Gathering himself, Kai glanced down at the man’s name embroidered on his lab coat. Mason Thomas. Just the person he needed to see. Extending his hand, he politely said, “Hello, sir, I’m Kai Harper, we spoke on the phone.”
Kai could have sworn the man paled, and his eyes definitely widened in surprise. His jaw even fell open before quickly snapping shut. It took him a solid ten seconds to finally accept Kai’s extended hand, and in that time, the mood in the room shifted. Kai couldn’t help the feeling that Mason was apprehensive to meet him. And reluctant. Like he’d rather be doing anything other than shaking Kai’s hand. Kai wasn’t sure why Mason would feel that way about him. He used to work with his parents ages ago. Maybe he was just suffering from a sudden case of nostalgia.
Kai smiled as they shook hands, and Mason finally gave him a stiff smile. “Right…Kai. We’re…glad you could join us here.”
Kai’s response was exuberant. He’d been looking forward to this for a while. “I’m grateful for the offer, this is an amazing place you have here, sir.”
As they separated, the older man’s gaze drifted over Kai’s body, before snapping back to his face. Kai couldn’t be sure, but he thought that he still seemed a little pale. “Thank you. Please, call me Mason. Aside from the outfits, we’re not formal here.”
Kai laughed as he lightly tugged on his polo. “Yeah, this is a little different than I’m used to.”
With a warm smile, Mason indicated behind him. “We’re so close to the state park, we sometimes get tourists or hikers here.” He shrugged. “I found it was easier for everyone, if we looked more official.” He leaned into Kai, and conspiratorially whispered, “It helps keep the civilians at bay.”
Kai laughed again, and Mason’s expression turned oddly appraising. With a harsh swallow, he turned back to his bees. Kai shifted uncomfortably. Was he doing something wrong? “What can I assist you with, sir?” Mason looked back at him and Kai quickly amended with, “Mason.”
Mason’s brows knitted, and he slowly shook his head. With a clearly forced smile, he pointed to the honeycomb wedge enclosed in glass on the tray beside him. “I’m done with this batch. You could return them and bring me another?” He pointed to a set of sealed double doors at the back of the room. “Those lead outside. The apiary is straight out back, a few hundred feet from the farthest building.”
Happy for something to do to help his new boss, Kai smiled as he grabbed the tray. “Yes, sir…Mason.”
Kai walked away from Mason, but he felt the heat of the man’s eyes following him the entire time he left the room. He wasn’t sure what he was doing to cause such strange reactions, but he hoped it had more to do with him being a new addition to an already established team, and that it wasn’t something about Kai personally. But Mason didn’t needed to worry about Kai fitting in, if that was what his concern was. Kai was sure he’d eventually blend in; he was pretty good with people.
As the second set of double doors hissed closed behind him, Kai hoped he could impress his boss with his first task. He’d never wrangled bees before. Containing a small frown, Kai hoped he didn’t get stung.
Jessie rubbed a sore spot in her back while she opened the door to her place. She’d had a long day and had been dreaming about a bubble bath for the last twenty minutes. The irony of Jessie’s muscles being sore wasn’t lost on her; she was a masseuse and alleviated kinks for a living. Jessie preferred to think of her work as physical therapy and was based out of an esthetician’s office and not a spa. She was thinking about expanding her talents into acupuncture one day, or maybe concentrating solely on sports therapy. She still wasn’t sure what course she wanted to steer her life.
Setting her purse on the kitchen table, Jessie noticed some of the things she’d thought to bring Kai yesterday. Smiling to herself, she wondered how his first day at his new job had gone. She still wasn’t entirely sure what he did for a living, but he’d seemed excited to do it.
Forgetting all thoughts of a relaxing soak to ease the ache in her back, Jessie headed to the laundry room to grab the large box that the girls used as a dump area for laundry left behind in the dryer.