Defender (Seattle Sharks 9)

Nathan: Torture. I’ll double check the sensors for your data.

Me: That’s the sexiest thing you’ve ever said.

Nathan: Come home and I’ll talk tech to you all night long.

Me: Soon.

The smile on my lips was real and genuine and nearly painful as I gazed at the screen of my phone.

“A state-of-the-art laboratory with all the latest and greatest gadgets at her disposal, and she’s grinning at her phone?” My brother’s voice jolted me from my momentary bliss, and I quickly pocketed my phone. He arched an eyebrow at the hurried motion. “Who was that?” He smirked, crossing his arms over his chest, causing the Armani suit he wore to bunch slightly.

“No one,” I said, and glanced around the lab.

Mine.

Soon.

“This is more than I could’ve ever asked for, Asher.”

He let his arms hang, the tease leaving his eyes and switching to all business. “You earned every bit of this,” he said. “And there is more.”

I gaped at him. The lab was already three times the size of mine with equipment I could never afford even if I asked my parents for money. Asher had made his fortune in the tech industry well before I’d started on my safety formulas, and now my big brother had his hands in many, many ventures. Including the new NHL team in Charleston—hence, why my lab was here and not in Seattle.

“What,” I finally said. “Do I also have a small staff at my disposal?” I joked.

He furrowed his brow. “Of course,” he said, and I blinked at him. “They’re not here yet.” He shrugged. “You’re not technically working here until…” he glanced at his watch. “Another couple months, correct?”

My stomach twisted.

Was that all the time I had left?

Nathan’s face—those eyes, his lips—flashed in my mind. The pain in my chest was sharp like the split had already happened.

“Harper,” Asher said, stepping closer to me. “Where is your mind at?”

“Here,” I said, straightening as I pressed my fingers against the cold metal table I leaned against. “I’m here.”

He tilted his head, pulling a stool from underneath the table and taking a seat. He was still taller than me, even sitting. His eyes were a mirror image of mine and we shared the same smile, the same innate ability to sniff out a problem in a formula in our sleep.

“I’ve missed you,” I said, and wrapped my arms around his neck.

He patted my back. “Missed you too.”

“Thanks for flying me out here to see this,” I said, releasing him.

“I had other motives,” he said, his eyes apologetic.

“What?”

“Well…I wanted to see how the trials are coming along?”

“As well as can be expected. I’m still acquiring data.”

“When is your projected outcome of completion?”

I sighed, crunching the numbers in my head. “If all the data collected from Natha—Noble’s helmet is as accurate as I configured it to be…then I should be ready a little before I move. A month before, if everything goes according to schedule.”

Asher hissed but nodded. “I want to give you full control of the Silas 5000x line for the Carolina Reapers.”

My eyes widened, my eyebrows climbing high on my head. “You’re serious?”

“Always,” he said like he was shocked I even had to ask.

I rolled my eyes, now bouncing on the balls of my feet.

“Thank you, Asher. You won’t regret it. The advances I’m making in the safety foam—”

“Harper,” he cut in. “I said I want to give the line to you. But I can’t do that without hard data. Proof.”

I sank back down, my shoulders dropping. “I’m moving as fast as I can.”

“I understand that.” He raised his hands like I was a lioness preparing to pounce. “And I plan to hold off as long as I can before the season starts up. If you can get that hard data to my board team, then I’m certain we can fast track your plans and have everything prepared before our first preseason game.”

“But.” I wrung my hands, my insides suddenly jittery like I’d slammed four espressos.

“But,” he echoed me. “If I can’t show the board something solid, we’ll have to go with the other guy for the equipment. You will still be able to move here and run this lab, and we’ll create the new line next year.”

“I don’t want to wait another year, Asher,” I said, huffing. “I’ve spent my life working toward this goal. This endgame. And I’m already working as fast as I can! I wouldn’t be half as close as I am if it wasn’t for Noble allowing me to use those sensors.”

Asher pressed his lips together, nodding. “Completely understand, sis. I just wanted to make sure you’re aware of the business side of this. I know you wouldn’t want me to make a decision solely based on you being my sister. Your work alone is enough to earn you everything that is waiting. But I won’t postpone production because we’re related. It wouldn’t be right.”