Heat flooded my face as I turned and saw Mr. Fucking Kelly standing at the railing next to me.
Up close, he looked even more put together. Dark suit, perfectly pressed. Crisp white shirt. Tie neatly knotted at his throat. His glasses caught the soft glow from the tank, reflecting a faint wash of purple light across the lenses.
His expression was… calm.
Neutral.
Not amused. Not annoyed. Not anything I could easily read.
Which somehow made my panic worse.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck—
“I—sorry,” I blurted, already dying inside. “I—I didn’t hear you come up.”
Smooth. Very professional.
He didn’t react to the apology.
Or to the fact that I’d nearly launched myself into the jelly tank.
Instead, he turned his attention back to the drifting animals inside the glass cylinder.
“Aurelia aurita,” he repeated calmly. “Moon jellyfish.”
Like the jump hadn’t happened at all.
Like he was politely allowing both of us to pretend it hadn’t.
“Uh—y-yeah,” I said, clearing my throat as I followed his gaze back to the tank. “That’s… that’s right.”
Brilliant contribution, Cove.
He studied the jellies for a moment longer, hands clasped loosely behind his back in that same statue-still posture I’d seen from across the room a hundred times.
“Their nervous system is surprisingly efficient for something without a central brain,” he said. “They respond to environmental changes faster than most people expect.”
My brain scrambled for something intelligent to say.
“Yeah,” I managed weakly. “They’re pretty incredible.”
Wow. Sounded like I didn’t have a central brain either.
Kill me now.
Another jelly pulsed slowly past the glass between us, its translucent bell catching the light.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
I could feel my heart still trying to punch its way out of my ribcage.
Don’t look nervous.
Don’t look weird.
Don’t offend the billionaire donor who could probably get you fired with one email.
Beside me, Mr. Kelly tilted his head slightly as he watched the tank, then he glanced at me. Voice as even as the tide, he asked, “What do you know about them?”
