It's All Relative(32)
Straightening, Kai raised his chin and adjusted his shoulders. He was a man, and he could deal with these forward women. Besides, he had no intention of taking Missy up on her outlandish offer. He was here to work, and that was it. But as he exited the room, he was a little curious what “everything” meant.
Thankfully, Missy was nowhere in sight when he stepped out of the supply room. Having left his regular clothes on a shelf in there, he adjusted the belt and equipment that Missy had left out for him. Feeling like a full-fledged member of the team, he looked around for his new boss, Mason Thomas. Not seeing anyone in the empty hallway, he made his way to the back, where Louis had indicated the labs were.
Right in front of a set of hermetically sealed double doors was a row of hooks with crisp white lab coats hanging off them. Kai slipped on a coat before entering the clean room. When the doors hissed open, Kai stepped in and took a look around the stark, white room. There were several cages holding small forest animals; most of them were waiting to have their health checked and recorded by a busy researcher before being released. Sizes, sexes, general health and diet samples, were all things they would be tracking. Keeping an eye on the welfare of the smaller creatures, gave the scientists an idea on the welfare of the larger creatures, right on up to humans.
Seeing stations set up for running those tests, along with various others, Kai spotted an older man standing by a honeycomb of bees encased in glass. It was getting close to the bees hibernation cycle, but Kai figured some swarms would still be active until the first frost. The bees outside in the hives were fumigated with smoke when researchers needed to study them. It didn’t hurt the bees, but drove them into a feeding frenzy. While preoccupied with eating, in preparation to flee from the approaching fire, the bees were mellower, less protective of their hives, and easier to capture.
The older man was bent over a table where he had a few bees pinned down. Not wanting to startle the man while he was obviously deep in thought, Kai stepped behind him and softly cleared his throat.
Straightening, the man twisted to face him, and Kai was the one startled. The older man appeared to be in his mid-fifties, his dark hair streaked with gray along the sides. He had the healthy tan of someone who spent a lot of time outside, his face lined and lived-in, and he was around Kai’s height and build. But none of those things had surprised Kai. It was the man’s eyes. Kai had never met anyone with eyes anywhere near his shade before. Most blue eyes that he’d seen were either a pale, sky blue, or fell into the blue-gray category. Kai’s were more blue-green, like a tropical ocean. The man meeting his gaze now, had eyes the exact same shade as Kai’s.
Gathering himself, Kai glanced down at the man’s name embroidered on his lab coat. Mason Thomas. Just the person he needed to see. Extending his hand, he politely said, “Hello, sir, I’m Kai Harper, we spoke on the phone.”
Kai could have sworn the man paled, and his eyes definitely widened in surprise. His jaw even fell open before quickly snapping shut. It took him a solid ten seconds to finally accept Kai’s extended hand, and in that time, the mood in the room shifted. Kai couldn’t help the feeling that Mason was apprehensive to meet him. And reluctant. Like he’d rather be doing anything other than shaking Kai’s hand. Kai wasn’t sure why Mason would feel that way about him. He used to work with his parents ages ago. Maybe he was just suffering from a sudden case of nostalgia.
Kai smiled as they shook hands, and Mason finally gave him a stiff smile. “Right…Kai. We’re…glad you could join us here.”
Kai’s response was exuberant. He’d been looking forward to this for a while. “I’m grateful for the offer, this is an amazing place you have here, sir.”
As they separated, the older man’s gaze drifted over Kai’s body, before snapping back to his face. Kai couldn’t be sure, but he thought that he still seemed a little pale. “Thank you. Please, call me Mason. Aside from the outfits, we’re not formal here.”
Kai laughed as he lightly tugged on his polo. “Yeah, this is a little different than I’m used to.”
With a warm smile, Mason indicated behind him. “We’re so close to the state park, we sometimes get tourists or hikers here.” He shrugged. “I found it was easier for everyone, if we looked more official.” He leaned into Kai, and conspiratorially whispered, “It helps keep the civilians at bay.”
Kai laughed again, and Mason’s expression turned oddly appraising. With a harsh swallow, he turned back to his bees. Kai shifted uncomfortably. Was he doing something wrong? “What can I assist you with, sir?” Mason looked back at him and Kai quickly amended with, “Mason.”
Mason’s brows knitted, and he slowly shook his head. With a clearly forced smile, he pointed to the honeycomb wedge enclosed in glass on the tray beside him. “I’m done with this batch. You could return them and bring me another?” He pointed to a set of sealed double doors at the back of the room. “Those lead outside. The apiary is straight out back, a few hundred feet from the farthest building.”
Happy for something to do to help his new boss, Kai smiled as he grabbed the tray. “Yes, sir…Mason.”
Kai walked away from Mason, but he felt the heat of the man’s eyes following him the entire time he left the room. He wasn’t sure what he was doing to cause such strange reactions, but he hoped it had more to do with him being a new addition to an already established team, and that it wasn’t something about Kai personally. But Mason didn’t needed to worry about Kai fitting in, if that was what his concern was. Kai was sure he’d eventually blend in; he was pretty good with people.