Page 8

Chapter Eight

JACK

“ D addy, it’s all right now that we’re not going to look for shells on the beach. Sutton is having a slumber party, and I get to use the Sleeping Beauty sleeping bag you gave me for Christmas.”

“Wow, Peanut, that sounds amazing. I’m glad, and don’t forget, we’ll plan the seashell hunt when I get back.”

There was a knock on the door. “Listen, sweetie, Daddy’s got to go. Have fun at the slumber party. You can tell me all about it when I get back.”

“Okay, Daddy, hope you find a lot of pretty mushrooms. Bye.”

“Bye, love ya, Peanut.”

“Come in.” I sat forward to straighten out the work on my desk.

Pam walked in. I quietly released an exasperated puff of air. Pam was smart, too smart to be acting like a lovesick teen. She’d come onto me pretty strong one day when we were alone in the lab, and after explaining to her the rules of conduct between staff and students, I put my own plan in place that made sure we were never alone together. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a foolproof plan, but I stayed safely behind my desk and put on my coldest, professional expression.

“Yes, what is it, Pam?”

She sashayed in and stood as close to the front of my desk as she could without actually climbing on top of it. “I don’t like her,” she said curtly. “I mean, what are her credentials, anyhow?”

“Robyn?” I asked.

She snickered. “No, I mean, yes, obviously Robyn has no credentials whatsoever. I’m talking about what’s her name.”

“Associate Professor Lovely. That’s her name and please don’t refer to her as ‘what’s her name’ again.'” My scolding produced a pout. “Professor Lovely is a highly respected scientist. She’s been around the world on scientific expeditions where important discoveries were made. Her credentials are too vast to list, and you will show her respect because she’s earned it.” The words fell out one after the other, and I was as surprised by them as the student standing across from me.

Pam frowned. “You’ve never shown her respect. Just the other day I overheard you telling Professor Makin that she was annoying and should go back to the wilds of Africa.”

I felt plenty of shame about the words. “I was only joking, and you might want to put a check on your habit of listening in on conversations that don’t involve you.”

Pam looked as if she might cry. “I’m only trying to help, Professor Sinclair. None of us want to go on this expedition. I only agreed to go because …” She ended the sentence there. Unfortunately, I knew where it was going.

“Again, I’m a staff member, and you are a student, Pam.”

She smiled flirtatiously. “Until I come back as a staff member. Maybe she’ll be gone by then. I heard rumors that her career here was dangling from a thin thread because she wasn’t a team player.”

“You’re too smart to listen to gossip.” I waved her out. “Off you go.”

She left with a stomp. I sat back with a grunt. Brimley was really going to owe me after this trip. There was another knock on the door. “Go home, Pam!” I called loudly.

The door opened, and Ava popped her head in. I’d been feeling guilty for a good hour about my behavior in the meeting. I had no idea why I’d acted like that. I supposed I just wanted to let her know how badly I didn’t want to go on this trip … as if I hadn’t already made it crystal clear. Admittedly, since Holly had found something to do that was far more fun than a weekend with Dad, the expedition sounded more appealing. It had been a long time since I’d been out in the field.

“What is it, Professor Lovely?” I asked. She stopped halfway to my desk and stared at me as if I’d grown horns.

“You called me Professor Lovely.”

I realized I’d been using her nickname just to irritate her, not really considering how disrespectful it was, something I discovered during my own lecture just moments before.

“Yeah, yeah. An obvious oversight on my part.” She smiled. It was an incredible smile. “Get over yourself, Lovely.”

Ava dropped some papers on my desk. “The information you’ll need for the trip. You were too involved with scrolling through social media to listen, so I thought you’d want to look over them before tomorrow.”

I picked up the papers and looked up at her. “See you tomorrow, Ava.”

She squinted an eye and pointed as she backed toward the door. “Now you’re just gaslighting me.”

“Just called you by your name, or is that not your name?”

She was still keeping an eye on me as she reached back for the door and hurried out. The door shut. I couldn’t stop a laugh.