“I’ve put in a call,” Jackson said without preamble. “There’s a team on the way. They’ll meet us all here tomorrow around ten.”
Dash sighed with relief. “Perfect. I guess that means I can finally go catch some shut-eye.”
“Need me to drive you home?” Jackson asked, cocking a brow.
That was the last thing Dash heard before the explosion.
31
Emerson pulled into the underground parking lot and slid his vehicle beside Harrison’s. He checked his watch. He was early. What was Harrison doing in the office already? After snagging his coffee and goodie bag, he slipped into the elevator, absently whistling. As the doors closed, he heard a yelled, “Hold the elevator!”
Kicking a foot out, Emerson forced the doors back open. Oakley the lab rat ran into the elevator, sighing with relief. He pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled at Emerson.
“Thanks.
“Don’t mention it,” Emerson murmured.
“This antique is so slow.”
“That it is,” Emerson replied.
Oakley leaned against the back of the car as far from Emerson as he could be and soon began tapping his foot along with the instrumental oldie playing in the elevator. The omega always seemed to give him a wide berth and he wasn’t sure why.
“Not used to seeing you here this early,” Emerson said in an attempt to make small talk.
“It’s my day off,” Oakley replied.
“Kiss-ass,”Emerson whispered, grinning.
Oakley gave him the finger, fighting a smile. “I’m hoping to catch up on some of our backlog. Doubt I’ll put much of a dent in it, though.”
“They need to hire another lab rat.”
“If only we had the budget. Dad’s been begging for more help for years.”
“I couldn’t imagine working for my father,” Emerson said.
Oakley chuckled. “Ummm… youdowork for your father.”
Emerson scoffed. “I don’t share a workspace with mine. We’d likely kill one another if we did.” He eyed the omega beside him and a realization came to him. “Your last name’s Keller, right?”
Oakley nodded. “Yep.”
“Any relation to Dashiell Keller?”
“He’s my older brother,” Oakley said with a bright smile. “You know Dash?”
Emerson froze for a few seconds. “Ahh… yeah. I do. I didn’t realize he was your brother.”
“Well, it’s not like we see him often,” Oakley muttered.
“Why not?”
“My brother’s a workaholic.”
Emerson smiled to himself.
“How’d you two meet?” Oakley asked.
