Page 20 of Doctor Bossy

Understanding dawned. “You ran into James, didn’t you?” I’d called my son to the office today so that I could talk to him about what he had done to Becca. He was initially belligerent, and he denied leaking the nudes, trying to turn it around and assume that Becca had leaked it herself to get back at him.

That was when I nearly lost it on him.

Becca’s expression showed that I was right about that being the reason for her mood today.

“What did he say to you?” My voice dropped to a growl. If James had said anything to hurt Becca again, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do to my son, but it wasn’t going to be good.

“He didn’t say anything,” Becca said. “I didn’t meet him. I…hid. Behind a pillar. I don’t know why I did that, but I just…I didn’t want to start anything at your workplace. Especially, you know, in case I start working there.”

She gave me a sidelong glance, and when I didn’t respond, disappointment showed on her face.

I felt bad and said, “Listen, Becca….”

“Look, I know I don’t have the credentials you want,” she said, her eyes pleading, hands clutched in front of her. “But I think these past few weeks have shown you that I know a lot. And I can still learn a lot too. You know what I can do in the lab, and I have a lot of experience on that front. Plus, my genetic research background could help you with Terradol.”

I raised an eyebrow. “How do you know we’re considering the genetic element of Terradol?”

“I did my research,” she said. “And studying genetics is one thing I’m very, very good at.”

For the first time, I seriously thought about what she was saying.

While the relationship between blood type and Terk’s wasn’t exactly known, there was a correlation. Heather had been B positive, and for some reason, that made her disease more difficult to manage. While we knew Terradol acted against the cancer cells, we didn’t know for sure if the genetic factor would mitigate its effectiveness.

“Please,” she continued. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes. Just give me a chance.”

I saw the sheer zeal in her eyes, and it reminded me a bit of myself when I was young. Attending university after leaving the military was an experience. I was one of the older students, and people assumed, from my looks, that I couldn’t be all that intelligent. My high school grades weren’t anything to write home about either. In addition, I’d never been the type to talk much or kiss ass. That made it difficult for me to find someone to understudy or intern for as a sophomore.

People didn’t believe in me until one mentor took a chance on me—a guy who had just gotten out of the military and was probably undeserving of the position. But he had taken me in any way.

Someone had given me a chance.

Who was I to begrudge her hers?

Still, Terradol research was my baby, and it was highly sensitive.

Which was why it came as a complete shock to me when I found myself saying, “Fine. I’ll hire you.”

9

BECCA

Shit, shit, shit.

I dashed across the walkway, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a car as I ran toward the bus stop.

“Sorry,” I yelled at the man who cursed out of his car. I didn’t have time to explain the reason I almost collided with his car, so I ran up the walkway, not stopping for a second despite the pressure building in my chest.

I was running late.

It was my first day at one of the most important jobs in my life, and I was running late.

I couldn’t believe it.

I had never been late for anything in my life, never mind something this important. Everything was planned out yesterday. I even set two alarms, one a full thirty minutes before I was supposed to get up. It should have been simple, but of course, it wasn’t.

It seemed that everything that could have gone wrong today went wrong.

A power outage occurred during the night without my knowledge, and it messed up my digital clock. My phone, which had a backup alarm, died. I was usually an early bird by habit, but even my natural inclination to get up early in the morning also failed me.

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