Chapter Two

Connor stared across the desk as Matt continued to water the large fern that graced the corner of his office. As he completed the report he was filing on his laptop and clicked a button to send it off to Jess, he looked back again at the distracted team leader.

"Okay…..what did I do this time?"

Connor sighed as he questioned the man who didn't seem in any hurry to talk about what he'd called the technician into the office for.

Matt looked up at the scientist and sighed again as he sat down and faced him as he put his arms behind his head and leaned back in his office chair and gazed out the small window to a nearby park.

"Well….I just wanted…really, to ask you about, erm, how you went about, you know asking….Abby….well, you know what I mean."

Connor stared at Matt with raised eyebrows and a perplexed expression on his face. "Asked Abby about what? Was it that anomaly last week that I accidentally closed too early ….and Abby had to reopen it to send those pterosaurs through? I've definitely fixed that little glitch. Abby was fine with it. She knew it was an accident. In fact, she gave me some ideas for an upgrade…." His voice trailed off as he gleaned from Matt's face that he wasn't really listening to what he was saying. " …..and her ideas for the upgrade were that I should take over the team leader position, because after all, I AM a natural leader," continued Connor sarcastically as Matt focused on exactly what he was saying and jerked his head around to stare at the dark haired man in front of him and allowed a small smile to make its way onto his lips.

Matt sighed for the third time and forged ahead. "I really am asking you how you asked Abby to marry you. Did she say yes immediately? Did she say she wanted to think about it or did she do the intelligent thing and turn you down straightaway until you finally wore her down her resolve?"

Connor laughed at the team leader and rubbed his hands together with glee. "NOW I get it! You're going to ask Emily for her hand! Oh this is going to be great! Abby and I will tie the knot next month and you and Emily will follow! The girls are going to have great fun with this. Jess will be beside herself. Two weddings in the same year….."

Connor's voice trailed off as he saw the uncomfortable look on Matt's face.

"Ohhhhhh…..I get it now….You aren't sure she'll actually say yes. Are you thinking it's because her previous marriage wasn't exactly a happy one? You think she'll be hesitant because…..well, her previous husband did try to have her committed to an insane asylum AND tried to kill her…...kind of puts a damper on the romance in relationship, doesn't it?"

Matt reached into his desk and pulled out a small black velvet box. Connor's eyes got very wide. "The stone is cut from some prehistoric petrified amber. I thought it was appropriate." A small smile appeared on his face.

"Wow, mate, you're serious….You have the ring and everything. When are you going to pop the question?" Connor became serious as he gazed across the table at Matt.

"I have no idea. I'm not exactly sure," said the team leader hesitantly.

Connor leaned forward. "I'm just saying you should just go for it. Of course she'll say yes! Why wouldn't she? After all, I'm spoken for and Becker…..well, Becker's best girl is a large caliber weapon down in the armory so it's not like she has a whole lot of choices."

Matt rolled his eyes sarcastically and stared down at the soft hinged box in his hand. "I'm hoping inspiration will come to me soon. The longer I wait to do this, the more I think she won't say yes. By the way…you never told me how you asked Abby to marry you." He stared at Connor expectantly.

Connor looked away and pretended to check his phone for an urgent message. "Wow…I have like 10 messages on my mobile so I'd better get back to the lab. Good talk, Matt. I'm sure I've given you some amazing advice. Call me anytime you need another pep talk!" Connor quickly exited the office as Matt smirked at the scientist hurrying toward the hallway.

"Knew it. She must have asked him," he said out loud to no one.

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Lester stared across the table at the government officials sitting across from him. The older man had salt and pepper hair and was wearing the vacant expression he'd encountered often enough with bureaucrats. The younger man, wearing casual clothes and texting madly on his mobile, couldn't be more than twenty five years old. His carelessly styled shoulder length hair screamed hipster computer technician. What the hell was this hurriedly called meeting about? He had a large pile of paperwork to be dealt with thanks to more government officials who wanted documentation for every time someone used a pencil to sign their name. He'd had enough of the secrecy surrounding this little visit and his patience was wearing quite thin…..

"If you gentlemen can be encouraged to hurry this little conference along I have actual work to complete…thanks to other ministry officials who also require me to meet with them on a semi-regular basis so if you could just come to the POINT!" Lester was done using his indoor voice decided it was time to get to the reason for this little congregation.

The older official sighed and stared at the younger man. "Leonard, put down that damn mobile and let's get this going. Traffic will be ridiculous and I want to get home sometime tonight."

Leonard suddenly looked up and snapped his phone shut. "I'm Leonard McCall from Tarmen Industries in California….in the US…."

Lester interrupted him. "YES, I'm actually familiar what country California is in Mr. McCall…could you get to the point?" Lester's voice continued to increase in volume.

The computer technician looked at the man across the desk with an intense look on his face. "Actually we want to provide you a major upgrade to your ADD computer that coordinates your team's movements in the field."

Lester rolled his eyes and looked at his watch. "I see. Well thank you for this short meeting. This has been thirty minutes I'll never get back again. We already have a field coordinator who is quite adept at guiding our teams in the field. She's had extensive experience and she's received the highest marks from our evaluators…so thank you for your time. I have other duties to attend." Lester stood up and picked up his mobile to look at the next item on his list of tasks to complete.

The older man took two steps toward the door and blocked his exit from the office as Lester looked up, annoyed, from his device.

"You don't understand, Mr. Lester. This is not a request. We ARE upgrading your ADD and field coordination system….and you will no longer require a field coordinator."

Lester stared at the bureaucrat incredulously as the man closed the door and the three men sat down at the desk again…..

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Oh no! Are they getting rid of Jess! How are they going to upgrade? Thanks for reading!