Page 12 of Doctor Bossy

And it wasn’t that I didn’t believe him. It was just that, while I didn’t doubt a man with Griffin’s reputation had sway in the department, Dr. Robinson could be a stubborn, proud asshat when he wanted to be.

Just then, the phone rang with a ringtone that was not DEFCON 5.

I picked it up from the chair, raising an eyebrow at the caller ID. “Speak of the devil.”

“Is it James?" Kayley asked.

“Nope. The professor.” I debated for a second whether to answer the call or not, then ultimately picked it up. “Hello.”

“Rebecca?”

Who the hell else would it be?I thought sarcastically.

“Yes?” I responded instead.

The professor cleared his throat. “Yes, well, hello, Rebecca. How are you doing?”

I raised an eyebrow. Was I in the twilight zone, or was he actually being polite to me right now? “I’m…fine?”

“Good, good. I hope the past few days haven’t been too stressful for you.” He seemed to waffle about for a few more seconds before he ultimately got to whatever it was he wanted to say. “Well, anyway, I called to offer you your job back.”

“What?”

“Yes. It seems we were a bit too hasty in firing you without proper investigations, but you understand how these things can seem.”

“Because you didn’t exactly give me a chance to explain,” I said. “You just started flinging out accusations without even—”

“Mistakes were made on both ends.” The professor cut me off, continuing in that annoyingly righteous voice of his. “But that’s not what I called to talk about. We received a call from Dr. McCormick on the matter and would like to offer you your job back.”

“Really?” Suddenly, anger exploded through me at the injustice of the situation. He wasn’t calling me because he realized how unfairly I was treated, or sorry for how he had acted, or even because he valued my work and wanted me back. No, he was only calling me because someone with more power and influence had made him. He thought, since Dr. McCormick was on my side, I had friends in high places, and then, all of a sudden, I warranted a polite tone and a second chance.

It didn’t matter if I was the smartest or the best researcher he had. He would never see my value beyond who I knew. That was just the type of person Dr. Robinson was.

“You know what?” I said. “Thanks for calling me to explain the situation.”

“I’m glad you understand—”

“But you can take it and shove it right up somewhere because I no longer care.”

And with that, I hung up.

There was stunned silence for a few beats as Kayley gaped at me. A huge smile split her face.

“That might be the most badass thing I’ve ever seen,” she said with a laugh.

"Yeah,” I said, feeling light and vindicated for the first time. “It felt pretty good for me too.”

“But what are you going to do?” she asked, her mood turning immediately. “You don’t have a job now.”

I smiled to myself. “I’ll get one.”

Griffin said I couldn’t work with him, but he did not see my potential. I would show him. I could be pretty persistent when I wanted something, and I wanted this more than anything.

Dr. Griffin McCormick has no idea what’s about to hit him.

6

GRIFFIN

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