Page 54 of Pleasure Control

“Deal.” He mirrored her grin, closed his mouth over hers, and carried her off to a sudsy tub to show her once again exactly how much he loved her.

Chapter 12

Smoothing her hands over her knee-length black skirt, Laura paced nervously around the lab. She and Jay had presented their findings to the board only hours earlier and were now anxiously awaiting the results. Just knowing the members of the Grant Governing Board were three floors down in the conference room discussing their funding and future proposals made her nervous as hell.

She pulled her hair from the plastic clip anchoring it in place, shook it free until her curls spilled over her shoulder, and then glanced at Jay. Sitting on his stool, relaxed, he leafed through a magazine. He looked so handsome in his navy blue suit. The color brought out the warmth and depth in his gorgeous baby blues.

Her heart filled with love when he lifted his gaze to hers. To think a little over a week ago, they had simply been lab partners and nothing more. And now, in less than six months they were going to walk down the aisle and become life partners. Her heart leapt with joy as she relished the romantic mental image of Jay dressed in a form-fitting tuxedo standing at the altar waiting for her.

He gave her a slow, sexy grin. “Relax, Laura. They loved it.” God, she couldn’t believe how easily he could read her every emotion, her every expression.

She knew he was right. The board members appeared to be quite impressed with their findings, but still she couldn’t help fretting. Their future careers depended on the funding.

“Do you think they’ll approve our grant based solely on Bonnie and Clyde’s results?”

“They’ll approve our grant based on your brilliant formula, Laura,” he assured her.

She smiled at his endorsement.

A knock sounded on the lab door. She glanced up to see Erin poke her head in. “The director wants to see you two right away.”

“Time to go,” Jay said, his blue eyes bright with excitement and anticipation. He stood, crossed the room to stand before her, and clasped her hand in his. He arched a brow. “All set?”

She blew out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Let’s go.”

Erin wished them luck as they passed her in the hall. A few moments later they stood outside the director’s office. Laura starched her spine, drew a deep fortifying breath, and knocked.

“Come in,” Reginald called out.

Since they had been keeping their relationship a secret until after the results were announced, she eased her hand out of Jay’s. Reginald didn’t approve of office affairs and they didn’t want anything interfering with their funding, their future proposals, or their ability to work together on those future projects, should they be approved.

Jay twisted the knob, pushed the door open, and motioned for her to enter.

She glanced at the director’s expressionless face in an attempt to read him as she padded across his polished floor and took a seat in a plush chair across from his mahogany desk. Jay followed suit, and sat beside her in a matching chair. To stop herself from fidgeting, Laura linked her hands together and sat up straighter in her seat.

Reginald leaned back in his brown leather office chair. It creaked under his weight. His brows knitted together. “Just to keep you two up to date, Max has been arrested.” Nodding his head, he gestured to a spot on the floor. Laura glanced over to find her duffel bag.

“They found your bag at Max’s apartment. That and the print found at your apartment were enough to formally charge him.”

Reginald lowered his voice, shook his head, and went on to explain. “Ad-Tech got wind that you two were working on a top secret project, so they planted Max here on an information-seeking mission. When we hired him, we had no idea he worked for the competition. Naturally, he neglected to mention his position at Ad-Tech on his résumé,” he added, fisting his hands. “And because he had connections on the inside, his security check came back clean. After an in-house investigation, everyone who was responsible has now been removed from our organization.”

Reginald’s eyes softened as they focused on Laura. He folded his hands on his de

sk. “I apologize for that, Laura. He somehow got through the system. It won’t happen again. I know I said this before, but I can’t say it enough. I truly am sorry about the break-in at your apartment and I’m sorry you were caught in the cross fire.”

His sincerity touched her. She offered him a warm smile. “Thank you.”

He turned his attention to the manila file before him and flipped it open. “Now, I’m sure you two are more interested in the board’s decision than you are in Max.”

They both nodded in unison.

A broad smile stretched across his face. “That minor setback was not detrimental to your careers. Congratulations, your funding has come through. The board was impressed with your presentation, all your hard work, dedication to the project, and the positive results on Bonnie and Clyde.”

Elated and a bit relieved, Laura clasped her hands together. “Yes,” she said.

Jay leaned forward. “And our future proposal?” he asked eagerly.

“Funding approved,” Reginald said. “You can begin preliminary trials on Pleasure Prolonged this winter.” He slammed the file closed and glanced at them. “Good work, you two. Go announce it to the others.”

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