What the heck was going on in this place?
Why was this such a big deal?
Honestly, the MRI contrast wasn’t permanent. It would completely fade out of my system in a few days. All they had to do was wait.
However, the way Sebastian was anxiously running his hand through his hair again, I had a feeling he didn’t have a few days.
More warning bells fired off in my mind as Seb dismissed the technician. I watched as he did his best to reconstruct the smiling mask of an unbothered, confident executive, and I found myself once again with the strange desire to comfort this man.
“I want him in The Cave by morning, Sebastian. Grey’s been approached by MemoriTech, and if I lose this deal because of yourincompetence,youwillregret it.”
Sebastian glanced at me. His expression was tight again, and he gave me a tense smile.
“Excuse us for a minute, Milo? I just need to speak with my father for a moment. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back.”
Not wanting to do anything to set Sebastian’s father off again, I nodded, and Seb gave me a grateful smile before leading his father outside the room.
I sat alone in the lab for a long moment, before I did something I never would have thought I’d have the balls to do… Isnooped.
Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the weird calmness that came with shock. Maybe I was just straight up out of panic attacks after the last few I’d needed to come down from, ormaybeit was the Neuro-van I’d taken in the car that was still pumping through me… but I found myself feeling brave enough to creep to the door of the lab. My heart was beating so hard I was terrified they would hear it, but things were justtoooff. I needed to know what they were talking about.
My mother’s life was on the line.
Sebastian had left the door slightly ajar, and I pressed close, straining to hear Seb and Luke’s strained voices.
“Listen, I get you’re frustrated, but do you want to lose him, too? He’s our best bet at getting back on track, and if you keep losing your temper like this in front of him, you’re going to lose him like you lost Jay.”
“We lost Jay because ofyournegligence.”
There was a long pause, and I held my breath, worried for a moment that they would hear me breathing.
“Agree to disagree on that one,” Sebastian finally muttered, and I silently cheered him on for standing up to his asshole of a father.
“I’m not about to stand here and argue semantics with you. I don’t care what you have to do to get that boy working, just fucking do it. I want him cleared, and I want you to stay close to him, like we talked about.”
“Respectfully, it would be a lot easier to do that without the fucking chip.”
Another pause, then a grit out‘fine.’
“Get him settled, then swing by The Cave. I’ll have Grey swap it out for a less restrictive model.”
“Thank you.”
“If you fuck this up, Sebastian, you’ll find yourselfexactlyin the same situation Jay found himself in. You don’t want that, do you?”
A tight ‘no, sir.’
As quietly as possible, I darted back to the surgical chair and climbed up. My heart was slamming against my ribs so hard ithurt,and I barely managed to sit down properly before the door swung open to reveal a smiling Sebastian.
“Sorry about that, Milo. Looks like your security scan will need to wait. I’m going to have you temporarily cleared for now. I’ll just have to accompany you to The Cave tomorrow until you can undergo a proper screening.”
“Uh-Oh, okay,” I stammered.
Sebastian’s grin widened, and he slid his hands into his pockets before tilting his head towards the door.
“Let’s get you set up in your condo, and I’ll show you how to order food. You must be hungry and tired.”
As if on cue, my stomach growled, causing Sebastian’s eyes to twinkle in amusement.
