type,” Finn lied very quietly. Actually, this Niall guy was pretty much the epitome of Finn’s type. Preppy with a side order of nerdy was just exactly what Finn liked under him, or over him, or hell, anyway which around him. And the glasses? Hell, glasses got him every time.
“You think he’s batting on your team?” Erik asked.
“Absolutely,” Finn deadpanned.
Erik frowned and peered to the small stage below. “You can tell from here?”
Finn punched Erik in the leg, “No, fucker. I can't.”
Erik huffed and pulled out his cell phone, putting it in his lap and shielding the glow with his hands. He was clearly booking out of this presentation. On the other hand, Finn found himself absolutely fixated. He wasn’t entirely sure what Niall was saying because he wasn’t listening to the words, but Finn could listen to his soft Scottish accent all day. Kind of a cross between Ewan McGregor and Sean Connery.
All too soon this Niall guy, who apparently could remove oil platforms in a responsible and environmentally sound way, had finished the presentation. There was a polite ripple of applause before he threw the meeting open for questions.
Finn had a lot of questions, only none of them were to do with… He peered at the last slide…ethical decommissioning.
Erik leaned over, “Bathroom,” he said.
Finn gripped his friend’s jacket. “Cap will kill you for flunking again.”
Erik shrugged free. “Cover for me,” he hissed, then left out the side door. Fucker . The woman in front turned to face him, but this time she didn’t turn away, in fact she was looking at him expectantly, as was the whole of the row. He scanned them, wondering exactly what to say.
“Sir? Did you have a question?” The soft sexy burr of the Scottish voice asked over the microphone.
Shit . Evidently Erik’s leaving had caught Niall’s attention and he thought the kerfuffle was a freaking question. The woman in front smirked at him, then raked him with her eyes with a large dose of disdain. She was daring him to say he’d been fucking around with Erik and hadn’t listened to a word the presenter said.
“Yes,” Finn said smoothly. The woman looked surprised but she didn’t turn in her chair. “Is decommissioning of oil platforms what you always wanted to do?”
And no, he had no idea where that came from, but it seemed like a reasonable question. People asked that kind of thing? Right?
Niall stared out at him with a look of consternation. Finn waited for that moment when Niall said that in all of his however many years he had never had such a strange question. Then Niall’s expression cracked and he shook his head ruefully.
“I wanted to be an astronaut,” he admitted. “But mild vertigo and a propensity to being sick whenever I flew meant that wasn’t going to happen. Seemed to me the ocean and the unexplored depths was the next best thing.”
As soon as he’d answered, another question came from the front row, from the lick-asses who actually paid attention in these seminars. The pressure was off Finn. Damn woman was still looking at him, although the rest of the row had turned back to face front. Her expression had changed and she was looking at him with a speculating gleam. He leaned forward toward her.
“Can I help you?” he half whispered.
She lowered her lashes at him. “I don’t know. Can you?”
Finn leaned even closer. “Unless you have a cock under that pretty red dress then I’m not sure I can.”
Her eyes widened and she turned her back to him with an audible huff. It was all Finn could do not to laugh out loud, even if he did feel a bit of a dick for saying that. But then, she had been the one staring.
The rest of the seminar passed in all it’s boring glory, a combination of industry information, safety notes, and that speech from Niall-with-the-accent. When Finn turned on his cell phone he saw he had three missed calls from Cap, and a picture message from Erik of a cup of coffee and a
“You think he’s batting on your team?” Erik asked.
“Absolutely,” Finn deadpanned.
Erik frowned and peered to the small stage below. “You can tell from here?”
Finn punched Erik in the leg, “No, fucker. I can't.”
Erik huffed and pulled out his cell phone, putting it in his lap and shielding the glow with his hands. He was clearly booking out of this presentation. On the other hand, Finn found himself absolutely fixated. He wasn’t entirely sure what Niall was saying because he wasn’t listening to the words, but Finn could listen to his soft Scottish accent all day. Kind of a cross between Ewan McGregor and Sean Connery.
All too soon this Niall guy, who apparently could remove oil platforms in a responsible and environmentally sound way, had finished the presentation. There was a polite ripple of applause before he threw the meeting open for questions.
Finn had a lot of questions, only none of them were to do with… He peered at the last slide…ethical decommissioning.
Erik leaned over, “Bathroom,” he said.
Finn gripped his friend’s jacket. “Cap will kill you for flunking again.”
Erik shrugged free. “Cover for me,” he hissed, then left out the side door. Fucker . The woman in front turned to face him, but this time she didn’t turn away, in fact she was looking at him expectantly, as was the whole of the row. He scanned them, wondering exactly what to say.
“Sir? Did you have a question?” The soft sexy burr of the Scottish voice asked over the microphone.
Shit . Evidently Erik’s leaving had caught Niall’s attention and he thought the kerfuffle was a freaking question. The woman in front smirked at him, then raked him with her eyes with a large dose of disdain. She was daring him to say he’d been fucking around with Erik and hadn’t listened to a word the presenter said.
“Yes,” Finn said smoothly. The woman looked surprised but she didn’t turn in her chair. “Is decommissioning of oil platforms what you always wanted to do?”
And no, he had no idea where that came from, but it seemed like a reasonable question. People asked that kind of thing? Right?
Niall stared out at him with a look of consternation. Finn waited for that moment when Niall said that in all of his however many years he had never had such a strange question. Then Niall’s expression cracked and he shook his head ruefully.
“I wanted to be an astronaut,” he admitted. “But mild vertigo and a propensity to being sick whenever I flew meant that wasn’t going to happen. Seemed to me the ocean and the unexplored depths was the next best thing.”
As soon as he’d answered, another question came from the front row, from the lick-asses who actually paid attention in these seminars. The pressure was off Finn. Damn woman was still looking at him, although the rest of the row had turned back to face front. Her expression had changed and she was looking at him with a speculating gleam. He leaned forward toward her.
“Can I help you?” he half whispered.
She lowered her lashes at him. “I don’t know. Can you?”
Finn leaned even closer. “Unless you have a cock under that pretty red dress then I’m not sure I can.”
Her eyes widened and she turned her back to him with an audible huff. It was all Finn could do not to laugh out loud, even if he did feel a bit of a dick for saying that. But then, she had been the one staring.
The rest of the seminar passed in all it’s boring glory, a combination of industry information, safety notes, and that speech from Niall-with-the-accent. When Finn turned on his cell phone he saw he had three missed calls from Cap, and a picture message from Erik of a cup of coffee and a
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