The Hatching (The Hatching #1)(50)
She didn’t begrudge it exactly. It was kind of hard to be pissed off at Manny for having a casual thing with Steph when Melanie was sleeping with Bark. At least Steph was the president and not a goddamned graduate student. The truth was they were divorced, and if Manny was going to be sleeping with anybody, Steph was probably the best bet as far as Melanie was concerned. It’s not that she was still in love with Manny, but rather that there was a part of her that thought they might get back together. Someday. When they were older. Okay. Maybe she was still in love with Manny a little bit. They hadn’t gotten divorced because they hated spending time with each other, but because Melanie hadn’t loved Manny more than she did her work. At least if he was having an affair with Steph, Melanie knew that meant he might still be available to her. If she wanted. She wasn’t sure what she wanted. Seeing Manny standing there, next to Bark, should have made it easy: Bark, tall and solid and muscular, looking even better with three days’ stubble and his T-shirt wrinkled from camping out in the lab with her and Julie and Patrick; Manny, sporting ten more pounds than the last time she’d seen him, wearing a suit that was indistinguishable from every other suit he wore. Physically, there was no comparison. But just looking at Bark annoyed her, while seeing Manny, even though she wasn’t happy to have him and half the White House intruding on her lab, brought a smile to her face.
She stepped out of the president’s arms. “Good to see you. It’s been a while.”
Steph cocked her head at Manny, who offered a sheepish smile. “You know how it is,” Steph said. “You don’t mean to pick sides, but that’s always how it works.”
“I’m sorry,” Manny said. He stepped forward and took her hand. He hesitated and then leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. He had to get on his toes. Very quietly, so quietly that she almost missed it, he whispered in her ear, “You smell good.”
Melanie touched her wet hair. She could feel herself blushing a little, and she took a quick glance at Bark. The oaf had a small sulk starting on his face. Ugh. Tonight. Tonight, she promised herself, no matter what else was going on, it was over. She’d meant to drop his ass the day before, but they’d spent the entire day working with the spiders, and there had never been a good time to bring him into her office and tell him she was done with it.
“Sorry to barge in,” Manny said. “We need to talk.”
“About what?”
Manny looked around. “Can we clear the students out? It’s important, Melanie.”
There was a part of Melanie that wanted to say no. It was that same impulse that had torpedoed their marriage: there was just too much to do in the lab, too many things to study. It was hard to do to his face, always had been, and it was impossible to kick him out while the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, and a gaggle of Secret Service agents were wandering around the lab. It didn’t take somebody with a PhD to figure out this was something serious. So she found her purse, dug some cash out and handed it to Julie, telling her to take Bark and Patrick to Tara Thai on Massachusetts and get them some lunch.
As her students left the lab, Manny hustled the Secret Service guys out as well. He shut the door and attempted to smile at her. It was weak. “Sorry,” he said. “I tried calling but you didn’t answer your phone.”
She couldn’t stop herself. The words came out sharply: “I was busy.”
It just felt too close to every argument they’d had about their marriage. When he wanted to talk to her, she wasn’t available. Except this time, Manny did something different. He apologized.
“I’m sorry, and I know, but this isn’t personal. It’s official.” He motioned to Steph. “We needed to talk to you. I was going to send somebody to get you and bring you to the White House, but Steph thought you wouldn’t come unless they arrested you. Seemed counterproductive if we wanted your cooperation.”
Melanie leaned against one of the lab tables. She looked at Manny and then at Steph. She didn’t say anything. She liked watching Manny fidget.
“Look, the truth is that I, that we, me and Steph and Billy . . . I can’t remember. Have you met Billy before? Billy Cannon. Secretary of defense.”
Billy’s handshake was firm, but before he let go of her hand, he nodded at the insectarium that was behind her. “Ma’am, if I can ask, what the hell is that spider behind you?”
“That one?” Melanie turned and gently touched the glass wall. She was so used to the spiders in the lab that she forgot how much they freaked people out. Particularly the bigger, hairy ones like the one Billy was looking at. “Theraphosa blondi. Or, more commonly, a Goliath birdeater, though they don’t really eat birds. Usually.”
“Jesus.” Billy leaned forward and tapped at the glass.
Melanie grabbed his wrist. “Don’t do that.”
Billy stood up straight again. “Why not? Is the thing going to kill me?”
“They don’t like it. That’s why. You wouldn’t like it if somebody sat outside your house banging on the window. They’re sensitive to vibrations. And no, it won’t kill you, though it hurts like a f*cker if it bites you. Like getting stung by a wasp. And they have urticating hair. It gets on your skin and stings and itches, and if you inhale it, you’ll be coughing and unhappy. It’s obnoxious. But they’re like most spiders. You leave them alone and they’ll leave you alone.”