Options

 Elliot rehearsed the speech in his head. Since she was spending so much time with Clayton, her disposition had certainly changed for the better.

“Can we talk?” he asked.

“Of course. What would you like to talk about?” she asked.

“Okay,” he started, taking a breath to calm himself, “I think I have devised a way to reconfigure the GCR technology and make a portable unit,” he said.

Olivia’s face brightened, “Do tell,” she encouraged.

“And I’m pretty sure I know how to use Clayton’s algorithm to reverse the process,” he added.

She leaned back and clapped her hands together, smile on her face. “Elliot! That’s wonderful,” she congratulated.

He raised his hands, “Theoretically,” he stated as a caveat.

She nodded, “I understand, but still, great news,” she cheered.

Now the hard part. Swallowing hard, he looked up into her eyes. “I am more than willing to share this information with you, as it is only an extension of your original work, but,” he paused, steeling his courage.

“But what Elliot?” she asked, eyes narrowing and smile vanishing from her face.

“I want to be restored to my former size,” he stated. There it was, out on the table, dice were rolling.

Crossing her arms under her breasts, she pursed her lips. “What then?” she inquired.

Another breath, still alive. “If you’ll have me, I want to remain attached to the project,” he asked.

“Just like that, no hard feelings?” she queried.

“Just like that,” he said, holding his hands together to prevent them from shaking. “What’s done cannot be undone. I am in no position to judge anything that has happened and as far as I’m concerned no one need ever know about it,” he said, hoping his voice wasn’t breaking too badly.

“Your foot?” she asked, uncrossing her arms and pointing at his injured appendage.

“I will be able to get the necessary medical attention to fix it properly. Anyone asks, my car rolled over it,” he stated.

“Mm-hmm,” she said, her tone seemed unconvinced.

“I swear Olivia, even if I told anybody, who in their right mind is going to believe me? And, you’ll have the technology to put me right back here if I get out of line,” he offered.

“Quite the pitch you’re making,” she said.

“I’m only asking your consider it, please,” he replied.

“But you’ll withhold the science unless I restore your to your former self,” she stated.

He nodded silently, trembling.

She smiled slowly, “Very well, I’ll consider it,” she assured, rising back to her feet.

“Thank you,” he said, letting out a deep breath as she turned and left.

Olivia

Clayton wedged inside her panties, Olivia left Elliot in the drawer. If what he was saying was in fact true, she desperately wanted the advancements he said he had made. She just wasn’t sure whether or not she could trust him. Was it possible? Elliot was a brilliant scientist and with nothing but time and more than capable of devising some innovation to do what he claimed he had done. He had his motivations. His foot did appear pretty bad and in need of some proper attention. If he was willing to stay with the project, it would be a considerable asset. He was right in his presumptions of having no one to complain to, who could he tell that wouldn’t think him mad. She mulled over the ramifications as she made her way to the university.

Sophie and Grace were already at the lab, dismantling and cataloging other pieces of the project. Olivia greeted them cordially and retired to her office. Clayton nibbling away at her privates only seemed to distract her rather than stimulate her and she now wished she had left him at home.

Sophie appeared at the door. “Do you have a minute?”

Olivia nodded, a headache beginning to form in the base of her skull.

“Ted has made some very compelling arguments about some of the potential issues we may be facing in the near or immediate future and I think we need to sit down and think about how we want to proceed,” she said.

“Second thoughts?” Olivia asked, smiling around the throb in her skull.

Sophie chuckled and shook her head. “No, you know Grace and I are with you,” she assured. “But I think we need to get our situation under control before it gets away from us.”

“This is the second time today I’ve had this conversation,” stated the doctor, leaning back in her chair.

“Oh?” inquired Sophie, entering the office and sitting down.

Seeing the way the girl positioned herself, Olivia smiled, “Theo?”

The brunette grinned, “Ted. There is definitely something to be said for experience,” she commented. “You?”

“Clayton, but I’m not really in the mood,” she replied.

“You could pass him over to Grace?” Sophie suggested.

“Maybe,” Olivia contemplated.

“You were saying, about the conversation?”

“Right, Elliot thinks he has come up with not only a way of reversing the shrinking process but also modifying the device to make if portable, but he wants to be restored,” she supplied.

“Do you believe him?” Sophie asked, shifting in her seat as Ted repositioned himself inside her panties.

“I think he’s pretty confident about undoing the shrink, otherwise why bring that up as a condition. The portability could just be a ruse to sweeten the pot to get me to agree to his proposal,” she mused.

Sophie nodded, digesting the information. If the process could be reversed, that changed things from remotely possible to plausible, strengthening Ted’s argument and making real the idea of salvaging the situation before it got further out of hand. “Still,” she said.

Olivia nodded. “I do think we need to sit down and strategize before going too much further” she suggested. “This gives us additional options.”

Sophie nodded and let out a long quavering breath, cheeks developing a faint red glow.

Olivia laughed softly, “You okay?”

“I need to go somewhere and finish this off,” Sophie said hotly, the flush creeping heavier into her cheeks. Getting up, she paused to gather herself before walking out of the office.

Still chuckling as Sophie was leaving, Olivia saw Grace appear in the doorway.

“There’s a woman here to see you,” said the smaller dark haired woman.

“Oh?” she replied. Who would be looking for her? “Did she give you a name?” she asked.

“Georgia Hawthorne,” she answered, stepping into the office and handing the doctor the small white business card the woman had provided.

Looking down and reading the card, Olivia smiled. “Tell her I’ll be with her in just a minute,” she instructed, tapping the edge of the card against the desk. Interesting, she thought, pushing her chair back she got up and went out to meet the woman.