Sometimes It Is Rocket Science (25 page)

He continued to murmur gently until the screams died down and the tears dried.  He felt the brush of her eyelids against his neck before she pulled away with a jerk.  She blinked up at him sleepily.  “Bobby?”

“That’s better.  How’re you feeling, doll?”

Georgiana glanced around the workshop.  Her lips curled into a wry smile.  “I fell asleep, didn’t I?”  She moved to the floor beside Robert, pressed her knees against his legs.  Her eyes were dark, haunted. 

“How long have you been having nightmares?”

She shrugged.  “I haven’t been sleeping much, so I don’t know. I was so grateful that Tab’s nightmares seemed to be over, that I never considered the possibility I would have them.”  She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.  “Usually I dream of the hospital, of seeing him covered with blood and bruises and of hearing him wish he had been the one who’d died.  That night plays over and over and over in my head.”

He shifted so that her back was to him.  He draped her ponytail over one shoulder so that he could work on the tense muscles at the back of her neck.  Her skin was warm and satiny smooth; he shoved the flash of lust aside.  Georgiana needed comfort not a come-on.

“That’s not what you dreamt tonight, was it?”

Her head dropped forward.  She let out a soft moan as he reached a particularly tight ball of nerves.  “No.  Tonight I wasn’t fast enough.”  When Robert didn’t respond, she sighed.  “At the house when he slit his wrists.  I wasn’t vigilant enough.  I didn’t notice something was wrong until it was too late.  I didn’t reach him in time.”

The abject misery in her voice made his bones ache.  He wrapped his arms around her back and linked his hands across her stomach.  She leaned back against him.  Tears dripped of her chin and plopped onto his hands.  He pressed his lips to the sliver of skin behind her ear.

“Tab’s upstairs, Gigi.  He’s safe.  He’s healthy.  He’s healing more and more every day,” he said.  “You haven’t failed him.”

She nodded.  Her shoulders shook with silent sobs.  Though his butt and thighs had gone numb from the cold floor, he continued to hold her and murmur reassurances in her ear.  It wasn’t the big breakdown he’d anticipated, but at least she was releasing some of the pressure that had built up since the accident.

“Do you want to go up and check on him?” he asked once the sobbing stopped and she had settled quietly against him.

“Yes, please.”  She lumbered to her feet with the weariness of a centenarian.  She didn’t head straight for the door as he expected.   “I won’t be able to sleep after this.  I can’t work on the car, not right now.”

“What do you need, Gigi?”

She offered up a tired, embarrassed smile.  “I have my notes from my teleconference with the board.  Do you think you could go over them with me?  There are a few things I’m not clear on.”

He was exhausted.  He longed to collapse in bed and burrow his head in his pillow.  He had an early morning meeting and a busy rest of the day scheduled.  He placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her up the stairs to the kitchen.

“Sure, Gigi.  We can go over your notes.”

“Good morning, Dan!”

Georgiana leapt out of her chair when Dan appeared downstairs for breakfast.  She and Robert tabled their continued discussion about taking Collier Analytics private.  She’d agreed with Robert’s decision to ease Dan back into the swing of things.

She set a bowl of fresh fruit salad in front of Dan and returned to her seat next to Robert.  Before she had a chance to steal the page with the Sudoku, NORA spoke up.   “Georgie dear, there is an incoming call from Yvonne Ruiz.”

“Put her through,” Georgiana instructed.  She used the time it took NORA to patch the call through to finish her toast.  “Did you get everything settled, Yvonne?”

“No,” the younger woman said, sounding on the verge of tears.   “I’m sorry, but I need another day.”

“It’s yours.”

“Are you sure you don’t need me?  I could try to come in for a few hours this morning.”

Georgiana carried her bowl to the sink, rinsed it, and loaded it in the dishwasher.  She smiled gratefully at Robert when he handed her a fresh cup of coffee.  “I’m certain.  One more day won’t ruin the company.  Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Thank you, Georgiana, but this is nothing.”

“Okay.  Keep me in the loop, though, will you?”

“Yes ma’am,” Yvonne said and hung up.

Georgiana drained the mug of coffee.  “NORA, can you trace Yvonne Ruiz’s location and send the address to my cell?”

“Yes, Georgie dear.”

Robert arched an eyebrow.  “Isn’t that a violation of employee privacy?”

“Says the man whose assistant and bodyguard live in the guesthouse.”

He inclined his head.  “Touché.”  He put his plate in the dishwasher without rinsing it.  “Allan and I will accompany you.”

“If this really is nothing, Yvonne’s going to be so pissed at me for going.  If I bring you two along, she’ll outright kill me.”

“This isn’t a debate, Gigi.  Allan and I will go with you to check on Ms. Ruiz.”

His high-handed behavior rankled, but she didn’t press the issue.  Yvonne lived in a high-crime neighborhood, and her property manager was a sexist jerk.  Having masculine backup wouldn’t be a hindrance.

“I want to leave in twenty minutes,” she said.

Her closet upstairs was not automated like her closet at the townhouse.  She hadn’t realized how much she relied on it until it was no longer available.  In an effort to comply with her own time constraint, she wriggled into a straw-colored linen sheath dress and pulled her hair back in a low ponytail.  As she hadn’t found time to organize her shoe collection, she grabbed the first pair that would go with the dress.  Peep-toe espadrille wedges weren’t corporate wear, but they were comfortable. 

Robert, Allan, and Cedric were waiting for her in the kitchen.  Dan and Tab were at the table arguing over the Sodoku puzzle.  She frowned at the sight of Robert’s tan summer weight suit and blue-and-brown striped tie. 

“If I find out that you used NORA’s cameras to coordinate our outfits…”

“Purely coincidence, doll,” Robert assured her. 

“We’ll see.”  She shouldered her purse and briefcase.  “According to NORA, Yvonne is at her apartment.  You’ll ride with me, and the dynamic duo can follow.”

She had only been to Yvonne’s apartment a handful of times.  Visiting Yvonne inevitably led to an argument about the area of town, the band-aid maintenance, and how if Yvonne would only let her boss pay off her student loans she could find a decent apartment.

The so-called security gate at the entrance to the complex was open.  So was the exit gate.  She parked between Yvonne’s Chevy sedan and a vaguely familiar heavy-duty truck.  The door to Yvonne’s second-story apartment was wide open. 

Robert kept a hand on the small of her back as she climbed the rickety metal stairs.  She didn’t dare look down to see anything that might run across her toes.  When she reached the landing, she heard a male and a female arguing in Spanish. 

“Yvonne, it’s Georgiana,” she called out.  “I’m coming up.”

The yelling didn’t stop.  Georgiana rounded the corner of the metal handrail and paused outside the open door.  There were boxes stacked haphazardly inside the apartment.   Yvonne was shouting at the man with his back to the door.

“Yvonne?”  Georgiana stepped over the threshold.  “What’s going on?”

“This
mentiroso
is evicting me.”  Yvonne gestured wildly at the man.  He turned to look at Georgiana.  The property manager’s oily smile reminded her of a less-refined Prask.

“What is he lying about?”

“Ms. Ruiz,” the manager said, sneering at Yvonne, “has violated the lease dozens of times: noise violations, having too many people in here, being late with her rent.”

“I have
never
,” Yvonne interrupted hotly.

“She’s had someone living with her for two weeks.  Without notifying me.  I had enough and I’m kicking her ass out.”

“Mom and Dad had a pipe burst.  Their house is a mess,” Yvonne said to Georgiana.  She continued to glare at her landlord.  “They’re staying with
Tia
Rose, but there wasn’t room for Marco.  He’s been sleeping on my couch.”

“See, she admits it!”

Georgiana ignored the smirking landlord.  “Can Marco find some place else?”

“It’s too late for that.  I want her gone.”  The manager had his hands on his hips and his eyes glued to the sliver of bare skin revealed by the slit on Georgiana’s skirt.

“Good.  She does not need to live one more day in this roach-infested fire hazard,” Georgiana shot back.  Behind her back, she heard Robert conversing quietly with Cedric.  She was grateful he’d insisted on bringing his entourage.  Yvonne would need help moving.

Yvonne shifted uncomfortably. She wouldn’t meet Georgiana’s sympathetic gaze.  “Marco is going to crash with his girlfriend until the house is ready.  He’s in the bedroom with Frankie packing boxes.”

Georgiana turned to the manager.  “How long does she have?”

“I’ve already given her three days to get her shit out of here.”

Georgiana’s lips pursed.  She gave him the same cool stare she usually reserved for irritating board members.  “How long does she have?”

“Six o’clock tonight,” he snarled, “but I gotta do a walkthrough first.  I’ll be back at five-thirty.”  He reached for Yvonne, but a snarl from the doorway stopped him.  “You can forget about your security deposit.”

Robert placed a hand on Georgiana’s shoulder.  He bent so his lips were near his ear.  “Allan and I will escort the gentleman to his office.  Tend to Yvonne.”

“Thank you,” she responded.

As Allan and Robert trailed the manager out of the apartment, Cedric brushed by Georgiana.  He pulled Yvonne in for a quick, tight hug.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and brushed a kiss across his cheek.

“Do you need anything Vonnie?”

Yvonne shifted out of the embrace.  “No.  Could you see if Frankie and Marco need any help?”

A few moments later, Georgiana and Yvonne were alone in the room.  Georgiana crossed her arms and fixed her assistant with a stern stare.  “Just so you know, being evicted isn’t ‘nothing’.”

“I’m sorry.  You didn’t have to come.”

“Oh please,” Georgiana huffed.  “You taking three days off for an emergency would have been enough to worry me, but you sounded like you were going to cry this morning.  Did you really think I was going to ignore that?”

“Of all the times for you to not have your head buried in a project…”

“Lucky you,
Vonnie
.”  Georgiana grinned at Yvonne’s stricken face.  “You have my full attention.”

“Joy.”  Yvonne slumped against the wall.  She wiped her palms on her dark jeans.  Her lips were twisted in a frown.  Her eyes dropped to the toes of her sneakers.  “I don’t have the cash to move in to another apartment.  There are deposits and application fees.  Not to mention what it’s going to take to move all my utilities so quickly.”

“I have a solution.”

“I’m not taking money from you,” Yvonne said.  “You pay me more than enough as it is.”

“Though I would be more than happy to give you a no-interest loan, I have something different in mind.  I want you to live in the townhouse.”

Yvonne gasped.  “I can’t do that.”

“Sure you can.  Leaving it sitting empty is a waste.  There is no one else, outside of family, that I trust with ERIC.  This is perfect.”  Georgiana put an arm around Yvonne’s shoulder.  She squeezed the younger woman.  The line between employer and employee had been blurred since Yvonne’s first week.  They didn’t hug often, but the situation warranted one. 

“I’ll pay rent.  I will research rent prices in the area for similar properties.  We will have the legal department draw up a rental agreement.”

“What are you paying here?”

Yvonne listed a number.  Georgiana frowned.  It was an astronomical price for a second-rate complex in a terrible neighborhood.    If that was the best Yvonne could afford, there was no way she would be able to pay for a luxury townhouse in Georgiana’s neighborhood.  Georgiana didn’t need the money from the rent, and she wanted to help Yvonne keep money in her savings account.  She just needed to keep from offending Yvonne’s pride.

“Okay, that’s what you’ll pay.”  Georgiana held a hand up when Yvonne’s mouth dropped open.  “But no utilities.  We haven’t gotten the permits for the solar panels on the roof, and ERIC uses a fair amount of power.”

“You’re doing too much, Georgiana.”

“No, I’m not.  This will be a good test for ERIC.  My judgment is biased because I helped write him.  You can tell me where the bugs are.  I’ll expect a weekly status report and for you to fill out a questionnaire to turn in with it.  Once a month we’ll run tests, and I want suggestions on possible upgrades.”

“So this would be a job.”

“Yes.”

“And not charity.”

“Trust me, when you see the questionnaire, you’ll understand that this is not charity.”

“Okay.”

Georgiana squeezed Yvonne’s shoulders again.  “Thank you.”

Yvonne’s laugh was watery.  She dabbed at her eyes with her fingertips.  “I should be thanking you.”

“Just come back to work.  Nobody wants to take a meeting with me if you’re not there.”

Yvonne groaned.  “That’s probably for the best.”  She excused herself and disappeared into the bathroom.

Robert and Allan reappeared while Yvonne was still in the bathroom.  She sent Allan into the bedroom to help the other men.  Robert’s jaw was set with anger.  His eyes held a predatory gleam.

“You look like you want to rip out someone’s spine.  What did Mr. Dawson do?” Georgiana asked.

“Nothing.  I did a bit of research on the trek to the office.  A property management company runs this complex, but I managed to find out who actually owns the apartments.  It was purchased twelve years ago by GP Holdings.”

Georgiana’s stomach sank to her feet.  “Please tell me that name doesn’t mean what I think it means.”

Robert twined their fingers together, and then raised her fingers to his lips.  “GP Holdings is a small subsidiary of Tomorrow Solutions.”

“So, it wouldn’t be a large leap in logic to assume that he put pressure on the property manager to evict Yvonne because he wants to keep me off kilter?”

“No, I believe that is a safe assumption to make.  It is no secret that you rely heavily on her.” 

“I'm tired of him going after the people I love.
  We need to stop him before he hurts someone else.”

“I know, doll.
  We'll keep working on the SUV and we’ll catch him.  I’ll be right here with you; he won’t get by both of us.”  Robert kissed her fingers again.  “Did you get her sorted?”

“She’s moving in to the townhouse.  She insisted on paying rent so I’m only charging what she pays for this dump.”

“How’d you swing that?”

“She’s doing a second-round of beta testing on ERIC.  She’ll turn in weekly reports and fill out a questionnaire.  I’ll come up with a few others things for her, I’m sure.”

Robert released her hands to rub his chin.  Some of the anger faded from his face.  “Cedric has been talking about finding a place of his own.  I’m led to believe that Allan is a terrible roommate.  Do you think Yvonne would have any qualms about sharing the townhouse with my assistant?”

Bright laughter spilled from Georgiana’s mouth.  She gave in to the devil on her shoulder and leaned against Robert.  His arms came around her waist.  His suit jacket was smooth against her cheek.  His aftershave and the heat of his hands on her waist went to her head like the smell of multi-grade motor oil and a new issue of
Scientific American
.

“Has he said anything to you about their dinner Saturday night?” she asked.

“No.  To be honest, I did not think to ask him.  Since I demand so much of his time, I try to keep from prying into his private life.  Has Yvonne said something to you?”

Georgiana shook her head.  Her grin was so broad it hurt her cheeks.  “He called her
Vonnie
!”