Chaos Theory (Nerds of Paradise #2)(16)

A snap of guilt like a rubber band on his skin hit him at the lie.

Howie didn’t look fooled. “Personally, I suggest you put your efforts into helping Melody train. I’ve been watching her this week—well, I’ve been watching her for most of her life—and it looks to me like she’s genuinely trying to push herself outside of her comfort zone. I suggest you do the same.”

There it was. The hidden message that it was time for him to man up. It was the kind of slap he was used to.

“Yes, sir.” He nodded and took a step back.

Another pair was waiting for Howie’s attention, so Will turned to head back to Melody. Only when he glanced up, she was gone. It took him a moment to find her near the door with Sandy. He couldn’t tell if Melody’s expression was sad or angry or disappointed. Sandy’s looked more than a little peeved, though. All the more reason to be wary of teaming up with someone who expected more than a partner for a competition. The whole thing had chaos written all over it.

“Oh, man, I’m gonna be toast in this thing,” Jogi said, stepping up to his side.

It was just the sort of distraction Will needed, until he saw the stern look on Laura’s face as she joined them. Hayden from the materials engineering team rounded out the group. They headed to the side of the room where their bags and Laura’s purse were sitting.

“Why toast, Jogi?” Laura asked. “Are you intimidated by teaming up with a strong woman?” Her frown and her tone of voice were clearly meant to scold Will.

“Yes,” Jogi answered, then laughed. “I can’t be around a gorgeous woman like Sandy Templesmith without sticking both of my left feet in my mouth.”

“Then you’ll just have to learn to be cool.” Laura patted his shoulder.

“I’m not gonna lie, I’m worried that the woman they paired me with is going to drag me down,” Hayden said as their group gathered their things and headed toward the door.

Laura’s wrath turned to him, giving Will room to breathe. “Why, because she’s a woman?” she crossed her arms.

“No, no.” Hayden held up his hands to soothe her. “Because she came to training wearing jeans, a low-cut shirt, and too much make-up.”

Laura seemed to deflate. “Okay, so maybe some people are focusing on the mixer aspect more than the competition.”

“Or maybe they’re just too dumb to know when they’re in over their head,” Jogi said as they passed into the hallway.

Laura didn’t say anything, probably because she knew as well as Will or anyone else that Jogi was talking about himself. Hayden thumped Jogi on the back. “You’ll do fine.”

“And if I don’t, I have a feeling Sandy will be having curry with her toast.” Jogi shook his head.

They all laughed, even Will, though Will didn’t really feel it. By the time they got to PSF’s front door and stepped out into a chilly, overcast night, all Will wanted was to get home, shower, and go to bed. He nodded to the others and picked up his pace, hoping to get away.

Laura chased after him. “Wait up,” she called.

It was just Will’s luck that she lived in one of the other PSF employee apartments downtown. He had no excuse not to walk with her. Worse still, he spotted Melody and Sandy walking several yards ahead, already at the edge of the PSF complex. If she turned around and saw him, would she think he had something going with Laura? And if she did, why should he care?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Laura said as they walked.

He didn’t bother telling her that no, she didn’t.

Laura went on anyhow. “You’re thinking that you don’t want to be paired up with Melody not because you think she’s weak, but because she’ll make you weak.”

“That’s not it,” he instantly said. Even though it kind of was. Laura might have been a geek as far as women went, what with her penchant for dinosaurs as well as the way she got excited over complex equations, but she still had that uncanny sense for things that women sometimes had.

“You like her,” Laura went on.

Will thought about denying it, but said, “How do you know?”

She shrugged and hiked her purse up higher on her shoulder. “You usually look straight ahead in everything you do, whether you’re staring at your computer screen or running a meeting or giving directions. Whenever Melody is around, you turn your head to look at her.”

He could argue that observation, but there didn’t seem to be much point. All he could do was nod.

“What I don’t understand,” Laura went on in a much more chummy tone, “is why the prospect of, oh, I don’t know, dating someone who you seem to like, is a bad thing.”

“I’m not interested in dating right now,” he answered, looking straight forward, even though he was highly conscious of doing it, now that she’d pointed the habit out.

Laura snorted. “I don’t buy it.”

“I have too many things on my plate,” Will insisted. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m part of a start-up aerospace company that faces a lot of competition and government scrutiny. I need to stay focused.”

“Still don’t buy it,” Laura said. “When was the last time you were in a relationship.”

Will didn’t answer. Answering wouldn’t have helped his case anyhow. The last time he’d had anything close to a girlfriend was in college, before the Air Force.