“Are you sure? I don’t want to be a?—”
“You won’t.” Elio didn’t care, whatever Milo was worried about was eclipsed by disgust. “Take it all on a test drive and let me know if they forgot anything,” he said with a nod at the touchscreen and the rest of the office, then closed the door behind him. “I don’t know what kind of operation they’re running here at Starlight, but this stops now.”
Four
The following Monday, Milo was still baffled by his encounter with Elio at the institute. He had been hiding from Tyler when Elio busted him in his stall of solitude. Almost no one used the bathroom at the far end of the floor so Milo had fled there when Tyler came out of Hector’s office, looking more smug than usual. Hector had hinted that Tyler was getting the grant for an exoplanet atmospheric study using data from the James Webb Telescope.
Which was fine. Yes, Milo did have his heart set onfinallygetting to run his own study, but he wasn’tthatinterested in exoplanets. One thing was certain, Milo would not spend another six to eight months fetching smoothies and salads and being abused by another Mean Guy. He wasn’t brave enough to stand up for himself or put his foot down so Milo intended to lay low in the bathroom until someone else was picked.
Elio had left Friday afternoon, after shouting at Hector and slamming a door. Milo had no clue what was said and everyone was too stunned to gather and gossip afterwards. And no onesaid a word to Milo for the rest of the day. He had lingered in the lobby instead of activating stealth mode and sneaking to the elevators when he returned to the Olympia, hoping to learn more, but Elio never appeared.
It wasn’t likely that Elio would be at the mandatory Monday meeting but Milo was counting on Brad to spill all the details before or after. Brad prided himself on knowing everything that went on in the Computational Astrophysics department and Milo suspected he had his eye on Hector’s job.
Worried, Milo made a note to talk to Elio about it and ask him to go easy on Hector. If anyone had the ability to get Hector fired, it was Elio von Hessen. The prince and renowned physicist was a coup for the institute and his name was already being added to press releases. Hector Lawson was primarily an administrator and could easily be replaced, probably by Brad, and Milo wouldhave tofind a new place to work.
Hoping to get to the bottom of Friday’s confrontation and learn Hector’s status at Starlight, Milo rushed into the kitchen half an hour earlier than usual.
“Morning, kiddo!” Riley said when Milo stopped to fill his travel mug with coffee.
“Morning, Dad.” Milo kissed his cheek and went to the French press. “I can’t stay for breakfast. I want to get in early and hear all the gossip before the meeting.”
“Since when do you skip breakfast or care about office gossip?” Giles said as he strolled in and headed for the pantry to get Luna’s lunchbox. She was cranky in the mornings and would have to be prodded until she got out of bed since she tended to dawdle. Thankfully, it was Riley’s job to walk her to school on Mondays when she was at peak cranky. She usually mellowed out and was more cooperative when Milo took her on Wednesdays and Fridays.
“When it involves Elio and affects my professional life,” Milo told them, earning wary looks from Giles and Riley.
“He’s already causing trouble?” Giles asked and Milo nodded, making an exploding sound.
“Something set him off on Friday and he stormed out. I missed it but I’m sure everyone will be talking about it this morning.”
Riley’s lips twisted as he squinted over his coffee. “I know he has a pretty dark reputation but Elio was perfectly respectful the times we talked and he wascharmingwith Luna. I like him,” he said, his shoulder bouncing before he took a sip.
“He’s not as bad as I was expecting,” Milo conceded and wrinkled his nose. “But he’s so…unsettling. He’s always been nice to me, I just get so nervous and afraid that I might say the wrong thing and upset him.”
Giles made a knowing sound. “That’s not hard to understand. Helooksscary to me too and I didn’t want to sit next to him at the wedding reception. But he was actually pleasant to talk to and we had an interesting conversation about AI and other emerging technologies.”
“I think it’s because of his older brothers,” Milo mused out loud. “Luna and I overheard Leo scolding Elio before the wedding and Leo told him hecould notbe rude to us, that we were family now. The von Hessens take family very seriously.”
“They sure do,” Riley said with a fond chuckle. “They’re an actual family, complete with their very own problem child.”
“You don’t believe in problem children,” Giles said and Riley winked at Milo.
“I do not but in Elio’s case, I’ll make an exception.”
Giles rolled his eyes and laughed it off. “I was impressed with the way Leo conned Truman and Matteo into taking custody and making Elio the Starlight Institute’s problem. I just hope itdoesn’t backfire and we end up with a black hole in the middle of Manhattan.”
“No! That’s not—” Milo started to reassure them, then paused because if anyonecouldfind a way to do it, it would be Elio. “I should get going.”
“Keep us posted!” Riley said and handed Milo a PB&J on a cinnamon bagel, his go-to train snack.
He ate it on the B train as he read a draft of a friend’s thesis discussing the Feynman diagram. When Milo walked into the institute, most of the department’s staff was gathered in the lounge and Hector was writing the weekly problem on the board. As soon as he returned to his office and shut his door, there were whispers and smothered giggles. Milo sat at one of the bistro tables in the back by the windows and took a notebook out of his backpack, pretending to be absorbed in the problem as he eavesdropped.
According to the whispers, little was known about what had actually happened or exactly what was said, only that Elio might have called the institute a joke and implied that he was having regrets. That wasn’t all that surprising so Milo turned his attention to the problem on the main board. Having seen similar two-photon states while studying spectral gaps, it didn’t take long for Milo to find the solution.
The Mean Guys had yet to single Milo out, they had either forgotten about him or hadn’t noticed him, and were heckling Chad at the board as he made an attempt to solve the problem. Then, Hector’s door opened and he came out with his clipboard, looking cheerful and amused by the Mean Guys’ antics. He often was so Milo settled in for the meeting, slouching in his seat and doodling under his calculations.
Then, there was a ripple of gasps and whispers and the Mean Guys froze when Elio jogged up the foyer stairs and into the lounge with his skateboard. Instead of heading for one ofthe long sofas or a table, Elio made his way to the back of the room and leaned against the window, right behind Milo. The soft bouncing of a tennis ball was nerve racking and had the hairs on the back of Milo’s neck standing but he did his best to focus when Hector cleared his throat and waved the clipboard over his head, signaling that it was time to begin.
“Good morning and happy Monday, shining stars!” he said, eliciting groans from half of the audience but Brad and Tyler continued to jostle as they fought over a piece of chalk.
