Edward strode down the hall on his way to the lab. He flashed a dashing smile at everyone he passed and many were friendly right back. Damn straight! He imagined a whole freaking orchestra behind him, a soundtrack to this beautiful morning. Upswing, baby! He would run this place someday if his good luck kept up. Screw the attractive upper class, the present belonged to the bold and the dreamers. He ran into Ruiz, and a smile flashed across the Latin American man’s face.

“Looking sharp, Edward.”

“Likewise, Alfonzo.” The baby blue scrubs could have offered a bit more appeal, but Alfonzo didn’t need it. His dark hair, bedroom eyes, and hearty laugh probably got him plenty of play.

“Drinks tonight?”

“You know it. Your place?”

Alfonzo nodded and held up his hand for a high five. They continued on to different departments. Edward liked Alfonzo’s company; he was a solid guy with a decent sense of humour. He wished he could divulge every dirty detail about his night, but his mind argued against it if he ever wanted a repeat session. He most certainly did. 

Nate arrived at the lab ten minutes after Edward and wore a curious smile. The thin man sat down on the stool beside him. Edward whistled away with the vague notion that Nate watched him reconstruct a damaged laptop fan.

“You’re the talk of the office, Edward.”

“Really?” Had word got out already about his and Olivia’s arrangement? She had emphasized this whole arrangement required secrecy, but maybe she had changed her mind. Couldn’t help but share such a good thing, could you, sweetheart? “Why is that?”

“Your extremely pleasant mood, it seems to be contagious.”

“Oh,” Edward said, disappointment settled in for a brief moment like the funk of unwashed socks and stale bread. “I think good sleep is catching up to me.”

Nate laughed. “Well, sleep doesn’t make you grin like that.”

Edward smiled even wider and turned back to the fan. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Nate still watched him.

“You know, I had the same look on my face the day I met my wife.”

“She’s definitely not looking to be someone’s wife,” Edward said and laughed before his eyes went wide. He had to watch out to avoid another long, lonely dry spell. She was his warrior princess, rescuing him from not one but two deserts with her sultry wiles. “But, you’ll keep that between the two of us, won’t you.”

“Of course, I’m not looking to ruin whatever arrangement you’ve found yourself.”

“Thanks Nate.” Edward went looking for a new screw driver. Nate turned out to be a pretty stand up guy after all. “How does marriage hold up after all these years?”

”If I knew, I would tell you. Unfortunately, Rose left this world ten years ago. I would trade the rest of my time for just another day with her.”       

“I’m sorry, Nate, I didn’t know.”

“I’ve learned to come to term with it. I’ve been blessed with my wonderful daughter Mischa who gives me a reason to wake up every morning.”

Edward couldn’t help but wonder if Mischa was searching for something behind her father’s back. He made a mental note to do some more snooping when she stopped by later. Nate was a really decent guy and teenage girls could be, well teenage girls.

Edward kept an eye out for Olivia at lunch but she was surrounded by her work colleagues. He didn’t bother going over. Unfortunately for his sense of masculinity, Williams happened to be one of those colleagues. The man kept casting her glances after each story or conversation, rather desperate. Edward hadn’t even had to try and he landed her in his bed. The sweetest victory.

He set down his plate at the long table beside Nate as he discreetly kept an eye on Olivia. After last night, it was hard not to. Luckily, he wouldn’t have to limit himself to one night. For some freak of nature reason, she wanted to make it a regular thing. He sure as hell would make it count next time. She’d drop him to the curb like last night’s dinner otherwise. All he needed to figure out was how. Maybe he could find a gym around here to build some stamina or just do jumping jacks in his room or something. Too bad porn wasn’t an option anymore.

“Mischa’s not eating with us?” Edward asked.

“There are some other teens here. It’s probably best she doesn’t spend all her time with her old man so she can at least pretend things aren’t so different.”

“Are they sending any of them to school?”

“Apprenticeships. Her latest one doesn’t seem to be going so well so far. It’s harder when you weren’t recruited and your skills don’t match just right.”

“Do you know how that whole recruitment business started? They had me under surveillance six months before the disaster.”

“I have to confess, I was part of that team. Some of your online activity sparked our interest. From there, we kept tabs on you.”

Edward raised an eyebrow and really hoped that they hadn’t gone extensively through his online history. Privacy existed for a reason. “Had to let me rot in the desert for a few weeks though, didn’t you?” Edward joked.

“We had an unforeseeable event or two came up which got in the way.”

“I’ll forgive you. The woman you sent was quite attractive so it made up for the wait.”

Nate chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, Officer Fendson? She’s certainly... interesting.”

Edward laughed from his gut. “Officer? Here I was, thinking she was some kind of drill sergeant the whole time.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s been here a little too long. The cold nature of this place starts to rub off on you if you’re not too careful”

“And how long is that?”

“Just over a year.”

He took the opportunity to let his eyes wander in her direction again. Her light blue uniform fit her like a glove, if gloves happened to have a great rack. C’mon Olivia, take your eyes off that steroid monkey and look over here.

“Be careful before last night’s partner finds you leering.”

Edward’s face flushed. “She wouldn’t be too pleased.”

“Best just to have one at a time, or else the web gets too complicated.”

“Nate, you sly dog. I thought you were married for years.”

“I got married after college,” Nate said with a smile.

Later that night, once Edward was out for drinks at Alfonzo Ruiz’s place, he realized he had never kept his promise to Nate’s daughter. She had probably forgotten as well. He poured himself another drink from a mysterious bottle Alfonso acquired, hopefully under different circumstances than his own.

“How was the first week?” Alfonzo asked.

“Better than jumping out of plane. How about yours?”

“Eh, working in medicine, it’s alright. Sometimes, they ask very strange things of us. I can’t explain it, but a job is a job. This apartment is much nicer than what I had before.”

Edward smiled and added, “I know, and free drinks!”

Alfonzo laughed deeply. “Yes, our co-workers are so happy to share their habits. My Maria, I can only imagine her yelling ‘Alfonzo, you are drinking, again! You wake up and everything will be gone, your TV, your life, your wife’. She thinks I can’t stop. I can, but I choose not to.” His grin persisted, but the empty apartment left a bitter sting to the re-enacted words. “Were your co-workers as generous?”

“Actually, Fendson stopped by last week with a bottle.”

“Are you serious?”

“I know, couldn’t believe it myself. Brand new bourbon, which to be fair, she smashed my other one when she picked me up in the helicopter.”

 “She brings you bourbon, that woman?”

“She boggles my mind sometimes,” he said, thinking of last night. It was certainly different than any intimate moment he had ever had, but not necessary in a bad way. He did want to kiss her and didn’t quite understand her aversion to it. He’d respect it all the same if they continued to make it a weekly event. He had reached when he threw that statement out. Once or twice a month was his best guess, but she’d gone for the weekly offer without protest. It paid to be confident.

“You must have melted her ice heart when you parachuted together.”

“What can I say, I’m a charmer,” he joked. It was pretty safe because he knew Alfonzo had no suspicions. Hell, if he hadn’t been there in the flesh, he wouldn’t have believed it either.

“You’re more entertaining than Williams, maybe she’ll come around.”

Edward laughed. “What is that guy doing here now?”

“He was recruited into the security division and works with your woman.”

 Edward just laughed. He assumed she would be mortified if anyone called her their woman. So Williams was the brawn of the organization along with sweet Olivia. At least Edward could claim to be at the brain for once, not that a nerd status would do much to get him points. But then again, the world was evolving before his eyes and putting on show he could only imagine in the past.

A/N: Any predictions on what Mischa is up to, snooping around? Hope you're enjoying the read so far. There's lot to come including Mischa's perspective and a little more insight into Cynthia and Vita's situation. Thanks for reading :)