NOT EVERYONE CAN BE A ROCKET SCIENTIST (closed)

[iamincognito45]

“I’m being punished. But why?” Spencer thought to himself as he read his email at 5:30 am. He always got up early, often before his alarm went off. Even when he was tired, he would awake early, wired and ready to take on another day. Something to do with his mind racing 24/7. Even when he was asleep. Dr. Spencer Bloom was a thinker. A doer? A problem solver. With a doctorate in physics from MIT, a doctorate in astro-mechanics from Stanford and a master in aerospace propulsion from Rice, he was smarter than those around him. Much smarter. And as the 24 year old head of the advanced technology group in NASA's next generation space transport program, he was continually frustrated with the incompetence of those around him. From the morons behind the wheels of their cars during his daily commute, to the idiots in the coffee shop that couldn’t even hand him a straight black coffee without screwing it up, to his lazy and incompetent co-workers to the fat, corrupt politicians that controlled his lab and funding as he was with the problems of the universe that needed solving.

He was paid well. Very well. But sometimes he wondered if it was worth it. He sat in his chair and re-read the email for the fourth time. It was from the Director himself. A very well connected man. More politician than scientist, but then again, that’s how he got to be the Director. And he was writing to give Spencer a head’s up on some help he had secured for his lab. Not the funding Spencer had requested. Not the new metrology equipment he so desperately needed. And not the go ahead for the new test engine he for which he been lobbying the last three months. No, we would not be getting the help he needed. Instead, he was being given help in the form of a new intern. But not just any intern. The daughter of the senator that sat on the committee that controlled NASA research and development budget.

“That’s just great. Just fucking great!” he said aloud. “That’s not help. That’s the opposite of help!” The only thing worse than being understaffed is being given an intern that will suck desperately needed resources away from critical research to babysit some snot nosed kid that doesn’t even have a degree, much less a masters or PHD. Instead of contributing, she will drag the entire team down with incessant questions and constant need of supervision and direction. And for what? So she can put a nice bullet on her resume? “OK, OK. Get a hold of yourself.” He said aloud again. “Think about what you need to do. If you think you’re screwed now, wait till you see what happens to you and your lab if she goes crying back to her daddy.”

Pushing back from his desk in the living room, Spencer leaned his tall frame back in the chair and stretched his long arms over his head. He then rubbed his face and ran his hands through his long brown hair before standing up and stretching some more. It was his morning routine and there was no reason to break tradition now just because of some bad news. So he headed down the hall of his spacious home to the converted workout room and for the next 30 minutes, he stretched, lifted and worked his core before stepping out of his clothes and into the shower. He was not muscular by any means, but at 6’3” and 190#s, he was stronger than most people realized. He was lean, fit and sported a tight ribbed midsection that no one ever saw. His body was tight and his mind was sharp. Now all he has to do was figure out to make the best out of the help he was being given.

 

[iamincognito45]

Their first encounter

After drying off and shaving, Spencer stepped into some nice black slacks and a dark blue button down before throwing on a sport coat and heading out the door. Many of his peers wore suits and ties but he just didn’t see the point. He understood dressing professionally but didn’t feel he needed the image of a suit. His friends, few as they were, always accused him of reading GQ and following the fashion trends. While women, friends and strangers alike, all thought he looked more like an aloof model than a rocket scientist. Maybe it was his slim build. Or his long hair. As for coming across aloof, that had more to do with constantly being distracted with deeper thought than it did being aloof. Although he really didn’t understand the purpose of mindless, idle chit chat. Truth was, he just shopped and wore what seemed to be for sale at the time. If that made him fashionable, so be it.

Just like every other day, Spencer made it into the office about 15 minutes early. Getting a jump on traffic by leaving a few minutes early seemed pretty obvious to him. He was also surprised that so many people ran late and struggled to get to work on time. As he walked into the front lobby, he stopped to speak to the receptionist to let her knew he was expecting an intern this morning.

“Good morning Dr. Bloom. Yes, she is already here. Dr. Gable was here when she arrived and offered to take her up to the lab. I believe she is already up there waiting on you.”

Wonderful he thought. That’s just what I need is some ass kissing intern trying to beat the boss in. But as badged in through the door and rode up the elevator up the ninth floor, he started to relax. Better early than perpetually tardy he thought. Besides, what is wrong with trying to please the boss. That would be a welcome change from all the other lazy dolts in the office. Maybe he could use her to set an example the others might learn to follow. The email said she was studying physics and was doing very well according to her grades and her professors. Spencer wondered if that acclaim was justified or out of fear for incurring the rather of her all powerful father. Either way, he just hoped she wasn’t some troll. It was always easy to focus on his studies during school given the few women in the field. They were anything but distracting. Pushing his way into the lab, he wasn’t surprised to see she was the only one in so far. It was still before 8:00 and the rest of the team was chronically late. She was sitting at one of the open desks with her back to him. He was quite surprised to see she was manipulating the terminal looking at various angels of the space station and wondered just how in the hell she got access. From the back he could see she was not tall, had very nice long, wavy brown hair that was spilling over a light colored blouse and her shoulders and posture seemed to indicate that she was neither skinny not plump. All welcome surprises. At the very least, she would be someone he could enjoy watching from behind

“You must be Brianna.” He said as he walked up behind her. He started to say more but decided to leave her hanging to see how she reacted.

“He started to say more but decided to leave her hanging to see how she reacted.

“Yes sir” she said suddenly as she whirled around in her chair and jumped up to greet him. She was caught so by surprise, she was embarrassed at how she shrieked when he greeted her. She could feel her cheeks flushing as she stood there in shock. Her first reaction was to drop her head and avoid eye contact while she gathered herself but she remembered what her father had taught her and raised her head slowly to look up at him. He was taller than she expected. And younger. Much younger. And quite handsome too. She suddenly felt a new wave rush over her and felt her cheeks blushing even more than before. She knew she was going to be placed in the office of the renowned Dr. Bloom but did not expect him to be so, so, dreamy.

“How did you get access to the computer” he demanded catching her off guard, bluntly reminding her of where she was and the pecking order around here.

“Um. I’m sorry. Dr. Gable logged in for me. He said I might find it interesting and told me to feel free to look around the image library while I waited. I hope I haven’t done anything inappropriate” she said dropping her head again out of habit before looking back up at him. Begging for some kind of early approval or acceptance. This was not going well she kept thinking. Not a good start at all.

“Ok, Fair enough. I’ll take up the issue of security with Dr. Gable when I meet with him later. As long as you already in, go ahead and keep looking around. I have some quick paper work to complete for your assignment and then I’ll be back to show you around the lab and introduce you around. Then maybe we can make it a working lunch and we can outline what you will be doing for us.” At that, he turned around and walked off without waiting for a reply.

She just stood there watching him walk off into and around the corner of his office. She was suddenly feeling very alone and vulnerable. That was not the positive impression she was hoping to make. She stood there looking around for a bit, wondering when someone else might show up before she slowly turned around and sat down. He did tell her to keep looking around the image library right? Was that an order or an offer to amuse herself while she waited? Why was she feeling so insecure? She just got here! She leaned forward and started scrolling through the images without really looking. Several minutes went by before she even realized what was happening. She was thinking about images but not those on the screen. She was thinking about the first image she had of him. Dr. Bloom. Her mentor. Her boss. How quickly he made her melt. With those dreamy looks and then tweaking her insecurities. She was trembling pile of nerves in less than 15 minutes. Trying to regain her composure. But somehow stimulated by the exchange. This was quite the conflict of emotions and something she had not expected.