Despite his protesting groan, Wyatt dutifully followed Mia to a group of professors not far away from them. By the time they reached the huddle of loudly conversing academics, Wyatt was fully in character.
They spent the next hour or so doing their rounds with the department and university heads, seamlessly completing each other’s sentences in their pitch in favor of their fledgling hub. They were a good team, despite their differences, since they both wanted to ensure the hub’s success.
Mia couldn’t deny working with Wyatt was much more pleasant than working against him.
“If it isn’t our department’s very own power couple,” someone said from behind them. It was a voice Mia recognized well, and she fought to keep the disgust from showing on her face.
“Professor Durant, I hadn’t realized you were back from France already,” Mia said in as neutrally ambient a tone as she could muster towards the wiry man with the receding hairline and toothy grin. Wyatt shot her a questioning glance, which Mia ignored.
“My business there was concluded,” Durant chuckled, winking at her. Mia resisted the urge to cringe. Durant’s ‘business’ included a small collection of mistresses, one of them Mia’s mother. Though in the case of Marie Bissonnette, she was the one using Durant to spy on Mia. Durant was fully aware of this fact and didn’t bother with being subtle when hinting at his voracious encounters with her mother and projecting them onto Mia.
He was a man with little regard for women and even less refinement when speaking of them.
“Doctor Wyatt Jenkins,” Wyatt said, stepping between them and sticking out his hand for a shake. “A pleasure to meet you, Professor Durant.”
“Ah, the man of the hour.” Durant grabbed Wyatt’s hand in both of his and shook it vigorously. “Great job securing the Gendry Fund for the hub, I’ve been trying to persuade them to support one of my research projects for years, tough nut to crack,” Durant said with a conspiratorial smirk. “Though, for all my achievements, I’ve yet to be in close relations with a laureate.”
Wyatt tensed, his fists curling at the sides of his body, and Mia was half hoping he’d punch Durant, but the vile man had too much influence within the halls of Oxford and it would bring an end to the hub. To her relief, Wyatt laughed and thumped Durant’s back, albeit slightly harder than required.
Durant opened his mouth, undoubtedly to spew more offensive nonsense.
“I must tell you about my newest research, Professor Durant,” Mia said with a girly enthusiasm she knew would capture Durant’s attention and distract him from asking Wyatt about his father. She emphasized her French accent, aware of Durant’s almost perverse attraction to the drawl. “I’ve been exploring the effect of midlife transformation of socioeconomic status on the appearance of genetically related diseases in the second generation and third. The results have been astounding.”
“Interesting, what is your take on this subject matter, Doctor Jenkins?” Professor Durant hadn’t bothered to shift his interest away from Wyatt, and although she held Durant’s opinion in extremely low esteem, Mia still deflated at the easy dismissal.
It wasn’t Wyatt’s fault. Some pompous professors were, and always would be, prone to dismissing her based on gender alone, Durant more than anyone. But having it happen so bluntly in front of Wyatt made the experience all the more bitter. However mad Mia was at his appointment in her stead, Wyatt was a good scientist whose professional opinion she held in high regard.
Despite the stabbing feeling, Mia kept her spine straight and plastered on a saccharine smile as she turned to look at Wyatt as if the next words out of his mouth were gospel, only to find his gaze fixed intently on her in a way that made her knees weak and her stomach quiver.
“I think I could recite Doctor Bissonnette’s research log and subsequent results word to word just because you’ll find it easier to accept when said in baritone rather than mezzo, but I’d rather spend that time dancing with the most brilliant and beautiful person in the room.” With that, Wyatt handed his lowball to a gaping Durant and offered Mia his arm.
“Why, yes, I’d love to dance, Doctor Jenkins.” Mia wove her arm through Wyatt’s, letting him lead her to the dancefloor and pull her close, their bodies in an intimate press as they swayed to the music.
“You look ravishing tonight,” Wyatt said with a smile, thumb moving over the small of Mia’s back. Even through the thin layer of silk, his touch was titillating, igniting a swirl of desire in Mia that she no longer had the will to fight.
“Thank you.” Mia was lost in the warmth of Wyatt’s gaze and in the perfect rhythm to which they moved together. “And thank you for not showing me up.”
“Why would I ever do that?”
His words seemed sincere, but Mia was too easily swayed by him to trust her own instincts. “Don’t play games with me, Wyatt, not about this.”
“I would never.” He seemed offended that she’d think otherwise. “I don’t play games with people’s lives and careers, and I don’t play this stupid gender game, I grew up surrounded by women, all of them wildly smarter and more talented than me, my sisters included. I’m the last person in the world to mansplain an intelligent woman like you,especiallynot for the sake of advancing my own career.”
“Tell me about how your sisters surpass you,” Mia said in a teasing voice, though shewascurious. She’d been avoiding in-depth talks about Wyatt’s family, about anything that wasn’t hub or bed related, but little leaks out of the boundaries she had set were bound to happen considering the amount of time she and Wyatt spent together.
“Well, Kylie is currently teaching history of science, technology, and medicine during the Imperial era at Harvard. She’s also a bestselling historical romance author, and yes, I’ve seen you read her books.” Mia opened her mouth but Wyatt tutted her into silence. “No, I willnottell you her pen name.”
“Tease.” Mia pouted. “Though I bet I can convince you.”
She slid her hand over Wyatt’s chest and under his dress coat with a sly smile, and Wyatt shook his head, flashing a sinful grin.
“Not likely, though I admit someone using me to get close to my sister is a novelty.” There was an undertone of resentment to his words, but the seductive smile was firmly back in place before Mia could dwell. “Shedidhelp me choose your gift.”
Mia’s hand left Wyatt’s shoulder to touch the tiara with a small smile.
“That’s one sister,” Mia said, figuring she wouldn’t get the coveted information from Wyatt here on the dancefloor. “And the other?”
“Iris, she’s almost twenty-two and just completed her masters in neurobiology, the only one to follow dad’s professional footsteps, though her focus is vastly different.” Wyatt’s eyes twinkled when he talked about his siblings, Mia was almost envious at the affection radiating from him. “There’s also Reed, he’s twenty, probably has a higher IQ than all the people in this room combined.”