Jack scarcely made it back to his apartment. The corridors were difficult enough to navigate sober, now it was nearly impossible. His journey became a series of difficult decisions, and he made several wrong turns. When he got to his door, he fired a fist pump as if he scored a goal. 

He held his hand over the entry pad, then he was in. Home? Upon seeing the glass cell in the room's center, Jack sobered. Slightly. This door, this room, this goddamned facility was the reason he was drunk in the first place. CIRAS's demands ripped him down the center, making him choose between his principles and achieving his life's dream.

Time to suck it up and begin what he was here to do. Damn that he was drunk. Damn that he didn't quite know where to begin. Damn that thoughts of Ellen dropped back into his mind. Damn. Damn. Damn it all.

Jack walked into the translucent chamber. This time he wasn't walking out until he turned TR on. "Computer!" He slid into the chair.

"Yes, Jack."

"Bring Tabula Rasa online."

"Changed your mind, Jack?"

"Screw you!" He slapped his palm on the desk. 

Hearing a sound, Jack cocked his head. He couldn't figure out what it was at first then he pieced it together. Someone's knocking, idiot. Go see who it is.

Ellen stood in the hallway. Her silky top hugged her curves, and her tight jeans showed off her perfect legs. And those heels . . . damn! He tried to force the thoughts that arose out of his brain. It wasn't easy. And, it wasn't working. He raked a hand through his hair, trying to get a grip on himself.

"Hey Jack, you made me a promise. I intend for you to keep it." Ellen placed her hands on her hips in a way that made an arrow.

Jesus. What promise? The one to have drinks later? She didn't look like she was here for drinks but what the hell did he know? He was drunk, and Ellen was the hottest woman he'd ever seen. His body nearly shook as he tried to resist the magnetic pull he felt towards her. It was a classic story–nerdy scientist attracted to a gorgeous secretary. He gulped as he stared, fearing he might have drowned his self-discipline in all those gin-and-tonics.

Should he try to kiss her? He wanted that and more–much, much more, but he didn't want to screw it up and lose his opportunity. Was there an opportunity?

Ellen shifted one clearly delineated hip to the side. "You could ask me in."

"Oh, of course, come in." Jack stepped back and held the door open. Ellen slipped inside and brushed against him. "Um, can I offer you a drink?"

"No, thank you."

"Can I get you anything? Do you want to sit down?"

She drew close to him, pushing against the tightened muscles of his abs and thighs. "That's not why I came, Jack."

He widened his eyes, pulling in a short breath. Straightening to his full height, he drew his shoulders back so the fabric of his t-shirt stretched across his pecs. He might be a nerd but he also was an accomplished soccer player and his body showed it. He never had any trouble "getting" girls, but his intrinsic southern good manners always fought with his natural sensuality. Nevertheless. "Why did you come, Ellen?"

Ellen glanced at his chest muscles then looked into his eyes. "To see you."

"Obviously. Why?"

"If you can't tell, you're not as smart as you're supposed to be." She moved closer until she was only inches away from him and leaned forward, offering her lips to his. Alcohol still clouded his judgment, but he was too carnally focused to care. Jack moved toward her, his need primal. She had come to him at just the right moment, and he would make sure she didn't regret it. He kissed her deep and hard, gripping the nape of her neck in both hands, letting his nails bite into her just a bit.

Ellen pulled away. "Thought you'd be like this."

His breath was ragged. "What?"

She stepped closer so that her breasts pushed into his chest. "Sexy, strong . . . sensual."

He gave her a dark smile, placing his hands on her shoulders and pulling her body into a tight line with his, his arousal obvious.

She grabbed him over his lightweight khaki pants, a glint of playfulness in her green eyes.

Jack hoped Ellen wasn't a tease or a disappointment. Gorgeous women often were.

She unzipped his pants. Jesus! He bit his lip.

It was more than tempting to let Ellen go on, but Jack was smarter than that. He didn't want to have sex with her just this once. He wanted to have sex with her every single day and night as long as his yearlong research grant lasted. He didn't have a genius IQ for nothing. He slipped his hands underneath her armpits and lifted her up with intentional gentleness. "Your turn."

"I'm not done."

"Don't worry, you'll get more."

She started to pull up her top.

"My job."

~~~

Scott Maxwell settled back in his seat, his face lit by the ambient light from the monitors. The surveillance room was his favorite in all of CIRAS, other than the rooms that made up the TR Center. Four large screens nestled among a network of many smaller screens. In the center of this arrangement was the largest screen of all, showing any visual feed sent to it.

Maxwell picked up the remote control he'd designed and changed the image displayed on the largest screen. It displayed Elvis Vitali staring at his computer. His eyes gleamed, looking like he was on drugs. Perfect.

Next, he flipped over to Prashant Chaudri's apartment. The image looked the same, except that Chaudri was Indian rather than Italian. Maxwell was pleased. He pressed the remote again–Woo, same as the others. The corners of his mouth turned up. They were all exactly where he expected them to be.

He pressed a few buttons. Now, the larger screen showed the live images from Jack Kerwin's office. Kerwin wasn't at his computer. Maxwell put the remote down and operated one of the video game-like controls to the right of his reclining chair. He toggled around until the scene on the large monitor displayed a wider view of Kerwin's apartment.

Just to the left of his apartment door, Ellen crouched down in front of the researcher. The corners of Maxwell's mouth reached up higher as he watched her distract him from all his fuss about signing the agreement. She was doing an admirable job. Maxwell liked it when all was right in the world. It was hard work keeping the idiots in line.

"Jesus Christ, Scott!"

Maxwell startled, turning to see Randolph Jameson.

"Shut that thing off!" Jameson spat. "Have you no decency?"

Maxwell gave him a lazy glance. "You could have knocked."

Jameson gritted his teeth. "I did knock."

Maxwell shrugged. "Guess I didn't hear you. What do you want?"

"Turn these things off first. You know how I feel about them."

Maxwell sneered. "And you know that I can't turn them off. We need to keep everything operating smoothly, and that requires a little work. You don't understand that, but Ellen does. Look at her! Look at how seriously she takes her duty." Maxwell gestured at the image of Ellen and Kerwin.

"You're heartless."

"Having a heart is overrated. Our center proves that. Don't you agree?"

Jameson placed a liver-spotted hand over his eyes as he looked at the floor. "Just come see me in my office later."

"What? Hmmm? Oh yeah, sure, Randy. Hey, can you move out of the way? I want to get a good view of this."

After Jameson left, Maxwell returned his full attention to the screen. Jack was giving Ellen a good screw. He zoomed in. It was fun when Ellen went out on these special assignments. But he liked it even more when she came back. He was the one who owned her, not them. He knew it was smart to reward her loyalty, so he tapped a special button on his remote.

"Yes, Dr. Maxwell?" answered a secretary whose name he couldn't remember. He'd just fired the last one three days ago.

He cleared his throat. "Have Jackson select something for Ms. Standis and have it delivered to my room tonight."

"Anything specific?"

"Yes, an emerald ring." He stopped and thought. "No, a choker. Definitely an emerald choker." Maxwell imagined it around her neck as he screwed her instead of Jack.