hers again at the mention of her name, and the glare was back. And it was distracting.
Focus.
“I’m assuming you haven’t decided on your treatment option yet. I’d be happy to discuss and answer any questions you have before you do.”
He seemed to take a moment to process her words.
“Treatment… right,” he finally said. “The nanotech one? You’re the Canadian prodigy?”
Blood rushed into Nori’s cheeks right as Fehim coughed out the bite he’d just taken, making bits of tortilla and tomato fly off from his mouth. Pushing his large rectangular glasses up to the bridge of his nose, he elbowed Vir again.
Ryan eyed her sideways with a snort.
She ignored him. “Umm… Yes. Nano-mites. Combined with a newer microchip version of the ICD—an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, if you’re familiar with those—that would be attached to the outer wall of your heart. The procedure is minimally invasive, and with the mites, I’m offering you a real cure. It’s not a temporary fix. I’d be happy to discuss it in more detail and—”
“Yes.”
“—I am confident that—wait, what?”
“Yes. Okay. I’ll go with your option.” Vir leaned back in his seat; arms crossed against his chest.
Had he hit his head in the restroom earlier? Or was this a prank of some sort?
“Just like that?” She frowned at him. “Have you even seen the documentation? Aren’t you concerned I don’t have any human precedents to show? What if the mites fry you?”
“He said yes.” It was Ryan’s turn to elbow her.
“Will they?” Vir asked with a curious tilt of his head. “Fry me?”
“No,” Nori replied. “I mean yes, there’s a tiny chance, a miniscule one, but not on my watch, no. It’s either going to work, and you’ll be fine, or if it doesn’t, you’ll be dead in a year’s time, which you’re going to be, anyway. So, you don’t have much to lose. It’s still a win-win.” At least, it was for her. She was dying to get her hands on some live human data for her mites. She had to have him. Who knew how long she might have to wait for another subject to come around.
Ryan elbowed her again. “You’re being too blunt. The guy has already agreed.”
Nori waited for Vir to speak while he slowly took a sip of his coffee, his eyes still fixed on her. Seriously, what was with the glaring? He seemed to be even worse at blinking than Nori was, and that was quite something.
He lowered his gaze. Nori blinked. Another quiet moment passed while she waited for him to respond. Or to look at her again.
