Hearts Under Ice Read online

  Life wasn’t too bad on the professional side of things, though. He finally had his own business, Vaughn Industries, which was also a lab where they did all sorts of experiments. Even though it was technically designed to work on things that could help the environment, he would do his own work now and then. The group was small, but it was running well. All they needed was one more person to make their little family complete. The interviews had been held and someone was finally chosen. That person would start soon, and would learn the ropes in the office quickly.

  Pam, Donnie’s receptionist, had told him a little bit about the applicant that the team had picked. Olivia Mendoza was only a few years younger than him, and she had finally completed her bachelor’s degree. She didn’t have a whole lot of experience working anywhere, but she was eager to learn. That was the one thing that got their attention—she was not a scientist, and that was okay. What everyone wanted was someone who had never worked here before. Olivia admitted that her science knowledge was mostly from college requisites, but that didn’t bother them. She had no problem letting her first big job be in a lab. She had worked in a salon for a few years, but that had been part time. Pam was the one to let Donnie know as soon as the position was filled. He wanted to know what science classes she had taken, but Pam shook her head at that. That also meant that she probably would not want to be friends, which was a bit disappointing for him. It put an end to his thinking about telling the new employee his plans.

  “She’s going to do those usual office things—file papers, type up stuff, answer calls if needed, and once in a while, she’ll run a few errands.” Pam explained one day. Donnie had stopped by to find out about their new employee and she had all the details. “Would you like her to help you with anything?”

  “Um, I don’t need her at the moment. I think where you have here is a good place to start. Once she’s comfortable there, we might move her up to other jobs.” He’d looked at her application and photo. She was very pretty, with thick brown hair, dark eyes, and tan skin. However, he was far more interested in her credentials. As suspected, her bachelor’s degree was in sociology. He didn’t want to look down on anyone who had their degree in liberal arts, but he wondered if she was in the right place. It probably wasn’t the kind of job that she would have liked to find after college.

  “When does she start?”

  “Next month. She’s going to be in the office a few doors from yours,” Pam went on. “Try and be nice to her, Dr. Vaughn. I know she doesn’t have the science requirements we normally expect of our employees, but still, I think she could be a great asset.”

  Donnie sighed. “Pam, I told you. It’s okay to call me Donnie over here.”

  “I don’t know. We’re not exactly on the ‘best friend level’ here, Dr. Vaughn. I’m not sure if we’re even on the ‘close colleague level.’” She shrugged. “You’re a great guy, but I will feel weird calling you by such a childish nickname.”

  He wanted to mouth off to her, but chose to stay silent. He liked his nickname very much, but no one else wanted to call him by it. He understood how important it was to be professional, and would have no problem with leaving it alone. However, everyone else called each other by their nicknames, so he wondered why he was always singled out. He figured that the others were intimidated by him. He did his best to appear as normal as possible; he didn’t go crazy over science in public, he didn’t use words that most people wouldn’t know, and he tried to keep up with current events. It was painful to read some of the gossip magazines, but he did it anyway. Not that this useless knowledge helped him in any way. People still saw him as a nerd, and only spoke to him out of politeness. No one wanted to really know him.

  “Anyway, I’ll see if we can get that empty office cleaned up so she can move in. We’ll also have to set up her computer,” he added. “Just make sure that someone accompanies her if she comes into the lab.”

  “Yes, Dr. Vaughn.” Pam promised. “I think she’s going to fit in just fine.”

  “Me too.” He murmured, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I think it’s time for me to go now. I’ll see you tomorrow, Pam.”

  “Take care, Dr. Vaughn.”

  That was it. She was polite as always, but never wanted to say more than that. Pam might have been a few years older than him, but he felt like he knew nothing about her. He knew that she had three children, all still in school, and that her husband worked at the power plant. She liked playing poker, eating Baby Ruth candy bars, going on cruises, salsa dancing, pedicures, and yoga, though never hot yoga. While he had some knowledge about these things, it wasn’t enough to share anything significant. Even right now, she had admitted that they weren’t ‘colleague close’. That was the same thing he heard from his two assistants, Vijay and Leila. They were good kids, with great educational backgrounds and work ethics. The only problem was that they didn’t want to hang out with him, either. They had used the same ‘we aren’t that close’ excuse with him, and he found himself lonely. It was the same old thing, every single day.

  He hoped that Olivia Mendoza would prove him wrong. He hoped that she would be interested in his ideas and would talk to him after work. He wanted her to see him as more than just a boss. Those were things that he wanted for the future. He wanted her to know the kind of person he was.

  After all, no one else did.

  Chapter Two

  The alarm was supposed to go off at seven, but Olivia was awake at six. She shut it off and slowly rolled out of bed. The sun was already pouring through her window’s curtains, and she could not ignore it. The strange dreams she was having all night didn’t help, either. She saw herself running through mazes and being dragged around by a man. He had no face or name, and he never spoke to her. Surrounding them were planets of all kinds. There were the usual planets that she knew, and some new ones she never noticed before. It felt like they were traveling to different galaxies and moving from world to world. Somehow, she ended up breaking out of her slumber and staring up at the ceiling. There had been no sound in the dream, but she could recall one thing. Someone had whispered a message to her, and it was still lingering in her mind.

  You don’t understand anything now, and that is fine. All answers will reveal themselves in due time. The only thing you must understand now is that someone is going to need you. When that moment comes, you will be ready to accept the impossible.

  She looked around the room and wondered if someone had been playing tricks on her. There was no reason for her parents to. They liked to tease her, but they would never do something this creepy. No one else lived in the house but the three of them, and she doubted any of their friends would visit so early in the morning. Even if they had, it wouldn’t be to toy with her. The dream was just a dream and nothing more, she rationalized. She was trying too hard to find meaning in this fleeting thing.

  “Yeah, it’s a just dream. Get over yourself, O. No one is sending you a message.” She murmured, stumbling out of bed. For a second, she forgot why she was up so early, but it hit her as soon as she saw her clothes. These were the same ones she had laid out the night before, and for good reason.

  Today was the day. She had to get through the orientation and meet everyone at the lab. Even though she wouldn’t do any actual work, it would still count towards her paycheck, so she had to show up. The only thing she was hoping for was that Dr. Vaughn would be a decent human being. She had heard every rumor about him, and wanted only the good ones to be true. She wanted him to be brilliant, understanding, and willing to accept that his new employee might make mistakes. She didn’t want him to be cold, hot-tempered, or have a holier than thou attitude. She had known many smart people in college that had been like that, and she didn’t need to deal with that in the workplace as well.

  Her mother and father were already downstairs and waiting for her when she was ready for work. There was a plate of French toast and Pop Tarts waiting for her at her seat. Olivia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. While she did like Pop
Tarts, they seemed too childish to eat on her big day. A part of her was hankering for some bacon and sausage, but she couldn’t have any. The family was trying to eat healthier through various methods. Each month, they would try something new. Last month, they went with the Atkins diet. The month before, they had to eat gluten-free food. This time, her mother thought it would be fun to be vegetarians who still ate eggs, but nothing else. Olivia didn’t mind this diet so much. It just made eating out a little harder. She couldn’t stop at fast food places for quick bites or chow down on hot wings when she had the urge. They were all getting used to the change, but the Pop Tarts seemed to be too much.

  “Was this necessary?” she pointed to the plate. “I know I love those chocolate Pop Tarts, but today’s the day! I can’t go walking around with chocolate bits stuck in my teeth!”

  “You can always brush your teeth and floss before you leave.” Her mother reminded her. “You don’t have to eat all of them. Just have a little something so you aren’t hungry throughout day. You don’t know when your lunch will be.”

  “I doubt they’ll make me starve, Mom.” She sighed. “I’ll have my lunch on time.”

  “I know, but I’m nervous! What if they are very strict? This is a lab, after all. You can’t fool around too much.”

  “I’m not going to fool around at all! I’m sure everything will be fine. I haven’t even left the house, and you’re already worried!”

  “Ah, she’s your mother. Worrying is going to be her specialty.” Her father joked. “In all seriousness, you should remember everything about your workplace. They might expect more than you think.”

  Olivia nodded and put the Pop Tarts in her bag. She had done her share of research by now, but it was her parents who really dug into everything about Dr. Vaughn. He was a certified genius, and the one that was supposed to save the world, scientifically speaking. Apparently, he was the on track to find the cure for cancer. He had been doing that work for a long time, and it seemed like there was a breakthrough. But the more interesting thing that he was working had something to do with parallel universes. According to him, they did exist, and it was possible to move through them. If he was correct, then people could skip around and fiddle with time in another world. They could meet people that they hadn’t seen in years, or witness the start and end of a war.

  “I gotta go, guys!” Olivia said as she headed out the door. “I’ll be back before five. If I do stay late, I promise to call.”

  “Make sure you are careful on the road!” her mother threw in. “Use your GPS if you need to! If you think you’re going to be late, call the office!”

  “Yes, yes! I’ll see you guys tonight!” she waved at her parents one last time before getting in the car and driving off. As much as she loved them, their overprotective nature was starting to get on her nerves. She wished that this new job would pay her enough so she could finally move out. She felt so embarrassed that she still lived with them. Sure, she didn’t have to make house payments or do much housework, but she wanted more freedom.

  As she turned on the radio and cruised down the road, she thought back on her research of Dr. Vaughn. His talk about parallel universes had caught her attention. There were times when she had wished to go back and start grad school earlier. She wanted to go on more double dates with her friends and see if that led to anything. She wanted to be able to see other countries and not worry about passports or declaring anything at customs. For a second, she just wanted to believe Dr. Vaughn and his ideas.

  Reality, however, came crashing in as she thought about where she was going. She had a job now. She needed to focus on that.

  Living in a parallel universe. Yeah, right. I have enough issues dealing with the one that I’m living in. She thought, mentally folding up this information. She had already gone through the interview process, but her mother insisted that she learn as much as possible beforehand. If Dr. Vaughn asked her about his work, she had to be prepared. Olivia was still skeptical about the parallel universe theory, but she was willing to listen and see what he had found. If he was honest and all of this was real, then she would like to see just what another world was like. It could be nice to know who she would be in a different world. Maybe this other version of Olivia Mendoza was a strong, confident woman, who’d already finished school and had a family. There could have been an Olivia that was rich, listened to no one but herself, and ruled with her mind and her heart. All of that was very appealing, and now she was starting to hope to learn the truth about Dr. Vaughn’s research.

  Olivia parked in the lot that was designated for employees and got out. Her mother would have been pleased to see that her daughter parked the car in the right area. Vaughn Industries itself was a rather large building with five stories. Her office would be on the very top, which was where Dr. Vaughn also worked. Once she got inside, she hopped in the elevator. The instructions she had been given told her to meet with the secretary at the front and get a security clearance into the fifth floor. Once there, she would also receive her badge and be taken around the area. The elevator doors opened, and Olivia went to the desk where a secretary was sitting. She was a woman of about forty, with bright red hair and tight pink lips. She was talking on the phone when Olivia came up to her desk and looked around for a sign-in sheet. The instructions had also mentioned something about that, but she could not see one. The secretary finally hung up and noticed that she had company.

  “May I help you?” she asked politely.

  “Yes, I’m supposed to start work today. I’m working for a Dr. Vaughn here, and I was wondering where he was.” Olivia looked down at the words she saw scribbled on the paper. It looked like such an important name—Donovan Vaughn. If someone had two last names in their name, it always made them sound like an authority figure.

  “You must be Olivia Mendoza. Dr. Vaughn is a little busy at the moment, but I can show you to your desk.” The secretary said, getting up and holding out her hand. “I’m Pam. I usually work the front desk from nine to five on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Janine is the secretary that takes over on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We’re both over here if you need anything.”

  “Yeah, that’s great!” Olivia exclaimed, hoping she didn’t sound overly enthusiastic. She had to be confident and eager, but not sound like she had downed ten cups of sugary coffee. “Will I be working alongside Dr. Vaughn?”

  That wasn’t what she had wanted to ask, but Pam didn’t seem to mind. “I doubt you’ll be working in the lab very much. That area is restricted for the supervisors and scientists. Now, Dr. Vaughn might change his mind and let you in on a few things. He’ll probably let you observe and take notes. You just aren’t going to do experimenting.”

  “Sounds fair enough. I think I can take notes.” Olivia was hoping that she didn’t need to mix any chemicals. The last time she had taken a chemistry test was back when she was a freshman in college. Even still, she managed to get out of that class with a solid ‘C’. After that class, she didn’t want to deal with labs or chemicals for as long as she lived.

  “Here we are!” Pam opened the door and showed her the empty desk. The only things on it were a computer and some dust. “The tech guys should be up later today to work on your computer and get you access inside the network. I’ll show you where the break room and everything else is once you’re settled down. We usually have lunch around twelve, if that’s okay with you. Some people take half an hour, and some need an hour. You just let Dr. Vaughn know how long you want to take yours.”

  Olivia nodded, mentally taking notes in her head. This wasn’t something she needed to keep track of, but she was nervous. This place was intimidating, and she was scared to meet Dr. Vaughn. In her mind, he was much older than her and had one of those permanent smirks plastered across his face. He seemed to be the type who would throw out scientific terms just to screw with her head. In secret, he would probably mock her for not being as smart as him. She had to stay cool and not let this bother her. Her mother had always sai
d never to let her insecure side show, because that would be the one thing that people would pounce on. She began to breathe more slowly and started counting in her head. The day had only begun. She would make it.

  You haven’t even met him yet, O. He is your colleague. Just because he has a PhD doesn’t make him a monster. Treat him like you would treat anyone else in this world.

  Pam led her to another office that had the name DONOVAN VAUGHN written on the door. It was wide open, but no one was inside. She shrugged and took her down the hall. “Looks like Dr. Vaughn is in his lab. I was hoping to introduce you to him before he went on break, but he’s not in. Let’s go to the lab, and I can show you what he does.”

  Donovan Vaughn. The name rolled off her tongue and made her giggle at the same time. She had expected him to have a name that was more old-fashioned, not something that almost rhymed. There was a good chance he wasn’t such a hard-ass after all. Anyone whose parents had given him a name like that couldn’t be all that bad.

  She was feeling more optimistic as they made their way around the corner and saw the lab. It was larger than she had imagined, with all kinds of test tubes, beakers, and machinery covering the flat surfaces. She wasn’t sure what the liquids in the tubes were or what was printing out of the machines, but it didn’t matter. Something about this lab was fascinating. It was a pity that she wasn’t actually working in it. Being a lab assistant would probably be pretty fascinating.

  “I’m going to find Dr. Vaughn. Try not to touch anything, because he can be quite prickly if someone disturbs his work,” Pam warned her. Olivia’s optimism slowly vanished at that. The last thing she wanted was a prickly boss. “Just stay right here, look, and don’t touch. Think you can handle that?”