Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

No sooner had she said it than she was out the door in a rush.

Roseanne felt numb all over.

Oh well, as long as they're happy...

In the lab-

Owen was poring over two sets of data from last week, spotting a discrepancy in the fourth column of the second set, just about to call Sammy over when his phone rang.

He answered it without looking-

"Hello?"

"Mr. Reynolds, it's Roseanne."

Owen paused, his gaze slowly drifting away from the screen, his voice softening, "What's up? Everything okay?"

"My dad, he... he wants to invite you over for dinner. He's cooking himself... If you're too busy, it's okay, I'll just let him know..."

"I'm free."

Roseanne stopped dead for a few seconds: "...Isn't the lab swamped?"

"It's manageable."

"So..."

Owen said, "See you tonight. And thank your dad for me, for going through the trouble to cook."

"No, it's no trouble at all."

After hanging up, Roseanne was slightly bewildered.

Wait a minute...

Just yesterday, Jen was texting her complaints about how swamped they all were with work, struggling to keep up with their schedule. And he says "it's manageable"?

Meanwhile, Stoddard, having overheard Owen conclude his call, nudged him teasingly, "Who was that? Little Roseanne, right? I could hear her voice." Owen shot him a glance, "You know, so why ask?"

Stoddard chuckled, "Man, I've pulled three all-nighters, and both Jen and Sammy have been moaning about the workload. Only you, Mr. Reynolds, can speak of it so lightly. Truly, a man with a date is a different breed."

Truth be told, Owen was pushing himself harder than anyone, but

Vel

Sw, he made it sounds

and cheerful.

Was everyone else just pretending to do experiments, fabricating reports, writing fiction?

Owen moved aside, putting some distance between them, then glanced at his watch, "If I'm not mistaken, it's been over nine hours since you received the preliminary data yesterday. How much have you verified? Is the accuracy up to standard? Have the discrepancies been corrected? When do you plan to submit the report?"

The deadly quadruple inquiry.

Stoddard: "...Sorry to have disturbed you, I'll see myself out."

He returned to his workstation with a grimace, facing the mountain of data yet to be processed.

At times like these, Stoddard found himself missing Roseanne dearly.

If she were here, she could whip up a program in minutes, making sense of the data chaos like magic.

Alas, transitioning from simplicity to luxury is easy, but the reverse is a challenge.

If only little Roseanne could permanently join their lab...

...

At six o'clock, Owen showed up at Roseanne's with a bottle of wine in hand.

Hearing someone at the door, Norris hurried out of the kitchen, spatula in hand, all smiles, "Owen, you made it?"

"Mr. Cole, sorry for the intrusion."Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

"Nonsense, no trouble at all! Come on in-"

Madge went to fetch him slippers, but Owen stopped her, "It's okay, I've got it."

Then Madge saw him expertly pull a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and slip them on.

He handed over the bottle of wine.

Madge chuckled, "You shouldn't have brought anything."

"It's only right. This wine was a gift from a friend, so consider it re-gifting."

Madge accepted it with a smile, glancing at the label and vintage, her eyebrows slightly raised.

Then her eyes flicked down to Owen's slippers, her gaze deepening...