That’s when it clicked. She wasn’t being cast aside due to her lack of skill, but rather her lack of social status in the scientific community. After all, how could she, a young Parisian socialite with no familial ties to lean on, compete with the son of a Nobel Prize laureate scientist?
“Don’t be cross, Mia,” Herbert attempted to soothe her, probably sensing the shift in her demeanor. “This is a wonderful opportunity for you to collaborate with a top scientist in your field, one that will help bring funds much faster than we could have on our own.”
“Iam a top scientist in my field, Professor Flinch.” The chill in her voice didn’t mirror the raging inferno in her body. Mia had been trained to keep a ladylike façade at all costs, something she usually held against her mother. This offense fell somewhere in the middle of the infinite list of wrongdoings the woman who gave birth to her had committed, but right now the skill was proving useful.
“Yes, and one of the main reasons Doctor Jenkins agreed to head the hub.” Herbert leaned forward and pinned her with a serious gaze that meant he was done with her borderline petulant behavior. “He insisted on you being his chief scientist, said he’d been following your career and feels that the hub has no merit without your guiding hand.”
“And yet it has merit with him steering the wheel.” Mia shook her head, partially in disdain and partially in resignation. “I will not play lackey in my own laboratory, Herbert.”
“You do not have a choice,” he replied in a voice that made it clear she really didn’t. “The division wants Wyatt Jenkins, and Wyatt Jenkins wants you. If you ever hope to achieve tenure and advance in the division you need to learn to play the game, Mia.” Herbert leaned back with a heavy sigh. “I understand your frustration, I do. I’m not naturally inclined to this kind of bullshit either, pardon my French.” Mia couldn’t help but bark out a laugh at his obviously intended pun, earning a smile from Herbert. “But I bent and flexed and learned what needed to be done to get to where I am today.”
Mia nodded, a desolate feeling settling in her chest. She was cornered, and Herbert knew it. Even if she felt like running off to a different institution, they both knew she wouldn’t. Herbert had put so much effort into mentoring her, stirring her from the lost girl who first entered Oxford’s halls to the proud scientist she now was. She couldn’t disappoint him by throwing it all away and leaving.
She’d already proven enough of a disappointment by not being up to par merely by her genealogy, which, for Mia, was probably the most painful reason to be cast aside and disregarded.
Mia thanked Herbert, squeezing his shoulder to convey she was okay, though she was anything but, and held her head high as she walked out of the building.
Merde! All the air left Mia’s body as the single word crossed her mind. Her predicament was dire. A man like Wyatt Jenkins would receive tenure faster than she could blink. If his professional skills and notorious charm didn’t do the trick, his family name would. But, unlike Mia, Wyatt had somewhere to go back to if things didn’t work out in Oxford.
That’s when a thought occurred to Mia. She had to stay at the hub and continue to fulfill her duties as a scientist, but shedidn’thave to pretend to like Wyatt or his presence. The manhadtaken her rightful place. Maybe if he didn’t feel welcome, if he realized they couldn’t coexist in the same research space, Wyatt Jenkins would go back to where he belonged.
Wyatt Arrives at Oxford
Wyatt
“Doctor Jenkins, it’s an honor.”Wyatt shook off his surprise and smiled, taking the hand of the young man approaching him.
“Thank you,” he replied, clearing his throat and adjusting the strap of his messenger bag. “I’m sorry, but I was expecting Doctor Bissonnette.”
“Right.” The man before him laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head and looking at the ground with what appeared to be extreme embarrassment.
“Right,” Wyatt repeated slowly. “No one told me she’d be sending someone in her place, so I’m afraid I don’t know your name.”
“Right!” Wyatt almost laughed at the mortified expression that took over the face of his welcome party of one. “I’m Ron Giles, um, Giles. I’m a DPhil student here at Oxford and I’ve been working with Mia, Doctor Bissonnette, for the past couple of years.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Giles the DPhil.” Wyatt had known the terminology in Oxford would be different, but he hadn’t realized how much of a conscious effort he’d have to make to not accidentally call his doctoral grad students in Oxford Ph.D. students.
“Thank you, Doctor Jenkins.” Giles seemed relieved, though the anxiousness still hadn’t faded from his features. “I apologize that Mia, um, Doctor Bissonnette, couldn’t be here. There was… anemergencyin the lab, I guess? She asked me to cover for her since Professor Flinch insisted you’d be more comfortable with a personal tour before the entire faculty swoops in to get a piece of you.”
Wyatt laughed at the bluntness of Giles’s words. He was sure Flinch hadn’t meant for that last line to reach Wyatt’s ears, but he was fond of the older man’s grumpy candor. It was one of the reasons he had agreed to the position, not the top reason but a nice icing on the cake of considerations to leave his home and family and travel across the ocean.
“Nothing to apologize about.” Wyatt smiled reassuringly. “And, please, call me Wyatt.”
“Right,” Giles said again, his posture further relaxing, and he gestured down the path towards the impressive building that shone of age-old stories and legends. However impressive the universities back home were, the ancient knowledge that radiated from these walls was unsurpassed.
Giles’s tour was thorough and surprisingly engaging. The man was full of exuberance and he obviously loved Oxford. Wyatt sensed he would like to work with him.
The last stop of their tour was the hub, a modest complex consisting of a large research lab and two smaller labs that were for specialized applications of their ongoing research. A communal area set as a circular space with laptop stations, a small kitchenette and coffee machine, and an eating area for people to take their lunch breaks together rounded out the tour.
“Are all the hubs like this?” Wyatt wondered, eyes scanning his surroundings in appreciation.
“The university tries to make the hubs as welcoming and comfortable as possible,” Giles answered, pointing at a door at one end of the communal area. “That’s Mia’s office.” Then he pointed at a door across from the first. “That one is yours.”
“Great. Is Mia in her office?”
“Probably in the main lab.” He gestured for Wyatt to walk first and Wyatt nodded, shaking off the uneasiness as he approached the translucent glass door, where he swiped his card against the pad and watched the door slide left to reveal a spotless white lab, his new realm.
Wyatt had never met Doctor Bissonnette in person, despite their research being closely aligned, but he was well aware of her work and reputation.Revolutionaryis the most accurate word he had read to describe her studies and theories on the fine line between genetics and psychology. If it weren’t for her name attached to the hub, Wyatt wouldn’t have been so fast to agree to the position.