Heather Woodhaven - Texas Takedown

Ducks squawked. One hopped onto an empty chair of an outdoor diner. It was like a hidden world underneath the city. Isabelle flinched as a man brushed past her. She stepped closer to Matt.

“We’re almost there,” he said. They passed the colorful tables, and the music faded in the background as he led her inside the waiting area of a posh restaurant. “See your party?”

On her tiptoes, she spotted the graying head of Darren Allen, the CEO of Endangered Robotics. He leaned back in his seat to talk to another man. Their plates held the remains of their meals. A waiter approached their table and handed them each a black book. “Oh, no. They’ve already got their bills.”

Isabelle was raised knowing that if you arrived five minutes early to an event, you were actually ten minutes late. Joining the party this tardy pained her. And to top it off, there wasn’t an empty spot for her to sit, if even for a few minutes.

Matt looked over her shoulder. “At least they aren’t completely done. Some of them are still eating. Look, there is an empty table right next to them. You can get a little networking in before they leave while you wait for some food.” He leaned over and spoke to the hostess.

The thought of sitting alone at the small square table put a pit in her stomach. She’d look pathetic to the rest of the attendees. No, she’d be better off cutting her losses and trying again tomorrow. But the hostess was already waving at her. “Right this way.”

Darren Allen caught her eye. Oh, great. If she turned around now, they would all know she was too chicken to eat alone. She gulped and looked over her shoulder. “Okay. Well, thanks, Matt.”

He nodded and touched her elbow. “See you in a bit.”

Darren waved at her. “There’s the new golden girl we’ve been hearing all about. Your presentation must be something else to get added at the last minute. We were hoping you’d have joined us for dinner to tell us about it.”

Every giant in the industry of oceanographic research and innovation looked up at her. “I’m sorry. I was held up.”

A man about her age turned in his chair. His blue eyes twinkled up at her. “Oh, so you must be the expert of fluid dynamics I keep hearing about.” He held out his hand. “Robert.”

“Struther,” she finished for him. “You were the youngest winner ever of the underwater robot competition before you were swept up as the lead researcher for Robotic Aquatic.” She cringed inwardly. She sounded like a fangirl, which she was, but she needed him to see her more like a colleague.

He shrugged. “Vice president now, but yes. I expect I’ll never fully leave the lab.” He gestured to her chair. “Please. Don’t let us keep you from ordering. We’re just wrapping up.” He nodded at the rest of the group. She waved awkwardly at everyone, but most of them just nodded back.

Struther stood. “Nice to meet you...uh...”

“Isabelle Barrows.” She shook his hand. “From Hayden Research Station.”

He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Any spoilers you can give about your presentation?”

The unexpected heat from his proximity made her want to squirm, but this was exactly the kind of connection she needed to make for the institute. “Um, I think it would be detrimental to rush that conversation. Perhaps another time?”

He stared into her eyes. “I look forward to it.” He slipped a business card from his pocket and handed it to her, cupping her hand in both of his palms. “You have my number.”

Darren stood and shook her hand. “I hope you’re not eating all by your lonesome, sweetheart.”

She flinched at the term of endearment. But she supposed a lot of older men spoke that way.

Matt appeared out of nowhere and pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the table. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Izzy.” He held out a hand to the CEO. “Matt McGuire.”

Darren grinned. “Ah. Perfect place to enjoy young love.” He winked at Isabelle. “Until tomorrow.”

The group left, leaving Isabelle and Matt alone. “Where’d you come from?” she asked.

“Didn’t think I’d let you eat alone, did you?” He flashed a sheepish grin. “I realized I was hungry, and you looked uneasy. Did I overstep? Is it okay if I join you?”

Relief coursed through her body. “Yes, please.” She finally sat, keenly aware the men in the group were making their way out of the restaurant. Her pride wouldn’t leave Matt’s gesture alone, though. “I mean, I would’ve been fine, but...thank you.”

Darren and Robert stopped at the entrance doors. Through the window, the lights from above highlighted what looked like a tense interchange. “I wonder what they’re talking about.”

“Who are they?” Matt’s gaze remained on the menu.

“The older man runs a company I would’ve killed to work at fresh out of college. He leads Endangered Robotics. They use drones to keep poachers away from rare animals, but the cool thing is they’re expanding to underwater operations.”

Matt’s eyes widened. “And the other?”

“His company just landed a defense contract worth thirty million dollars.” She glanced over her shoulder. The interchange seemed to be done. “I shudder to think just how much he makes.”

“I take it not as much as you.”

Isabelle laughed aloud. “Please. You saw the hotel room my institute could afford. We’re a bare-bones outfit. But I hope to change that by luring some investors with my research.”

The waiter came and took their orders. Matt leaned on his elbows. “This is an oceanology conference, right? What could be worth millions of dollars?”

“You’ve heard about dolphins being trained for the government? Well, that guy, for instance, invented an underwater autonomous vehicle that does the work of the dolphins, only better.” For the briefest of moments it seemed the estranged years disappeared, and she was sharing everything with her best friend again.

Matt raised an eyebrow. “So, what about you? What are you working on?”

“Application of fish swarm behavior in an intelligent transportation system.” The familiar pulse of electricity when she talked about her passion made her sit up taller and talk faster. “I’ve developed a new algorithm that takes in new factors of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics and currents in a way never done before with the potential of driving systems with bottleneck and obstacle avoidance.”

Matt’s mouth parted slightly. His eyes flickered. “Uh... I don’t suppose you could repeat that in English?”

She deflated in her chair. “Drones. Think underwater drones.”

His eyebrows rose. “Oh. Cool.”

“My boss had to pull a lot of strings so I could present here. The goal is to network and share just enough of my research to get investors to partner with us.” And if she failed, who knew how much longer the institute, and therefore her job, would even exist?

Sure, she felt confident another company would hire her, but it was the last thing she wanted. Finally having a permanent home meant something, and she would do whatever it took to hold on to it. Her coworkers had become like family to her—with the exception of Hank, who already was—and she wasn’t about to give it up.

The waiter placed salads in front of them. Matt’s forehead creased in concern. “Is that why you wanted your laptop in the safe? Do you think the hotel-room incident could have something to do with it?”

“It’s probably silly to think someone would be after my research. My boss has taken every precaution to make sure no one even knows enough to want to steal it, but—”

“After the day you’ve had, you want to play it safe.”

“Exactly.”

They ate in awkward silence. He cleared his throat as the salads disappeared and the meals came. “Since I don’t know if we’ll have another chance to talk, I’d like to clear the air.”