Page 18 of Love in the Lab (Delaneys in Love #2)

Chapter fifteen

Jonathan

T hursday morning, I know something is up the moment I walk into the office. My colleagues are frantic, speeding back and forth between the office and the lab with piles of papers and straightening up their desks.

Dr. Gantt sees me come in and pulls me aside before I even have a chance to set my bag down in my cubicle.

A flush on her cheeks makes her brown skin appear even darker.

“Good morning, Dr. Stanch. Change in plans today. We just got word that Dr. Perron will be stopping by this morning. He wants to see how we test our water samples.”

Dr. Perron is the dean of the College of Coast and Environment at NOSU.

While most of our research is funded through grants, the dean still has quite a bit of power over our purse strings, including our ability to use the building space for our lab.

A visit from him likely means he wants to check in on our progress and be sure our research is a worthwhile use of the university’s funds.

This is the first Dr. Perron visit I’ve experienced in Dr. Gantt’s lab, but we had them all the time when I worked with Dr. Shepherd, at least before his big research breakthrough last year. After the Society for Conservation Biology honored Dr. Shepherd’s work, the visits stopped.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Molly slip through the door. She observes the frenzied environment and then must notice me talking with Dr. Gantt because she moves closer.

“I know you’re scheduled to work with the most recent batch of samples this morning,” Dr. Gantt continues.

“Do you mind if Dr. Perron and I observe? He should be here any minute.” Her phone buzzes and she glances at the screen.

“Yes, that’s him now. I’ll be right back.

Can you get the samples set up in the meantime? ”

“Of course. It’s no problem at all.” I flash a confident smile, and Dr. Gantt visibly relaxes.

She claps her hands loudly before announcing to the room, “Alright, team. Dr. Perron will be here momentarily. Please finish with whatever you’re straightening and then return to your planned tasks for the morning.

” She smiles brilliantly to reassure the team.

“We’re doing good work here, and I know Dr. Perron will agree. ”

With that, she walks toward the elevator to fetch Dr. Perron at the reception desk downstairs. On my way into the lab area, I stop at my desk to drop off my bag and don my lab coat.

“Jonathan!” Molly hisses from behind me, pulling at my sleeve as I set the bag on my desk.

I turn and look straight into her panicked eyes. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” My adrenaline spikes as I scan her for any injuries.

Ignoring my questions, she asks one of her own. “Is Dr. Perron going to watch you test the samples from last week?”

“Yeah, him and Dr. Gantt both. Why? What’s wrong?”

She blanches. “I … didn’t know. I thought you would work with them on your own, like normal. I didn’t know!”

I put together the pieces pretty quickly and curse. “Carrots, what did you do?”

She winces, her whole face turning red as she admits, “I … moved the real samples and replaced them with plastic beakers of frozen tap water.”

Despite the situation, I chuckle. That’s pretty good. If Dr. Perron hadn’t surprised us with a visit today, I would have gotten a kick out of finding frozen samples. It’s not like Molly would compromise the real samples, or jeopardize the research, for a prank.

“Where did you put the real samples?” I ask, forming a plan in my mind that might get us off the hook with Dr. Perron, if not with Dr. Gantt.

“The spare refrigerator in the storage room. I plugged it in and made sure it cooled down to four degrees Celsius before I moved the samples.”

I can’t help but smile as I regard her with what must be bald admiration. The careful planning and time she put into this prank are such a perfect balance of responsibility and fun. Damn if it’s not one of the hottest things I’ve ever heard.

I think quickly. There’s no time to switch out the samples. I have to get in there, divert Dr. Gantt, and make Dr. Perron think it’s totally normal to keep important water samples in a storage room refrigerator.

I put my hand on Molly’s arm to reassure her. “I’ll take care of it, okay? You won’t get in trouble.”

As I speed walk away, I hear her call behind me, “But what about you?”

Yeah, I’ll probably get in some trouble, but I’m not worried about it.

I need to run pesticide testing on the samples using our two standard methods. We usually do a quick QuEChERS test—which stands for Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe—followed by a more in-depth analysis of the sample using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

I’ve only had time to set the solvent on the lab bench when Dr. Gantt approaches with our visitor. I switch on my most charming smile and meet them halfway. “Dr. Perron,” I say, reaching out my hand to shake his, “how nice to see you again.”

“Yes.” He nods. “It’s been a while. I heard you left Harvey’s lab. Got bored with coastal erosion, did you?”

I flash a plastic smile. “Impossible. No, when Dr. Gantt recruited me to head fieldwork for her research, I couldn’t turn down such a great opportunity.

The impact her harmful algal bloom work will have on local economies can’t be understated.

” I’m laying it on pretty thick, but Dr. Perron’s interest is obviously piqued.

“Why don’t you show Dr. Perron how we test water samples from local waterways for pesticides,” Dr. Gantt suggests.

“Of course.” I lead them over to the lab bench. Dr. Gantt walks toward the large refrigerator nearby where we typically keep our samples as they await testing, and which currently contains Molly’s frozen prank samples.

I rush to cut her off, putting myself between Dr. Gantt and the fridge and increasing the wattage of my smile. “I’ll go get those water samples from our special project storage.”

Dr. Gantt frowns, her confusion evident in the lines on her forehead. I catch her eye. Hopefully, my eyes are communicating my desperate “trust me” message. She must understand because she steps back. “Thank you,” she says, guiding Dr. Perron to the mass spectrometer and explaining our process.

I dart back to the storage room and open the spare refrigerator.

It’s been sitting unplugged in storage since we purchased a newer model a few months ago.

The air inside feels plenty cold—not that I doubted Molly’s fastidiousness—so I scoop up the containers of water and bring them back into the main lab area.

Though Dr. Perron is waiting next to the lab bench, my boss has just closed the door of the nearby refrigerator. Shoot. That means she’s seen the frozen beakers. She regards me with narrowed eyes as I set the sample containers on the counter.

I redouble my smile and focus my attention on Dr. Perron.

I smoothly talk through the steps as I prepare the samples.

The entire testing process can take anywhere from three to six hours total, so I walk him through what comes next, too.

Dr. Perron has some questions, which I answer, and he’s on his way thirty minutes later, smiling.

As he leaves, he shakes my hand heartily and slaps me on the back.

In Boomer language, I understand this to mean he’s pleased with his visit.

Dr. Gantt … not so much. She keeps a thin smile on her face throughout the demonstration and cranks it up as she’s bidding Dr. Perron goodbye, but she is not happy. She escorts Dr. Perron back downstairs, and I return to the lab area to finish the QuEChERS.

As soon as the elevator doors close behind Dr. Gantt and our guest, Molly’s at my side.

“How’d it go?” she asks in a hushed tone.

I shrug. “Dr. Perron didn’t know any better, but I’m pretty sure Dr. Gantt is ticked. She looked in the refrigerator.”

Molly lays a hand on my forearm. “I’m so sorry. What can I do?”

I wave a hand. “Don’t worry about it. Dr. Gantt will give me a talking-to, I’m sure. No big deal.” I wink. “I’ll survive.”

As long as Molly doesn’t get in trouble, I’ll be fine.

She doesn’t need any more reasons to play it safe in life.

She’s been so much more relaxed since we started this back-and-forth prank war.

More fun. More … herself. I’m not sure why I have that thought because the Molly I’ve always known is intense and serious.

Still, throughout the years I’ve caught fleeting glances of softer moments, vulnerabilities that have helped me to know that Molly wears a mask and holds onto it tightly.

“But it’s all my fault. I knew I shouldn’t have done these stupid pranks…” Her face twists into a grimace, her hand still on my arm.

“There’s no reason to regret the last few weeks, Carrots.” I catch and hold her gaze. “I don’t.”

Dr. Gantt clears her throat, and Molly drops her hand like my arm’s a tiger shark. As she steps back from me, I silently will her to play it cool, but guilt radiates from her face, turning her cheeks red.

Dr. Gantt studies Molly before shifting her eyes back to me. Instead of the frustration I expect to see there, our boss looks more … amused. Thoughtful, even. Intrigued.

“Finish testing on the samples—the real samples—and then come talk to me in my office,” she instructs me before turning her attention back on Molly. “Dr. Delaney, don’t you have reports to write?”

Molly nods and scurries off toward her desk. In my down time between active tasks in the testing, I empty the now only semi- frozen beakers into the sink, wash them, and put them away. I also finish moving samples from the storage room fridge, and, when it’s empty, unplug it.

I don’t finish testing the samples until late in the workday. Many colleagues have already started trickling out to go home, especially with the eventful start this morning. I peek across the room to see Molly still at her desk when I knock on Dr. Gantt’s open office door.

She waves me inside, and I close the door before taking a seat in the chair across from her.

I start with an apology. “I’m sorry, Dr. Gantt. I know I put you and the lab in a precarious position. If Dr. Perron had seen the frozen beakers—”

Dr. Gantt puts her hand up to silence me. “I appreciate the apology and you’re right; things could have gone much differently this morning.”

I stare at the floor. What I told Molly earlier is true: I don’t regret nudging her into a prank war or letting things get this far. The pranks, in addition to our time together during fieldwork, have allowed me to see new sides of her. She’s fun and having fun too, I think.

I do regret getting caught. That’s … not ideal.

“But,” Dr. Gantt continues, “I think I know what’s going on here.” I lift my head in surprise. She’s smiling at me.

“What’s going on where?” I ask, my chest tightening.

She chuckles. “I’ve noticed a difference over the last few weeks in how Dr. Delaney has been showing up to work. She’s been more relaxed. Does that have anything to do with you?”

I shrug. I’d like to think so, of course, though I’m not the one who played the first prank, so maybe it mostly has to do with her .

“Well, whatever the impetus, it’s exactly what I hoped would happen.”

I frown. I’m really not following. She wanted Molly and I to prank each other? Am I in trouble or not?

Dr. Gantt must notice my confusion because she explains, “I wanted to get Molly out of her comfort zone. I thought that changing her routine, having her go out in the field, would help. I didn’t realize working with you would also put her more at ease.

Am I right that what happened today with the frozen samples has something to do with the way you and Molly work together? ”

“Umm…” I’m not sure what to say. I don’t want to implicate Molly.

She holds up a hand. “I don’t need details. I want to be clear, Dr. Stanch. Something like this cannot happen again. But, as it appears to be a byproduct of something I think will be valuable to our research, you are free to go.”

I rub my chin. “I’m free to … Are we … Am I not in trouble?”

“Consider this a warning.”

“Ah … okay. Thanks. Thank you. I promise it won’t happen again.”

I back out of her office, still trying to decode that interaction.

I wonder if Molly will understand it better than I do.

I make my way to her cubicle to talk to her, but it’s empty.

My shoulders droop. I was hoping she’d wait for me so we could debrief after everything that went down today.

On the other hand, it’s getting late, and I’m happy she went home at a decent hour.

I dip into my cubicle to grab my bag so I can go home, too. I’ll text Molly when I get there, just to make sure she’s okay from today and ready for tomorrow.

We’ve planned another trip out to the Gulf on the Pulse to pick up two gliders that have completed their missions and to collect more samples.

We’ve been traveling to various bayous in the area weekly, wading out to collect water samples.

Molly and I have developed a rhythm on these outings, and they’ve all been miles more successful than that first one, though it would probably be difficult for them to be worse.

Boat trips are special though. They don’t happen as often, and unlike the bayou trips, our first boat outing set a high bar. Still, I’m hoping we clear that bar tomorrow.