thing that towers three metres over my head. Like the stupid great oven robot Oliver had sent to my cafe, this bot before me is a rectangular black number. At least, I think it’s a robot. There’s a black box on top of the thing that I’m presuming is its head. Sticking out of its sides are three robotic arms, each with ten human like fingers. The behemoth bot has a total of six arms and no feet.
I’ve come to realise by now that Oliver’s robots don’t need feet. Not with the way he’s made it possible for them to roll and float around all over the place.
Ping.
What was that? Was it the elevator? I’ve got to get out of here if the lift is working!
Backing quickly towards the door, I stop when I hear the sound of footsteps nearing. Tap, tap, tap, go the sound of high heels upon the floor. Someone’s coming and I’m wholly unprepared as I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to be down here. Let alone supposed to be inside this laboratory!
Oh shit! Hide! I scream at myself inside my head, which is stupid, but I take my own advice nevertheless.
Quick as a flash, I slip off my sandals and hurry around to the other side of the gigantic robot. Outside the open doorway, the footfalls approach and then stop.
“Emily? Are you in there?”
“Callum!” I stop quivering like an idiot and jump out from behind the robot.
“Fucking hell, Em!” My fiancé is holding his chest in fright. “You scared the bejaysus out of me. What are you doing down here?”
“You scared me too! Why do your shoes bloody well sound like women’s high heels?”
“What…?” My fiancé shakes his head as though frustrated. “What are you on about…? Oh, never mind. We should really get out of here. I don’t think Oliver…” Callum’s voice trails off as he steps into the room. “Fuck me.” He whispers, looking up and up at the great big bot. “Where the bloody hell has Oliver got funding for that thing?”
What a strange question. “Who cares!” I state, not as a question. “Can we just get out of here please?” I slip my sandals back on and pull at Callum’s arm. “This place gives me the creeps.”
Eventually I manage to snap my fiancé out of his staring-at-robot revere and we make our way out of the room. The lights in the laboratory behind us go out and as we leave the door swings shut with quite a loud boom.
I don’t know how Callum found me down here, but obviously I’m glad he did. “You know how I joked that the elevator got stuck earlier and we’d be trapped?” I ask my fiancé as we head down the corridor. He doesn’t answer and he’s still got a very pensive look on his face. “Well you can remind me never to joke like that ever again. I was almost trapped down here forever!”
Callum ignores me, pulls another cardkey out of his pocket and swipes it through the lift panel. It pings and we ride up to the balcony lab in silence. We change elevators and when it lets us out on ground level I practically run out of the building. I’m so pleased to be once again out in open air, I don’t even mind that Callum still hasn’t said a single word to me.
“What’s wrong, honey?” I question him as we walk together arm in arm.
“What…?” He looks up and around as though realising for the first time that we’re outside. “Oh… it’s nothing, babe. I was just thinking about Oliver’s lab.”
“Why? His balcony laboratory was much bigger and far more impressive.”
“That’s just it though.” We stop walking and I turn to my fiancé as adds, “Oliver isn’t supposed to have another lab.”
Chapter 20
As relaxing as yesterday’s picnic was, the day had certainly not ended calmly. I’m so nervous about the wedding tomorrow that I can’t stop pacing the room.
“I knew I should have planned something to do.” I wring my hands and Callum comes over to me.
“Why don’t you check into the venue early, honey?”
I stop pacing. “What? And sit there doing nothing in the bridal suite? I’d go insane with stress!”
“All right.” Callum holds up his hands, thoroughly giving up. “It was only a suggestion.”
My bottom lip juts out in a pout and I plonk my bottom onto the bed. “Easy for you to say, you’ve got loads to occupy your mind today.”
It’s true. My fiancé is super busy even