Synthesis: Book One Read online

  Chapter 7

  The first week went by slowly for her. After an awkward evening with Evan at the cantina by her hotel, she trudged up to her room and read through her emails. The story had already gone viral. A quick check on YouTube featured everything about AI, stem cell research, and every crackpot conspiracy blaming Caleb's existence on everything from con trails to 9/11 cover-ups. She could only sigh an exhausted sigh and close her laptop. There would be plenty of time for questions, emails, and texts. Right now, she only wanted to close her eyes and take a long bath. Once again, her head hit the pillow with a dull thud. Her dreams were a mish mash of Caleb, computers, and some kind of personification of her email in box. Her last thought was of the ten thousand emails that she hoped to never have to answer.

  As time stretched out, Kelly was hoping that the following weeks would bring her some kind of closure to the C.A.L.E.B project. Her original thoughts about him, or at least the created persona that he was, once brought her solace when things were bad. Now, she was left with the thoughts of her imagined, ideal male partner being rendered in flesh and blood and set upon the world as the avatar of physical innocence. If he were to turn into some kind of proto-genetically built male douche bag, she would have to be equipped to deal with the ramifications.

  About half way into the growth process, Marcus called her on the company-issued iPhone they gave her. She was startled from her afternoon nap, while tropical rain splashed against the large, plate-glass windows of her hotel room.

  “Kelley, I have to attend a gala event to raise money for a local charity. I was wondering if I could talk you into going as my guest.” He asked politely.

  She could hear a note of anxiety in his voice. Evan had texted a warning that Marcus would be asking, but the social event would be a good excuse for her to finally get out of her hotel room for once. The thought of this traveled captain of industry being sheepish towards asking her out was sort of funny.

  Kelley switched the phone to her other hand as she struggled out of the plush bed. “That sounds like a lot of fun. What's the charity for?”

  “Actually, it was one of the funds that Evan setup. It raises money for cosmetic procedures that help rehabilitate disfiguring injuries. He got involved after he branched some of his genetic work out into that field. Honestly, I don't know how that guy finds time to sleep with all the stuff he volunteers for.” Marcus said candidly.

  “Well, I would be happy to attend.” She said affirmatively.

  “Great! I'll email you the details. Um, just so you know, this is a business event and I'm not inviting you with the expressed intent to establish an extra-occupational relationship with you.” He stammered out.

  “Uh...,” was all she could manage to offer his response.

  Marcus quickly clarified the oddly legal statement. “Sorry, I have to say that to all staff that I invite to a gathering outside of work. I'll have you know that we have the best legal team at Genetitech.” He said with a hearty laugh.

  His laugh spread to her, and suddenly Kelley was starting to feel at ease. She covered her mouth as laughter wracked her body. Given how out of whack her emotions had been, this was the best medicine she could have ever received.

  Marcus made his goodbye, and she heard another call beeping in. When she switched over, she heard a male voice seemingly rehearsing something on the other side of the call.

  “Hello?” She asked timidly.

  The male voice cleared its throat awkwardly. She could tell by now that it was Evan on the other line. Given that the only two people that called her were him and Marcus, it wasn't hard to guess. “Kelley, hey! Um, I was wondering if you would like to take a hike with me.”

  She milled the thought over in her head. The watery splash against her window was making her wonder if Evan was in a different part of the country. The thought of finally getting outside and doing something other than ordering room service and surfing the Net sounded fun though, even if it meant getting drenched in the process.

  “Sure, sounds like a great change from what I've been doing so far. Oh, by the way, Marcus asked me to that charity event you were talking about. You never told me that it was your charity event.” She said in a mocking, accusatory tone. She couldn't deny the flirtatious undertone of her voice, and she noticed that she was playfully rubbing her legs together as she spoke. Damn...

  “Well, the board that manages the fund actually arranged it. I usually hate these things, but they insisted on me attending.” He said shyly. His boyish attempt at vulnerability was lost inside of his deep, confident voice.

  After putting the phone on speaker, she stretched her long limbs and pondered over why he never told her about this side of him. He was a great guy to begin with, and now she finds out that he's a major volunteer cum philanthropist?

  “Why didn't you tell me that you did stuff like this?” She asked him bluntly.

  “I don't like people judging me on the things I do outside of work.” He said. “You see, everyone gets ahead in life by finding out which butt to kiss, and which golf course to hang out at. I wanted my work progress to be just that. The fund raisers and volunteering is my personal life, and I like it to stay that way.”

  The confidence in his voice was peppered with a sort of raw determination that Kelley found both refreshing..., and a little arousing as well. This was the first time in a while that she had been in the presence of a male figure this confident. Not since the Initialization for Caleb, Caleb....

  Evan's words broke her out of her encroaching fog of self-pity. “About the hike, pick you up in an hour?”

  “Oh, yes! That would be great!” She returned with a little too much enthusiasm, adding, “By the way, do you happen to have some kind of industrial strength umbrella?” She questioned jokingly, as the wind-blown rain splattered against the window.

  “Eh, it'll clear up by the time I get to your place.” Evan said casually.

  “Really?” Kelley asked with genuine incredulity.

  “Yes, really. You're in the tropics. If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes.” He said with mild insistence. The phone clicked off on his end, and Kelley stood in the quiet room wondering what to wear on this outing. A quick look in her closet revealed the only hiking-appropriate attire; a white tank top and khaki shorts that were almost too short for her taste. As her mind struggled to put together a cute, functional and flirty outfit, she shrugged out of her lounge wear to get ready.

  Her contact lenses were giving her fits, as she attempted time and again to insert them without blinking. Once she could see again, she looked in the mirror and pondered over what kind of makeup one should wear on a hike. Finally, she just settled on the requisite eyeliner and pink lip gloss. As she brushed out her shiny hair, she gave one last look in the mirror and shrugged. It would have to do. If only she had time to go shopping. It's not like she didn't have enough money now-

  A quiet knock at her door shook her out of the doubt spiral. She nearly sprinted to the door, only to catch herself at the last minute to try and look cool and casual. She opened the door slowly and gave a friendly smile to Evan.

  “Hey.” She said coolly.

  Evan reached in to give her a friendly hug. As her nose pressed against his neck, she could feel his stubble. He was wearing a blue tank top and cargo shorts, as well as thick soled hiking boots. The outfit gave him a sort of Jack Hannah quality. That is, if Jack Hannah was a smoldering and savvy male model. Her toes writhed and squirmed in her sandals, as she took in his fresh scent. Instead of some overpowering cologne, he just smelled of body wash. She caught herself before the hug became awkward and gave him a smile.

  “Were you working out?” He asked. “You're all out of breath.”

  “Oh yeah, just crunches and stuff.” Kelley lied.

  “I get it. I haven't seen you in person since the, uh, Initialization.” He said. “You sure have been hiding out. Have you been talking to the press?” He accused playfully.

 
Both he and Kelley knew the ramifications of talking to the press. They were both under strict non-disclosure agreements and the thought of finding out what happened if she violated it was sort of chilling. What kind of mad dog lawyers do genetics companies have?

  “Oh no! Just catching up on work..., oh hell. I've been nesting. While you're out saving the world, I've been in here power marathoning TV shows on Netflix and avoiding everyone. I'm a horrible person! My email in box is counting up to the six figure mark.” She confessed in exasperation. There was no use in lying to his eternally optimistic demeanor.

  Evan put a friendly hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. “Well, how about we get you out of your shell then Miss turtle?”

  The ride up to the trail head was bumpy. It seemed that the city was the only place where the roads were somewhat drivable. The second you got into the outskirts, everything seemed to go back in time. Burros and carts were a common sight. It was sort of refreshing to be here with these back country villagers, as the sun pushed out the clouds and rain. At a turnout, Evan pointed up at a mountain that was strewn with a thick carpet of trees and vegetation.

  While he dispensed with gathering his gear from the back of the Land Rover, Kelley stretched her arms and legs. While she was reaching to the sky, she turned to see Evan staring at her through the window of the SUV. He gave her a polite smile and closed the back hatch with his key fob.

  “This place we're hiking in is actually a sort of botanical garden. There are some rare plants and animals that were saved from extinction when this tract of land was purchased by a private trust. It was set for the typical slash and burn agriculture.”

  Kelley nodded thoughtfully while Evan motioned her to follow him into the jungle. Since the sun had come out, the whole area seemed to be coming alive with sound. There were exotic birds singing to one another, while howler monkeys screeched aloud and crashed through the tree branches. The still-wet trees dripped rain water on them, and slivers of intense sunlight would occasionally pierce through to the trail they were on. As they both wound through the steep hills of the valley, Evan hung back just enough to carry on a conversation without tripping the both of them up on the narrow pathway.

  “So, are you looking forward to the fund raiser?” He asked after a while.

  “Eh, I don't know. Part of me is just happy to have reason to get out and do something, and the other part just wants to keep hiding out and watching McGyver re-runs.” She said through slightly labored breaths.

  Sensing her fatigue, Evan stopped them both and fished two bottles of water from his back pack. He handed one to her and pondered what she had said.

  “McGyver? Isn't that the show with that guy who fixes everything with weird stuff?”

  “Yeah! It's super cool. I just watched an episode where he made a bomb with dry ice and a soda bottle. There was this other one where he used all of these junk parts to make this small plane...,”

  Embarrassed at her enthusiasm for this retro TV show, she trailed off her description and took a long drink from her water bottle. Evan took advantage of the silence and checked his phone for messages.

  “So, are you good to go?” He finally asked with a cautious tone.

  Kelley felt like a fool for being so out of shape. She ate right and took care of herself, but cardio was never her strong suit.

  “Yeah, I'm good. Let's go!” She chirped brightly. She strode off in front of him. Of course, she chose the one section where the trail broke off in three different directions. “Um, which way do we go?” She turned and asked timidly.

  Evan shook his head and smiled. “The one on the far left. It goes down the valley to a great little lake. You'll love it.”

  She smiled back and continued on her way. Getting a head start on him was easy. He was still putting his water bottle back in his pack. She felt like she needed to get some kind of one up on Evan. She knew it was childish and petty, but she needed something to help her feel a little less inferior. After a couple of minutes, she heard his voice chime in from behind.

  “Hey Kel, you should watch out for the pythons up ahead.”

  “What!” She shrieked involuntarily. She stopped in her tracks as Evan passed her on the narrow pathway. He momentarily brushed against her while he slide past, and Kelley could swear he leaned in a little to smell her hair as she freaked out about the snakes.

  “It's okay! I'll go ahead and make sure they don't fall from the trees.” Evan grabbed a stick that was left by another hiker, and he poked the low hanging limbs as he strolled ahead.

  “OH GOD! THEY'RE UP IN THE TREES?” Her attempts to look cute and coquettish fled away as she grappled with her unnatural fear of snakes. Her wide eyes darted about, looking up in the jungle canopy for any falling serpents of death.

  “Kelley, shh... just breathe!” Evan had made quick time getting back to her as she stood frozen in place. He saw the whites of her eyes and smiled broadly as he pulled her into a long, sincere hug.

  Kelley felt her heart beating against Evan's firm chest. His own confident heart beat was running behind hers, and she could feel him squeezing her just tight enough to give her a sense of protection. Once the abject fear had finally subsided, she felt herself closing her eyes and placing her cheek on his shoulder. After a little while, she finally spoke in a distant and quiet voice.

  “Evan?”

  “Yeah Kel?”

  “You're kinda squishing me.”

  He released her with a friendly shrug. “Heh, sorry.”

  Kelley went back to looking around in the low hanging canopy for any bright yellow snakes that may be waiting to drop on her. Evan tried again to put her at ease.

  “Look, I get that you don't like snakes, but pythons are pretty harmless. On top of that, they don't usually come out after a light rain. I promise you'll be safe.” He assured her.

  She unfolded her arms from around her and continued to follow Evan down the trail. Having him hold her like he did was the most contact she’d had with a guy in ages. She knew that he felt something too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken her out here on this hike.

  The trail was amazing, and she found herself immersed in Evan's enthusiasm. She was enthralled every time he would stop and show her some rare plant or insect. Around noon time, they had come to a low point in the jungle that opened up into a large clearing. Upon rounding the last corner, she could hear the distinct sound of a waterfall crashing into the lake that spread out in front of them. Evan showed her down a rickety, handmade bridge to the water's edge.

  “This is the place! I used to come here a lot when I first started working at Genetitech. All of the other researchers are more indoor types, so this became my sanctuary of sorts where I could get away from it all. When I found out the land was going to be parceled for citrus agriculture, I pooled my connections to buy it up and have it turned into a protected area. Now, you can only hike here and take pictures.” He said, after taking a big drink from his water bottle.

  Kelley narrowed her eyes at him. “Okay, so you managed to find time out from saving the world to save an actual part of the world? Are you trying to make me feel bad or something?”

  He smiled and stretched his arms over his head. Kelley caught a glimpse of his lower abs, as they formed a taught v shape that disappeared into his shorts. She pretended to look somewhere else when he finally looked back to her.

  “I was able to use my pull at Genetitech to get some laws passed by the locals. It was, actually, pretty easy. No protests, no chaining myself to a tree, just lawyers and paperwork. Once the trust was formed, the preserve just started to run itself.” He finished with a shrug.

  “I see, so not only did you save a huge chunk of rainforest, but you made it look easy too?” She said incredulously.

  “Bah, enough about work. What are you planning on wearing to the fundraiser? My boss hasn't shut up about you being his date.” He teased with a smirk.

  Kelley moved a rock around with her foot. She had kicked off
her sandals and sat down by the water's edge. As the waterfall kicked up little waves in the lake, they slowly made their way to her feet in a constant ebbing pattern while she moved the little pebble under the clear water.

  “I haven't really thought about it yet. I've been so worried about the paparazzi that I never venture past the hotel lobby. The closest I came was going around the corner to get this.” She produced a little multi-tool from her shorts pocket and opened it up. She smiled timidly and said, “I guess you could say that McGyver is rubbing off on me?”

  A sudden crackle in the nearby bushes startled the both of them. Two men with cameras stumbled out and mumbled something to themselves as they started taking pictures like crazy.

  Evan shouldered his back pack and grabbed Kelley's hand. “Come on, it looks like the vultures have found us. It's weird though, I have my phone set to..., wait, did you disable your geo location feature?” He asked in a fatherly, accusing tone.

  Kelley smiled sheepishly and shook her head from side to side.

  “That's what I thought. They are so corrupt down here. They pay off the local service providers to find out where people are. Give me your phone.” He insisted, holding his hand out until she fished the device from her back pocket. He swept through the functions, and turned off the geo location. After handing back the phone he grabbed her hand and led her around the lake to a spot above the waterfall. The paparazzi followed as best as they could, but once the brush got too thick, they cursed in Spanish and snapped pictures from afar.

  “There will be a ton of those guys up at the trail head. I figure we should ditch my car and take the zip line instead.” He waited for Kelley's shocked and frightened reply, only to be met with her calm and collected smile.

  Responding to his deflated sense of importance, Kelley said, “It's only snakes that scare me. Heights are no problem.” She sang teasingly. Evan shrugged and pulled away some branches from the steel cable that strung, almost invisibly, across the lake. After that, it seemed to disappear into the dense trees. She had heard of these being used to cross canyons and rivers in developing countries, but this one seemed a little more recreational than those.

  As Evan snapped the waist belt around her, she could feel his hands on her skin as the nylon webbing cinched up around her waist. “This should hold you. When I buckle in, we'll be good to go.”

  After fumbling with his own harness, he scooted the two of them over to the edge of the waterfall. Kelley felt her stomach knot up when the true reality hit her. They were about to sail off into the jungle on a steeply angled cable. While she squeezed her eyes tightly shut, she felt Evan lift her weight and clip on to the cable.

  “Kelly?” He said over the cacophony of the waterfall.

  “Yes?” She managed to squeak out.

  “I need you to wrap your arms and legs around me. Otherwise we'll just spin around uncontrollably.”

  She obliged, and looped her arms around his toned shoulders. As she was lifting her legs up to grasp his waist, he gently guided her with his hands. The brush of his fingers against the back of her thigh was like an electrical shock, and she shuddered involuntarily as his welcome contact. She was waiting for the moment. The one catalyst where he would finally break this long standing tension between them-

  With a little grunt, Evan jumped off the edge of the waterfall. The cable supporting them gave a little, and Kelley dug her fingernails into Evan's back as she screamed for her life. The steel cable sang and thrummed as their combined weight pulled on it like a guitar string. Her sensation of speed was muted by their elevation over the serene lake. They had to be moving fast, but who knew how fast it was?

  Evan struggled to keep them from spinning around like ballet dancers. “Kelley, I need you to let go of my back.” He managed to say over the sound of rushing wind.

  She smiled and relinquished his skin. “Sorry.” She said meekly.

  The cable leveled out over the trees, and when her fear finally subsided, she found herself having a good time. A quick look over to Evan let her know that he was thinking something.

  “You're pretty brave, Miss Anderson.” He said.

  “Are you kidding me? My ears still hurt from that scream fest I unleashed. How can you say I'm fearless?” She joked.

  “It's not about being afraid. It's about doing what needs to be done even if you're afraid. I'm impressed.” He said reverently.

  They had slowed to a stop, and the ground was still a couple of stories beneath their dangling feet. While they hang there, the visitor center for the botanical preserve churned with people just below them. The zip line was tethered to a tower rising up to the jungle canopy where they hovered. The tower, being a sort of high observation point over the preserve, was filled with tourists just beginning to look over at them.

  “What's this place?” she asked while pointing at the people looking up at them.

  “This is the main visitor's center for the botanical preserve. It's actually pretty swank in there. Top shelf wine, a cafe and a little museum full of docents and other staff. I hate it!” He said with an evil smile.

  Kelley struggled to get her bearings as they spun in a lazy circle. “Why do you hate it? It seems really nice.” She asked.

  “It's helps to keep the visitors coming to the park, but I much prefer the wild side where we came in at.” He said with a prideful smile.

  “Well, if you were trying to impress me you would have been better off taking me to the place down there with free WIFI.” She joked. “Well..., I mean..., um...,”

  It was then that Evan leaned in and kissed her. She gasped in surprise at the sensation of his soft lips on hers. Her building tension at his long awaited advance melted away like warm candle wax, and she wrapped her arms and legs around him again with renewed purpose.

  Every head tilt and tongue touch seemed to be choreographed. She felt his shoulder muscles working as his strong arms encircled her like a safety belt. For the first time in months, she felt secure and safe. No more press conferences and pushy reporters. No more crabby ex-boyfriend or stale apartment. It was just Evan and her, and she finally felt at ease in this odd new jungle world.

  It didn't matter that the ground was a hundred feet below them. It didn't matter that the curious onlookers had begun whistling and catcalling to them while they made out in full view of little old ladies and children. None of it mattered anymore. Each pulsation of her heart beat was like a pressure washer that was cleansing her mind and soul of all the anxiety and insecurity that she had felt before this moment.

  He finally interrupted their lip lock with an almost comical suction break. “My God, Kelley. You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that!” Evan said quietly.

  “What was stopping you?” Kelley managed to squeak out. She was flooded with a cocktail of emotions, and trying to reconcile her lust for Evan, her fear of heights and where she lost her left sandal at along the zip line ride.

  “Professional courtesy. I don't usually date co-workers. It's a rule I've had since grad school.”

  Kelley looked at his strong biceps while he pulled their combined weight toward the platform where the zip line connected to the visitor's center. While he concentrated his efforts, she touched his side and said, “I'm glad you broke your rule for me.”