When Alec arrived at the lab he saw that Jill wasn’t alone. “Who’s the dude?”
“Alec, meet Jack. Jack, meet Alec.”
“Hi, Alec,” Jack said, thrusting out his hand. “I’ve heard great things about you.”
Alec sized up the athletic looking guy standing before him. Jill always went for the pretty boys. “Jack and Jill? Really?”
“Hey,” she shrugged. “Love happens where it happens.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Alec said, “Like falling down a hill.”
“Um…” Jack began, apparently at a loss. He had given up on the hand shake.
Jill gave Alec a glare and then looked reassuringly at her beau. “Don’t worry, he isn’t being hostile. This just means he likes you. Alec is among the ‘differently clued’.”
Jack laughed. “I would expect no less from a genius. Jill tells me there’s good news.”
“Maybe,” Alec shrugged. “Depends.” he turned to Jill. “How’s Fred?”
Jack, looking confused, turned to his girlfriend. “You never told me about Fred.”
“No worries, my dear. Fred is even less of a threat than Alec. He’s my newest project, and unlike Alec, not a hopeless one. See for yourself.” She pointed to a research poster on the wall.
Jack read the words aloud. “‘Freeform Responsive Empathic Discussant.’ Wow, I don’t even know what some of those words mean.”
“Fred is a computer program that figures out the best way to talk to you, based on who you are,” she explained. “It’s the kind of research we do.”
“Isn’t that what people are for?”
“Not necessarily,” Jill said. “You see…”
Alec had had enough. “Jack, I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but I need you to leave now.”
Jill rolled her eyes. “Case in point.” She took Jack’s arm and gently moved him toward the door. “I’ll text you later.” She gave him a quick goodbye kiss.
When he was gone, she turned to Alec. “Sorry about that. Jack keeps me connected to the normal world.”
“Enough about Jack. I want to talk to Anna.”