Page 17 of Reunion at Mistletoe Lodge
“Paige, I need you to tell me everything about our brother’s visit to you before he got shot,” Liam told her.
“I’d been in Denver for two days and giving a lecture when someone snuck into the back of the class. To my surprise, it was one of my older brothers,” Paige started telling the story. “After the lecture, he took me to lunch and asked me about the Boulder project I’d been assigned to and about the professor running it.”
“Why was he interested in the professor?” Liam asked.
“He wanted to know some details about the new telescope project I’m working on at Keck,” Paige replied. “You know that our brother hasbeen funding it.”
“What?” Liam looked at her in surprise. “He’s funding the project?”
“Not all of it,” Paige corrected herself. “He’s made large contributions and has found a lot of donors to make the project happen. Professor Jackson, the one I’m working with here in Boulder, also splits his time between Boulder and Hawaii. Professor Jackson is also heading up the project with two other professors in Hawaii.”
“Professor Jackson?” Liam’s brows furrowed as he wondered if the man was related to Barb in any way, as Barb’s real last name was Jackson. He made a mental note to look into the man as he might just be the person they were looking for.
“Yes,” Paige nodded. “He’s such an intelligent man and one of the top in his field.”
“Did our brother meet with Professor Jackson?” Liam asked her.
“Yes,” Paige nodded. “They had quite a lengthy meeting. I wasn’t there for it as I had another lecture. I was leaving for Hawaii thefollowing day, so our brother suggested that I stay the night in Denver with him at the Four Seasons. The next morning, he surprised me by telling me he was coming to Hawaii with me to check out the telescope project. Professor Jackson made arrangements for him to meet with the other two professors on the project.”
Liam’s brows knit tighter together. “Our brother was going to Hawaii?”
“Yes, that’s why I was with him at the private air hangar. We were taking the family jet,” Paige told him.
“Why would he be interested in a telescope?” Liam sat back as the waitress brought their food.
“That’s a question only he can answer,” Paige told him, eyeing her meal in delight. “Maybe it’s good for his image?”
“He would’ve published something about it,” Liam said contemplatively.
“He also asked a lot of questions about the professors working on the telescope.” She frowned. “ButI think that was just because of my moan about the other jerk that started there a year ago.”
“What other jerk?” Liam asked, wondering about the flash of anger in his sister's eyes.
“There’s this new pompous idiot who’s started at Keck, and I believe he’s also up for the same promotion I’m wanting.” Her eyes narrowed angrily.
Liam’s eyes narrowed when he noticed his sister's cheeks flush slightly as she spoke about the man. “What’s his name? This man we’re hating on.”
“Doctor Cane Rivers,” Paige sneered. “The man is so arrogant and oozing confidence. He thinks the world just falls at his feet. You know, the type who thinks rivers part for him if he needs to get across without a boat.”
“Mm,” Liam said, nodding. “And how old is Doctor Arrogant Jerk?”
“I don’t know,” Paigeshrugged, annoyed. “Thirty?”
“And what does he look like?” Liam continued to grill his sister, watching how flustered and irritated she was getting speaking about the man as she shoveled her food around her plate.
“Here, I’ll show you, Nancy Drew,” Paige drawled sarcastically. She pulled out her phone and found a photo. “There.” She shoved the phone in Liam’s face. “You can see for yourself what an arrogant idiot he is. It even comes across in his photos. He’s the one standing in between Professor Stanton and his wife, the other Professor Stanton.” She drew in a ragged, angry breath.
“I can see how arrogant he looks!” Liam bit back a smile.
“This was taken when the second stage of the telescope was completed about a month ago.” Paige shook her head in annoyance. “That’s why they’re holding up the gold commemoration plate with the date on it to document the project stages. I should’ve been in that photo, not the arrogant jerk.”
Liam was getting the impression that his sister had a giant crush on Doctor Arrogant Jerk and made a mentalnote to check the guy out. He took the phone to get a closer look, and his sister's finger immediately tapped on the guy's face, blotting out other faces.
“Mm.” Liam nodded. He guessed the guy to be about six-two and not at all the nerdy professor type he was expecting. Even Liam could appreciate that women would find the tall guy handsome. “I guess he’s a hit with the students as well?”
“I’m just waiting for one of them to file some sort of harassment charge against him,” Paige sneered.
“What a douche!” Liam laughed, pulling the phone away when his sister went to snatch it back.
