Page 50 of Ice Cold, Red Hot
I let that sink in while I tidied all the papers strewn across his desk and tucked them back into the folder, dropping it onto his keyboard with a pat. “I think it goes likethis. You don’t just lose the lab. You lose the program. And maybe your degree.”
Ethan was silent for a long moment. And then, without looking at either of us, he turned to his computer and pulled up a blank email.
“Good,” I said. “Let’s send it to the psych department chair, Dr. Gunning, and the athletic director.”
“No, I—” Ethan sputtered.
“Oh, and blind copy Daria and me please,” I instructed.
Ethan followed directions.
“You use your own words here of course, but here’s the gist: The bar incident was a personal misunderstanding. You take responsibility and ask that all disciplinary action against Shepherd Renshaw be dropped. Apologize for not being honest about it in the first place. Emotions ran high, but you’re man enough to admit that Shepherd wasn’t the aggressor.”
“But—” Ethan’s fingers began moving, even as he started to protest.
“And the next paragraph,” I went on. “Explain that Daria and I have some impressive ideas and talents, and that your lab and your own background are not equipped to best maximize these. You formally request we be placed in another lab research setting with a more established PhD or a tenured professor. Say that we need more academic mentorship than you’re capable of providing.”
Daria giggled at that and we exchanged a look—this was working!
“Is that it?” Ethan snarled, finishing the last line.
“Well, I mean. Sign it. You don’t want to be rude.”
He sighed as he typed out his name.
“And go ahead and hit send,” I instructed.
He did. I listened to the satisfying chime that told us the email was gone, out there in the ether.
I pulled out my phone and checked to see that I’d received it. No going back now.
“Great,” I said as I confirmed it. “Oh. One more thing. The money.”
“What about the money?” Ethan asked, his face pale and his voice tired.
“I’m guessing you know what to do there,” I told him. “Only a cretin would keep it.”
Ethan didn’t answer, just closed his office door behind us as Daria and I headed out of the lab.
“Holy shit,” she breathed as the building door closed behind us and we emerged into the sunlight. “I can’t believe we just did that. You just did that!”
The surging adrenaline was fading and slowly being replaced by a similar disbelief.
“Right?” I laughed. “We did it.”
We sat for a minute and talked through next steps. Daria was just happy to be out of Ethan’s lab, but less concerned about what came next. I, on the other hand went straight to Dr. Gunning’s office.
“Celeste, come on in,” Dr. Gunning said as I stepped into her open doorway. “I was just reading an interesting email from your research lead, Ethan.” She raised an eyebrow and gestured at the chair beside her desk.
“Yeah, that’s why I came.”
“Go on.”
“I think the email covered everything that needed to be said on the record,” I said, speaking slowly as I decidedwhat else I wanted to confide in her. I trusted Dr. Gunning, and something about her demeanor suggested she would understand. Women in sports and science fields were not strangers to this kind of behavior, unfortunately.
“Okay.” She leaned back in her chair, her posture inviting, as was her friendly smile. “I take it there’s a bit more to it.”
“There is,” I told her. Quietly, I told her about the advances Ethan had made, to me and to others.
