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“Yeah, a little.”
“They’re sending an actor to come shadow one of our radio astronomers, and I thought that since you’re not going to present at the conference, it would make the most sense to have him follow you around,” Keenan says.
Oh, hell to the no. Not doing it. “One could also say that because Chad is prepared for the conference, he has a lot more time than I do.”
“The thing is, Chad may have overstated how prepared he is. He’s still got some things to wrap up to be ready in time. More importantly, this situation requires someone with a certain skill set that not everyone else on the team possesses.”
He means tact. “Uh-huh,” I say, just as my niece, Camilla, walks into the room, her face covered in red sauce.
I blow her a kiss, then gesture for her to leave the room, but she just stands there and whispers, “Zia, can I have your gnocchi?”
I shake my head and mouth no at her. I love my niece, but giving up my portion of homemade gnocchi? I don’t think so.
Keenan’s saying something about how giving and patient I am while Camilla drops to her knees and holds her hands to her chest like she’s praying. “Puleeeaaaase, Zia. I’m a growing girl.”
“What’s that sound?” Keenan asks.
“Nothing, my niece is asking me a question,” I answer, pursing my lips at her and snapping my fingers. I gesture for her to leave, only to have her pull her bottom lip out in her best attempt at looking pathetic. “Fine,” I hiss, knowing she’s not going to give up.
Immediately she springs to action, running out of the room, leaving the door open behind her.
I walk over and shut it just as I hear my grandma say, “Where the hell did she go, anyway? It’s dinner time!”
“Sorry about that. We’ve got company this evening,” I tell him.
“Don’t apologize, I know I interrupted your weekend. I just didn’t want to blindside you with this when you come in tomorrow morning. I thought it better to give you time to absorb the news.”
I plunk myself on my dad’s old plaid armchair, rocking back and forth a bit. “I appreciate that, Keenan.”
“Well, I appreciate all your hard work, Allie. You’re definitely a team player and I was hoping that being able to work with Hudson Finch would offset your disappointment about the conference.”
“Sorry, who did you say?”
“Hudson Finch. He’s the one who will be shadowing you.”
My face immediately grows hot. My heart pounds. Hudson Freaking Finch?
“Have you heard of him?”
“Yup,” I squeak, unable to get a full breath of air.
“Yes, he’s got quite the star power, doesn’t he?” Keenan asks. “And as I was saying, the publicity we’ll get from this could draw in a lot of donations. It’s a huge win for the team, so we need to put our best foot forward to maximize this opportunity.”
“Right, definitely,” I answer, my stomach growling again.
“I imagine trying to teach him everything you can about astronomy in a short six weeks is going to be rather intense.”
Intense? I get a mental image of me standing next to him in lab coats for some reason, even though we never wear them, and him tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. Is he going to kiss me in this ridiculous fantasy? No, he isn’t. And even if he did, it would only be because he wants to use me and lose me. I’m about to tell Keenan I can’t do it, but he starts talking again before I can think of a good excuse. “I really appreciate you taking this on, Allie. In fact, I’ll make sure some of the studio’s donation goes directly into your project.”
This is a done deal, isn’t it? Chad’s going to get to speak in Zurich, Lando’s going to beat me to the punch, and I’m going to end up babysitting a celebrity for six weeks, only to have all my dreams go up in smoke. Unless … what if he’s not going to be here until after I get Frank working?
“Um, when does Mr. Finch arrive?”
“Tomorrow morning at eleven.”
My shoulders drop. “Oh.”
“Listen, Allie, I want you to know that you’ll be at the top of the list for the next summit.”
