“I’m gonna smack him so hard,” Bryn said.
“Yeah.That would be fun, but career limiting.”
“Like he’s gonna fire my ass.”
“True.There are worse things, though…”
Bryn decided not to think about that to protect his mental wellbeing.“You think he’s seen himself with Emmett?”
“Maybe.Who knows?”
“I won’t say anything.He’d tell us if he saw anything related to a job.”
“He would.”
“I guess he must have been one of the first to be affected.”
“Yeah, and none of the protocols were in place back then.Must have been scary, if he even realized what was happening.”
“Don’t make me feel sorry for him.He’s mean to me.”
“He keeps your ass in line, that’s not the same as being mean.”
Bryn grunted.“Maybe.I should shower.”He made no move to leave the warmth of Gunnar’s embrace.“Unless there’s anything else you want to tell me?”
“There isn’t and you should,” Gunnar agreed, equally immobile.
Bryn knew it was the truth.“In a minute,” he said, already drifting.
“In a minute,” Gunnar echoed.
Chapter Twelve
The following morning, Philadelphia greeted them with overcast skies and a frigid wind that cut through Bryn’s jacket.After their night together, a milestone that had left Bryn both exhilarated and a bit self-conscious in the light of day, the cold helped clear his head.Every now and again he caught Gunnar’s eye and basked in the warmth he saw there.
The steakhouse occupied the ground floor of a renovated bank building, its brass fixtures and dark wood interior visible through large windows that must have been a later addition.Bryn and Gunnar sat outside a café where they’d had brunch and were now sipping coffee and watching the street under the protection of overhead patio heaters.Sitting shoulder to shoulder was nice and Bryn found himself leaning toward Gunnar.Their working partnership somehow felt stronger.Bryn wrapped his gloved fingers around his mug, grateful for both the heat and the mission that kept him from overthinking.
“Here he comes,” Gunnar said.“Brown leather messenger bag, gray coat.”
Bryn spotted him.“I see him.”
“Give him time to get settled,” Gunnar suggested, checking his watch.
“He’s being seated,” Bryn said.“Table by the window.”
A few minutes later, they crossed the street and entered the restaurant.The warm air inside carried the rich scent of food and there was a constant hum of chatter and laughter.Gunnar waved away the young woman who offered to seat them, explaining they were meeting a colleague.
“Dr.Frost?”Bryn approached their target.“James Barrett, University of Pennsylvania.My lab partner and I are PhD students in the biomed faculty.I hope you don’t mind us butting in on you, but our department chair mentioned you worked in town and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to come say hi.You should have had a call?”He stripped off his gloved and offered a hand.
Frost shook it.“I did and it’s my pleasure to meet you both.I’ll be happy to share what I can, though that might not be much.Non-disclosure agreements, you know?”
“Let us buy you a drink.We’re so interested in your research on genome sequencing.”
“A drink sounds good.I haven’t ordered yet so please join me.”
Gunnar requested whiskey for Frost and sodas for him and Bryn.As soon as he started drinking, Frost relaxed and seemed happy to talk about his research to a couple of fans.
“The implications for accelerated healing are fascinating,” Frost said, halfway through his second whiskey.“The lupine genome contains markers that could revolutionize regenerative medicine.”
