Page 66 of A Discovery: Love and Other Things

The minister scoffed, and his back-up singers snickered in tune. “She’s just a girl. A silly girl who has hearts in her eyes for someone like you who can advance her career.”

His insult stung my chest. I could feel tears burning my eyes, and I looked to my shoes to hide them. I wanted to run and hide and never see the light of day again. It shouldn’t be this hard being a woman.

“Don’t talk about the woman I love like that.”

My head snapped up to find James’s piercing gaze on me.Love.That single word instantly pulled me out of my impending spiral into darkness, bringing me back to the present—to what was before me. Did James really love me?

“Yes, love,” he confirmed to Mr. Emara. Even though I had heard it with my ears, I couldn’t believe it. He could have just used the love-card to garner sympathy from the board—to convince them to lighten their sentence for me.

“She is anything but a weak and petty child,” James continued. “Ms. Taha is the brightest and most driven student I have ever mentored. You’d do good to realize that she’s an asset to you.”

Mr. Emara’s mouth twisted in disgust. “I highly doubt thatsheis worth anything to us.”

“She has what you want.”

The minister’s brow furrowed. “What is that?”

Even I was confused as fuck. I was still stuck on the part where James might or might not love me.

James leaned over the desk. “A discovery,” he said, so low that it was almost a whisper.

Gasps sounded from the rest of the board. Mr. Emara stood dumbstruck, unsure of how to proceed.

I wracked my brain, trying to figure out what he was talking about.The cartouche!I had completely forgotten about it through everything. James had taken it with him, and it appeared that he’d never reported it, either. If I hadn’t been on the chopping block for unethical behavior, I would totally have laid into him about keeping the find a secret for days.

“What is this discovery?” Mr. Emara demanded.

“You’ll have to ask her. Drop her punishment and you’ll find out.” James looked back at me, flashing me a quick wink. So, this was why he had been so calm. He’d already had a plan. I sank my teeth into my lip to keep myself from smiling like a lunatic. James Campbell had once again proved himself to be a genius.

Mr. Emara slammed his fist into the desk, the thud startling everyone except for James, puppet-master extraordinaire. “Tell us or we’ll sue you.”

“Actually, you can’t.” I stepped forward, carefully. My voice wavered, but I continued. “The fine print on my attestation says that I am the sole responsibility of my mentor and any discoveries that I should make during my internship will be under the blanket of my mentor’s own research. And since you’ve already fired him, he will not be able to hand his intern’s discovery off to the ministry, since it was never recorded and catalogued in the first place. There is no evidence that it even exists, especially since neither of us are permitted to return to the site to share it with anyone. I have nothing to share with you as anex-intern.”

Mom always says, “Read contracts!”

The ministers looked at one another, their unease showing.

“How do I know you’re not lying about this discovery?” It was clear Mr. Emara hated that he’d been reduced to bartering with someone he found so insignificant.

I approached the bench, courage coursing through my veins. I placed my hand on the edge of the table, standing next to James. His warmth was all the encouragement I needed. “If I’m lying, then you can throw me in jail.”

The minister’s jaw clenched, as if I were tempting him to do that very thing. But then his eyes caught on James’s snarling glare.

“Throw her in jail and you’ll regret it.”

Mr. Emara’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Fine, I’ll rescind my recommendation to the university.”

It wasn’t enough for me. “What about him?” My head tilted in James’s direction. Peripherally, I saw he was holding back a smile. He was loving my negotiation skills.

“What about him?” Mr. Emara huffed.

“You’ll give him back his title and grant,” I ordered, pinning each of the men in turn with my gaze. I wouldn’t budge on this.

But Mr. Emara was resistant. “I can’t do tha—”

I stopped him. “Try again. I’m not sharing anything with you until you restore his title.”

Like a cat backed into a corner, Mr. Emara nervously glanced left and right to his board members.

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