CHAPTER 36

“Dariux!” Mr. Greergreeted him with a genial smile. Standing up from his desk, he approached, his hand extended as if receiving a long-time friend. Dariux knew better than to fall for that but responded with an equally amiable greeting.

“Mr. Greer, a pleasure to see you, sir,” he said, offering a firm handshake.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Max? After all this time working together, we are past formalities. Get comfortable. Would you like something to drink?”

“Yes, thank you.” He didn’t. It was too early for the kind of hard liquor the man favored, but it would be impolite to refuse. He sat in a comfortable armchair facing the imposing floor to ceiling windows.

Mr. Greer went to the sideboard to pour, and Dariux took the opportunity to study him. He was a wily old bastard. Every encounter with him was a chess game, and he couldn’t afford to miss any clues. The man was in his sixties, but his trim physique and jovial face made him look no older than forty. The only sign of his age was his silver hair, which he kept uncolored. It gave him an almost unnatural appearance. They had worked together for over ten years. Ever since ChronoSynthetics had found out about Dariux’s research and experiments with time-travel technology and had proposed a partnership of sorts.

In exchange for thirty years of exclusive use of the technology, ChronoSynthetics had offered a significant expansion of his funding. And he had accepted, because without their support, he could not have achieved the results he did in such a short time. And what were thirty years when dealing with the possibility of traveling through time? Insignificant.

The association had been extremely lucrative and professionally rewarding. But he had no illusions about the type of man Mr. Greer, Max, was. He was a greedy and ruthless bastard. If he had any scruples, Dariux had yet to see any evidence of them. He would stop at nothing to manipulate events to his advantage, and Dariux would do well to remember that.

Taking a sip of the proffered glass, he noted the superb quality of the cognac. But of course. The man accepted only the best of the best.

“I have to confess, Max, I’m a little surprised at the urgency with which I was required to take a test this morning. And the secrecy of it all,” he said casually while studying the other man. But as usual, he was difficult to read.

“I must apologize for that. Admittedly, it was not the smoothest way to deal with the situation,” Max said with a self-deprecating smile that was supposed to be charming, if one didn’t know better.

Dariux remained silent. This was a battle of wits between them. Not the first one they had engaged in. Theirs was an uneasy partnership. Both of them with different interests and both equally strong-headed about their purpose. They were well matched, but this one was a battle Dariux intended to win. He felt the fate of his research, and perhaps the entire human race, was in the balance.

Recognizing his move, Max nodded and went on.

“The original plan was for the tests to be performed yesterday. As soon as you and Dr. Brooks arrived. It is important to have accurate data. After twenty-four hours of being back in your respective environments, the data might be altered.”

Dariux raised his brows. “Not significantly, if at all.”

“Regardless, what if you had carried an ancient pathogen? One for which we have no antibodies in our century? They should have quarantined you until they thoroughly tested you. But I guess the proverbial horse has escaped the barn in this case.” He finished with a slight frown.

Despite maintaining an impassive expression, Dariux felt a sense of surprise at what could be considered a powerful display of emotion exhibited by Mr. Greer. Highly uncharacteristic of him. The issue must be of the utmost importance then. He would do well to remember they were playing for high stakes here.

“Kalli and I tested ourselves for pathogens before traveling back.” It was true, of sorts. Kalli had been sick, so they had both had to test themselves to make sure they did not carry any pathogens. But he suspected that was not what Mr. Greer was worried about.

“Good, good. Nevertheless, we should have her tested soon.”

“I gather you also summoned her here today,” he said with as much casualness as he could muster when it came to Kalli. He couldn’t let Max get even a hint of his feelings on the matter.

“Who told you that? That was classified information.”

“And that is another thing. Why so much secrecy? What’s with all this classified information nonsense? Can you believe the tech who performed my tests refused to give me my own results?”

Mr. Greer’s eyes shifted before he responded with studied casualness. “Oh, of course they are not classified to you. I’ll provide your results right now.” He pressed a button on his watch. “Gina, send Mr. Kinkaid his test results,” he ordered his assistant.

“Done, sir,” she replied through the speaker from the other room.

“There you go. You have your tests results. You can check them now or later. I just didn’t want them to fall into the incorrect hands. There’s a lot of interest in our research. Corporate espionage is always a concern.”

It was a solid reason, Dariux had to admit. And delivered with finesse. But he had not missed the slight shift in Max’s eyes. So he still suspected the man had a secret agenda, but he would let it slide for now.

“So tell me about Dr. Brooks.”

The sudden change in topics, along with the mention of Kalli, had Dariux tensing, momentarily thrown off balance in their verbal fencing match. As was no doubt the intention.

He did his best to cover his reaction, not sure he was successful. The other man must suspect nothing of Kalli’s and his involvement, such as it was. They would already face scrutiny because of the accidental dragging, which they couldn’t conceal. But he’d be damned if he would allow his personal life to become a subject for debate.

Of course, Max could already know, or at least suspect, something. What if his results showed an altered estate in his brain chemistry? What a dumbass he was. Of course they did. Wasn’t that what they themselves were measuring during their mission? Could they accurately interpret those results as attraction, or even... love?

He shrank back from the word. Shaken for the first time. It was a herculean effort to remain impassive under the man’s astute regard. But now, more than ever, he had to be convincing. If Max was on the trail of their relationship, he had to throw him off.

“What do you want to know?” He was proud that his voice sounded casual, almost bored.

“I’m sure you know she is trying to prove that parbots are the reason the population is plummeting. And that the solution is to promote human relationships.”

“She is trying to find solutions to the problem that afflicts us. Hers is a theory among many. A valid one, worth considering.”

“A theory that, if proven, could result in significant losses for ChronoSynthetics.”

Ah! Max was worried. Kalli represented a threat. He had to throw him off the scent.

“Some losses, yes. But the company would survive. If she can prove the theory, which is a big if, there would still be plenty of uses for parbots.”

“Maybe you underestimate the losses.”

“Maybe you underestimate the threat to humanity.”

He realized his error at once. He had said too much. Revealed his hand. And he wasn’t even sure where he stood on the matter. And yet it had seemed natural to come to Kalli’s defense.

“Are you saying you agree with her findings?”

He must tread carefully here.

“I don’t even know what her conclusions will be.” That was true.

“But you went on the mission with her. I’m sure you had plenty of time to get to know each other better.”

Was that innuendo? Bloody hell, the man knew, or suspected, way too much.

“What do you mean?”

“Only that you seemed rather impassioned in your defense of her and her theories.”

“I don’t know what you are implying, but no, I don’t agree with her theories. My relationship with Dr. Brooks is strictly professional, and my knowledge of her research is just as needed for the mission.”

Just then, he heard the voice of Mr. Greer’s assistant behind him.

“Dr. Brooks is here to see you, Mr. Greer.”

Dariux’s head whipped around so fast he almost twisted his neck.

Sure enough, there she was, standing next to the assistant. Warmth spread through his chest, flooding his face as he gazed upon her. Was it joy that made his heart kick like a maddened beast inside his chest? Yes, but it wasn’t only that. A heavy dose of shame pervaded his feelings just now. Had she heard his last statement? One look at her stony face confirmed that, indeed, she had.

He wanted to say he didn’t mean it. To explain all was not as it seemed. But he couldn’t do that in front of Mr. Greer. And what was the point, anyway? She wouldn’t believe him. Not after he had disappointed her repeatedly.

Of all the times she could have arrived! Just a few minutes before he had been defending her. But wait, that wasn’t a coincidence, was it? Mr. Greer had set him up. He had done it on purpose to create a rift between Kalli and him. Fuck the scheming bastard.

Kalli was not likely to forget or forgive his words. The look of hurt betrayal on her face confirmed it. He had lost this skirmish with Greer. But it was worse than that. He swallowed the bleak despair that threatened to choke him.

He might have lost Kalli.