Damage Repaired

Chapter 30

"What's driving you to be a part of this project?" Nathaniel asked while leaning back in his chair, fixing his icy blue eyes on me after scrolling through his email on his computer.

It was already Monday again, and after spending my morning at the foundation with the kids, I used the afternoon to get started on the amputee project with Nathaniel.

I fidgeted under his gaze, trying to ignore the odd feeling it gave me. After his attempted kidnapping, something shifted in him the following week, and I couldn't understand what it was or why it happened. He no longer looked at me like I was made of glass, getting ready to shatter at any moment. There was no more desperation in his eyes— desperation that'd been there since the moment he saw me at the charity event for the first time in four years. Now he looked at me with what I assumed was admiration or awe, and I didn't know how to feel about that, unsure if it was a part of another fucked up scheme he was plotting or if it was actually genuine. But from the slight twinkle in his eyes, I'd say it was safe to choose the latter.

"Anastazi," the way he murmured my name made me shiver as I blinked at him, trying to remember what he had asked.

"Yes?"

He raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to answer, and when nothing came out of my mouth, he chuckled lowly and asked again. "What's driving you to be a part of this project?" Even though he read my proposal, he wanted to hear my explanation coming from the source itself.

I tugged on the race car around my neck and smiled faintly. "After I left, I met so many wonderful people around the world, people who didn't deserve the shitty things that happened to them. A lot of them were amputees that were too poor to seek the medical attention they required, which left them unable to work and provide for their families. Some of them were left disfigured from the way their wounds healed, but during that time, I didn't have or know anyone with advanced technology to help me, but now I do. With your technology, we have the potential to give these people their lives back, people that deserve it, and so much more."

Nathaniel watched me intently and nodded when I finished, jotting something down on the notepad in front of him. "When you were abroad," he started, his voice slightly cracking on the last word forcing him to clear his throat. "Did you notice a common denominator in gender and missing limbs?"

I nodded, trying to pretend I didn't hear the almost undetectable hurt in his voice. "Most of them were men, only missing one arm or leg from work injuries."

He wrote down a couple more things before speaking again in that professional tone I was still getting accustomed to. "We can get started with the team on the prototypes implementing the technology we'll use on the actual prosthetics this week and go from there."

"Thank you," I gave him a genuine smile and grabbed my purse from the floor.

"I'm going out to have lunch with Carter. Would you like to go with me?" Nathaniel asked before I made a move to get up.

I was immediately flushed with guilt at the mention of Carter. I still felt guilty for leaving him the way I did and then failing to inform him that I was back. I knew he didn't blame me for my decisions, but that still didn't stop me from feeling like the worst person on the planet for ditching him—and going dark for four years.

"I wouldn't want to intrude," I said, giving him the common pathetic excuse that, of course, he wasn't going to let slide.

"How would you be intruding if I'm inviting you?" He asked with a slight smirk clasping his hands together while leaning forward.

I could've told him I had already made plans with Ezra, but for some reason, I didn't and instead asked, "What time are you leaving?"

"Now," Nathaniel answered while shutting his computer off before standing up. "We can take my car."