Wolf, in League

Chapter 1: Mostly He Missed It-3

With the clock at 6:15, just under two hours before the majority of the Center’s staff would start crawling in, and still a half hour before even the most dedicated few would show up, Matthew was staring blankly through the windows of the main entrance. He’d already transferred his Petri dishes back into storage and flicked off the microscope, the laptop, and the spotlight. He’d saved his data, powered off his laptop, and it now rested inside his backpack. He was debating the idea of grabbing a coffee from his preferred vending machine (his head was reminding him that caffeine and sleep did not a happy partnership make, but his desire was already mentally counting the change in his pocket) and he was so lost in his internal argument that he shrieked, mouse-like, when he was interrupted by a voice.

“Doctor Dietrich?”

Matthew spun, more to confirm the voice than anything else. He’d only heard it once and he’d told himself that he would never forget it: Samuel Volos, Chief Operating Officer.

Being there at such an hour was unheard of for Volos, and while that fact alone was a surprise, the idea that Volos had seen fit, in his infinite wisdom, to not only acknowledge Matthew but to do so by name, was unbelievable. Shocking, even. Samuel Volos had barely registered Matthew’s existence when Matthew had been brought around for introductions. He’d granted Matthew a, “Welcome aboard, young man,” given a limp, uninterested handshake, and then shown his back as he turned away, busily globbing sanitizer into the middle of the palm that had been sullied by their contact. That had been the last Matthew had seen of him but for the pictures in the various displays.

Now, here Volos stood, hands behind his back, stance casual—not only talking, not only staring directly at Matthew, but smiling. Smiling!

Few men managed to pull Matthew’s head out of his work and into places where the imagination could dwell on those things that happened when two men got naked together, and Volos was one of them. Tall, well-dressed, lithe, and with just enough lines under the eyes and between the eyebrows to let a person know that a lot of thinking went on in that head. Volos was the real-life equivalent of every one of the older-gentleman-love-interests that grumped their way through the storylines of the risqué animes that had held Matthew’s interest in his teens. And still did, on occasion, though he’d never admit that in a group of his peers.

“Are you on your way out?” Volos asked.

“Yes,” Matthew said, and then quickly added, “but I was here all night. The team has been trying to mutate the MYB-NFIB in an effort to see if we can match the gene in reverse. Make one that can think backwards, if you can imagine it, and I’ve been watching—”

“Yes,” Volos said around a nod. “I know. Both of the project and your schedule.”

“Of course.” Matthew dropped his gaze and began to mentally beat himself over the head. Of course he flipping knew. What kind of an EO would he be if he didn’t know what his staff was up to? “I didn’t mean to imply that you—”

“I’ve been keeping a very close eye on you, in fact,” Volos said, as though Matthew hadn’t said a single word. “Have you always been a nighttime person, Doctor?”

Matthew couldn’t tell if the inflection behind the question was amusement, disapproval, or nothing more than casual interest. “I prefer the solitude, is all.”

“Ah, solitude.” Another nod. A tug at the pristine white cuff of the shirt that edged around the arm of his suit. “And your spouse doesn’t mind you being gone all night?”

So, Volos hadn’t been keeping that close of an eye on him. Most people Matthew worked with knew he was single. And gay. Although, to Volos’s credit, Volos had said “spouse” and not “wife.”

“I’m not married, sir.”

“Good for you,” Volos said, widening his eyes and shaking his head. “That makes you smarter than seventy percent of the people here. Including me. But surely there’s a someone somewhere? If not here, then perhaps a special online relationship? I’ve heard those are so common these days what with the Skype and the Google and the Facetime and whatnot.”

If he asks me out I’m going to just die, literally die. Except that was a ridiculous thought, Matthew told himself. Volos had just said he was married, for goodness sake. Not that open relationships were unheard of, but the man was a head of industry. In Matthew’s limited world knowledge, most guys like Volos kept anything outside the realm of ‘normal relationships’ behind closed doors. They sure didn’t breach those matters with employees, anyway. Especially employees that were mere residents. Besides, it was a violation of the Center’s Code of Conduct. Matthew had been to the ‘this-is-how-to-behave-like-a-human-being’ seminar when he’d started—all new recruits had to—and interoffice discussions about a person’s relationships and/or lack of them were frowned upon. And Matthew now knew why. As interesting and attractive as Volos was, the line of questioning made him feel awkward.

But Volos was the big boss and Matthew was no fool when it came to knowing that the rules that the little people had to follow didn’t always apply to those higher up the chain of command. Code of conduct expectations or no.

“No. Nothing like that these days,” Matthew said finally. “I have my residency to contend with and that takes up most of my time.”

“And are you enjoying it?” Mr. Volos asked without a second’s pause. “Your residency? Here?” He waved his left arm in a careless fashion. “Are you hoping for a permanent position?”

Oh, boy. That sounded like an oddly pointed question. Nervous tension began to crawl up Matthew’s spine. “Of course. The GDBCG is a leader in genetic research. I’d be crazy not to be hoping for one.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Volos smiled. “Would you mind hanging on for another hour or so? Doctor Dyball and I would like to have a word with you.”

“Oh?” Matthew could only hope his expression wasn’t as stricken as his body suddenly was. Had he done something wrong? Wound somebody up? He couldn’t think of anything, but that didn’t mean that he hadn’t done something without realizing it…

“A project,” Volos said and his voice dropped several octaves. “A very special, very important project. Would you be interested in something like that?”

“Yes,” Matthew replied before his head had a chance to tell him to think first. After all, it was the very special, very important projects that could make a person’s career. Besides, Doctor Dyball would be there and that meant it wouldn’t just be him and Volos alone. Oddly enough, the last thing Matthew wanted was anymore one-on-one time with Volos.

“Should I…” Matthew pointed at the empty chairs in the reception area. “Or?”

“Absolutely not!” Volos frowned, as though Matthew’s idea of waiting in reception was an idea that was not only ridiculous but close to unimaginable. “Get yourself a coffee. Go to the lounge. Grab a wink or two of sleep, if you’d like. We’ll find you.” He smiled again. “No worries about that.”

Why that expression made Matthew want to cringe was beyond his understanding. When Volos turned and walked away, however, the relief Matthew felt was so powerful he could have slumped into one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs anyway.