Jean was working late again. He could see the lights on in her lab as he made his way out of the facility. She was the most promising lead researcher heβd had in a while. Most of the really gifted, really innovative people heβd worked with had also been a little...unstable. They had a frustrating tendency to get themselves killed by their prototypes, or go power mad and inject themselves with a new product before it was finished.
Jean, though, seemed much more down to earth, and beyond that, had experience going all the way back to the tyrant program. He was lucky to have her. On a whim, he decided to head over to the lab and say hello. He wanted to keep her, and it was always a good idea to keep up the illusion that he cared about the people who worked for him, lie though it was.
βStill here?β he asked rhetorically as he opened the door and stepped into the lab. Looking at her, he was reminded that in addition to being talented, she was also quite pretty. A little smile curled at the corners of his mouth. βNo...valentine, this year?β
