But my brain suddenly stops listening to my own innervoice. My eyes zero in on the launch area of the model, tracking the geometric pattern just after the exit. The lines aren’t wrong, but therhythmis.
“Wait,” I say slowly, leaning in until I’m squinting at the screen. “The issue is right after the launch, isn’t it?”
Theo straightens, his focus snapping back instantly. “Yeah. The second inversion. It’s supposed to feel like a smooth roll, not like it’s trying to wrench your shoulders out of their sockets.”
“Theo,” I say, my heart starting to race as the physics click into place. “You’re forcing the turn too early. The train is still stabilizing from that massive vortex launch when it hits the curve. If you extend the lead-in by just three meters, the forces should balance out naturally.” I glance up, meeting his eyes through the camera. “It’s a timing problem.”
The silence on the other end is absolute. Theo’s eyes narrow as he runs a mental simulation, his gaze darting across the miniature track. Then, slowly, his mouth curves into a grin. “Bloody hell,” he murmurs. “You’re right.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should.” His face fills the screen again. His eyes are dancing. “You just solved what fifteen engineers couldn’t. The London team is going to owe you. And apparently, so do I.”
“In that case,” I say lightly, “thereisa favor I’d like to ask.”
He nods, giving me his rapt attention. “Name it.”
“Take the rest of the day off.”
“Kaori, I can’t. Now that you’ve sorted the missing piece of the puzzle, I’ve got about a hundred emails to send and three reports to revise?—”
I understand exactly where he’s coming from. I’m justlike him. When the gears finally align and something clicks, you want to run with it. You don’t want to eat or sleep or answer the door. You just want to follow that thread until the project is perfect.
But Theo has been working nonstop, pushing himself at a pace that isn’t sustainable. And as his friend, I know he needs me to intervene. He needs someone to tell him when to stop.
“Theo,” I interrupt, half-pleading, half-scolding. “It’s Saturday. Don’t you Brits believe in the weekend?”
He opens his mouth to argue, but I don’t let him. “You asked what I wanted. And this is it.” I lean closer to the screen. “Rest. Do something fun. Like watchingThe Office.”
He leans back. “You’re serious.”
“Deadly.” I cross my legs and hold my phone closer to my face. “We can even watch it together if you want.”
“How? You’re more than three thousand miles away from me right now.”
He must be even more exhausted than I thought. “Technology, Mr. Riverton,” I say, tapping at my screen. “There’s this app called StreamMatethat lets multiple users watch the same movie or TV show at the same time. Although we need snacks if we’re doing this properly. I’ve got popcorn and chocolate-covered pretzels.”
He glances toward his kitchen. “I’ve got... tea.”
“And what do you normally have with your tea? Scones? Cookies? Rocky Roads?”
“Biscuits, but I’m out. And I polished off the Rocky Roads yesterday.”
“But I gave you two boxes of them! There were twenty-four bars.”
The tips of his ears color a faint, sheepish red. Hedoesn’t look at the camera, instead focusing very intently on the tea bag he’s currently drowning in his mug. “I needed something to get through the week. They were... accessible.”
“So you ate them instead offoodfood?”
“The project was at a critical stage, Kaori. I couldn’t always leave the office for a proper meal.”
I should be mad at him. I should probably give him a stern lecture on nutrition and the importance of a balanced diet, but he’s kind of adorable right now. Seeing the world-class engineer who can solve a three-million-dollar physics problem get embarrassed over a chocolate-bar binge makes him feel remarkably human.
“Okay, well, I’m sure you have something else around. Chips, crackers?”
“Care to make a wager?”
He flips the camera around. The view tilts and blurs for a moment, a whirlwind of motion before settling on his kitchen. There are gleaming white counters and high-end appliances. He approaches the closest cabinet and opens the door. “Let’s see.. .one packet of expired instant noodles, a bottle of olive oil, and a protein bar.”
