Chapter 3

Adrian’s pov

The words sounded ridiculous coming out of his mouth.

It felt like I was listening to a broken record.

First they wanted me to work with a partner, Jerry, or whatever his name was.

Good and fine. It was way out of my comfort zone, but I went with it.

Now they’re telling me to work with a woman?!

“First off….” I cut Jonah off. “You all know I specifically prefer to work alone. Always had and always fucking will.”

“But Dr. Adrian…..”

“Let me finish!” I yelled at the woman next to Jonah, whatever her name was.

“You pushed for me to work with Jerry, of which I agreed to solely because he was up to par, not good enough, but he was aiit.” I ranted as my British accent became more pronounced.

Whenever I’m angry, my accent just slips out.

“NOW! You want me to work with a woman?! A woman?” I scoff loudly.

Unbelievable.

Jonah squared up, his authoritative stance in place.

I rolled my eyes.

“I am the division chief of this institution and what I say goes.”

“And I am the chief of astronaut operations, if I say a candidate isn’t fit to be on my team, then my word stands.”

“And what makes you think I’m not fit to be in your team?” A feminine voice cut through the room. It was low but steady, as if saying I won’t be intimidated by anyone.

I looked toward the lady standing next to Jonah but her eyes went wide as she shook her head aggressively.

I look toward another direction, more annoyed than curious.

But the second my gaze landed on her, something in my chest….misfired.

She stood just inside the door, shoulders squared, chin raised like she was built for gravity and steel. Her hair looked unkept, her maraca was smudged, her face was bare and pale but something about her eyes….

What the fuck?

Everyone else saw colour. I saw shapes. Lines. Light. A thousand muted tones blending together.

But when I looked at her eyes…..those thousand tones that blended together weren’t muted.

It was as if a painter dipped his brush into a bucket of different paint and threw it onto a canvas.

A burst of colour. That’s what I saw when I looked at her eyes.

It hit me like an impact force.

I blinked, irritated at myself for staring too long. Irritated at her too.

In fact I was irritated at this whole damn situation.

“And who the hell are you?" I snapped.

But she didn’t shrink.

She didn’t do what ninety percent of candidates did when I barked.

Instead, she stepped further into the room, each footsteps she took felt sure and deliberate.

When she walked toward the overhead light, it brushed her shape, outlining her in a faint halo my brain couldn’t yet interpret fully.

“I’m Aria Carter,” she said simply.

Jonah’s brow shot up.

“So it’s true, you’ve decided to join us?!” He said excitedly.

Carter.

The Carter?

Of all people they dragged out of retirement…or hiding…..or wherever dark corner she crawled out of, they brought her?

People around me began to clap, whistling and hooting.

I scowled harder, trying to push down the intense anger rising in my chest.

“What’s so great about her that’s making you all clap?!”

The cheers ceased immediately.

“You’re the candidate?” I said with a bitter laugh.

“You’ve got to be joking.”

“Is that a problem?” She asked, her chin still held up high.

It made my jaw clench.

I turned to Jonah. “So we accept expired and worn out materials now, eh?”

“Excuse you…” she frowned.

“No, excuse yourself from my office.”

“If you think being a woman makes me unqualified,” she said evenly, “then maybe you’re not as fit for leadership as your title suggests.”

A few gasps echoed behind me.

My pulse jumped.

Not from anger entirely, but from something sharper, hotter. More intrusive.

“This is bullshit,” I barked, dragging my gaze away from her shape, her steadiness, the way my useless vision still traces the outline of her like it mattered.

“I don’t have time to babysit anyone on this mission. How old even is she? When was the last time she underwent basic training?”

“She was the best aerospace engineer of her time, Adrian.” Jonah tried to explain, but I wasn’t having it.

“That was a long time ago! How old do you think she is now? Does she still remember how to navigate or repair anything?….”

“I can assure you ....Adrian,” she said my name like it was poison. “That you won’t have to babysit me. I can handle myself.”

I whipped my head back to her, fists curling.

“Did you just call me by my name?”

Jonah stepped forward quickly, cutting between us.

“Good…,” he said nervously. “Now that introductions are over, let’s proceed to the evaluation phase. We have to commence this mission without delay.”

But I wasn’t listening to Jonah.

Not fully.

Because Aria Carter was still standing there.

Unmoving.

Like she belonged.

Like a place like this was made for women, was made for her.

It pissed me off.

For the first time in a very long time, I was bothered by someone’s presence.

I didn’t care about the women who worked here, because they never had that grit in their eyes.

The grit Aria has right now.

The same grit she had before I lost her.

And what’s worse was that I couldn’t even get a read on her.

Not with all the data, or the angles, or the grayscale shapes my colour blind eyes forced me to navigate.

But one thing was definitely for certain.

This woman, Aria Carter, doesn’t belong here, and I was going to prove that to her in the most painful and difficult way imaginable.

I already hated her with everything in me.

And the worst part?

I hated how much I was already noticing her.