“But we’re supposed to be collating—”
“We will, relax. Life isn’t all work and no play, Jacob.” He nudged me toward a blue and white tent, a cabana he’d called it. “Go, get changed! It’ll be fine.”
It didn’t feel fine. It felt off, like way off. But then again I was just some farm hick who was far too uptight. Adam, and several others, had mentioned how stiff I was at times. So, shaking off the weirdness, I slipped into the cabana. It had been placed over a solar light so that the interior was illuminated. There on a bench were four different kinds of trunks, all in different colors. I skipped over the Speedo. Yeah, that was a big no. The other three had more material. I went with a blue pair. After tugging off the tag I stripped and hurriedly yanked the trunks over my bare ass. They fit. I folded my clothes and placed them on the bench then slid out of the tent.
“Wow,” Adam called as I padded closer. “You’re a big brute of a man.”
I chuckled self-consciously. “Years of chucking square bales pays off.”
“Yes, yes it does. Want a drink?”
“Please.”
I sat at the table; shoulders rounded against the slight chill of the night. Adam sat beside me, again, and handed me a tall glass filled to the rim with cranberry juice, grapefruit juice, lime, and vodka. It was much stronger than the last ones I’d had here. I coughed as vodka warmed my belly.
“So, uhm, should we be looking at those numbers?” I asked between nervous gulps.
Adam smiled at me then sat forward, his knee brushing mine. “We have all night. Remember what I told you about relaxing a bit. You’re always so tight. Would you like me to rub your shoulders?”
“No!” His eyes flared. “I mean, no, thanks. I’m good.”
“So, tell me, have you given my offer any further thought?” He asked as if the answer didn’t matter, his gaze flickering down to my chest then tracking to my mouth. I tossed back half my drink while wishing I hadn’t left my shirt back in the cabana.
“The one about vacationing in Switzerland?” I asked, eying the pool. Maybe we should swim. That way he couldn’t see naked me. The whole vibe here tonight was creeping me out.
“That’s the one.” He placed his hand on my bare thigh. I stared at it as if it were a scorpion resting on my leg and he moved it away. “But also there’s more. You’d love it in Switzerland, you know. And once you were in the program your career would know no bounds. If I can lure you there we can introduce you to the heads of research. Smart man like you shouldn’t be slaving away in some university lab. You should be in Europe. That’s where the big money research is taking place. With a little help from a friend, we could probably get Bygenta to pick up the tab for your classes, as long as you signed on with Basel Bygenta after you graduated. There’s an incredible campus in town with a top notch agriculture department. You could get your master’s in sustainable agriculture with an eye on rangeland and animal production then be pipelined right into Bygenta at a much higher wage level.”
I sat dumbfounded, staring at him over my Sea Breeze. “I don’t know…”
“I know, it’s a lot to take in. Hey, maybe you’d rather specialize? Something in crops or mammalian toxicology?” My eyes widened. Adam grinned, his hand coming to rest on my thigh again. “Sue me, I might have stolen a look at your academic files. You aced that measly little toxicology class you had at Owatonna. Imagine what you could do with Bygenta Agrochemicals behind you? You could push forward the study of toxins in farming and how they affect livestock. I’d be happy to let you live with me at the chalet while you studied. Handsome, intelligent young man like you could probably graduate early. Say three years and then be immediately taken into the Bygenta family.”
He squeezed my thigh.
“That’s all… wow,” I stammered.
Adam leaned closer, his blue gaze dipping to my mouth then coming back up. “‘Wow’ is right. What do you think, Jacob? A brighter future is just a yes away.”
“I’m going to have to think on it and talk it over with Ryker.” Adam rolled his eyes then nudged my drink closer. “It’s too big of a decision to make without time to consider,” I explained as he nodded in disinterest, his gaze still on my mouth.
I downed my cocktail, suddenly parched beyond reason. Adam refilled it as I stammered on about couples.
“Right yes, I recall being part of a couple. But in all honesty, if Ryker loved you as he claims he wouldn’t hold you back from such an amazing opportunity, now would he?”
His fingers tightened on my thigh. “It’s not that…” I replied, my head starting to feel a little gummy. Shit. How did one damned Sea Breeze fuck me up so fast? Not that I was a party animal but I liked beer. And I sure as hell could hold my booze better than… “What proof is this?”
Adam chuckled, his hand creeping higher. “It’s top shelf. You look a little pale.”
“Stop touching me,” I snapped, slapping at his hand as I went to stand. My knees buckled and the backyard swam. I stumbled to the left, grabbing at the edge of the table. It flipped with all my weight on it, the pitcher of cocktails flying to the cement with a crash.
“Whoa, big man. You look like you need a bed,” he said, his voice wavering and foggy to my ears. He wrapped an arm around me. I leaned into him, unable to focus on anything but the odd sensation of feeling leaving my body. We made it inside, to a long chaise in a dimly lit office before my knees went out. Adam managed to get me into the chaise with a grunt. He sat beside me, stroking my hair and whispering things that I couldn’t comprehend before I passed out.
I came to later, much later, and Adam was there, looming over me. My thoughts were cloudy and I tried to sit up but my body hadn’t gotten the message from my sloppy brain.
“Easy now, here, have a drink.” He held another drink out to me. I lashed out, knocking the glass from his hand. He glowered at me. “I’m getting tired of cleaning up your messes. Now just lay back and let me take care of you.”
He grabbed at my crotch.
“What the fuck are you doing!”
He started to reply, but I’d gotten to my feet. The room spun. He stepped closer, touched my face, and I drew back and punched him as hard as a man with rubber arms could punch. He crashed to his ass, blood spewing out of his nose.
“I quit, you sick bastard!”
“Fuck you, you’re fired, you ungrateful bastard!” He sat on the floor, holding his face in his hands. “You’ll never work on another research project again!”
I tripped over my feet to the back door, found my phone and clothes in the cabana, and somehow managed to dress before I bumbled my way to the front gate and out onto the winding desert road. Fingers still numb from whatever he’d slipped into my drink, I dialed Ryker, praying that he was home now and would save me. Someone had to…
Six
Ryker
Seeing Ten opposite Tate on this final faceoff was surreal. There was only a minute left of OT in this game and so far it had been the Railers who’d had the upper hand, until it seemed, Tate turned up the speed and took advantage of a gassed Ten.