Page 5 of Collin: Episodes 4-6
“Minor in the grand scheme of what a concussion can be.” Mr. Reevesworth laid one hand on the table. “The doctor, however, believes that Collin only lost his balance because he had worked himself into the ground. Thus, the suggestion that he take off the rest of the semester.”
Mr. Reevesworth glanced toward Collin, including him as he went on. “Collin is extremely driven. I’m happy to have him on staff in a less taxing capacity while he recovers. However, I don’t want to lose him back to school full-time after I come to rely on him.”
Collin nodded, meeting Mr. Reevesworth’s eye and turning back to his mother. “Thus, the job experience I explained to you, Mom.”
“I don’t care what the explanation is, Collin. You’re sleeping with him. This…” Dr. Ryker pointed between them. “This is not as innocent as it seems.”
Mr. Reevesworth studied Dr. Ryker’s face, saying nothing for a long moment. When he did speak, it was soft and low. “Say I were sleeping with your son, Dr. Ryker. What would be your main concerns?”
Collin flushed and shot a glance at Ellisandre. We’re in public. Do something! But the minx was slicing up their pre-meal baked sweet with a fork, ignoring the rest of the table like a cat, hearing everything and doing nothing.
Dr. Ryker drew in a sharp breath. “You’re not trying to deny it.”
“I’m seeking information.”
“Information is all that I have against someone of your status, Mr. Richard Reevesworth. Why should I tell you anything? You’ll merely counter my concerns.”
Collin slid his hand into his pocket and wrapped his hand around his stone.
Mr. Reevesworth tapped his fingers on the table. “If, as you believe, Collin is already under my influence, then I already have access to everything he knows about you. And there is probably no one who knows you better than your son.”
“Collin is my son. There are certainly things that I haven’t shared with him.”
“Collin got you through chemo. You don’t have siblings. You live far away from the rest of your family, most of whom are elderly. Your husband did not have family in the US. Collin bears the classic markers of a parentified child.
“However, he doesn’t display a fractured or resentful bond with you. He’s still capable of trust and high levels of vulnerability with authority. Thus, he was not only your caretaker but your friend and confidant and an equal who felt loved and, at least at times, respected. But it’s likely that society has given neither of you a road map for what the kind of close relationship that you shared with him should become, especially around the feelings of abandonment on your side as he exits your home and chooses a new one. After all, you had just lost your husband, and Collin became the man of the house. But then he left you.”
Two bright pink spots burned in Dr. Ryker’s cheeks. Her mouth opened and closed, and her hand curled into a claw beside her napkin.
“That both of you survived with the bond that you have is beyond admirable, Dr. Ryker. That you finished your PhD and gained tenure during all of it and so quickly is also impressive. You not only have an indomitable will but a keen mind and the ability to play politics. So, no, I would not say that you have nothing but information.”
“There are rules—of decorum,” Dr. Ryker bit out.
“And you have beautifully broken them.” Mr. Reevesworth inclined his head as if giving praise. “So now we can speak frankly. Your son is a thoroughbred. With your education and perspective, you have to understand how he matches up to your own students.”
“He outclasses most of them.” Dr. Ryker raised her chin. “His ability to see patterns, not just any patterns but applicable ones, is uncanny.”
“Collin’s ability to work with statistics in a way that speaks to a plebeian policy maker is unique. It wouldn’t matter, however, if he were not a sponge for ideas with the ability to organize and retrieve them when needed. When defending his research, he was challenged on social impact and business topics outside his direct research. But he had considered those aspects even though his professors were not versed in the matters.”
Dr. Ryker pressed her lips together. “His works fall outside my specialty. I can’t judge objectively.”
Mr. Reevesworth leaned forward a little. “I can. Because I’ve spent the last fifteen years hiring people like him.”
“None of this changes the fact that you made a move on a vulnerable young man.”
“Collin may leave whenever he wants.”
“But he won’t, not when you’re offering him things he can’t get on his own.”
“You’re telling me that you believe Collin can be bought.”
Dr. Ryker gritted her teeth. “Everyone can be bought. People sell themselves all the time.”
“Then it’s not a moral issue unless one sells oneself for too cheap a price.”
Dead silence fell on the table.
Dr. Ryker dropped her eyes. Her shoulders shook. “You could have had his mind and his work for pocket change. Why did you have to take the rest of him?”
