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I was definitely the man for the job.
CHAPTER FOUR
MAYE
Longest. Day. Ever. That’s all my brain was capable of thinking as I drove home in stop-and-go traffic. Why was this city such a traffic nightmare all the time? And no matter which route you took, there were just certain hours of the day you had no other option than being part of it.
There was no way in hell I could do this three days a week. By the time I dropped my bag on my bed and kicked off my shoes, I wanted to face-plant directly into my covers. My sister wasn’t home, so I had the room all to myself and began stripping off my clothes. Whether I had the energy for it or not, I needed a shower. The bleach and other cleaning products’ fumes were so strong in the tiny little office all day, I swore even my hair smelled like Clorox.
There was a big, stupid grin across my entire face when I pictured Chaplin scrubbing that place until his fingertips were raw. I know with one hundred percent surety it wasn’t that asphyxiating in there the day I went in for my interview. Well, noninterview, as it were.
While I was in the shower, one of my family members barged into the bathroom. Didn’t knock, didn’t ask if I’d be out soon, just came busting through the door like they were about to have an accident.
I knew it was Clemson before I peeked around the distorted glass enclosure to see who the rude intruder was.
“Clemmy, I’m in the shower. Do you mind?”
“Not at all. Carry on about your business,” she answered through her infectious smile. It had always been her lethal weapon, and the girl knew how to brandish it when necessary.
“Get out. You can use the bathroom when I’m done,” I insisted, my alto voice gaining volume with little effort.
“I just need to put my contacts in. I’m running late.”
“Well, at least close the door. It’s freezing in here with the draft from the hall,” I complained just to have the last word. I had to feel like I had the upper hand in at least one conversation today. God knew that would never happen with Dr. Andrew Chaplin.
Clenching my jaw, I still felt all the frustrations of the day locked in that one joint. Pretty typical for me. But the man was such a freaking know-it-all, it was infuriating. Mostly because he was extremely intelligent and was right about everything. And he had no qualms about demonstrating it. Constantly. I knew this internship would be challenging, but it was looking like the most trying part of the opportunity would be interacting with him.
I really took a good look at him today while he was deeply engrossed in a task. He was classically good-looking in that every feature was beautifully symmetrical. His bone structure was divine—from his perfectly shaped and sized nose to his angular jaw. From what I could tell by seeing him in his suit and tie, he was also in excellent shape. I could appreciate a man who took care of himself.
But he needed to relax a bit. Okay, a lot. I’d hold out hope that as the weeks progressed, he would get more comfortable around me. It was the strangest combination. While he was incredibly smart and gifted at so many things, he seemed like a bumbling teenage boy when it came to personal conversation. Any attempt at small talk I made was met by awkward silence, a whole lot of body language that screamed uncomfortable, and finally snappy answers that shut down any hope of getting to know each other better on a personal level.
When I suggested we have lunch together, you would have thought I asked him to cosign a mortgage with me. He looked like he was involved in the most intense internal battle after I offered the idea—like he would’ve been more at ease making Sophie’s Choice.
The serious guy didn’t wear a wedding ring. After Shepperd’s inquiry had me curious, I made it a point to check. There were no personal items in his office that I could see, either. Not a picture, house plant, or even a coffee mug with a clever quote.
As I dried off, I made up my mind to bring something personal for my half of the old desk. Maybe a picture of my family or a souvenir knick-knack just to liven up the place. If I spent too long in that drab space, I’d slip into a bout of depression. The one saving feature of the entire room was the windows. They were open part of the morning and let in tempting fragrances from the entire campus. I considered suggesting we move our operation outdoors when the bleachy smell finally turned my stomach.
But I knew I had to take baby steps with my rigid mentor. It was hard to picture Andrew Chaplin in the middle of a blanket on one of the grassy expanses around campus. The Wi-Fi was stable across the entire property, so he couldn’t use that as an excuse when I did finally get up the courage to make the suggestion. Reading outdoors was one of my favorite pastimes. If I could overlay that joy on the tedium of researching material for this grant, the summer could actually be enjoyable.
I changed into pajamas right out of the shower, even though it was only dinner time. My plans for the evening were completely blown to hell when Professor Chaplin had handed me the biggest three-ring binder I’d ever seen when I was walking out the university door today. Now I had homework to do instead of spending the night out with my sisters.
Hannah had invited us over for one last girls’ night before she gave birth, and I was really looking forward to spending time with my siblings. Even Shepperd was planning on going, but now that I had to stay home, she would more than likely cancel too.
Among all the other strange behaviors she’d developed over the past year, the most noticeable was how much she had pulled back from the family. We all spoke about it with regularity, but no one could come up with a reason why. She had confided in me once that she felt like everyone basically ganged up on her when we all assembled, and that she felt more comfortable when I was there too.
All we hoped and prayed for was that she hadn’t gotten herself into anything dangerous or destructive. I kept telling myself the problem would eventually come to the surface and we’d all finally understand the changes in her mood and personality.
“Hello, daughter,” my dad said after peeking his head through the doorway. “How did the first day go?”
“Hi, Daddy. It was fine. Exhausting, though. I’m not sure I’m qualified for what I’m doing, and I don’t think my mentoring professor believes in my abilities either. Look at this enormous notebook he gave me to go through tonight.” I pointed at the offending book on the foot of my bed.
He frowned. “I thought you were supposed to be going over to Hannah’s place with your sisters?”
I sighed and let my shoulders drop down low. The disappointment was written all over my body before I said a word. “I was. Now I’ll be here studying like it was three weeks ago and I was preparing for finals. I’m hoping this isn’t going to be every evening,” I said while scowling. My social life was already in the toilet. If I had to work every night when I really wanted free time, I’d turn into a very grumpy version of myself.
I didn’t actually expect my dad to have a solution, so when he shrugged and said, “Well, I’ll let you get to it,” I wasn’t surprised. “Your mom wanted me to let you know dinner will be ready in twenty minutes.”
“Okay, thanks,” I said with a forced smile. Maybe I could get away with eating in my room while I dug into the binder’s contents. I closed the door behind him and flopped down on my bed. Scooting back against the headboard and some pillows, I started my task. It wasn’t going to get done with me just bitching about it.
