“Coffee, for Your Highness, as ordered.”
“I’m glad you recognize my exalted status.” She held it under her nose and breathed in, savoring the aroma. With her first sip of the scalding liquid, she began to feel slightly more human.
“I am but your humble servant.” Liam bowed and flashed her a mocking smile, complete with those adorable dimples of his.
For the first time, she noticed his attire. His short-sleeved T-shirt clung to his broad chest and left his bulging biceps exposed. She swallowed the excess saliva flowing in her mouth.
Maybe this workout won’t be as bad as I thought.
In her wildest dreams, Carly couldn’t have imagined a home gym as well equipped as Bran’s. She climbed onto an elliptical machine, positioned facing the weight machines and free weights. She was being force-fed an eyeful of rippling muscles from both men as they exercised their upper bodies, but she wasn’t complaining.
But looking at Liam’s trim physique and broad shoulders? Let’s just say the warm, floating feeling in her chest kicked up a notch or two.
When Branson shifted to leg exercises, Liam moved himself to a recumbent bike, opened a black case, and began to strap electrodes onto his thighs.
“What’s that?” Carly asked, before it occurred to her that the question might be rude.
Fortunately, Liam didn’t seem offended. Instead, he flashed a smile, showing off his even white teeth. “This is one of AEP’s newest developments. It’s a prototype of a portable functional electric stimulator. This thing makes my leg muscles contract, increasing strength and decreasing atrophy. If we can get the cost down, this could make electric stimulation exercise affordable for millions of people.”
“Millions of people?”
His expression went grim. “Believe it or not, there are over five million people in the United States who suffer from some form of paralysis. The majority don’t have access to the kind of equipment they need to improve their health. They certainly can’t afford sixteen to thirty K for an FES bike.”
That’s it! I’ll never feel sorry for myself again just because I lost my hair!
With a heap of guilt from observing both guys working harder than she was, Carly moved to a rowing machine, and Bran got on a treadmill beside her. She took a moment to admire his form. He was in impeccable physical shape—not an ounce of fat on his body—though she preferred Liam’s considerably broader shoulders.
“Do you have everything you need?” Bran asked as he increased the speed to a brisk run.
“I can’t imagine what else you could provide for me,” Carly said, slightly breathless from exertion. “Unless you have a spare set of in-shape lungs lying around.”
“I’m afraid all my lungs are currently spoken for.” He grinned, his rapid stride appearing almost effortless. “I wanted to ask you about your research.”
“Okay...” She glanced across the room where Liam was still strapping his legs onto the exercise bike. Hopefully, they were out of earshot. “What did you want to know?”
“From what I’ve read, it seems you’re on the edge of a breakthrough in spinal injury treatment. I’m just curious if you have plans to continue your work on the nano-regeneration when you finish your doctorate.”
She glanced Liam’s direction again, but the noise of the treadmill seemed to be loud enough to cover their conversation. “I’m really excited about it, and so is my advisor. He’s already applied for a patent. But I’ll probably have to switch to something else in May. My professor hasn’t offered me a post-doc, and I can’t take my research with me to another place.”
“I’m aware that Dr. Staghorn made a patent application a few weeks ago. But I’m confident this research could be moved to Limitless,” Bran said. “My legal team tells me our grant contract gives us specific rights to any marketable discoveries. Limitless doesn’t provide grants to help a few lucky people get rich. Our goal is to help all the people out there who aren’t so lucky.”
Carly cringed. “Dr. Staghorn is going to be so mad. If he blames me, I may not get my degree.”
“At the moment, I wouldn’t say he’s angry,” said Bran. “I’d describe it as sweating bullets. He took a risk and ended up cutting his own throat. Otherwise, I’d be offering this job to him instead of you.”
“You’re actually offering me a job?” She froze. “At Limitless?”
It was a dream come true! Things like this didn’t happen to Carly.
“We’re creating a position at our research facility in Seattle.” He cleared his throat. “Eh-hem... where Liam works.”
I knew there had to be a catch.
A quick check showed Liam hard at work on the exercise bike, his forearms pumping two integrated handles. Carly restarted her rowing efforts.
“Bran, did Fordham tell you about Liam and my brother and the accident?”
“Yes, he did. And I’ve kept my promise of secrecy, in anticipation of the guacamole coming at lunchtime.” He waggled teasing eyebrows, then sobered. “I only agreed to hide your identity from Liam to allow you the time to tell him yourself. He’s both a friend and business partner. I can’t keep lying to him.”
Acid boiled in her empty stomach.
“I’m going to tell him. I’m waiting for the right time.”
“Do you blame him for your brother’s death?”
She’d been mulling that question over in her mind since her eye-opening conversation with Nora. “I honestly don’t. They were teenagers who made really stupid decisions that night. My brother got off easy. All the rest of us, including Liam and I, have suffered the consequences for sixteen years.”
As much as she’d tried, she couldn’t unload the guilt hanging on her own shoulders.
“Tell him that,” said Bran. “It’ll do him good to hear it.”
“I will, sometime today.” She nodded, belatedly remembering Bran couldn’t see it. “But about that job you mentioned... I’m grateful and honored, but I could never work that closely with Liam.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not strong like he is. I’ve suppressed my feelings all these years. I’m practically a walking zombie. And you know how Liam is. He’s got a huge heart, and he thinks he’s responsible for everyone else’s happiness. If I were around him every day, what are the chances he wouldn’t start blaming himself for what I’ve become?”
