Supplies and Poison 

“Cold enough for you up here?” He came sliding up next to her just before the trail.

“Yep.” She shoved her snow goggles down and used her ski poles to shove herself into a descent.

He followed her laughter down, jumping off every ramp he could as she continued to maintain the lead.

“One more?” Her breathless laughter rang in his ears, bringing a smile to his lips.

“If that’s what you want.” He followed her to the lifts. “So, what’s the surprise for tonight?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.” Despite the cold, her kiss to his cheek warmed him considerably. “Has the shipment come in yet?”

“Shipment?” His expression turned sour as he realized what she meant. “For work? Geez, woman, you’re on vacation!”

She shrugged and gave an unapologetic smile his way.

Last time down the hill, he kept the lead, occasionally looking back to see her hot on his heels.

Once they returned their rentals, a car awaited them to take them back to their cabin. The thrill of the day kept her happy and light-headed on the drive back.

“Wanna see the surprise?” Her grin, that had lit her face the entire ride, grew wider as they entered the cabin. She undid her ponytail and wiggled her eyebrows as she backed into the bedroom.

Before he could follow, his phone buzzed from his back pocket.

“Hello?” He sighed, turning to watch the snowfall just outside the cabin.

“Sir, we’re having a minor complication here at the office. Malaysia just called and-“

“Alright. I already know the situation. I’ll deal with it when I get back Thursday.” Abruptly, he hung up, throwing his phone on the couch as he headed to the bedroom.

The bathroom door was wide open and while he couldn’t see the surprise inside, she leaned against the door frame, combing her hair with her fingers. Her hair cascaded down her front, only hiding one breast from his hungry gaze.

“And you were tsking me earlier about work. Hypocritical much?” Amused, she swept her hair off her shoulder and headed into the bathroom, giving him a mouthwatering sight of her behind.

---

“Stop!” She came rushing from the cooler, a container in hand. “If you have one of these, do not use it.” She held it up high for emphasis. “If you already have, terminate your project.”

She rushed from the labs, not bothering to remove her goggles or gloves. When she peeked into his office, only to find it empty, she huffed and began checking every meeting room until she found him.

Several of his employees were disgruntled at her rude and abrupt appearance.

“This is a meeting.”

“Oh, shut up!” At her snarl, he shrank back, looking to his boss for help. “Do you know what this is?” She held up a container filled about halfway with a green gel that had white speckles. Before anyone could reply, she continued, “tampered.”

Her lover and boss stood, nostrils flaring like a bull. She would have fled at the sight if this had been a few years ago, but over time, she had come to realize that while he had a temper and a fierce right hook, one could not easily provoke him into violence.

Besides, he would never raise a hand against her.

“Jack.” His assistant quickly jumped to attention, the others following suit, and left the room.

The matter needed to be investigated.

As soon as the room cleared, he grabbed a chair and pulled it close to his side. She took the invitation and sat down.

“How will this affect our progress?”

“Depends on when we can receive a proper shipment.” She leaned back, removing her goggles and threw them onto the table.

“Well… doesn’t seeing me brighten your day?” He gave her a boyish grin.

She laughed, straightening in her chair to land a kiss on his cheek.

“I hate being a bringer of bad news, but yes, seeing you always brightens my day.” She left, grabbing her goggles from the table and headed back to work.

He stayed in the room a moment longer, more concerned with how her shoulders slumped and the strap to the goggles hung from the slightest grip of her thumb and pointer finger. There was barely any enthusiasm in her walk and it had been like that since the afternoon before.

Later that night, when almost everyone besides his security had left for home, he entered the lab. Chemicals burned his nose, counters and the floor both shiny and bright from the usual scrubbing. Vials had been cleaned and stacked away, equipment dark and left in their usual spots, come with cloths wrapped around them.

A quick swipe of his card led him into their largest cooler, housing their delicate chemicals and organisms. He had never seen it so empty before since they first installed it.

His mechanics had reassured him just a short few hours ago that the cooler itself was in working condition and the last repair job had been several months ago, no tampering was reported then.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed one thing remained on the shelves. Three very familiar vials sat neatly within the shadow of the shelves. He scooted them closer, thoughtfully inspected each one of them and the clipboard their tray sat on. They still had the name tags on the front.

His phone rang, distracting him from his current train of thought.

“Hello?”

“Late night working, again?” He smiled at the sleepy sound of her voice. She must have just woken from a nap.

“I’ll be home in a couple of hours. Are you okay?” He turned a vial around in his hand, his thumb swiping over the name tag.

“Yeah, just making sure you’re okay. Dinner will be waiting.”

“Alright,” he grabbed the vials, storing them in a nearby cooler bag. “Can I ask you something, love?”

“Anything,” she hummed tiredly.

“Now, feel free to say no-“

“You’re starting to sound a bit flustered there, darling.” At her playful tone, followed by a small laugh, he huffed.

“Would you like to move in with me? I mean half the closet is already yours and I bet you’re laying in my bed.” He bypassed the elevator for the stairs, prolonging their conversation.

“Couch actually.” She stopped, humming thoughtfully over the phone. “That would then be our bed, correct?”

He laughed at her thought and replied, “of course, our bed.”

After a bit more teasing and a promise that if he came home soon, he’d have something warm and delicious waiting for him, he had to go.

“I’ll see you tonight. Love you.”

“Love you too.” She kissed the speaker and hung up.

In the next thirty minutes, he had three files, each with a vial beside them, on his desk. His security surrounded him and a hooded man that currently sat before him.

The man looked over the material he had been giving.

“They just have to swallow this?”

“Yes. Directly from the vial.” The task was quite simple.

“No specific outcome?”

“No.” He kept himself indifferent and curt.

The man nodded, placed the vials in the cooler he had been given, and left.